Composer Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Lionsgate‘s adaptation of the Judy Blume novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” has been submitted for the Golden Globes in the comedy/musical categories, Variety has learned exclusively. With the expansion from five to six nominees this year, the movie will compete for recognition against Warner Bros’ “Barbie,” Searchlight Pictures’ “Poor Things” and Focus Features’ “The Holdovers.” Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, the film tells the story of 11-year-old Margaret, who is uprooted from her life in New York to New Jersey, where she deals with the challenges of new friends and a new school. Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.

Steven Lutvak, the composer and co-lyricist of the hit Tony-winning 2013 Broadway musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, died October 9. He was 64.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White says Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney inspired him to pursue a career in football.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Director Karan Tejpal’s feature film debut “Stolen” is a nail-biting thriller about two privileged, big-city boys who unwittingly embark on a harrowing adventure as they help an impoverished young woman find her kidnapped baby in rural India. The film, which is produced by Gaurav Dhingra’s Jungle Book Studio, is also a commentary on the alarming number of child abductions in India in recent years, and the explosion of often misguided vigilantism that accompanied the widespread adoption of instant messaging apps, particularly in rural areas.

A wacky film based on a stage show by comedians Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp, Dicks: The Musical – a riff on The Parent Trap with two adult men as the starring twins — opens in seven theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco on a crowded specialty weekend as theatrical releases of fall film festival titles accelerates.    

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor In her seven feature films as director, Rebecca Miller has presented indelible, complicated characters rarely seen on the big screen. One of those films, “Arthur Miller: Writer,” was a documentary about the heralded playwright, her father. But the remaining six narrative films were of her own creation — including the titular 10-year-old obsessed with absolving her sins in “Angela,” the three women at the center of “Personal Velocity” and the young mother who schemes to reunite her husband with his ex in “Maggie’s Plan.”As with her characters, the filmmaker has excelled at presenting unique worlds to the viewer.

William Earl The Newport Beach Film Festival has added a screening of “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” to its Fashion Island main stage line-up. The screening on Sunday, Oct. 15 will include a Q&A with author Judy Blume, writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig and producers James L.

Valerie Wu editor Dancers and non-dancers alike can rejoice at the announcement of upcoming dance documentary “Dance As You Are,” a new project from “Embattled” producer Eryl Cochran. The film was shot almost exclusively on iPhones over 60 days and is the first release from Cochran’s new production label KEYKIX. “Dance As You Are” centers on a group of 75 strangers, ages 23-74, who must come together to form six dance teams over the span of eight weeks.

Michaela Zee Anne Hathaway, similar to her character Patricia in Rebecca Miller’s “She Came to Me,” has dealt with being a perfectionist. “I think perhaps in the earlier part of my life, I believed a little bit more in perfectionism,” Hathaway told Variety at the New York screening of “She Came to Me” on Tuesday night.

Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei are stepping out for the premiere of their new movie!

Cardi B is throwing Kanye West’s own words in his face after he labelled the chart-topper an “Illuminati industry plant” in a clip going viral on social media.

Michaela Zee Leonard Bernstein‘s children Jamie, Alexander and Nina were in complete awe the first time they saw Bradley Cooper as the renowned conductor and composer. “It took our breath away, it made us gasp,” Jamie Bernstein told Variety at the New York Film Festival premiere of “Maestro.” “In some pictures, we could tell a little bit that it was Bradley, but there were certain photographs where we would go, ‘Oh my God!’ It was so amazingly perfect.” “I had a FaceTime call come in, and I didn’t recognize the number. But I chanced it, and it was my father as an old man!” added Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein.

Naman Ramachandran The full company for the second run of “My Neighbor Totoro,” a stage adaptation of Miyazaki Hayao‘s beloved 1988 Studio Ghibli film, has been unveiled. The production is a collaboration between multi-award-winning composer Joe Hisaishi, who executive produces, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Improbable and Nippon TV. It will reopen at London’s Barbican arts complex this fall.

The beloved 2004 comedy, 13 Going On 30, is being brought back to life in a new way!

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Neo Sora’s concert documentary “Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus,” a standout at the Venice Film Festival, has sold for theatrical distribution in North America to Janus Films ahead of its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The theatrical release will be followed by a Blu-ray Disc release on the “Janus Contemporaries” label. This is the latest deal inked by London and Paris-based production, finance and sales outfit Film Constellation, following a slew of sales to Spain (Filmin), Portugal (Midas Filmes), Germany and Austria (Rapid Eye), Scandinavia (NjutaFilms), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), South Korea (Media Castle), China (JL Vision Films), Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Taiwan (Cai Chang) and Singapore (Anticipate Pictures).

