Poster for Sundance Now’s ‘The Lovers’
AMC+’s December 2023 lineup includes the premiere of Sundance Now’s The Lovers series, a holiday special with Harry Hamlin, and new episodes of BBC America’s Planet Earth III. The streaming service will also host the Shudder original films It’s a Wonderful Knife and The Sacrifice Game.
AMC+ also announced The Killing starring Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman will be available for binge-watching on December 4, 2023. Season one of UK’s Being Human with Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey, and Aidan Turner streams beginning on December 14, with additional seasons arriving on Thursdays. Plus, the quickly canceled Pan Am starring Margot Robbie and Christina Ricci flies in on December 21.
AMC+ December 2023 Lineup The Lovers – Premieres Thursday, December 7 on AMC+ and Sundance Now; New Episodes Continue Every Thursday Until the Season Finale on January 4
The series follows Janet, a foul-mouthed supermarket worker who doesn’t care about anything,...
AMC+’s December 2023 lineup includes the premiere of Sundance Now’s The Lovers series, a holiday special with Harry Hamlin, and new episodes of BBC America’s Planet Earth III. The streaming service will also host the Shudder original films It’s a Wonderful Knife and The Sacrifice Game.
AMC+ also announced The Killing starring Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman will be available for binge-watching on December 4, 2023. Season one of UK’s Being Human with Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey, and Aidan Turner streams beginning on December 14, with additional seasons arriving on Thursdays. Plus, the quickly canceled Pan Am starring Margot Robbie and Christina Ricci flies in on December 21.
AMC+ December 2023 Lineup The Lovers – Premieres Thursday, December 7 on AMC+ and Sundance Now; New Episodes Continue Every Thursday Until the Season Finale on January 4
The series follows Janet, a foul-mouthed supermarket worker who doesn’t care about anything,...
- 11/27/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Julianne Moore (Lisey’s Story) and Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White & Royal Blue) are bringing a twisted mother-son relationship to the Court of England in the first teaser trailer for the Starz drama Mary & George.
Originally developed for AMC Networks (with with Sky Studios), Mary & George is described as an “audacious historical psychodrama,” based on the scandalous true story of Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, and George Villiers, “a treacherous mother (Moore) and son (Galitzine) who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the Court of England and the bed of King James I (Tony Curran).”
More from TVLineABC Announces...
Originally developed for AMC Networks (with with Sky Studios), Mary & George is described as an “audacious historical psychodrama,” based on the scandalous true story of Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, and George Villiers, “a treacherous mother (Moore) and son (Galitzine) who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the Court of England and the bed of King James I (Tony Curran).”
More from TVLineABC Announces...
- 11/16/2023
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
World Music Radio, the seventh studio album from Jon Batiste, will finally get the live concert treatment as the singer and songwriter sets out on his North American tour in 2024. Billed as the Uneasy Tour: Purifying the Airwaves for the People, the tour marks Batiste’s first-ever headlining trek.
The Uneasy tour will begin in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 16 and extend through April 27, where Batiste will conclude the run with a final show in Miramar Beach, Florida. The singer will make stops in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Toronto, New Haven,...
The Uneasy tour will begin in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 16 and extend through April 27, where Batiste will conclude the run with a final show in Miramar Beach, Florida. The singer will make stops in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Toronto, New Haven,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
San Francisco, Aug 26 (Ians) Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez are currently renting a massive house in Malibu, California, for a whopping $6,00,000 per month (Rs 5 crore approximately) from American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer Kenny G.
According to a report in Yahoo News, Kenny G’s Malibu home is 5,500 square feet and includes a recording studio, backyard pool, expansive lawns, and a screening room, among other features. It also has a 3,500-square-foot guesthouse.
By renting the Malibu mansion, Bezos, 59, and Sanchez, 53, gain access to the exclusive Little Dume Beach.
The couple has been renting the property since March this year, according to TMZ.
While the monthly rent is staggering at $600,000, the house is unfurnished.
Kenny G’s personal belongings have reportedly been stored, while the property has been decorated with items owned by Bezos and his fiancee.
Meanwhile, Bezos and Sanchez have recently been spotted continuing...
According to a report in Yahoo News, Kenny G’s Malibu home is 5,500 square feet and includes a recording studio, backyard pool, expansive lawns, and a screening room, among other features. It also has a 3,500-square-foot guesthouse.
By renting the Malibu mansion, Bezos, 59, and Sanchez, 53, gain access to the exclusive Little Dume Beach.
The couple has been renting the property since March this year, according to TMZ.
While the monthly rent is staggering at $600,000, the house is unfurnished.
Kenny G’s personal belongings have reportedly been stored, while the property has been decorated with items owned by Bezos and his fiancee.
Meanwhile, Bezos and Sanchez have recently been spotted continuing...
- 8/26/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Gran Turismo, based on the PlayStation racing simulation games and directed by District 9 helmer Neill Blomkamp, is many things: a sports movie, an underdog story, a somewhat accurate biodrama. It is also a film about dads.
We’ve all seen it before, whether in October Sky or High School Musical: a plucky young man wants to follow his dreams while his father disapproves. In Gran Turismo, Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) wants to leverage his virtual driving skills into a professional racing career. His ex-footballer dad (Djimon Hounsou) thinks, perhaps quite rationally, this is insane. But when a novel training program called Gt Academy plucks Jann from his small Welsh hometown for the opportunity of a lifetime, our timid novice finds another father figure in the form of his prickly, reluctant mentor.
That is Jack Salter (David Harbour). The Nissan marketing exec who wants to turn gamers into racers––Danny Moore,...
We’ve all seen it before, whether in October Sky or High School Musical: a plucky young man wants to follow his dreams while his father disapproves. In Gran Turismo, Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) wants to leverage his virtual driving skills into a professional racing career. His ex-footballer dad (Djimon Hounsou) thinks, perhaps quite rationally, this is insane. But when a novel training program called Gt Academy plucks Jann from his small Welsh hometown for the opportunity of a lifetime, our timid novice finds another father figure in the form of his prickly, reluctant mentor.
That is Jack Salter (David Harbour). The Nissan marketing exec who wants to turn gamers into racers––Danny Moore,...
- 8/14/2023
- by Lena Wilson
- The Film Stage
There won’t be any thirsty fans on Jon Batiste’s watch. The musician is on hydration duty and anxiety control on his latest single, “Drink Water,” which will appear on his forthcoming studio album World Music Radio out Aug. 18. He recruited Jon Bellion and Fireboy Dml to help deliver the song’s essential messaging: “Take a deep breath, and drink water.”
In a statement about the record, Batiste connected the dots between the single and the album, stating: “Traveling with my wife, leaning into the culturally diverse group of...
In a statement about the record, Batiste connected the dots between the single and the album, stating: “Traveling with my wife, leaning into the culturally diverse group of...
