Category Archives: News

Kanye West finally releases new album, but it’s a Tidal-exclusive (for now)

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At last, Kanye West has dropped his seventh studio album, now officially titled The Life of Pablo. Originally, it went by So Help Me God, and then it turned into Swish, and then Waves. Moving on! The album was first previewed to the public at Madison Square Garden last week where ‘Ye hosted a massive gathering to also show off his Yeezy Season 3 fashion line. The plan was to drop TLOP on Friday, Feb. 12, but due to production delays, he ended up formally announcing its availability following his two live performances on SNL. Interestingly, the album does not include previously released tracks such as “Only One,” “FourFiveSeconds,” and “All Day.” Of the 18 total tracks, fans will instantly recognize these four: “Real Friends,” “Wolves,” “No More Parties in LA,” and “Facts.” Production and vocals on the final versions of these songs, mind you, were tweaked from their original incarnations, so you might want to hold onto both versions in your collection. Eye the album’s questionable artwork after the break.

And now for some sour news for Kanye fans all over. On SNL, West told fans to head to Tidal to stream The Life of Pablo. News came out that the album would be a Tidal-exclusive during its initial launch period of about a week or so. Turns out that window will go on indefinitely. The meddling rapper has been ranting on Twitter lately, and a tweet that stuck many fans (myself included) right in heart reads, “My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale… You can only get it on Tidal.” This very well may be a marketing ploy to get his fanbase to sign up for Tidal subscriptions, and TLOP may still be on track for a regular major release across the other music streaming services. But this stings. If Kanye indeed has this power over his label, he is doing a massive disservice to his fans who don’t subscribe to Tidal and instead rely on iTunes/Amazon/Google or even the collection of physical copies of CDs. As a longtime fan and supporter of West’s contributions to music and the rap scene, I am incredibly displeased with all of this. Not cool.

Among his many recent Twitter rants, Kanye is pleading Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and other wealthy individuals to give him money so he can live out his creative dreams. Hey Kanye: If you released your new album on more than one platform you’d make yourself some more money! According to TorrentFreak, “an estimated 500,000 people” have illegally downloaded a copy of TLOP on torrent sites like BitTorrent and The Pirate Bay. Of course, illegal sharing and downloading of albums, movies, etc. is a normal occurrence these days, but I think it’s safe to say that ‘Ye could have curbed this astronomical number by selling his album on the industry’s most popular platforms like iTunes. Here’s to hoping he comes to his senses, or his label strong-arms him into sharing his latest work (which has been receiving solid reviews) with the rest of us.

Update (2/17): Kanye’s uploaded the album’s credits on his website; big talents like Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, and The Weeknd can be spotted. Unfortunately, there’s no update on TLOP extending its reach beyond Tidal. For now, make due with Stephen Colbert’s scathing review of the rapper’s recent tweetstorm. Continue reading Kanye West finally releases new album, but it’s a Tidal-exclusive (for now) →

Cameras roll on ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ as principal photography begins (Announcement video inside!)

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens is smashing box office records, currently banking $2 billion in worldwide gross and rising. More importantly, its director J.J. Abrams managed to successfully reignite the aging, iconic franchise by infusing the classic characters and tropes from the original trilogy with fresh protagonists and exhilarating, awe-inspiring storytelling.

The saga continues with Star Wars: Episode VIII. Abrams is handing the reigns to Rian Johnson, and the Looper director initiated principal photography on the highly anticipated sequel at Pinewood Studios in London today. Disney and Lucasfilm welcome  Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran into the Star Wars universe. They join the talented cast from The Force Awakens including Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. In typical Star Wars fashion, the new trio’s roles are being kept tightly under wraps.

Now, skip after the break to watch the exciting “Episode VIII Production Announcement” video. From the looks of it, we’ll be picking up right where we left off in The Force Awakens, (spoiler alert) cliffside with Rey offering a bearded Luke Skywalker his familial lightsaber.

Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally slated for a spring 2017 release, hits theatres December 15, 2017.
Continue reading Cameras roll on ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ as principal photography begins (Announcement video inside!) →

Status update #6 on your favorite new and returning shows

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It’s time for the sixth status update in regards to the fate of your favorite new and returning series of the 2015-16 TV season. It’s renewals all around, that is, if you’re not including the swift removal of a low-rated CBS sitcom and the formal announcement of the end of a long-running CBS drama. More, below.

