Month: May 2022

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Entertainment Daypop

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ earns record $156M over Memorial Day weekend

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Top Gun: Maverick holds the distinction of the best Memorial Day opening weekend of all time with projected three-day domestic earnings of $126.7 million, and $156 million for the four days. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was the previous record holder with $153 million.

Top Gun: Maverick’s opening weekend is the best for Tom Cruise, and is the first time he has had a film open to $100 million or more. The film debuted on Friday with earnings of $51.8 million, opening in more than 4,700 theaters in North America. Overseas, the film opened to $124 million from 62 markets, earning $248 million through Sunday and more than $280 million through Monday.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick sees Cruise return as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.  The film co-stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell and Ed Harris, while Val Kilmer also makes a brief appearance as “Iceman,” Maverick’s onetime nemesis-turned-friend.

More than 70 percent of Top Gun 2‘s audience was over the age of 25, including 55 percent over age 35, and ticket buyers gave the film with an A+ CinemaScore.  The release of the long-awaited sequel to the iconic 1986 movie was delayed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cruise went on a global marketing tour in recent weeks, making stops at a world premiere in San Diego, the Cannes Film Festival, a Royal-sponsored screening in London and another premiere in Japan.

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Rock Daypop

Kurt Cobain’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ guitar sold at auction for nearly $5 Million

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Kurt Cobain’s legendary 1969 Fender Mustang electric guitar from Nirvana’s landmark 1991 music video, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was auctioned for nearly $5 million at Julien’s Auctions. The guitar was sold to the Jim Irsay Collection of Indianapolis in a bidding war among collectors from all over the world who participated in the online and over-the-phone auction. The guitar sold for approximately $4.5 million, far surpassing its original estimate of $600,000.

The guitar was also used in the recording studio during both the “Nevermind” and “In Utero” recording sessions, as well as numerous prominent live performances. Cobain considered the left-handed guitar one of his favorite ‘go-to’ guitars. Cobain said in a final interview: “I’m left-handed, and it’s not very easy to find reasonably priced, high-quality left-handed guitars. But out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favorite. I’ve only owned two of them.”

In support of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Cobain family is donating a portion of the proceeds from the guitar sale and other select Cobain items to Kicking The Stigma, the Irsays’ initiative to raise awareness about mental health disorders and remove the stigma associated with these illnesses. Other Cobain items that sold at auction included Cobain’s 1965 “Baby Blue” Dodge Dart 170 4-door sedan, which came from Kurt’s sister, Kim Cobain, who has owned the car for the last 28 years. The Dodge is the only known surviving car that was owned and driven by Kurt Cobain and it sold for approximately $375,000. Cobain’s personally drawn 1985 Iron Maiden “Killers” skateboard deck artwork, featuring the Iron Maiden mascot “Eddie.” also sold with an added NFT for $35,200. And Cobain’s original artwork of Michael Jackson plus NFT accompanying the physical item sold for $87,500.

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Rock Daypop

Johnny Depp gives surprise performance at Jeff Beck concert in the U.K.

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Johnny Depp marked the end of his highly publicized seven-week defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard with a surprise appearance at a Jeff Beck concert at Sheffield City Hall in England on Sunday. The venue tweeted Monday: “Well … what a surprise we got last night when Johnny Depp joined ⁦@jeffbeckmusic⁩ on stage. Wishing @jeffbeckmusic⁩ good luck for the rest of his amazing tour and a big thank you to Johnny Depp for joining us!”

Numerous outlets and social media posts report that Depp and Beck performed together on a few covers, including Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On” and John Lennon’s “Isolation.” Before becoming an actor, Depp had wanted to be a musician, and even testified at his recent trial about his early musical aspirations on the stand. Depp, along with musicians Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, formed the supergroup Hollywood Vampires in 2012

Depp and Heard have been in district court in Fairfax, Virginia since April 11. Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in damages over an op-ed she wrote that was published in The Washington Post in 2018, while she is countersuing him for $100 million.  The case went to the jury who began deliberation on Friday.

Watch videos of Depp performing with Beck on YouTube: – here.

Editorial credit: Andre Luiz Moreira / Shutterstock.com

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Entertainment Daypop

Johnny Depp gives surprise performance at Jeff Beck concert in the U.K.

