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Confession: I’ve never cared much for “Like a Virgin.” Madonna’s 1984 hit may be the first, if not the, signature song of her career, but it’s a trifle—a novelty, really—with its plucky, noncommittal guitar licks, sub-“Billie Jean” bassline, and the singer’s helium squeak of a voice.

That last, integral element in particular has always irked me, as, from “Express Yourself” to “Don’t Tell Me,” Madonna has proven she’s capable of some deep, soulful performances. Of course, the vocals on “Like a Virgin” were allegedly employed by design, sped up to render Madonna’s voice more childlike and “virginal.”

I’m in fairly good company, though, since both producer Nile Rodgers and Madonna herself aren’t particularly fond of “Like a Virgin” either, and she’s chosen to completely reinvent the song in masterful ways nearly every time she’s performed it. The...

After eight days of shows in the City of Light, Paris Fashion Week has come to a close.

Lithuanian designer Juozas Statkevičius brought the wow factor with his collection of well-tailored and magnifying pieces, as both Statkevičius and designer Tony Ward took inspiration from cinema history this season. Wild Rose & Sparrow held a ballet-core-themed show at the Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell; with risqué silhouettes, the brand’s co-founder Ariana Dancu wanted to create a collection inspired by female confidence and self-expression.

Christian Siriano’s leather looks are to-die-for after coming off the New York Fashion Week runway, Chloé bohemian inspired collection is oh-so-dreamy, and Casablanca’s luxury street style collection inspired by countercultural Los Angeles is original. And let’s not lose sight of Kilian Paris’ newest fragrance launch of “Old Fashioned,” with Emily in Paris’ Lucien Laviscount as its face — the smoothest cocktail-esque perfume you’ll ever smell.

Lisandro Alonso’s Eureka is a multi-faceted journey through time and space. Released in 2023, the film brings viewers across cultures and eras with its three disconnected yet cohesive episodes. Argentinian director Alonso weaves genres like Western, crime drama, and magical realism into a thought-provoking reflection on indigenous identity.

The movie follows an unconventional structure, divided into separate storylines spanning different locations and decades. First is a black-and-white section set in the Wild West, featuring Viggo Mortensen’s search for his daughter. Next, we see modern-day Lakota country through a police officer dealing with social issues. The final rainforest tale adds mystical elements.

Though disjointed, recurring themes and characters create links between the 150-minute segments. And Alonso’s experimental style challenges typical conventions. Long takes and ambiguous transitions blur reality with imagination. Audiences are invited to immerse in each world and make their own connections.

Underneath runs a deeper exploration of colonialism’s impacts.

“Anybody got a match?” When 19-year-old Lauren Bacall cast a smoldering glance toward Humphrey Bogart in the 1944 film noir “To Have and Have Not,” she stuck the landing of her Hollywood debut with a precision few stars have achieved before or since. Chin down, eyes lifted, she eclipsed one of the most seasoned leading men in the industry. Even before she uttered one of cinema’s greatest innuendos — “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and…blow” — she had walked away with the film. Critics raved, hailing her as the next Marlene Dietrich and claiming she had better chemistry with Bogart than Ingrid Bergman had in “Casablanca.”

Director Howard Hawks had plucked the Brooklyn-born teenager from obscurity after seeing her in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar. After changing her name from Betty to Lauren and instructing her to keep her voice in its naturally low register,...

The new Batman animated series “Batman: Caped Crusader” premiered its first season on Amazon Prime Video, introducing a departure from the source material. The show’s creative leads decided to make one of Batman’s most recognizable foes, The Penguin, into a woman named Oswalda Cobblepot.

Showrunner Bruce Timm said there was a “lack of good female villains” in Batman. With characters like Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn, another option was needed. This led producers to flip The Penguin’s gender. Co-creator James Tucker said the idea sparked new story directions, comparing Oswalda to iconic actress Marlene Dietrich.

Oswalda maintains traits of the classic Penguin character. She uses a weaponized umbrella and favors formal wear inspired by Dietrich’s stage outfits, according to actress Minnie Driver. However, Oswalda also has a family dynamic not seen before with two sons. She leads a criminal empire in 1940s Gotham, willing to...

Gena Rowlands, the wife and muse of John Cassavetes whose unvarnished abilities found in such films as Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night and Gloria put her in the pantheon of acting legends, died Wednesday. She was 94.

Rowlands died surrounded by family members at her home in Indian Wells, California, according to TMZ. A spokesperson for WME, where her son, writer-director Nick Cassavetes, has representation, confirmed her death. She had battled Alzheimer’s since 2019.

Rowlands received Oscar nominations for her performances in A Woman Under the Influence (1974), where she played an isolated, emotionally vulnerable housewife who lapses into madness, and Gloria (1980), where she sparkled as a pissed-off child protector who rails against the Mob.

She lost out to Ellen Burstyn of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Sissy Spacek of Coal Miner’s Daughter in those Academy Award races. Her greatness wasn’t formally acknowledged by the Academy...

Bruce Timm Explains Gender-Bent Penguin in Batman: Caped Crusader - Main Image

Batman: Caped Crusader showrunner Bruce Timm recently explained his decision behind the gender-swapped Penguin in the series.