After airing only five episodes, CBS pulled the Jane Lynch (Glee) and Maggie Lawson (Back in the Game) sitcom Angel from Hell from its primetime schedule. Replacing the single-cam comedy on Thursday nights at 9:30pm is multi-cam comedy 2 Broke Girls which is currently airing its fifth season. Elsewhere, in addition to letting go of veteran sitcom Mike & Molly, the Eye is also saying goodbye to its critically acclaimed drama The Good Wife. During the Super Bowl, CBS aired a commercial formally announcing that the Julianna Margulies political drama’s current seventh season will be its last.

NBC is staying in business with Dick Wolf, the creator of the Law & Order and Chicago franchises. Law & Order: SVU and Chicago Med have been renewed for 18th and 2nd seasons, respectively. Previously, the Peacock had upped SVU‘s current season episode count from 22 to 23 and gave ChiMed a five-episode back order. Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. have already been renewed for fifth and fourth seasons, respectively. Elsewhere, Jennifer Lopez crime drama Shades of Blue will return for a second season.

Showtime was quick to renew its sizzling Wall Street drama Billions; the season 2 announcement was made after only two episodes had aired. Starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti, Billions is off to a creatively strong start with slick dramatic turns and smartly utilized humor.

Last let’s turn to the streaming services. House of Cards will continue on to see a fifth season set to bow in 2017 on Netflix without its creator and showrunner, Beau Willimon. He’s amicably parting ways with the show, and Netflix hasn’t announced who’ll take over his position yet. HoC‘s fourth season debuts next month. Netflix has also renewed Orange is the New Black for three more seasons. Season 4 streams this summer, with seasons 5, 6, and 7 in the wings to be spearheaded by series creator and showrunner Jenji Kohan. Over on Amazon, Golden Globe winner Mozart in the Jungle (whose second season hasn’t even aired yet) has been renewed for a third run.

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ will be told in book form, too

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J.K. Rowling is releasing a new Harry Potter book! Well, sorta. As previously reported, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a stage play coming to the West End in London this summer. Today, Pottermore announced that Rowling and her Cursed Child creative team including Jack Thorne and John Tiffany will release a script book of the play. It isn’t entirely made clear what this means exactly, but I guess we are to assume that the new book, transcribed from the stage play, will read more like a play than the typical narrated Potter books we’re accustomed to. Still, this is huge for Potter fans everywhere; if you can’t make it to London to see Cursed Child live, you’ll still be able to enjoy “the official eighth story in Harry Potter canon.” Score!

The stage play is broken up into two separate performances meant to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or across two consecutive evenings. The script book will combine it all together and is officially titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2. Do you consider yourself a devout Potter-head? If so, take note: Rowling & co. will release two different versions of the book this summer. The first is being dubbed the “Special Rehearsal Edition” and it will comprise of the version of the play script at the time of the play’s preview performances (which begin June 7). Eventually, that will be replaced with the “Definitive Collector’s Edition” following the first official performance of the play that’s planned for July 30.

Looking for more details about the play’s plot and cast? For that you’ll have to jump after the break! Continue reading ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ will be told in book form, too →

It’s official: Disney’s ‘Frozen’ is coming to Broadway in 2018

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Step aside, Aladdin and The Lion King. A new Disney musical is coming to town and it’s primed to be a guaranteed sensation. Today, Disney Theatrical Productions made it official: Frozen is making its long-anticipated bow on Broadway in Spring 2018. It will be based on the original movie and not the in-the-works sequel. Fans of the critically acclaimed animated film will surely revel in the fact that Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez–composers of the the movie’s classic tunes–are leading the musical’s creative team. The dynamic husband-and-wife duo, who previously worked on Broadway musicals Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, will adapt the Frozen songs you know and love (“Let It Go“, and so on) for the stage; additionally, they are currently concocting brand new songs that will feature exclusively in the musical. Also coming over from the movie to collaborate on the musical is Frozen‘s screenwriter and co-director Jennifer Lee; she’s penning the performance’s book.