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Johnny Depp marked the end of his highly publicized seven-week defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard with a surprise appearance at a Jeff Beck concert at Sheffield City Hall in England on Sunday. The venue tweeted Monday: “Well … what a surprise we got last night when Johnny Depp joined ⁦@jeffbeckmusic⁩ on stage. Wishing @jeffbeckmusic⁩ good luck for the rest of his amazing tour and a big thank you to Johnny Depp for joining us!”

Numerous outlets and social media posts report that Depp and Beck performed together on a few covers, including Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On” and John Lennon’s “Isolation.” Before becoming an actor, Depp had wanted to be a musician, and even testified at his recent trial about his early musical aspirations on the stand. Depp, along with musicians Alice Cooper and Joe Perry, formed the supergroup Hollywood Vampires in 2012

Depp and Heard have been in district court in Fairfax, Virginia since April 11. Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in damages over an op-ed she wrote that was published in The Washington Post in 2018, while she is countersuing him for $100 million.  The case went to the jury who began deliberation on Friday.

Watch videos of Depp performing with Beck on YouTube: – here.

Editorial credit: Andre Luiz Moreira / Shutterstock.com

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Entertainment Daypop

Take a look at the extended trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’

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Warner Brothers has released its second official trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, starring Austin Butler as the ‘King of Rock & Roll.’

The trailer opens with a voiceover, saying “Our country itself is sick, and it’s lost its sense of direction – even its common decency” — referring to the reaction to Presley and his dance moves. Butler as Presley is then seen wiggling his pinky, as the camera pans to Tom Hanks’ character Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager. “In that moment Elvis the man was sacrificed and Elvis the God was born.”  The trailer also gives a look at the rise of Presley’s career and the conflicts he faced throughout his life, especially the impact of his mother Gladys.

The trailer also shares a sample of the film’s soundtrack, including Doja Cat’s “Vegas.” Along with featuring some of Presley’s biggest hits, the movie will also include original songs and recordings by the likes of Eminem, CeeLo Green, Swae Lee, Denzel Curry, Jack White, Kacey Musgraves, Diplo, Tame Impala, and Maneskin.

Elvis premieres in theaters on June 24. Take a look at the trailer – here.

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Entertainment Daypop

Emmy Award winning actor Ray Liotta dead at age 67

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Actor Ray Liotta, perhaps best known for his breakout role in the 1990 Martin Scorsese classic ‘Goodfellas’, has died. The Emmy Award winning actor was 67. Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting the film Dangerous Waters.  He was engaged to fiancée Jacy Nittolo, and he was dad to daughter Karsen, 23, with ex-wife Michelle Grace. Sources say no foul play is suspected in his death, and that Nittolo was with him when he passed. Liotta revealed his engagement to Nittolo, a mom of four, on Christmas in 2020, writing on Instagram, “Christmas wishes do come true. I asked the love of my life to marry me, and thank God she said yes!!!”

Some of Liotta’s best known roles were in the Jonathan Demme-directed Something Wild (1987) for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. He also portrayed Chicago White Sox player Shoeless Joe Jackson opposite Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones in 1989’s Field of Dreams. Liotta won a Primetime Emmy in 2005 for his guest stint on ER and was a two-time SAG Award nominee for the 2015 miniseries Texas Rising and the 1998 telefilm The Rat Pack. 

Liotta’s career was under a resurgence; he recently appeared in the Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark, the Amazon Prime series Hanna, and also appeared in Marriage Story — for which he shared a 2020 Indie Spirit Award for its ensemble cast.  He just completed a role in the Elizabeth Banks-directed Cocaine Bear, and was due to star in the The Substance (working title) opposite Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. Liotta was also set to executive produce the A&E docuseries Five Families, about the rise and fall of the New York’s mafia’s Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo and Lucchese families.

Ray Liotta Dead: ‘Goodfellas’ Actor Dies at Age 67

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Rock Daypop

Alan White, drummer for Yes and John Lennon, dies at age 72

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Drummer Alan White, the longest-tenured member of Yes, died at age 72 following a “brief illness.” White’s family announced the news on Facebook, noting that White died at his Seattle-area home on May 26. The family wrote: “Throughout his life and six-decade career, Alan was many things to many people: a certified rock star to fans around the world; bandmate to a select few, and gentleman and friend to all who met him.” 

On Twitter, Yes shared the news, saying in part of a lengthy statement: “It is with deep sadness that YES announce Alan White, their much-loved drummer and friend of 50 years, has passed away, aged 72, after a short illness.” White had suffered from health problems in recent years. He was forced to sit out of Yes in 2016 due to back surgery, and he guested as the second drummer (alongside Jay Schellen) in 2018 while recovering from a bacterial infection. White then sat out of the band’s 50th anniversary U.K. tour due to what Yes described as “current health issues.”