The hit Prime Video animated series notably made major changes to some of the iconic villains such as Penguin, who is introduced as a female version named Oswalda Cobblepot. She is voiced by actress Minnie Driver.

The character's gender-bent version received polarizing responses among fans as some of them welcomed the change while some believed that it was unnecessary and felt that it was pandering.

Batman: Caped Crusader's Gender-Bent Penguin Addressed by Bruce Timm

In a recent interview, Timm opened up about his decision to reimagine the Penguin as a woman in Batman: Caped Crusader.

He shared that they came up with the idea when they realized that there is a lack of good female villains in the Batman universe.

Just when you thought you were done getting excited for Batman projects in an oversaturated market, who should come strolling along but "Batman: The Animated Series" co-creator Bruce Timm? The DC animation legend's "Batman: Caped Crusader" might very well be "the best piece of Batman media in a decade," to quote Witney Seibold's glowing review for /Film. It's certainly a worthy successor to "The Animated Series." Where that beloved '90s cartoon was limited by the censors at Fox Kids, Timm's latest animated take on the Dark Knight -- which nearly died on the vine after it was dropped by Max, only for Prime Video to pick it up -- is given the space to be as emotionally mature, political, and even frightening as it wants to be.

Rather than putting a superficially grimdark or excessively violent spin on the DC Comics universe, "Caped Crusader" takes advantage of...

Batman: Caped Crusader recently premiered to widespread acclaim and has quickly surpassed The Boys in streaming popularity on Amazon.

Fans have largely embraced the show. However, leading up to its release, the show faced several controversies that some fans labeled as “woke.” These included a race-swapped Harley Quinn, who is portrayed as Asian, and a gender-swapped Penguin.

The show’s creators, Bruce Timm and James Tucker, recently discussed the show’s development with ‘The Emmys.’ One of the standout topics was the decision to gender-swap the Penguin. The creators explained that this choice was largely driven by the need for more compelling female villains.

Timm: James and I were talking about the overview of the show, and we said, “One of the problems with Batman, as he is, is there’s a lack of good villains. You’ve got Catwoman, you’ve got Poison Ivy, you’ve got Harley Quinn.

‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ recently released to universal acclaim, the show has quickly overtaken ‘The Boys’ when it comes to Amazon Platform streaming, and fans have generally liked the show.

Now, before the show was released, it’s been involved in several controversies that some fans deemed as “woke.” First, Harley Quinn was race-swapped, being Asian in the show, and The Penguin was gender-swapped.

The show’s version of the Penguin is called Oswalda and is voiced by Minnie Driver.

The show’s creators Bruce Timm and James Tucker recently talked with ‘The Emmys’ and commented on the development of the show, one of the topics that stood out was the fact that the Penguin is gender-swapped. The creators explained that this was mostly due to a lack of good, presumably, female villains:

Timm: James and I were talking about the overview of the show, and we said, “One of the problems with Batman,...

Bruce Timm’s latest Batman animated series is out and it has got fans talking. All ten episodes of Batman: Caped Crusader were out on August 01 and right from the get-go, the series received mixed reactions from die-hard fans of Batman. Why? Well, one of the biggest reasons behind the raised eyebrows was Bruce Timm’s creative decision to turn the notorious villain, Penguin, into a woman.

Bruce Timm’s Batman: Caped Crusader | DC Studios

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot alias Penguin is one of the most popular villains in Batman’s world for all the right reasons. The man has got what it takes to give Bruce Wayne nightmares and is the epitome of a villain. Needless to say, fans love the guy. However, when Batman: Caped Crusader turned Oswald into Oswalda, fans had polarizing opinions on the decision. Here’s why Bruce Timm decided to go down this route.

Why...

Mitzi McCall, the delightful actress and sitcom writer who partnered with her husband, Charlie Brill, in a sketch comedy act that famously floundered between sets by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, has died. She was 93.

McCall died Thursday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, her family announced.

The pint-sized Pittsburgh native also played the dry cleaner’s wife who wears a fur coat owned by Jerry’s mom on the 1994 Seinfeld episode “The Secretary,” and she was the mother of Carol Leifer’s optometrist character on the 1997-98 WB sitcom Alright Already.

McCall had a thriving career as a voiceover artist; she played Mother Goose on Mother Goose and Grimm and worked on other animated projects including The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, Paw Paws, Darkwing Duck, Yo Yogi! and Ice Age (2002).

And she wrote for shows including 13 Queens Boulevard, Eight Is Enough, One Day at a Time,...

For jewelry aficionados, phrases like “Zip necklace” and “mystery-set stones” should instantly evoke thoughts of one heritage-steeped house: Van Cleef & Arpels. These are just two of the iconic design elements from the legendary brand that opened its first boutique on Paris’s Place Vendôme in 1906. Now a new book takes a comprehensive look at its high-wattage designs, created during the years when everyone from Hollywood icons Carole Lombard and Marlene Dietrich to Wallis Simpson, a.k.a. the Duchess of Windsor, ranked high among the house’s most ardent fans and devoted collectors.