- 7/12/2023
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
Previously best known as the band leader for Stephen Colbert‘s “Late Show,” musician Jon Batiste had an explosive couple of years in 2021 and 2022, taking home an Oscar and then five Grammys. Now he has announced his follow-up album, “World Music Radio,” set to be released on August 18. Along with the announcement, Batiste released the new single “Calling Your Name” as a preview of things to come. Watch the visualizer for the single above.
Batiste said in a statement, “I created this album with a feeling of liberation in my life and a renewed sense of exploration of my personhood, my craft and of the world around me unlike anything I had ever felt before.” It’s no wonder he’s feeling creatively liberated after being feted by his industry peers. In April of 2021 he received the Oscar for Best Original Score, shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, for the Pixar animated film “Soul.
Batiste said in a statement, “I created this album with a feeling of liberation in my life and a renewed sense of exploration of my personhood, my craft and of the world around me unlike anything I had ever felt before.” It’s no wonder he’s feeling creatively liberated after being feted by his industry peers. In April of 2021 he received the Oscar for Best Original Score, shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, for the Pixar animated film “Soul.
- 6/28/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Jon Batiste has announced the follow-up to his Album of the Year-winning We Are, with an all-star guest list joining the former Late Show bandleader for World Music Radio.
The 20-track album, out August 18 via Verve Records/Interscope Records, sticks to its name by recruiting global talent, including Lil Wayne, Fireboy Dml, Kenny G, J.I.D., NewJeans, Camilo, and on the bonus track “Life Lesson,” Lana Del Rey, who previously recruited Batiste for a pair of tracks on her Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.
“I...
The 20-track album, out August 18 via Verve Records/Interscope Records, sticks to its name by recruiting global talent, including Lil Wayne, Fireboy Dml, Kenny G, J.I.D., NewJeans, Camilo, and on the bonus track “Life Lesson,” Lana Del Rey, who previously recruited Batiste for a pair of tracks on her Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.
“I...
- 6/28/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Jon Batiste has announced his new album, World Music Radio, out August 18th via Verve Records/Interscope Records. As a preview, he’s also shared the first single, “Calling Your Name.”
Clocking in at 21 tracks, World Music Radio features a wide array of guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Lana Del Rey, Kenny G, Jid, K-pop group NewJeans, and many more. In a statement, Batiste said he created the album with “a feeling of liberation in my life and a renewed sense of exploration of my personhood, my craft and of the world around me unlike anything I had ever felt before.”
Pre-orders are ongoing. Scroll onwards for the artwork and full tracklist.
“Calling Your Name” is an optimistic slice of catchy pop music as Batiste sings, “I would get so lost in the feelings, head in the clouds/ I would get so caught up in believin’ somethin’ about/ But you...
Clocking in at 21 tracks, World Music Radio features a wide array of guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Lana Del Rey, Kenny G, Jid, K-pop group NewJeans, and many more. In a statement, Batiste said he created the album with “a feeling of liberation in my life and a renewed sense of exploration of my personhood, my craft and of the world around me unlike anything I had ever felt before.”
Pre-orders are ongoing. Scroll onwards for the artwork and full tracklist.
“Calling Your Name” is an optimistic slice of catchy pop music as Batiste sings, “I would get so lost in the feelings, head in the clouds/ I would get so caught up in believin’ somethin’ about/ But you...
- 6/28/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
This post contains spoilers for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."
"Out on the third planet closest to the sun, there's a special celebration, and it sounds quite fun." It's called the "Guardians of the Galaxy" saga, but sadly, despite playing out across a whole movie trilogy and a Disney+ holiday special — complete with an alien band performing a musical number — it has never featured Dave Bautista's character, Drax the Destroyer, wailing on the cosmic saxophone like Kenny G.
Little-known fact: on Earth-13122, otherwise known as the Lego Universe (as seen in the "Lego Marvel Super Heroes" comic), Drax had a career as a jazz musician called The Draxophonist. His experience with the saxophone dates back to at least the 1990s, when he was a character in "Warlock and the Infinity Watch," published by Marvel Comics. Issues #12–13 of the series saw Drax fighting the Hulk, and they explored a...
"Out on the third planet closest to the sun, there's a special celebration, and it sounds quite fun." It's called the "Guardians of the Galaxy" saga, but sadly, despite playing out across a whole movie trilogy and a Disney+ holiday special — complete with an alien band performing a musical number — it has never featured Dave Bautista's character, Drax the Destroyer, wailing on the cosmic saxophone like Kenny G.
Little-known fact: on Earth-13122, otherwise known as the Lego Universe (as seen in the "Lego Marvel Super Heroes" comic), Drax had a career as a jazz musician called The Draxophonist. His experience with the saxophone dates back to at least the 1990s, when he was a character in "Warlock and the Infinity Watch," published by Marvel Comics. Issues #12–13 of the series saw Drax fighting the Hulk, and they explored a...
- 5/21/2023
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
Kenny G has lost his decade-long legal battle with his ex-wife and has been ordered to pay more than $300,000.
The 66-year-old saxophonist, whose real name is Kenneth Gorlick, married Balynda “Lyndie” Benson-Gorelick on April 5, 1992. The couple then separated on January 9, 2012, and since then, they have been in a legal divorce battle that has ended.
50 Best Celebrity Bikinis Slideshow!
Kenny was ordered to pay Lyndie $30,000 per month until July 2015, when he would no longer be required to pay child support for their two kids, Noah Reed, now 25, and Maxwell Benson, now 29.
As for his spousal support, he was ordered to pay his ex-wife $40,000 a month until they either died or remarried. Until last fall, when Kenny filed documents requesting the judge to lower the amount, he claimed a reduced income due to the fact he wasn’t touring.
His divorce attorney said that Lyndie has refused to become fully self-supporting.
The...
The 66-year-old saxophonist, whose real name is Kenneth Gorlick, married Balynda “Lyndie” Benson-Gorelick on April 5, 1992. The couple then separated on January 9, 2012, and since then, they have been in a legal divorce battle that has ended.
50 Best Celebrity Bikinis Slideshow!
Kenny was ordered to pay Lyndie $30,000 per month until July 2015, when he would no longer be required to pay child support for their two kids, Noah Reed, now 25, and Maxwell Benson, now 29.
As for his spousal support, he was ordered to pay his ex-wife $40,000 a month until they either died or remarried. Until last fall, when Kenny filed documents requesting the judge to lower the amount, he claimed a reduced income due to the fact he wasn’t touring.
His divorce attorney said that Lyndie has refused to become fully self-supporting.
The...
- 4/6/2023
- by Denisse Beato
- Uinterview
Can you imagine what Led Zeppelin would have been like without Robert Plant as their lead singer? Or The Rolling Stones without Mick Jagger? These celebrity musicians almost ditched their rockstar lifestyles for a career in accounting.
Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin
Growing up in Staffordshire, England, Robert Plant’s parents pushed him to get a proper job. In an interview with Louder, Plant revealed that he left home as a teenager while training to become an accountant.
“I had my moment of professional potential, and because I didn’t accept it, I had to leave home when I was seventeen. So I toughened up pretty quickly. I made my peace with my parents a couple of years later. But it was good, it was what it should be… I didn’t know what I wanted to be, but I wasn’t going to push a pen for two quid...
Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin
Growing up in Staffordshire, England, Robert Plant’s parents pushed him to get a proper job. In an interview with Louder, Plant revealed that he left home as a teenager while training to become an accountant.
“I had my moment of professional potential, and because I didn’t accept it, I had to leave home when I was seventeen. So I toughened up pretty quickly. I made my peace with my parents a couple of years later. But it was good, it was what it should be… I didn’t know what I wanted to be, but I wasn’t going to push a pen for two quid...
- 3/24/2023
- by Rose Burke
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Sarah McLachlan’s ruminative tunes don’t immediately sound like the most obvious backdrop for a beer commercial. On Super Bowl Sunday, however, one of her songs will serve as exactly that.
McLachlan’s sad, emotional 1997 song “Angel” will work as a call to attention during a humorous ad for Busch Light, and is part of a bid by brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev to develop a new consumer base for the longtime suds staple. “This is sort of stepping out of my comfort zone a little,” the singer and songwriter tells Variety.
In a different era, Busch Light may have seemed expressly targeted to older male aficionados of the outdoors. Now it’s being promoted to a younger crowd that still likes to commune with nature. “We have seen a shift to a younger demographic over the past two to three years,” says Krystyn Stowe, the Anheuser-Busch InBev executive who oversees U.
McLachlan’s sad, emotional 1997 song “Angel” will work as a call to attention during a humorous ad for Busch Light, and is part of a bid by brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev to develop a new consumer base for the longtime suds staple. “This is sort of stepping out of my comfort zone a little,” the singer and songwriter tells Variety.
In a different era, Busch Light may have seemed expressly targeted to older male aficionados of the outdoors. Now it’s being promoted to a younger crowd that still likes to commune with nature. “We have seen a shift to a younger demographic over the past two to three years,” says Krystyn Stowe, the Anheuser-Busch InBev executive who oversees U.
- 1/30/2023
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
It’s nearly Christmas and we’ve got a present for you. Next week is TMZ’s (clearly delightful) holiday special “Merry Elfin’ Christmas,” but you don’t have to wait to see some of the yuletide, uh, delights from the snarkiest Tabloid show in America. Because we’ve got an exclusive sneak peak featuring rap star Post Malone.
In the clip, which you can watch exclusively on TheWrap at the top of the page, Post (Mr. Malone?) reveals to the TMZ gang one of the performers who’ll be joining Rihanna when she headlines Super Bowl Lvii in February: Himself.
“So if you had to guess – like, she hasn’t said who is coming out with her,” TMZ host Harvey Levin says in the clip.
“Sure,” Post Malone replies.
“Who do you think?” Levin asks.
Also Read:
Is Lack of Star Power on ‘The Crown’ Season 5 Tanking Demand for the Show?...
In the clip, which you can watch exclusively on TheWrap at the top of the page, Post (Mr. Malone?) reveals to the TMZ gang one of the performers who’ll be joining Rihanna when she headlines Super Bowl Lvii in February: Himself.
“So if you had to guess – like, she hasn’t said who is coming out with her,” TMZ host Harvey Levin says in the clip.
“Sure,” Post Malone replies.
“Who do you think?” Levin asks.
Also Read:
Is Lack of Star Power on ‘The Crown’ Season 5 Tanking Demand for the Show?...
- 12/3/2022
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
Penny Lane is to direct Mrs. America, exploring the changing role of American womanhood through the Mrs. America Beauty Pageant’s half-century history.
Anonymous Content, Fremantle and Spinning Nancy are behind the premium doc, which will move through the history of an event started by husband-and-wife team David and Elaine Marmel that focused on celebrating the role of married women in society.
The doc is one of the first to be produced by Fremeantle’s Global Head of Documentaries Mandy Chang, who used to run BBC Storyville. Other producers are Nick Shumaker, Jessica Grimshaw, Gabriel Sedgwick, Amanda Branson-Gill, Whitney Sudler-Smith, Dawn Olmstead and David Levine.
Lane, who has been behind the likes of Hail Satan? and Listening to Kenny G, is a celebrated director known for her humor and unconventional approach.
She described the show as an “incredible opportunity to learn and think deeply about womanhood, marriage and American values.
Anonymous Content, Fremantle and Spinning Nancy are behind the premium doc, which will move through the history of an event started by husband-and-wife team David and Elaine Marmel that focused on celebrating the role of married women in society.
The doc is one of the first to be produced by Fremeantle’s Global Head of Documentaries Mandy Chang, who used to run BBC Storyville. Other producers are Nick Shumaker, Jessica Grimshaw, Gabriel Sedgwick, Amanda Branson-Gill, Whitney Sudler-Smith, Dawn Olmstead and David Levine.
Lane, who has been behind the likes of Hail Satan? and Listening to Kenny G, is a celebrated director known for her humor and unconventional approach.
She described the show as an “incredible opportunity to learn and think deeply about womanhood, marriage and American values.
- 6/29/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
The festival takes place in Belfast from June 29 to July 3.
Documentaries from Kathryn Ferguson and Penny Lane will screen as part of this year’s in-person Docs Ireland, the international documentary festival taking place in Belfast from June 29 to July 3, with US filmmaker Darren Aronofsky also joining the line-up for an ‘in conversation’ session.
Belfast-born Ferguson’s Nothing Compares, about the life and legacy of Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor, focusing on a five-year period of her life (1987-1992) will open the festival on June 29. The title premiered earlier this year at Sundance, and has also played at Cph:dox and Hot Docs.
Documentaries from Kathryn Ferguson and Penny Lane will screen as part of this year’s in-person Docs Ireland, the international documentary festival taking place in Belfast from June 29 to July 3, with US filmmaker Darren Aronofsky also joining the line-up for an ‘in conversation’ session.
Belfast-born Ferguson’s Nothing Compares, about the life and legacy of Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor, focusing on a five-year period of her life (1987-1992) will open the festival on June 29. The title premiered earlier this year at Sundance, and has also played at Cph:dox and Hot Docs.
- 6/1/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Though Kenny G is known primarily as a legendary sax player whose work has transcended into the pop-culture firmament, he is a man of many talents. He is a plus-0.6 handicap golfer, a licensed pilot, and by all accounts a seriously skilled baker. He was also one of the 10 earliest investors in Starbucks.