The rest of Frozen: The Broadway Musical‘s creative team is dominated by Tony Award winners and nominees including director Alex Timbers (Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle), choreographer Peter Darling (Billy Elliot), scenic and costume designer Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins), lighting designer Natasha Katz (Aladdin), sound designer Peter Hylenski (Motown), and music supervisor Stephen Oremus (Wicked).

Performance dates, the venue, and the cast have yet to be finalized. First things first, though; an out-of-town tryout performance will play in summer 2017. Do you think you’d have what it takes to channel Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff under the bright lights of Broadway? Stay tuned for details as they come!

[Via Disney; Playbill]

Bryan Fuller to helm new ‘Star Trek’ TV series for CBS

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Today CBS hired Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) to come aboard its new Star Trek TV series. It’s a match made in heaven, really, since Fuller fully admits he’s a die-hard Trekkie. In fact, he got his start in TV writing for Deep Space Nine and Voyager in the late 90s and early 00s and it’s been a life-long dream for him to run a Trek show.

“My very first experience of Star Trek is my oldest brother turning off all the lights in the house and flying his model of a D7 Class Klingon Battle Cruiser through the darkened halls,” said Fuller in a statement. “Before seeing a frame of the television series, the Star Trek universe lit my imagination on fire. It is without exaggeration a dream come true to be crafting a brand-new iteration of Star Trek with fellow franchise alum Alex Kurtzman and boldly going where no Star Trek series has gone before.”

Kurtzman, who’s also no stranger to the Trek universe having served as co-writer and producer on J.J. Abrams films Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, will shepherd the CBS series alongside Fuller.

“Bringing Star Trek back to television means returning it to its roots, and for years those roots flourished under Bryan’s devoted care,” said Kurtzman. “His encyclopedic knowledge of Trek canon is surpassed only by his love for Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic future, a vision that continues to guide us as we explore strange new worlds.”

Kudos to CBS for handpicking the best captain for the job. Bryan Fuller, whose wondrous imagination delighted audiences with such colorfully rich shows as Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies, and the late, great Hannibal, is going to bring senses of discovery and awe back to Star Trek. The new Trek promises to “seek imaginative new worlds and new civilizations” and I am brimming with excitement and complete trust that Fuller will deliver something extraordinary.

Have you been following Fuller’s every move since the demise of NBC’s Hannibal? If so, you’d know that the prolific producer is also hard at work on adapting Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods for Starz with Michael Green. Fear not; his showrunning duties on Star Trek will not interfere. And what of the future of Hannibal? I’ll always hold out hope that the cast and crew will reunite to continue the story of the Murder Husbands.

Star Trek will debut on CBS in 2017. Remember, though, that following the series premiere, the remainder of it will exclusively stream on CBS All Access, the network’s subscription-based streaming service. The pill that is the $5.99/month fee was just made a whole lot easier to swallow.

‘Serial’ revisits Adnan Syed’s case as new evidence gets presented, season 2 expands

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Whether or not you believed Adnan Syed (above, then and now) killed his high school girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999, you’re going to want to tune into this. Syed has new representation now and there’s a court hearing happening this week and guess who’s showing up to the deliberations? Serial host Sarah Koenig, but of course. Even though she’s smack in the middle of producing and delivering the second season of the hugely popular and critically acclaimed investigative podcast, Koenig and her producing partner in crime Dana Chivvis are pulling double duty to reel listeners back into new developments in Syed’s ongoing case.

As new evidence is presented at the hearing in Baltimore, Koenig and Chivvis will produce new mini-episodes to deliver and discuss the updates with listeners still invested in Syed’s future. Remember the “Asia letters” from way back when? Well, it turns out Syed’s attorney was able to get Asia McClain to testify in Syed’s defense! This is a major coup for him because if you remember it was in those letters that McClain claimed she was with Adnan at the library at the time Hae was murdered. This and more is discussed in the first of three Serial Season 1: Update episodes available for your consumption right here, right now.