The Van Cleef & Arpels Collection (1906-1953) is an impressive coffee-table book that explores the dazzling designs that emerged from the jeweler in the first half of the 20th century. Almost 700 jewelry and watch images are included alongside 200 archival documents, from 1920s timepieces and bracelets infused with Art Deco styling to early advertisements and mid-century jewels that...

“A fart joke is easy.”

This may be, but executed by Mel Brooks, it can get a crowd going more than anything on view at this summer’s Paris Olympics. So was the case this past weekend at a 50th anniversary screening of his western comedy classic, “Blazing Saddles,” which played at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and was followed by a Q&a with the 98 year-old filmmaker himself. Moderated by Brooksfilms producer Kevin Salter, Brooks dazzled and enraptured the audience with tidbits on the making of the film and stories from his colorful past. One such story involved his hard-to-believe Oscar win for his first film, “The Producers.”

“I didn’t have a speech because Stanley Kubrick was in the same category for ‘2001,’” Brooks said of being nominated for Best Original Screenplay. “There was a brilliant director called Pontecorvo who did ‘The Battle of Algiers,’ a great picture...

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It often feels like movie marketing is an unimaginative, flood-the-zone proposition in our age of pre-sold, IP-driven blockbusters. But as we've recently been reminded via the carefully crafted ad campaigns for smaller genre efforts like "MaXXXine" and "Longlegs", marketing departments are still a vital part of the business. How you sell each movie has certainly changed with the evolution of the media landscape, but even the biggest films will always need some kind of push. After all, audiences aren't likely to flock to a movie that has zero presence in the marketplace.

There really isn't an exception to this rule. The closest you're liable to find might be the August 5, 1953 release of Fred Zinnemann's "From Here to Eternity." Based on James Jones' critically acclaimed novel set at the U.S. Army's Schofield Barracks in Hawaii just prior to the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor,...

Das Festival des deutschen Films hat seine drei Schauspielpreise bekannt gegeben. Am Rhein geehrt werden dieses Jahr Liv Lisa Fries, Christoph Maria Herbst und Joachim Król.

V.l.: Joachim Król, Liv Lisa Fries, Christoph Maria Herbst

Im 20. Jubiläumsjahr vergibt das Festival des deutschen Films Ludwigshafen am Rhein drei Preise für Schauspielkunst. Die PreisträgerInnen 2024 sind: Liv Lisa Fries, Christoph Maria Herbst und Joachim Król. Das Festival findet vom 21. August bis 8. September statt.

Der Preis für Schauspielkunst geht traditionell an herausragende Persönlichkeiten der Schauspielkunst. Er betont die Bedeutung derer, die dem deutschen Film ein Gesicht geben und die dabei nicht nur für Glamour sorgen, sondern vor allem als wichtige Künstlerinnen und Künstler anzusehen sind.

„Sie ist der Star in ‘Babylon Berlin‘, der Serie in ihrer fünften Staffel. Als Charlotte Ritter in der Berliner Unterwelt der 1920er Jahre hat sie mit dieser Rolle Weltruhm erlangt – und einen Grimme-Preis, den Deutschen Fernsehpreis und den Deutschen Schauspielpreis.

Nico Hofmann and Jan Mojto, two leading figures in the German TV industry, on Friday unveiled the upcoming slate for their new joint venture, announced earlier this year. Their company plans to make big-budget, high-end series out of Germany for the international market.

The first slate of projects includes several novel and nonfiction adaptations. They include: Tilmann Lahme’s Die Manns – Geschichte einer Familie, a biography of the legendary Mann family, including noble prize winner Thomas Mann and his brother Heinrich Mann, which is to be produced as a six-part television series set in the 1920s and told through the eyes of the younger generation, particularly the kindred spirits and eldest siblings Klaus and Erika Mann.

The group plans to adapt European Book Prize winner Maxim Leo’s best-selling novel Wo wir zu Hause sind and his latest book, Wir werden jung sein, as a limited series. The first is...

Jan Mojto, Nico Hofmann und Jan Wünschmann haben am Mittwoch ihre ersten vier gemeinsamen fiktionalen Projekte vorgestellt. Darunter befindet sich ein Format über die Liebesgeschichte zwischen Marlene Dietrich und Erich Maria Remarque nach der Vorlage von Thomas Hüetlin.

V.l.: Jan Mojto, Thomas Hüetlin, Maxim Leo, Nico Hofmann und Jan Wünschmann (Credit: Beta Film/Andreas Hoffmann)

Der Beta-Film-ceo Jan Mojto, der langjährige UFA-CEO und jetzige unabhängige Produzent Nico Hofmann und Jan Wünschmann von der Intaglio Films haben am Mittwoch während des Filmfest München die ersten vier Serienprojekte ihrer neuen gemeinsamen Unternehmung vorgestellt, die noch keinen Namen trägt. Darunter befindet sich ein Format über die Liebesgeschichte von Hollywoodstar Marlene Dietrich und „Im Westen nichts Neues“-Autor Erich Maria Remarque nach der Sachbuch-Vorlage „Man lebt sein Leben nur einmal“ des langjährigen Spiegel-Journalisten Thomas Hüetlin. Zwei weitere Projekte entstehen mit dem Autoren Maxim Leo, ein weiteres Projekt mit Tilmann Lahme...