Now, apparently, he’s setting his sights on an even more ambitious goal: getting Kim Kardashian and Kanye West back together. You may recall that West hired Kenny G to serenade his then-wife on Valentine’s Day...
Now, apparently, he’s setting his sights on an even more ambitious goal: getting Kim Kardashian and Kanye West back together. You may recall that West hired Kenny G to serenade his then-wife on Valentine’s Day...
- 4/14/2022
- by Tatiana Siegel
- Rollingstone.com
The Guild of Music Supervisors held its 12th annual awards ceremony virtually to celebrate outstanding achievement in the craft of music supervision in film, television, documentaries, games, advertising and trailers.
Mandi Collier took home two awards for her work on Sylie’s Love and Zola while the Oscar-nominated original song “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto by Lin-Manuel Miranda won for Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film.
Legendary songwriter and record producer Diane Warren was presented with this year’s Icon Award and music supervisor Mitchell Leib took home the Legacy Award.
Tonight’s presenters included Hollywood luminaries such as Javier Bardem, Jessica Chastain, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Ryan Tedder, Marlon Wayans, Dave Burd aka Lil Dicky, Rickey Minor, Rufus Wainwright and more.
The 12th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards was produced by President Joel C. High, Vice President Madonna Wade-Reed and former Gms President Thomas Golubić.
Mandi Collier took home two awards for her work on Sylie’s Love and Zola while the Oscar-nominated original song “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto by Lin-Manuel Miranda won for Best Song Written and/or Recorded for a Film.
Legendary songwriter and record producer Diane Warren was presented with this year’s Icon Award and music supervisor Mitchell Leib took home the Legacy Award.
Tonight’s presenters included Hollywood luminaries such as Javier Bardem, Jessica Chastain, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Ryan Tedder, Marlon Wayans, Dave Burd aka Lil Dicky, Rickey Minor, Rufus Wainwright and more.
The 12th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards was produced by President Joel C. High, Vice President Madonna Wade-Reed and former Gms President Thomas Golubić.
- 3/21/2022
- by Brandon Choe
- Deadline Film + TV
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated documentary “Flee” has been named the best nonfiction film of 2021 at the 15th annual Cinema Eye Honors, which were presented on Tuesday night in New York City. “The Rescue,” about the efforts to retrieve a Thai youth soccer team from a flooded cave, won the Audience Choice Prize.
The Neon release “Flee,” which uses animation to give anonymity to a young gay man who escaped Afghanistan as a teenager and made his way to Denmark, also won the award for graphic design and animation. It is nominated for Oscars in the documentary, animated-feature and international-feature categories.
Robert Greene won the directing award for “Procession,” while Matthew Heineman, Jenna Millman and Leslie Norville took the producing prize for “The First Wave.”
Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension” won the most Cinema Eye awards, three, taking the prizes for debut feature, cinematography and score.
Other winners included “Summer of Soul...
The Neon release “Flee,” which uses animation to give anonymity to a young gay man who escaped Afghanistan as a teenager and made his way to Denmark, also won the award for graphic design and animation. It is nominated for Oscars in the documentary, animated-feature and international-feature categories.
Robert Greene won the directing award for “Procession,” while Matthew Heineman, Jenna Millman and Leslie Norville took the producing prize for “The First Wave.”
Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension” won the most Cinema Eye awards, three, taking the prizes for debut feature, cinematography and score.
Other winners included “Summer of Soul...
- 3/2/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
For as long as there have been Super Bowl parties, there have been spouses disinterested in sports that somehow get dragged along. “Hey,” the rationalization goes, “at least you’ll get to see all the new Super Bowl commercials.”
As the Los Angeles Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, February 13, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, those of us without six grand or so to buy a ticket on StubHub will be watching on CBS, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Et. It won’t just be great athletes like Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford keeping us engaged, but the finest minds in advertising serving up witty instant catchphrases or maybe bringing a tear to our eye with something poignant before the final “brought to you by Bank of America” tag. There will also be the best Super Bowl commercial of all, the one for which...
As the Los Angeles Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, February 13, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, those of us without six grand or so to buy a ticket on StubHub will be watching on CBS, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Et. It won’t just be great athletes like Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford keeping us engaged, but the finest minds in advertising serving up witty instant catchphrases or maybe bringing a tear to our eye with something poignant before the final “brought to you by Bank of America” tag. There will also be the best Super Bowl commercial of all, the one for which...
- 2/7/2022
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame released its list of nominees for 2022 induction, the debate we’ve come to expect given the institution’s history wasn’t far behind. There’s no shortage of gripes from fans, many having to do with the Hall’s apparent blind spot for Black female artists and post-disco R&b acts. What happened to Chaka Khan, nominated several times in the past but conspicuously absent this year? Why has it taken Dionne Warwick so long to get in? Sade’s never even been nominated.
- 2/2/2022
- by Keith Murphy
- Rollingstone.com
Anheuser-Busch is counting on smooth-jazz impresario Kenny G to add a few new notes to an increasingly appealing strategy for beer advertisers around the Super Bowl.
When the musician sounds his interpretation of a jingle for Busch Light beer that has been around since the late 1970s, he won’t do so in a national commercial during the Big Game, slated to air February 13 on NBC. Instead, he will play in a 30-second ad spot set to appear on local TV stations showing the event in 41 different markets. The song tells of a beer that “is cold and it’s smooth and it’s waiting for you,” and Kenny G believes it plays right into his wheelhouse.
“A beer that is full of smoothness?” he asks. “Who else but me should be the one who talks about it?”
Anheuser-Busch is the exclusive beer sponsor of the Super Bowl and will...
When the musician sounds his interpretation of a jingle for Busch Light beer that has been around since the late 1970s, he won’t do so in a national commercial during the Big Game, slated to air February 13 on NBC. Instead, he will play in a 30-second ad spot set to appear on local TV stations showing the event in 41 different markets. The song tells of a beer that “is cold and it’s smooth and it’s waiting for you,” and Kenny G believes it plays right into his wheelhouse.
“A beer that is full of smoothness?” he asks. “Who else but me should be the one who talks about it?”
Anheuser-Busch is the exclusive beer sponsor of the Super Bowl and will...
- 1/31/2022
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
When HBO renewed Bill Simmons’ “Music Box” documentary series for a second season in December, it wasn’t exactly surprising. Critics, film festival programmers and audiences were immediately taken with the series of six docs, which launched in July.
But the road to success was a long one. Simmons conceived the series back in 2018. His idea was to make the music version of the wildly successful sports docuseries “30 for 30,” which he co-created for ESPN more than a decade ago. Like “30 for 30,” installments of “Music Box” wouldn’t tell the entire trajectory of an artist’s career, but instead spotlight pivotal moments, creations and creators within the music sector. Also like “30 for 30,” Simmons would enlist A-list documentary filmmakers to make his vision come to light.