In other Serial news, in case you haven’t been made aware yet, the release schedule for season 2 has been tweaked significantly. Click after the break to learn more. Continue reading ‘Serial’ revisits Adnan Syed’s case as new evidence gets presented, season 2 expands →

Stream ‘Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland’ today

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Five years and nearly $2 million later, BMS: The Movie is here! Following a swift cancellation in 2011 after airing three seasons on Spike, Blue Mountain State and The Mountain Goats get to see another day thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign fueled by the series’ loyal fanbase and its passionate creators Eric Falconer and Chris Romano. In case you missed it (and odds are that you did), the crude comedy tells the stereotypical raunchy college experience through the eyes of football players and the team’s mascot. Sounds plain old stupid on the surface, but it throws out the rulebook and drags you in with absurd hilarity and unexpected charm. The movie, which settled for an R-rating after dialing things back when the MPAA slapped it with an NC-17 label, reunites the entire cast and focuses on arguably the show’s funniest character, Thad Castle. The synopsis follows.

With Blue Mountain State football star Thad Castle (Alan Ritchson) recently signing a multi-million dollar NFL contract, his teammates and college life seem like a distant memory. However, when a new school dean threatens to clean up the BMS image by auctioning off the infamous Goat House, Alex (Darin Brooks), Sammy (Chris Romano) and the boys must find a way to convince him to get involved. Despite his new fortune and fame, there is one small favor that Thad needs done before he saves the day: the biggest booze-and-sloot fest in BMS history. Welcome to Thadland!

Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland is out today across digital platforms. I had previously assumed distributor Lionsgate was going to release it in theatres, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Nevertheless, no complaints here! You can own or rent The Rise of Thadland on iTunes and Amazon Video from the comfort of your couch; stock up on your favorite refreshments now. Need a fix right this second? Head after the break to watch the red-band trailer. Go Goats! Continue reading Stream ‘Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland’ today →

10 premieres to look out for this month: ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘American Crime Story,’ ‘Fuller House’ & more

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It may be a mild winter for east coasters, but that’s not stopping the incoming storm of highly anticipation programming from hitting the airwaves this month. There are a whopping five series premieres you cannot miss (including FX’s American Crime Story and Netflix’s Fuller House), plus the sophomore runs of AMC’s Better Call Saul and HBO’s Togetherness, among others. Jump after the break for the full rundown. Continue reading 10 premieres to look out for this month: ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘American Crime Story,’ ‘Fuller House’ & more →

Coldplay films colorful music videos to match new album ‘A Head Full of Dreams’

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Coldplay is back with its seventh and possibly final album for awhile, that is, according to frontman Chris Martin. If this is it for the foreseeable future, they sure are going out with a bang. The record, A Head Full of Dreams, is a solid effort from the alt-rock/pop British band. It has its quiet moments (“Everglow” and “Kaleidoscope”) as well as those anthemic tunes fans have become accustomed to over the years (“A Head Full of Dreams,” “Hymn for the Weekend” and “Adventure of a Lifetime”). All in all, it’s a decidedly uplifting and inspiring take, especially coming off last year’s mildly melancholic Ghost Stories.

Shortly after releasing the album into the wild just last month, Martin and co. started to drop eclectic music videos for the singles. They started with a mesmerizing music video for “Adventure of a Lifetime” which features CGI versions of the band members dancing around as apes. They teamed up with director Mat Whitecross and actor/motion capture expert Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes) to magically animate themselves using the latest tech in 3D motion capture. It took six months to make!

The second music video to release was the one for “Birds.” The band travelled to Salvation Mountain to record the trippy, kaleidoscopic clip directed by Marcus Haney.

Following lead single “Adventure of a Lifetime” is the official second single off the album, “Hymn for the Weekend.” Coldplay shot the video for it on location in Mumbai, India with director Ben Mor. Beyoncè, whose vocals are featured on the track, plays a beautiful movie star and Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor makes a cameo as the band runs around the streets of Mumbai exploding with color and radiance.

“Hymn for the Weekend” is embedded above. You’ll find music videos for “Birds” and “Adventure of a Lifetime” after the break. There’s also a fun behind-the-scenes look at Coldplay making the CGI video with Whitecross and Serkis.