German producer Nico Hofmann has unveiled a slate of projects he is working up as part of a partnership with Beta Film. Veteran producer Hofmann left UFA Film to strike out on his own, partnering with longtime collaborator Jan Mojto, CEO of Beta Film, and Beta Film/Intaglio Films producer Jan Wünschmann earlier this year.

The quartet of projects include a six-part series inspired by award-winning journalist Thomas Hüetlin’s soon-to-be-published novel ‘Man Lebt Sein Leben Nur Einmal’ (You Only Live Once), about film star and pioneering feminist Marlene Dietrich.

Another six-part series in prospect is an adaptation of Tilman Lahme 1920s-set novel ‘Die Manns – Geschichte Einer Familie’ (The Manns – Story of a Family). The story will be told through the eyes of the younger generation finding their place in a changing world.

There are two adaptations in the works based on European Book Prize winner Maxim Leo’s novels.

Viggo Mortensen seems tireless. On Friday night, he opened the 58th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) in the Czech Republic with his feminist western The Dead Don’t Hurt after being honored with the fest’s President’s Award. On Saturday, he discussed the film at a press conference and introduced another screening in the Czech spa town. On Sunday, Mortensen met the press for roundtable interviews.

In accepting his Kviff award, Mortensen shared that “all movies are difficult to make. But I was lucky to count on an amazing group of actors” for The Dead Don’t Hurt. He particularly lauded stars Vicky Krieps, who plays Vivienne, a strong woman who falls in love with Mortensen’s Olsen, who leaves her behind for a while to join a war, and Solly McLeod, who portrays the antagonist Weston Jeffries.

In an interview on Sunday, the star discussed his inspirations behind the film,...

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s whirlwind career of 40-plus movies made within just over a dozen years kicked off with Love Is Colder Than Death. It ended, all too soon, with a sendoff that may as well have been called Death Is Hotter Than Love. Even if it hadn’t wound up being Fassbinder’s final cinematic will and testament, Querelle, an uber-horny but otherwise unorthodox adaptation of Jean Genet’s 1947 novel Querelle of Brest, would still feel like a film precariously perched between rowdy, profane life and that liminal, insatiable zone that always follows la petite mort.

But because the timeline spanning the film’s completion to its release was bisected by Fassbinder’s death from a drug overdose, it’s nearly impossible to avoid overlaying the gorgeously wrecked glamour of his entire career onto the film, draping the virtue of his carnal vices over a package that’s already prodigiously overstuffed.

The star of La Dolce Vita and A Man and a Woman, who has died aged 92, had a unique screen presence that was at once alluring and forbidding

The superbly aquiline beauty and patrician style of Anouk Aimée made her a 60s movie icon in France, Italy and everywhere else with a presence at once alluring and forbidding. She had something of the young Joan Crawford, or Marlene Dietrich, or her contemporary, the French model and actress Capucine. Aimée radiated an enigmatic sexual aura flavoured with melancholy, sophistication and worldly reserve. Hers was not a face that could simper or pout: it was the entranced men around her who were more likely to be doing that. Hirokazu Kore-eda once wrote an amusing line that all the great French movie actresses have surnames that begin with the same letter as their first names: Danielle Darrieux, Simone Signoret, Brigitte Bardot … and of...

Madonna and Che Guevara are both icons but for wildly different reasons. That didn’t stop Madonna from writing an album inspired by the Cuban revolutionary. Here is a look at how the Queen of Pop described one of the most baffling choices of her career.

1 Madonna album has a cover inspired by Che Guevara

In 2004, Madonna released her album American Life. The cover for that album was inspired by Che Guerrillero, a famous photograph of Guevara wearing a beret. That photograph has been used on countless T-shirts. It was striking for the Queen of Pop, a noted capitalist, to evoke a communist leader so forcefully. Furthermore, it was provocative for her to use Guevara’s image to market an album called American Life when he was deeply critical of the United States.

During a 2004 interview posted on Oprah’s website, Madonna discussed her creative process for that record. “One...

Ever since I heard of the TV show Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, I’ve been referring to it as Mr. Chanel, solely because that’s the legacy he’s most remembered by. Of course, the man had many successes and vices; however, nothing was as magnificent as his career at the Parisian couture house. Becoming Karl Lagerfeld tells the story of the anonymous man who spent 20 years of his life building up a career that anyone would kill for. In all honesty, the show seems to be a shallow take on the designer’s life because, despite its aggressive title, it delivers nothing about his creative process, simply his internal demons. Though I must admit, it does a rather good job at that bit. You’ve got to watch the series with a grain of salt, knowing what the man was actually like. The series begins in the spring of 1972, 10 years...

Daniel Brühl and his portrayal of the late, iconic fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in new Disney+ series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld were in the spotlight on Thursday at a screening of the first two episodes at the cinema at Selfridges in London.