Three and a half years later in July, Garret Price’s “Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage” became the first...
But the road to success was a long one. Simmons conceived the series back in 2018. His idea was to make the music version of the wildly successful sports docuseries “30 for 30,” which he co-created for ESPN more than a decade ago. Like “30 for 30,” installments of “Music Box” wouldn’t tell the entire trajectory of an artist’s career, but instead spotlight pivotal moments, creations and creators within the music sector. Also like “30 for 30,” Simmons would enlist A-list documentary filmmakers to make his vision come to light.
Three and a half years later in July, Garret Price’s “Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage” became the first...
- 1/21/2022
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: HBO is turning up the volume of its music documentary slate. The network has renewed Music Box, its Bill Simmons-led collection of feature docs, for a second season.
It comes as the last of its initial six film collection – Juice Wrld: Into The Abyss – is set to air on December 16.
Simmons and HBO will now search for a new selection of films for the sophomore run with each film helmed by a different direction. Each will continue to explore essential moments in music for an artist or band, an iconic album, or the music industry as a whole.
The six films in the first slate were Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage, directed by Garret Price, which premiered in July, Alanis Morissette documentary Jagged, directed by Alison Klayman, Dmx: Don’t Try to Understand, directed by Christopher Frierson, Listening to Kenny G, directed by Penny Lane, Mr. Saturday Night,...
It comes as the last of its initial six film collection – Juice Wrld: Into The Abyss – is set to air on December 16.
Simmons and HBO will now search for a new selection of films for the sophomore run with each film helmed by a different direction. Each will continue to explore essential moments in music for an artist or band, an iconic album, or the music industry as a whole.
The six films in the first slate were Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage, directed by Garret Price, which premiered in July, Alanis Morissette documentary Jagged, directed by Alison Klayman, Dmx: Don’t Try to Understand, directed by Christopher Frierson, Listening to Kenny G, directed by Penny Lane, Mr. Saturday Night,...
- 12/15/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (Pcf) 25th Annual New York Dinner took place at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
David Foster, Katharine McPhee, and Andrea Bocelli perform at Pcf's Annual New York Dinner
Credit/Copyright: Patrick McMullan
The end-of-the-year benefit supported Pcf’s programs and celebrate the millions raised and achievements made in the past quarter-century through Pcf. The charitable organization founded by Mike Milken is dedicated to identifying and funding groundbreaking cancer research programs. The memorable evening welcomed leaders in medicine, top research scientists, business leaders and distinguished New York City socialites. The event raised over $6 Million.
The gala began with a lively cocktail reception. During a lavish dinner party, Mike Milken along with celebrity host Whoopi Goldberg gave a special presentation on Pcf’s recent accomplishments. There was also a live auction for various unique experiences as well as investment in Young Investigators who are changing the...
David Foster, Katharine McPhee, and Andrea Bocelli perform at Pcf's Annual New York Dinner
Credit/Copyright: Patrick McMullan
The end-of-the-year benefit supported Pcf’s programs and celebrate the millions raised and achievements made in the past quarter-century through Pcf. The charitable organization founded by Mike Milken is dedicated to identifying and funding groundbreaking cancer research programs. The memorable evening welcomed leaders in medicine, top research scientists, business leaders and distinguished New York City socialites. The event raised over $6 Million.
The gala began with a lively cocktail reception. During a lavish dinner party, Mike Milken along with celebrity host Whoopi Goldberg gave a special presentation on Pcf’s recent accomplishments. There was also a live auction for various unique experiences as well as investment in Young Investigators who are changing the...
- 12/7/2021
- Look to the Stars
"Robert was pitching this 'little disco movie.'" HBO has debuted a full trailer for the film Mr. Saturday Night, another documentary that's part of the outstanding Music Box series of doc films this fall. It already premiered at the Doc NYC Film Festival. This is the next one to launch on HBO Max following Listening to Kenny G and Dmx: Don't Try to Understand. Mr. Saturday Night is directed by the filmmaker also behind this year's Gordon Parks doc A Choice Of Weapons. The intro from Doc NYC: "The style. The fashion. The moves. Saturday Night Fever left an indelible stamp on our cultural memory of the 1970s—and there was one man behind it all. Robert Stigwood, a producer impresario, best known for managing the Bee Gees [and Cream], took the swagger of a Bay Ridge, Brooklyn disco, and brought it to the big screen. Although the film's popularity...
- 12/3/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
See our comprehensive guide to where to stream the best films of 2021.
Adrienne (Andy Ostroy)
I hadn’t seen any of Adrienne Shelly’s work at the time of her death, but you couldn’t follow the film world in 2006 without hearing about what happened. News sites first latched onto the assumption of suicide only to discover what happened was murder—the culprit found, arrested, and confessed shortly afterwards. And amidst that tragic whirlwind during the final two months of that year, Shelly’s latest film as writer-director-star, Waitress, was in submission at Sundance. It would eventually bow at the festival, find distribution, become an overnight indie darling, and spawn a Broadway musical adaptation with songs by Sara Bareilles. She unfortunately never...
See our comprehensive guide to where to stream the best films of 2021.
Adrienne (Andy Ostroy)
I hadn’t seen any of Adrienne Shelly’s work at the time of her death, but you couldn’t follow the film world in 2006 without hearing about what happened. News sites first latched onto the assumption of suicide only to discover what happened was murder—the culprit found, arrested, and confessed shortly afterwards. And amidst that tragic whirlwind during the final two months of that year, Shelly’s latest film as writer-director-star, Waitress, was in submission at Sundance. It would eventually bow at the festival, find distribution, become an overnight indie darling, and spawn a Broadway musical adaptation with songs by Sara Bareilles. She unfortunately never...
- 12/3/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
As with all of Penny Lane’s films, Listening to Kenny G, the idiosyncratic auteur’s TIFF-premiering, Doc NYC-opening, exploration of the beloved/reviled “smooth jazz” saxophonist and his globally ubiquitous sound (to this day “Going Home” signals closing time throughout China) turns a straightforward subject into an unexpected philosophical inquiry. In this case, Lane begins her journey down the G-hole with a simple question: Why does the bestselling instrumentalist of all time, our most famous living jazz musician, “make certain people really angry”? Using interviews with G as well as elite jazz critics and academics as well as archival footage, Lane arrives […]
The post “I Would Find Myself Wondering Why My Face Hurt So Much at the End of a Shoot Day, and It Was Because I’d Been Smiling the Whole Time”: Penny Lane on Listening to Kenny G first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “I Would Find Myself Wondering Why My Face Hurt So Much at the End of a Shoot Day, and It Was Because I’d Been Smiling the Whole Time”: Penny Lane on Listening to Kenny G first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 12/2/2021
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It’s now the final month of 2021 and, as is the case every year, one can see some of the theatrical offerings are a bit all over the place. Some of last month’s selections will be available to a wider audience this month (namely Licorice Pizza and The Power of the Dog), some below won’t actually get wider releases until next month, and others are getting one-week, awards-qualifying releases, making them 2021 films despite not receiving proper releases until 2022. Nonetheless, there’s still plenty to check out this month and you can see our top picks below.
