Month: April 2024

Disney+ announced they will release a restored version of the Beatles film Let It Be, announcing in a press release that the film will premiere May 8

Per Billboard, the film chronicling the final days of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr will be available for the first time in more than 50 years when it airs exclusively on Disney+ on May 8. Let It Be, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was originally released in May 1970. The film follows Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr as they rehearse and record songs in January 1969 for their 1970 album, Let It Be; the album was the group’s final before their split.

Director Peter Jackson and his Park Road Post Production, with the support of original director Lindsay-Hogg, restored the Let It Be film from the original 16mm negative. Jackson previously worked on 2021’s The Beatles: Get Back docuseries that explored the making of the Let It Be album, which featured unused footage and audio from the original Let It Be film.

Jackson said in a statement: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Michael’s movie, ‘Let It Be’, has been restored and is finally being re-released after being unavailable for decades. I was so lucky to have access to Michael’s outtakes for ‘Get Back’, and I’ve always thought that ‘Let It Be’ is needed to complete the ‘Get Back’ story. Over three parts, we showed Michael and The Beatles filming a groundbreaking new documentary, and ‘Let It Be’ is that documentary — the movie they released in 1970. I now think of it all as one epic story, finally completed after five decades. The two projects support and enhance each other: ‘Let It Be’ is the climax of ‘Get Back’, while ‘Get Back’ provides a vital missing context for ‘Let It Be’.”

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The musical Sunset Boulevard is headed to Broadway in the fall, marking the Broadway debut of singer/actress Nicole Scherzinger in the title role of Norma Desmond. Scherzinger starred in the West End revival of the production in London, which ran from September 2023 through January 2024. Jamie Lloyd, who directed the West End version, will return to direct the Broadway version.

Producers announced that the production will begin previews Sept. 28 at St. James Theatre in New York City and officially open Oct. 20: “Nicole Scherzinger makes her Broadway debut as Norma Desmond in SUNSET BLVD. at the St. James Theatre. Get tickets by signing up at sunsetblvdbroadway.com.”

Sunset Boulevard musical features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton; Webber’s musical is based on the 1950 film of the same name, starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Scherzinger came to fame with the Pussycat Dolls; her other theater credits include a West End revival of ‘Cats.’

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On Sunday during the live broadcast of ‘American Idol,’ Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lionel Richie and ‘AI’ host Ryan Seacrest announced the 2024 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The incoming 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class includes Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton and Kool & the Gang (per The Hollywood Reporter). Five out of the eight voted in this year were first-time nominees: Osbourne, Cher, Frampton, Foreigner and Kool & the Gang (Osbourne is being inducted to the Rock Hall for a second time; he was inducted as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006.) The complete list of inductees for 2024 follows, broken down by category.

Inductees into the ‘Performer Category’ include: Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, A Tribe Called Quest; while ‘Musical Influence Award’ inductees include: Alexis Korner, John Mayall, Big Mama Thornton. Those to be inducted into the ‘Musical Excellence Award’ category include: Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield. Finally, the ‘Ahmet Ertegun Award’ will be presented to Suzanne de Passe.

Seven of this year’s nominees will have to wait for another chance to be inducted into the Rock Hall, including: Mariah Carey, Jane’s Addiction, Sade, Sinead O’Connor, Oasis, Lenny Kravitz and the duo Eric B. and Rakim.

The 2024 ‘Rock Hall’ class will officially be inducted in the Hall of Fame on Oct. 19. The 39th annual induction ceremony will take place at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, streaming live on Disney+. The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will also air as a special on ABC at a later date, and will be available on Hulu the day after the live ceremony.

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Spotify has announced multiple records being set by Taylor Swift after the superstar artist released her album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ on Friday, and also surprised fans with the release of The Anthology, featuring 15 additional tracks.

The latest social post by Spotify revealed that “on April 19th, 2024, Taylor Swift’s ‘Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)’ became Spotify’s most-streamed song in a single day.”

‘The Tortured Poets Department’ had already becoming the most-streamed album in a single day according to Spotify, reportedly exceeding 300 million streams: “TTPD was the first album in Spotify history to have over 300M streams in a single day.”  That feat means Swift has the top three most-streamed albums in a single day in history – with previous records held by Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

Spotify also posted that “On April 19th, 2024, The Tortured Poets Department became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day, and Taylor Swift became the most-streamed artist in a single day in Spotify history.”

Stream Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’ – here.

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Variety reports that Julia Garner will joining Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four” as Shalla-Bal, a version of Silver Surfer from the Marvel comics.

Garner, a 3x Emmy and Golden Globe winner for her role as Ruth Langmore on the Netflix series Ozark, joins previously announced cast members: Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm, aka Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm, aka the Thing).

‘The Fantastic Four’ is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team; it was previously adapted as Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis, and Fantastic Four (2015), featuring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell. The Silver Surfer character was previously portrayed by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne in 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”.

Matt Shakman (‘WandaVision’, ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’) is set to direct ‘The Fantastic Four,’ with production on the film is set to begin this summer, with a planned release on July 25, 2025.

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Apple TV+ announced it will produce and stream an untitled golf-themed comedy series starring Owen Wilson, created by ‘Ford v Ferrari’ producer Jason Keller. The still-untitled series will consist of 10 episodes, with no further casting announced.

According to Variety, the 55-year-old actor, who is a big golf fan in real life, will executive produce and portray the role of an ex-pro golfer named Pryce Cahill whose career prematurely came to an end two decades prior. The former athlete’s life hits a new low after he loses his job at a sporting goods store in Indiana and is left by his wife, and decides to go all-in on a problematic 17-year-old golf prodigy.

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