The Expendables 4 (officially titled Expend4bles) has been released – check it out below.Directed by Scott Waugh, the fourth instalment in the action blockbuster series sees veterans Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture all reprise their roles.This new entry, however, might be defined by its newcomers, including Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent, Megan Fox, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran and Andy Garcia.A synopsis reads: “Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on and the skills to use them, The Expendables are the world’s last line of defence and the team that gets called when all other options are off the table.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor The 27th annual American French Film Festival set for October has been canceled in light of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the Franco American Cultural Fund announced. “The FACF Board of Directors determined this week that it was not possible to continue with business as usual,” the board said in a statement. The Los Angeles festival, formerly known as Colcoa, had been set for Oct.

Naman Ramachandran Indian-born singer, songwriter, composer and actor Guru Randhawa has signed with CAA for representation. Randhawa began by releasing independent singles and grew to become a global icon and pop star recognized for his Punjabi and Bollywood hits. In 2012, he made his music debut with the single “Same Girl,” then signed with the leading Indian label T-Series and released “Patola,” which has more than 493 million views on YouTube.

The American French Film Festival (TAFFF), which had been due to take place in L.A. from October 18 to 22, has been shelved due to the writers and actors strikes.

Bradley Cooper is keeping it casual as he steps out for a walk!

As Yahoo News reports, the artist was also part of a provocative artist scene alongside singer Grand Jojo and The Sex Life of the Belgians director Jan Bucquoy. Deprijck went on to create his own surreal works which included an underpants museum in Lessines.‘Ca Plane Pour Moi’, known as ‘Everything’s Going Well For Me’ when translated from French, became a smash hit in 1977 for the Belgian artist Plastic Bertrand.

David Benedict “What a terrible tragedy.” Indeed. That’s the lyric cried out as, in theory, the famously magnificent Cornish home at the heart of the story burns to the ground at the climax of the musical of “Rebecca.” Or, rather, when smoke is pumped into the auditorium, the frontcloth glows red and cast members race around to startlingly little dramatic effect.

Brent Lang Executive Editor New Works Provincetown, a developmental theatre lab founded by producer Mark Cortale with Jonathan Murray and Harvey Reese to create and develop new theatrical works, has commissioned its next slate of projects, including new shows about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s tumultuous marriage and an adaptation of Ira Sachs’ “Love Is Strange.” The shows are from creators like Mona Mansour, Hannah Corneau, Douglas Lyons, Craig Lucas, Daniel Messé, Nathan Tysen, Mindi Dickstein and Carmel Dean. Among the shows is “Beautiful Little Fool,” which is a new musical inspired by the Fitzgeralds’ relationship.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent A lavish Arabic-language film titled “Sukkar,” that draws inspiration from U.S. writer Jean Webster’s epistolary novel “Daddy-Long-Legs” and is being touted as the Arab world’s first musical movie in the Western canon, is set to release in cinemas across the Middle East and North Africa.

Danny Welbeck had Manchester United-supporting friends and family in the stands at Old Trafford at the weekend, which he described as 'different' from his time spent at the club.

Andy Murray was left fighting back tears as he missed his grandmother's funeral to compete in the Davis Cup Finals.The British professional tennis player, 36 who has previously been ranked number one in the world, beat Switzerland's Leandro Riedi 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-4 in the Davis Cup Finals on Friday, 15 September. Overcome with emotion he dedicated the victory to his late grandmother whose funeral was on the same day. In his on-court interview following his triumphant win for Great Britain, Murray said: "Today is a tough day for me.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Hildur Guðnadóttir grew up on Agatha Christie mysteries. “I totally lived for those novels,” the composer says. Ever since then, she has wanted to sink her teeth into story by the famous author.

Like most rising star comics today, looking to further build their audience while reaping due rewards for their work, Joe Pera is self-releasing his latest special, Joe Pera: Slow & Steady, taking it directly to YouTube. Taped to a packed house at The Opera House of Williamsburg on June 15th, his new hour will premiere on Friday, October 6th at 8:00pm ET, exclusively on his YouTube channel @JoePeraComedy.

Naman Ramachandran Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide sales on horror-thriller, “Last Straw,” set to have its world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival before making its way to Beyond Fest next month. Written by Taylor Sardoni, “Last Straw” pays homage to the pressure cooker genre films of the past and aims to present a raw and unrelenting twist on the home-invasion thriller. The story revolves around a young waitress working the late shift alone at a rural roadside diner.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Multimedia Music has closed a deal to acquire the music publishing rights from the film music library of Millennium Media, which includes titles such as “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” “London Has Fallen,” “Angel Has Fallen,” “Hitman Wife’s Bodyguard,” “Hellboy,” “The Outpost,” “Mechanic: Resurrection,” “Rambo: Last Blood,” “Blackbird,” “Acts of Vengeance” and “The Expendables 4.” The deal follows Multimedia Music’s recent music partnership with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, and its acquisition of STX Entertainment’s music library. The Millennium Media library includes music from leading composers including Brian Tyler, Atli Orvarsson, Mark Isham, Trevor Morris, David Buckley and Benjamin Wallfisch.