15. The Scary of Sixty-First (Dasha Nekrasova; Dec. 2 in theaters and Dec. 24 on VOD)
Well-timed to her current run in Succession, Dasha Nekrasova’s directorial debut The Scary of Sixty-First will arrive this month following a Berlinale premiere in February. Joshua Encinias said in his review, “Scary’s cinematographer Hunter Zimny makes visual...
15. The Scary of Sixty-First (Dasha Nekrasova; Dec. 2 in theaters and Dec. 24 on VOD)
Well-timed to her current run in Succession, Dasha Nekrasova’s directorial debut The Scary of Sixty-First will arrive this month following a Berlinale premiere in February. Joshua Encinias said in his review, “Scary’s cinematographer Hunter Zimny makes visual...
- 12/1/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Love him or hate him, everyone knows Kenny G. The curly-haired sax-man is somehow both reviled while also being one of the best-selling artists of all time. The HBO documentary "Listening to Kenny G" promises to offer a "humorous but incisive look" at Kenny G and his career, with Kenny G himself front and center as he talks about doing what he loves: playing that 'phone, daddy-o! And honestly, this looks kind of wonderful. It even looks like the type of documentary that can convince haters that Kenny G really isn't all that bad. "Listening to Kenny G" is part of HBO's "Music Box" collection of...
The post Listening to Kenny G Trailer: This HBO Documentary Wants You to Practice Safe Sax appeared first on /Film.
The post Listening to Kenny G Trailer: This HBO Documentary Wants You to Practice Safe Sax appeared first on /Film.
- 11/29/2021
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
"The fact that what appeals to me, also appeals to other people - that's the beautiful thing [about music]." HBO has unveiled an official trailer for the music documentary Listening to Kenny G, another one of the films featured in the Music Box selection from producer Bill Simmons. This first premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival, and also played at the Doc NYC Film Festival this fall. Love him or love to hate him, Kenny G is one of the most well-known musicians on the planet. The film is light-hearted examination of the most popular instrumentalist of all time, Kenny G, and why he is polarizing to so many. I saw this at TIFF and Loved it, one of the best docs I've seen all year. An astute and thoughtful examination of why people love and hate Kenny G, why his music sounds the way it does, and why he's actually way smarter than most people realize.
- 11/29/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Dmx works to reclaim his life and career after a prison stint for tax fraud in the new trailer for the upcoming documentary, Dmx: Don’t Try to Understand, set to arrive Thursday, Nov. 25, on HBO Max.
Shot after Dmx was released from prison in January 2019, the film follows the rapper as he returns to the road and tries to reconnect with family and friends as one of rap’s inspirational elder statesmen. But on top of those efforts to spread what Dmx calls “the gospel according to X,” Dmx also...
Shot after Dmx was released from prison in January 2019, the film follows the rapper as he returns to the road and tries to reconnect with family and friends as one of rap’s inspirational elder statesmen. But on top of those efforts to spread what Dmx calls “the gospel according to X,” Dmx also...
- 11/19/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
By Glenn Dunks
Doc NYC starts today. The festival runs for in-person screenings from November 10–18 and then continues online until November 28. I have a Twitter thread covering what I am watching, but here we are looking at two music docs about artists from very different ends of the spectrum: Kenny G and Alanis Morissette.
Trust director Penny Lane to make a biographic documentary about a musician and have it not be the same old same old. The American filmmaker has been on a tear lately with Nuts! (about goat testicle charlatans), The Pain of Others (about Morgellons disease), and Hail Satan! (about the Satanic Temple). This run continues with the wittily assembled Listening to Kenny G, which plays today as the opening night film of Doc NYC.
Lane’s film isn’t the standard musician bio-doc, although it does chart his career from the early days discovering music in school...
Doc NYC starts today. The festival runs for in-person screenings from November 10–18 and then continues online until November 28. I have a Twitter thread covering what I am watching, but here we are looking at two music docs about artists from very different ends of the spectrum: Kenny G and Alanis Morissette.
Trust director Penny Lane to make a biographic documentary about a musician and have it not be the same old same old. The American filmmaker has been on a tear lately with Nuts! (about goat testicle charlatans), The Pain of Others (about Morgellons disease), and Hail Satan! (about the Satanic Temple). This run continues with the wittily assembled Listening to Kenny G, which plays today as the opening night film of Doc NYC.
Lane’s film isn’t the standard musician bio-doc, although it does chart his career from the early days discovering music in school...
- 11/11/2021
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
The Cinema Eye Honors, recognizing outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking, today announced the full slate of nominees for its 15th Annual Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Thursday, January 13, 2022, at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York. Leading the pack of nominees are two Sundance premieres: Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s animated “Flee” and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul,” which was nominated for six awards.
A trio of other lauded docs are nominated for five awards apiece, including Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension,” Jessica Beshir’s “Faya Dayi,” and E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “The Rescue.” Both Kingdon and Beshir are first-time feature filmmakers, while Vasarhelyi and Chin are long-time Cinema Eye faves, and Chin currently ranks as the most-winning Cinema Eye honoree in the event’s history, with five wins.
Historically, films nominated for Cinema Eye will often go on to other nominations and critics prizes.
A trio of other lauded docs are nominated for five awards apiece, including Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension,” Jessica Beshir’s “Faya Dayi,” and E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “The Rescue.” Both Kingdon and Beshir are first-time feature filmmakers, while Vasarhelyi and Chin are long-time Cinema Eye faves, and Chin currently ranks as the most-winning Cinema Eye honoree in the event’s history, with five wins.
Historically, films nominated for Cinema Eye will often go on to other nominations and critics prizes.
- 11/10/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Like many of its festival brethren, this year’s Doc NYC is returning to an in-person format after going virtual for its 2020 edition. But while the country’s largest documentary festival will be happily welcoming audiences back throughout New York City, a variety of films will still be available for virtual viewing (learn more about them right here). It’s the best of both worlds!
This year’s lineup encompasses a predictably wide range of subjects, from stories about unique personalities to insightful examinations of everything from birth control and high school football. The 2021 lineup includes more than 120 feature-length documentaries, including 32 world premieres and 34 U.S. premieres. World premieres include films on figures such as NBA legend Kevin Garnett, recently passed rapper Dmx, rat pack crooner Dean Martin, and the late literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. They join previously announced titles on Kenny G and Dionne Warwick, as well as Matthew Heineman’s “The First Wave,...