One more thing. This summer Coldplay’s going on tour! Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 5 at 10am local time. Check out the full list of nation-wide stops below the fold. Oh, and don’t forget they’ll be jamming out during Super Bowl 50’s halftime show next Sunday! Continue reading Coldplay films colorful music videos to match new album ‘A Head Full of Dreams’ →

Louis C.K. surprises fans with new web series ‘Horace and Pete’ [Update: Louie opens up]

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Wondering how comedian and TV star Louis C.K.’s spends his “free” time when his FX sitcom Louie goes on its extended hiatuses? He’ll perform standup, of course, and make it available on his website for five bucks. And now, apparently, he shoots another show and debuts it online without anybody knowing about its existence during production. It’s called Horace and Pete and it takes place inside an Irish pub run by Horace (played by Louie). Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire) plays his parter Pete and the web show is rife with cameos including but not limited to Alan Alda (The Blacklist), Edie Falco (Nurse JAckie), Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live), Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Rebecca Hall (The Town), and Steven Wright.

The black comedy skews dramatic and clocks in at just over an hour. It features an intermission where the characters discuss current events like the presidential race and the Super Bowl. Louie released Horace and Pete with little fanfare, simply posting a link to “a brand new thing from Louis C.K.” on his website and offering it up for $5. You can buy Episode 1 today, and it would appear that an additional three episodes are on the way. So…surprise!

Update (2/4): Louie has broken his radio silence regarding the release of his new show. Click after the break for more. Continue reading Louis C.K. surprises fans with new web series ‘Horace and Pete’ [Update: Louie opens up] →

Apple squeaks out record 2016 Q1 results, braces for revenue decline

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On January 26, Apple reported its 2016 first quarter financial results. Apple posted a record quarterly revenue of $75.9 billion and record quarterly net profit of $18.4 billion. Compare this to one year ago, that’s up from revenue of $74.6 billion and net profit of $18 billion. Says CEO Tim Cook in a press release: “Our team delivered Apple’s biggest quarter ever, thanks to the world’s most innovative products and all-time record sales of iPhone, Apple Watch and Apple TV. The growth of our Services business accelerated during the quarter to produce record results, and our installed base recently crossed a major milestone of one billion active devices.”

It was another “record quarter” for Apple, but there were some startling yet inevitable declines across its product sales. Let’s break it down by product category and then discuss. Apple sold 74.8 million iPhones in the quarter (compared to 74.5 million in the year-ago quarter); 16.1 million iPads (compared to 21.4 million); and 5.3 million Macs (compared to 5.5 million). As for iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, the company stuffs these products into a single category called Other Products and does not disclose how many units of each were sold. However, what we do know is that this division accounted for $4.4 billion of Apple’s revenue this quarter (compared to 2.7 million in the year-ago quarter).

A quick look at those numbers and you’ll come to realize that Apple’s finally hitting a plateau with its innovative product lineup. The iPhone is the company’s most profitable product today, and yet its sales were up just 0.4 percent compared to last year’s first quarter results. The iPad and Macs didn’t fare so well either. Tablet sales dropped 25 percent compared to last year, and computer sales went south by 4 percent. Apple CFO Luca Maestri addresses these significant slumps when predicting 2016’s second fiscal quarter revenue to fall between $50-$53 billion; if that happens, it would mark a year-over-year decline in revenue for the company for the first time in 13 years.

It isn’t all bad news for (still) one of the most profitable companies in the world. Apple’s touting a 63 percent jump in sales in its Other Products category that now includes hot holiday gifts like the new-and-improved Apple TV and Apple Watch. In addition, its Internet-connected Services jumped 27 percent year-over-year; iTunes, the App Stores, and Apple Music helped rake in $6.1 billion in revenue this quarter.

Despite the declines due to “the overall [economic] malaise in virtually every country in the world” and in particular the economic “softness” in China, Tim Cook is bullish on Apple’s future. With an active install base of 1 billion devices (that is iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod touch, Apple TV and Apple Watch devices that have been engaged in Apple’s services within the past 90 days) and strong customer service and retention rates that are “second to none” in the industry, Cook is unwavering in his belief that Apple will continue to grow as new hardware, software, and services will push his company into the future. It’s just a sad thought knowing that the next quarter will likely be the first one in awhile we won’t be calling a new record.

[Via Apple; Engadget 1, 2; Deadline]