During a Q&a after the screening, the star said he had to laugh at first when he was asked to take on the role. “I laughed for 30 seconds,” he admitted. “And then I said, ‘This is absurd.’ And then I thought, ‘Hold on, that could actually be kind of interesting.'”

Brühl started his work on getting into character with the help of his one encounter with Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, early on in his acting career. “I met Karl Lagerfeld only once, and he was taking some pictures of me, and I was so nervous,” he shared. Calling the fashion icon “incredibly charming and cool,” he said,...

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld: All You Need To Know About The Biographical Drama Series ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Hulu’s Becoming Karl Lagerfeld tells the story of the rise of Chanel’s late creative director, Karl Lagerfeld. Based on Raphaëlle Bacqué’s book, Kaiser Karl, the biographical drama revolves around the personal and professional life of the renowned German designer during his early days in the industry.

While Lagerfeld had a career over six decades long, the show is going to explore his beginnings in the fashion industry from 1972 to 1981. The series features a stunning ensemble cast and has generated immense curiosity ever since the release of its trailer.

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is All Set to Premiere on Hulu and Disney+, Watch the Trailer

Becoming Karl Lagerfeld will premiere on Friday, June 7th, 2024. The show will be released on Hulu in the US, while international audiences can watch it on Disney+. The miniseries will comprise six episodes,...

Aufwändig produzierte Miniserie über den Aufstieg von Karl Lagerfeld zum Modepapst im Paris der Siebzigerjahre.

Fast Facts:

• High-End-Serienhighlight aus französischer Produktion

• Paraderolle für Daniel Brühl in der Titelrolle

• Hochkarätige Umsetzung durch Lead-Regisseur Jerôme Salle

• Ausstattung und Kostümbild mit umwerfendem Seventies-Flair

Credits:

Land / Jahr: Frankreich 2024; Laufzeit: 6 x 45 Minuten; Regie: Jérôme Salle, Audrey Estrougo; Drehbuch: Raphaëlle Bacqué, Jennifer Have, Isaure Pisani-Ferry; Besetzung: Daniel Brühl, Agnès Jaoui, Théodore Pellerin, Alex Lutz, Arnaud Valois; Plattform: Disney+; Start: 7. Juni

Preview:

Mode liegt in der Luft in der Serienwelt 2024. Nur kurz nach „The New Look“ auf Apple TV+ über den Konkurrenzkampf zwischen Christian Dior und Coco Chanel in der Nachkriegszeit folgt bei Disney+ „Becoming Karl Lagerfeld“, wie der Name schon impliziert eine sechsteilige Miniserie über den Aufstieg des Hamburger Modeschöpfers im Paris der Siebzigerjahre und seine langjährige Beziehung mit dem Pariser Dandy Jacques De Bascher. Die französische Produktion ist ein sowohl lebendigeres wie unterhaltsameres Angebot,...

For more than 60 years, Bob Mackie has reigned as the over-the-top couturier for Hollywood’s elite. After gaining attention as the costumer for The Carol Burnett Show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and Cher’s solo variety show, the designer became the go-to choice for divas like Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Madonna and Elton John, and created clothes for 60 Barbies. In the process he won an impressive nine Emmys, a Tony and a Cfda lifetime achievement award, plus three Oscar nominations.

Now with a long-awaited documentary devoted to his life in showbiz, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, arriving this summer (a distribution deal has not yet been finalized), the so-called Sultan of Sequins, Rajah of Rhinestones and Guru of Glitter seems to be having yet another major moment, with his archival pieces worn today by the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy and Zendaya.

“It’s kind of weird,” the 85-year-old designer tells THR.

Twenty years ago, Troy and its cast made its mark on epic filmmaking. Director Wolfgang Petersen’s take on Homer’s Iliad featured an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt and created a wildly entertaining, if not entirely accurate, movie.

Working from a script by future Games of Thrones showrunner David Benioff, the Troy cast brought to life legends like Achilles, Helen of Troy, and Hector. Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and Diane Kruger were among those who joined Pitt in the impressive cast. While many of the actors haven’t made another film on Troy‘s scale, they continue to perform in blockbuster movies 20 years later.

Brad Pitt Brad Pitt | Toni Anne Barson/WireImage (L); Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images (R)

Brad Pitt starred as the de facto lead of the Troy cast as the hero Achilles. However, as Pitt admitted in 2019, he didn’t want any part of Troy.

“I...

Detrás de la alta costura: Daniel Brühl y Théodore Pellerin protagonizan la serie sobre los orígenes de Karl Lagerfeld. © Disney Plus+

Ya se han publicado el primer tráiler y póster de “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld”, la nueva serie original de Disney Plus+ ambientada en plena década de los 70 en París, Mónaco y Roma, que narra la historia de Karl antes que Lagerfeld, la compleja e icónica personalidad de la alta costura parisina, alguien a punto de convertirse en el Emperador de la moda. Esta historia es una adaptación del best-seller “Kaiser Karl” de Raphaëlle Bacqué y llega por primera vez a la pantalla con un reparto estelar.