This year’s lineup encompasses a predictably wide range of subjects, from stories about unique personalities to insightful examinations of everything from birth control and high school football. The 2021 lineup includes more than 120 feature-length documentaries, including 32 world premieres and 34 U.S. premieres. World premieres include films on figures such as NBA legend Kevin Garnett, recently passed rapper Dmx, rat pack crooner Dean Martin, and the late literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. They join previously announced titles on Kenny G and Dionne Warwick, as well as Matthew Heineman’s “The First Wave,...
- 11/8/2021
- by David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland and Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
"This is your world. You can do whatever you want to do." You don't want to miss these! HBO has revealed another official trailer for the superb music documentary HBO collection called Music Box. Developed and produced by Bill Simmons, co-creator of the very popular 30 for 30 doc series on ESPN, this new Music Box series takes us back through music history with distinct documentary films. The first one already opened - Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage about the 90s music festival. And a number of others just premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival. They're set to stream on HBO this fall: Jagged debuts on November 18th, Don't Try to Understand debuts on November 25th, Listening to Kenny G debuts on December 2nd, Mr. Saturday Night debuts on December 9th, and Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss debuts on December 16th. I've already seen a few of these docs and they're So damn good,...
- 11/3/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
With the grand in-person return of the New York Film Festival in the rearview mirror, New York’s fall festival season barrels on with Doc NYC, the largest documentary festival in the country. This year’s festival will return to in-person theatrical screenings, with virtual options and passes available as well. The 2021 lineup includes more than 120 feature-length documentaries, including 32 world premieres and 34 U.S. premieres. World premieres include films on figures such as NBA legend Kevin Garnett, recently passed rapper Dmx, rat pack crooner Dean Martin, and the late literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. They join previously announced titles on Kenny G and Dionne Warwick, as well as Matthew Heineman’s “The First Wave,” a penetrating look at the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York City.
Doc NYC is also launching three new competitive sections this year: A U.S. Competition for new American nonfiction films, an International...
Doc NYC is also launching three new competitive sections this year: A U.S. Competition for new American nonfiction films, an International...
- 10/19/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Of the many music documentaries that screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, many – in fact, most – spend a lot of time telling you how great their subjects are. And then there’s “Listening to Kenny G,” which spends a lot of time telling you how much smooth-jazz saxophonist Kenny G sucks.
Mind you, it’d be impossible to make a Kenny G doc without addressing the elephant in the room, which is that the former Kenneth Gorelick is to many, particularly in the jazz community, a living embodiment of everything that can be wrong with popular music. And director Penny Lane, whose previous work includes “Our Nixon” and “Hail Satan?” is smart enough to know she can’t avoid the topic of Kenny G’s extreme divisiveness and playful enough to make it the defining characteristic of her film.
So while we hear from Kenny’s old high-school music teacher,...
Mind you, it’d be impossible to make a Kenny G doc without addressing the elephant in the room, which is that the former Kenneth Gorelick is to many, particularly in the jazz community, a living embodiment of everything that can be wrong with popular music. And director Penny Lane, whose previous work includes “Our Nixon” and “Hail Satan?” is smart enough to know she can’t avoid the topic of Kenny G’s extreme divisiveness and playful enough to make it the defining characteristic of her film.
So while we hear from Kenny’s old high-school music teacher,...
- 9/17/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Say what you will, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Kenny G. I’m a sucker for the pure, spun-sugar sax appeal of instrumental hits like “Songbird,” “Silhouette” and the aptly named “Sentimental.” At first blush, Penny Lane’s ruthlessly entertaining “Listening to Kenny G” — part hatchet job, part sophisticated meta-inquiry into the slippery subject of aesthetics — makes it sound like that’s something shameful to admit. But as a film critic with fairly esoteric tastes in cinema, I’ve never been embarrassed that my preferences in music are hopelessly square by comparison. Nor should you.
At the risk of further endangering my credibility, there was a time in my life, thanks to the mail-order scam that was the BMG Music Club, when I owned more albums by Michael Bolton than any other artist. But Kenny G was right up there (the two long-haired ’90s play-it-safe phenoms...
At the risk of further endangering my credibility, there was a time in my life, thanks to the mail-order scam that was the BMG Music Club, when I owned more albums by Michael Bolton than any other artist. But Kenny G was right up there (the two long-haired ’90s play-it-safe phenoms...
- 9/14/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
While the premise of Penny Lane’s Listening to Kenny G unfolds through the comedic question “why do so many people hate Kenny G?” it quickly reveals itself a rather intriguing tightrope walk upon the line separating art from commerce. Because this question cannot be answered without first acknowledging who the “people” are. Kenny G has fans. A lot of them. He’s sold 75 million records to become the best-selling instrumentalist of all-time. So they aren’t those “people.” Those who enjoy ragging on him as a meme because he’s an easy punching bag aren’t either. The real “haters” are therefore those who take jazz as an artform so seriously that they cannot comprehend Kenny G as anything but a hack. They hate him because he’s ignoring the rules.
It isn’t a coincidence, then, that Kenneth Gorelick refuses to answer a different question throughout this film...
It isn’t a coincidence, then, that Kenneth Gorelick refuses to answer a different question throughout this film...
- 9/12/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
“How’re you feeling?” Penny Lane asks Kenny G.
G turns, and pauses a beat.
“Uh… Underappreciated, in general.”
From these first 10 seconds of Lane’s new documentary about the saxophonist — and the startling backlashes he’s provoked throughout his 40-year career — you know you’re in for . With Lane’s laughter, just off-camera, to G’s response, it’s apparent right away this won’t be an objective biographical account, her subject held at some artificial remove, but instead, like Lane’s other films, an impressionist reverie of how the material before you makes you feel.
And Kenny G’s music has inspired a lot of feelings indeed. For his fans — and there are many, as the 52.4 million records he’s certified to have sold testify, putting him ahead of Bob Seger, Bob Marley, Kiss, and Aretha Franklin in sales — his music is moving and inspirational, whether providing the...
G turns, and pauses a beat.
“Uh… Underappreciated, in general.”
From these first 10 seconds of Lane’s new documentary about the saxophonist — and the startling backlashes he’s provoked throughout his 40-year career — you know you’re in for . With Lane’s laughter, just off-camera, to G’s response, it’s apparent right away this won’t be an objective biographical account, her subject held at some artificial remove, but instead, like Lane’s other films, an impressionist reverie of how the material before you makes you feel.
And Kenny G’s music has inspired a lot of feelings indeed. For his fans — and there are many, as the 52.4 million records he’s certified to have sold testify, putting him ahead of Bob Seger, Bob Marley, Kiss, and Aretha Franklin in sales — his music is moving and inspirational, whether providing the...
- 9/12/2021
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Some people are not fans of saxophone and jazz icon Kenny G, and one of his most vocal detractors was Pat Metheny, another jazz icon, whose harsh takedown became one of the most widely read pieces of jazz criticism ever. That exchange is a big moment in director Penny Lane’s latest documentary, “Listening to Kenny G.”