White also performed with John Lennon, George Harrison, Ginger Baker’s Air Force and Joe Cocker early in his career. Lennon invited him to play with his Plastic Ono Band — featuring Ono, Eric Clapton and Klaus Voormann — at the Toronto Rock and Roll Festival. That set led to further session work, including performance on Lennon’s 1970 single “Instant Karma!” and 1971 LP, Imagine, along with Harrison’s 1970 triple album, All Things Must Pass.

White, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Yes in 2017, released one solo album, 1976’s Ramshackled.   He is survived by his wife of forty years Rogena “Gigi” (née Walberg), his children, Jesse (Emily), their two children JJ and Ellie, and Cassi (Kela), and sister-in-law Andrea Holmqvist (Robert).

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Rock Daypop

Andy Fletcher, founding member of Depeche Mode, dies at age 60

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Depeche Mode keyboardist Andy “Fletch” Fletcher has died at the age of 60. The news came from a statement on the band’s social media accounts, writing on Twitter:  “We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher. Fletch had a true heart of gold and was always there when you needed support, a lively conversation, a good laugh or a cold pint. Our hearts are with his family, and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts and respect their privacy in this difficult time.”

Fletcher was born in Nottingham, England, on July 8, 1961. He founded Depeche Mode in 1980 with Vince Clarke, Martin Gore and Dave Gahan. In earlier renditions of the band, he played the bass guitar, but he switched to the keyboard as they evolved. In 101, D.A. Pennebaker’s 1989 documentary film about the band, Fletcher addressed his role in the band with a memorable quote: “Martin’s the songwriter, Alan [Wilder]’s the good musician, Dave’s the vocalist and I bum around.”

Depeche Mode’s 1981 debut album Speak & Spell helped place them within the British new wave scene that formed in the early ’80s; by the time their seventh album, Violator, was released in 1990, there were one of the biggest acts in the world and they quickly became one of the most influential artists of the century. Violator reached No. 7 in the States, stayed on the chart for 74 weeks and was certified triple platinum. The popular World Violation Tour followed. In 2020, Depeche Mode were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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Entertainment Daypop

Former reality TV star Josh Duggar sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison following his conviction on child pornography charges

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Former reality TV star Josh Duggar, who appeared in TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” was sentenced Wednesday to more than 12 years in federal prison for downloading and possessing child pornography. Duggar was sentenced to 151 months in prison and fined $10,000, according to legal documents. Josh’s father, Jim Bob, his wife Anna, and siblings Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth and Jason Duggar were present in court to support him.

In addition to prison time, Duggar will require supervision for 20 years after his release and is prohibited from any unsupervised contact with minors, including his own children with wife Anna. Duggar also must must participate in sex offender treatment and may not access or view pornography of any kind, including adult pornography.

In December, a Fayetteville, Arkansas, jury found the 34-year-old Duggar guilty on one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. Duggar faced up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each count. Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks to give the maximum term of 20 years to Duggar, arguing in a pre-sentencing court filing that Duggar has a “deep-seated, pervasive and violent sexual interest in children.”

Duggar, whose lawyers sought a five-year sentence, maintains his innocence and has said he will appeal. Duggar’s lawyer Justin K. Gelfand said: “We’re grateful the judge dismissed Count 2 and rejected the Government’s request for a 240-month sentence. We look forward to continuing the fight on appeal.”

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Entertainment Daypop

Vanessa Hudgens to host the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards

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Vanessa Hudgens is set to host the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards on June 5. Hudgens had previously hosted the ‘MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time’ special in 2020.

“I’m back,” Hudgens said in a video uploaded to the official MTV Movie & TV Awards Twitter account, along with the caption:  “The queen is BACK! Introducing your 2022 #MTVAwards host, @VanessaHudgens. Tune in to the biggest night to be a fan, June 5 at 8p on @MTV!”

The 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards is set to take place from the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica and will air at 8 p.m. EDT. The MTV Movie & TV Awards will also present its reality television-focused ‘Unscripted’ portion on the same night.  Spider-Man: No Way Home and Euphoria lead with seven nominations each. RuPaul’s Drag Race earned a leading four nominations in the reality television categories.

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