En 1972, Karl Lagerfeld (Daniel Brühl) tiene 38 años y aún no luce su icónico peinado. Es un diseñador de prêt-à-porter desconocido para el gran público. Cuando conoce y se enamora de Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), un joven dandi ambicioso y atormentado, el más misterioso de los diseñadores de moda,...

Disney+ has unveiled the trailer for “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld,” the streamer’s highly anticipated original series starring Daniel Brühl as the iconic fashion designer.

Produced by Gaumont (“Lupin”) and Jour Premier, the six-part series chronicles the rise of Karl Lagerfeld through the world of 1970s Parisian high fashion. It will be available to stream on Disney+ in France and international territories, and on Hulu in the U.S., on June 7. “Becoming Karl” world premiered at Canneseries, where it received a standing ovation and warm reviews.

The lushly lensed series opens in 1972, when the 38-year-old Lagerfeld is a ready-to-wear designer, unknown to the general public. He falls in love with a sultry dandy, Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), who inspires him to challenge himself and act on his ambition to become the world’s most famous French fashion designer. He faces off Yves Saint Laurent (Arnaud Valois), who reigned supreme with...

Diane Kruger is re-teaming with her In the Fade director Fatih Akin on the new German period drama Amrum, which began principal photography in Hamburg today.

The film follows a family living in a small village on Amrum Island in rural northern Germany in early 1945, in the final days of World War II. The story is based on the childhood memories of Akin’s In the Fade co-screenwriter, German author and director Hark Bohm. Bohm had initially planned to direct the film himself before handing the reins over to Akin, who co-wrote the Amrum screenplay.

The movie is a coming-of-age story of Nanning, a 12-year-old boy (played by Jasper Billerbeck) and his best friend Hermann (Kian Köppke). Laura Tonke (When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before) plays Nanning’s mother, Hille Hagener. Kruger plays Tessa Bendixen, a farmer’s wife. Matthias Schweighöfer (Oppenheimer), Detlev Buck (Same Same...

Paging Don Johson! Report to the set of Ryan Murphy’s new ABC drama series, Dr. Odyssey, to join Joshua Jackson on a medical emergency! That’s right, patients. Don Johnson is scrubbing up for Murphy’s mysterious new project, Dr. Odyssey, which could be a medical procedural. The 20th Century Studios series targets a fall launch, with Ryan Murphy Television leading the charge.

While details about the show remain a mystery, reports indicate it’s a medical procedural aboard a cruise ship. If we know Murphy, there’s more than ship-wide food poisoning on the menu. Details about Johnson’s character remain unknown.

Murphy will write Dr. Odyssey and executive produce with Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken. Paris Barclay directs and executive produces Dr. Odyssey. Eric Paquette, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, and Nissa Diederich also executive produce alongside Jackson.

We’re big fans of Don Johnson in these parts,...

Cannes stood up for Daniel Brühl, as his new Disney+ show “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” earned a 3-minute standing ovation on Sunday.

Premiering out of competition, it captures the late German designer before morphing into the instantly recognizable figure that took pop culture by storm. And, courted by young Jacques de Bascher (Théodore Pellerin), finally opening up for love.

Local viewers enjoyed the spectacle, laughing at Lagerfeld’s awkwardness or at Yves Saint Laurent’s (Arnaud Valois) clumsy attempts at romancing de Bascher. The verdict? A “fun” and “entertaining” new show, declared Canneseries audience members, happy to share their enthusiasm with Variety even despite the language barrier: “C’est genial!”

The screening, which started with a joyful fashion show similar to Lagerfeld’s collection for Chloé in the 1970s – spotlighted in the first episode – attracted just about every celebrity in town. Including “Beverly Hills, 90210” alumni Jason Priestley and “Riverdale’s” Vanessa Morgan,...

A slew of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner collectibles sold at auction over the weekend, including a pink Pucci dress worn by the actress and a smoking jacket and slippers worn by the Playboy founder.

The three-day auction, which ended Saturday, saw the long-sleeved silk jersey Pucci dress go to the winning bidder for $325,000, which set a record for a Pucci dress sold at auction, according to organizer Julien’s Auctions.

Also sold were the one-space mausoleum crypt at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary in Los Angeles, located near the final side-by-side resting places of Hugh Hefner and Marilyn Monroe, for $195,000; a grave marker from Monroe’s crypt, for $88,900 (constant touching from fans led to minor wear, causing it to be replaced); Hefner’s burgundy smoking jacket, slippers, pajamas and tobacco pipe ensemble ($13,000); and a circular mansion bed custom-made for Hefner as a backup to his primary bed...

Luc Besson’s Dogman is in search of some kind of distinctive armature on which to hang its psychoanalytical and philosophical ramblings. Which is ironic considering that Douglas Munrow (Caleb Landry Jones), the paralyzed “Dogman” of the film’s title, makes much ado about having discovered his voice through drag, pontificating on the value of disguises and lip-synching while dressed as Édith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, and Marilyn Monroe. All the while, Jones plays the dog-loving avenger as a puzzling riff on Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-winning performances as the Joker. It’s a performance that, like much of the film, flits between telegraphing seriousness and wanting to be understood as camp.

Doug was abused and abandoned as a child, and after embracing his ostracization as an adult, he began taking in stray dogs and playing the part of the Pied Piper by having his “babies” burglarize the wealthy and take down criminals.

One of the world’s great true-life train heist stories is set to return to the big screen in China. Filmmaker DaMing Chen and veteran producer Chris Lee have partnered to develop a feature adaptation of James Zimmerman’s acclaimed nonfiction book, The Peking Express: The Bandits Who Stole a Train, Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China.

The new film, like the book, will recount the improbable saga of a 1923 incident once known as the “Lincheng Outrage,” which was sparked when Chinese bandits raided a luxury express train bound for Beijing and took over 300 international hostages — captivating the world and stirring up a six-week geopolitical showdown. A subject of popular fascination a century ago, the event inspired no less than Josef von Sternberg’s 1932 romance/adventure classic Shanghai Express, starring Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong, as well as two later Paramount Pictures remakes.

Zimmerman’s book...

Disney+ has unveiled a proper first look of German-Spanish actor Daniel Brühl as the titular iconic designer in the new show Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, produced by leading French film and TV company Gaumont.

Rush, Good Bye, Lenin! and Captain America: Civil War actor Brühl is shown sporting Lagerfeld’s trademark ponytail and black tailored suit of his later years.

Disney+ has also released a first subtitled trailer for the show.

The new images – which follow a silhouetted image teased by Disney+ in January – were released in unison with the announcement that the show will premiere at the Canneseries TV festival in April.

Gaumont produced the drama with Jour Premier for Disney+, which will launch the six-part bio-series on June 7. The series will be available in the U.S. on Hulu from that same date.

Adapted from Raphaëlle Bacqué’s best-seller ‘Kaiser Karl’, the series stars follows Lagerfeld’s ascension to...

This well-executed film spans the life of a traumatised jewellery thief with a host of dog acolytes

The question of whether Luc Besson has got his groove back is only going to annoy those who dispute any former groove-ownership. Besson himself might contend that box office success is in any case the sole criterion for assessing groove. At all events, this bizarre and macabre drama-thriller is watchable and Caleb Landry Jones gives an oddly engaging performance as Douglas Munrow, a wheelchair-using “Dogman”, questioned by police psychologist Evelyn (Jojo T Gibbs) after being arrested in full drag gear, smeared with blood, while at the wheel of a van filled with his “babies” – his dogs.

Murrow’s conversation with Evelyn reveals in flashback a childhood kept in a dog kennel by an abusive father, at whose hands a terrible injury was sustained; then there are poignant teen years in a children’s...

Caleb Landry Jones is “DogMan,” whatever that moniker means.

The indie actor, who has appeared in the acclaimed likes of “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri” and “Nitram,” leads controversial French director Luc Besson’s latest feature. Per the elusive logline, “DogMan” tells the story of a man who, following a traumatic childhood, finds salvation and justice through his connection with dogs.

Yet, there’s more to the twisted crime thriller than just that: Jones plays Douglas Munrow, a victim of childhood abuse who relives his past while being interviewed by a psychiatrist (Jojo T. Gibbs) after Douglas is accused of murder. Turns out Douglas’ childhood was far from fetching, with his only source of love being the dogs his father (Clemens Schick) would lock him in cages with.

As an adult, Douglas balances performing in drag as iconic stars like Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, and Marilyn Monroe with a crime spree.

Near the end of Billy Wilder’s Witness for the Prosecution, after the central court case seems all but completely settled, senior barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) contemplates the surprising evidence that’s just been presented. “It’s a little too neat, too tidy, and altogether too symmetrical,” he remarks. It’s a comment that begs to be read through the lens of Wilder’s own wry approach to filmmaking, which often feels throughout his canon like an alchemic combination of effortless story execution, pinpoint humor, and acting masterclass.

Wilder effects an outward feeling of wily and out of control scenarios that are running like well-oiled machines within. The ending of Witness for the Prosecution exemplifies this by throwing its characters’ preceding buttoned-up decorum out of whack, as they race through a procession of sudden revelations that contain a clear logic and purpose. But per Wilder’s wont, the...

With its scathing social satire, raunchy humor and frequent use of the controversial N-word, “Blazing Saddles” got mixed reviews upon its release February 7, 1974. Nonetheless, it galloped to the top of the box office and earned three Oscar nominations, and set new standards for comedy films with its irreverence, spoofs and just plain silliness. Some reviewers did get the joke from the beginning, including Roger Ebert, who awarded it four out of four stars, saying it’s “a crazed grab bag of a movie that does everything to keep us laughing except hit us over the head with a rubber chicken.” On its 50th anniversary, we look back at how “Blazing Saddles” has endured as one of the greatest and most beloved comedies of all time.

It all started when Mel Brooks bought the film rights to a story titled “Tex-x” (changed so it wouldn’t be mistaken for an X-rated...

The Oscars, it seems, agree with The Hollywood Reporter: Sandra Hüller is a star.

When THR put the German actress on its cover for its Toronto Film Festival issue, it was under the headline “Actress of the Year?” It was an acknowledgment that Hüller had given two of the most outstanding performances in film in 2023: as a novelist accused of murder in Justine Triet’s mystery thriller Anatomy of a Fall and as a domestic Nazi in Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest.

On Tuesday, Hüller scored a nomination for the 2024 Oscars in the best actress category for Anatomy of a Fall. Both Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest were also nominated in the best picture and best director categories.

In Anatomy, Hüller plays Sandra Voyter, a successful German novelist living in the French Alps who may or may not have murdered...

What makes a great courtroom thriller? A mesmerizing and clever plot that draws viewers in immediately. Three-dimensional characters that keep you guessing if they are the guilty party and twists and turns that leave audiences gasping and gob smacked.

Justine Triet’s dazzling French thriller “Anatomy of a Fall” has all the qualities and then some that make it a classic of the genre. Since winning the Palme D’or last May, “Anatomy of a Fall” has continued its winning ways receiving several critics’ honors, as well as two Golden Globes, a Critics Choice honor and seven BAFTA nominations including best film, best director, screenplay and best actress for Sandra Huller’s powerhouse performance. One can’t forget that Messi, the border collie ,who plays the family pet Snoop, received the Palm Dog at Cannes.

Huller plays a bisexual woman with a troubled marriage and a young blind son. When...

Alexander Payne (Adapted Screenplay Oscar wins for Sideways with Jim Taylor and The Descendants with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash) at JFK airport with Anne-Katrin Titze on the Wc Fields poster in The Holdovers: “I remember that. I had that poster in my room growing up.”

In the second instalment with Alexander Payne, director of the Golden Globe-nominated The Holdovers (screenplay by David Hemingson), starring Dominic Sessa and Golden Globe nominees Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, we start out discussing the Oscar-shortlisted score by Mark Orton after my recommendation of Wurzel-Sepp, an apothecary shop in Munich from 1887. From there we move on to the Trapp Family recordings of The Little Drummer Boy and Silent Night, plus Cat Stevens in the soundtrack; the influence of Marcel Pagnol’s Merlusse, Marlene Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel, Robert Donat in Sam Wood’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and...

In real life, cigarettes and cigars are a nasty vice that assail the olfactory nerve with a thick, pungent odor capable of leaving clothes, car interiors, and whole rooms smelling like ashtrays. They're also incredibly addictive and, when one's habit stretches out over decades, ruinous to an individual's health.

In movies, however, they're instant atmosphere machines that can, when wielded by an actor who knows how to smoke with style, heighten a character's sense of sophistication or sex appeal. Marlene Dietrich defined pre-code cinematic carnality with her wickedly sensuous French inhale in "Shanghai Express," while Humphrey Bogart conveyed marrow-deep weariness with every heavy exhale in "Casablanca." As for cigars, conjure up an image of Edward G. Robinson, and you'll invariably see the sawed-off star with a stogie clenched between his sausage-thick fingers.

Though the entire world has long been tragically aware of how deadly a nicotine addiction can be, films...

Michael Chow is meant to be in Riyadh. But as drones spell out his name in the sky above Saudi Arabia’s capital, heralding the Oct. 5 opening of the latest outpost of his eponymous restaurant, the charismatic restaurateur, artist and bon vivant is in his Los Angeles home, grounded with a positive Covid-19 test. He is in good spirits nonetheless. “My name is Gatsby,” Chow says with a laugh, invoking the name of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic hero, known for hosting extravagant parties but not necessarily attending them. “When he gives a party, they always turn up.”

Of course, Chow, 84, has long been known for his hosting prowess, with more than five decades of feeding the A-list legions of Hollywood, fashion, art, politics and beyond at his Mr. Chow restaurants. Now numbering seven locations, his empire launched with a London spot that opened in 1968, followed by Beverly Hills in...

In the early 1940s, a young Lena Horne began an engagement at an intimate L.A. club called Little Troc, where her silken voice — with her perfect enunciation and her sophisticated interpretation of the lyrics — dazzled the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Cole Porter, Lana Turner and Greta Garbo. Among the many eyes that observed her during her run were those of the astute, sensitive Roger Edens, who was an integral member of the Freed Unit at MGM Studios. Led by innovative producer Arthur Freed, the unit consisted of musical artists who created many of MGM’s great musicals from the golden age: It had recently produced Babes in Arms (1939) and would strike gold with An American in Paris (1951), Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and Gigi (1958).

Within the Freed Unit, Edens stood out as a highly respected composer, arranger and associate producer who eventually won three Academy Awards. After seeing Lena perform,...

Marlene Dietrich in Witness For The Prosecution, Albert Finney in Murder On The Orient Express, Maggie Smith in Evil Under The Sun, Kenneth Branagh in Murder On The Orient Express Graphic: United Arists/Emi Films/20th Century Fox It makes sense that filmmakers have been turning to Agatha Christie for...

Marlene Dietrich in Witness For The Prosecution, Albert Finney in Murder On The Orient Express, Maggie Smith in Evil Under The Sun, Kenneth Branagh in Murder On The Orient ExpressGraphic: United Arists/Emi Films/20th Century Fox

It makes sense that filmmakers have been turning to Agatha Christie for source...