Back in 2000, Metheny famously called out Kenny G for playing out of tune and not knowing advanced scales. But what he really took great exception to was Kenny’s sharing the stage in a “duet” with one of the all-time jazz greats, Louis Armstrong, by overdubbing Armstrong’s icon recording of “What a Wonderful World.”
Speaking with TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman in a video interview at the Toronto International Film festival, Kenny G said he thought it was a joke when he first read Metheny’s critique, and he even tried to extend...
Back in 2000, Metheny famously called out Kenny G for playing out of tune and not knowing advanced scales. But what he really took great exception to was Kenny’s sharing the stage in a “duet” with one of the all-time jazz greats, Louis Armstrong, by overdubbing Armstrong’s icon recording of “What a Wonderful World.”
Speaking with TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman in a video interview at the Toronto International Film festival, Kenny G said he thought it was a joke when he first read Metheny’s critique, and he even tried to extend...
- 9/12/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Documentarian Penny Lane likes a challenge. After the humanizing, Super 8-driven portrait Our Nixon, she raised the stakes with her sympathetic-to-the-devil doc Hail Satan?
But where do you go from there? What widely maligned figure can you celebrate, or at least validate — or at least tolerate — after Tricky Dick and Ol’ Scratch?
The answer, it turns out, will either surprise you or seem oddly predictable, which might concern Lane if her goal is to be an artistic contrarian and not just a cinematic troll. Her latest reclamation project is smooth-jazz legend Kenny G, who receives the director’s lightheartedly introspective treatment in HBO’...
But where do you go from there? What widely maligned figure can you celebrate, or at least validate — or at least tolerate — after Tricky Dick and Ol’ Scratch?
The answer, it turns out, will either surprise you or seem oddly predictable, which might concern Lane if her goal is to be an artistic contrarian and not just a cinematic troll. Her latest reclamation project is smooth-jazz legend Kenny G, who receives the director’s lightheartedly introspective treatment in HBO’...
- 9/12/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Documentarian Penny Lane likes a challenge. After the humanizing, Super 8-driven portrait Our Nixon, she raised the stakes with her sympathetic-to-the-devil doc Hail Satan?
But where do you go from there? What widely maligned figure can you celebrate, or at least validate — or at least tolerate — after Tricky Dick and Ol’ Scratch?
The answer, it turns out, will either surprise you or seem oddly predictable, which might concern Lane if her goal is to be an artistic contrarian and not just a cinematic troll. Her latest reclamation project is smooth-jazz legend Kenny G, who receives the director’s lightheartedly introspective treatment in HBO’...
But where do you go from there? What widely maligned figure can you celebrate, or at least validate — or at least tolerate — after Tricky Dick and Ol’ Scratch?
The answer, it turns out, will either surprise you or seem oddly predictable, which might concern Lane if her goal is to be an artistic contrarian and not just a cinematic troll. Her latest reclamation project is smooth-jazz legend Kenny G, who receives the director’s lightheartedly introspective treatment in HBO’...
- 9/12/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Penny Lane’s “Listening to Kenny G” is an insightful, thought provoking look at the easy-listening saxophonist’s successful career in music. Lane chronicles the saxophonist’s rise to fame while also, humorously, exploring the love and the intense hate his music incites. Film screens in the Toronto International Film Festival.
How did you decide to make a film about Kenny G?
Bill Simmons (creator of HBO’s Music Box series) contacted me and asked me to pitch him ideas for a music documentary. I really wanted to work with him, but I was like I can’t think of a category of documentary that I’d be less interested in. So I thought, let me approach it like I’m back in art school on an assignment. Like, you must make a music documentary. I know that I’m really interested in the idea of artistic taste. Then I thought,...
How did you decide to make a film about Kenny G?
Bill Simmons (creator of HBO’s Music Box series) contacted me and asked me to pitch him ideas for a music documentary. I really wanted to work with him, but I was like I can’t think of a category of documentary that I’d be less interested in. So I thought, let me approach it like I’m back in art school on an assignment. Like, you must make a music documentary. I know that I’m really interested in the idea of artistic taste. Then I thought,...
- 9/11/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s scaled-down Toronto Intl. Film Festival gets underway Sept. 9 with 14 non-fiction films in the lineup – a sizable reduction from the average of 22 in non-covid outings.
Thom Powers, lead TIFF documentary programmer, winnowed down the list from 800 submissions, looking for films that “took him by surprise,” as he always does. But with fewer slots to work with, Powers admits that “the bar was set higher” for selections this year.
So, what bowled him over? Stories about the devastating fires in Australia (Eva Orner’s “Burning”); the largest prison uprising in U.S. history (Stanley Nelson’s “Attica”); and New York City’s longest hostage siege.
Several of his choices have screened at other major film festivals: Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee,” about a refugee who fled Afghanistan as a boy, will screen at TIFF after being an official selection of Cannes 2020 and having a world premiere at Sundance in January.
Thom Powers, lead TIFF documentary programmer, winnowed down the list from 800 submissions, looking for films that “took him by surprise,” as he always does. But with fewer slots to work with, Powers admits that “the bar was set higher” for selections this year.
So, what bowled him over? Stories about the devastating fires in Australia (Eva Orner’s “Burning”); the largest prison uprising in U.S. history (Stanley Nelson’s “Attica”); and New York City’s longest hostage siege.
Several of his choices have screened at other major film festivals: Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee,” about a refugee who fled Afghanistan as a boy, will screen at TIFF after being an official selection of Cannes 2020 and having a world premiere at Sundance in January.
- 9/8/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Festival issues list of talent expected to attend TIFF.
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has added the world premiere of a hitherto secret Steven Soderbergh film to the line-up ahead of the festival’s start next week.
The film was programmed in collaboration with the veteran filmmaker and further details will be announced in due course. Soderbergh was one of three Oscar show producers earlier this year and last played TIFF with The Laundromat in 2019.
“It wouldn’t be TIFF if we didn’t have a surprise element to tease out — and this year it’s coming from a TIFF friend,...
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has added the world premiere of a hitherto secret Steven Soderbergh film to the line-up ahead of the festival’s start next week.
The film was programmed in collaboration with the veteran filmmaker and further details will be announced in due course. Soderbergh was one of three Oscar show producers earlier this year and last played TIFF with The Laundromat in 2019.
“It wouldn’t be TIFF if we didn’t have a surprise element to tease out — and this year it’s coming from a TIFF friend,...
- 9/2/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Eva Orner’s Burning, about Australia’s devastating ‘Black Summer’, will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September.
Produced by Propagate Content, Dirty Films and Amazon Studios, the film marks Amazon’s first feature-length Australian documentary commission. To screen as part of the TIFF Docs strand, it explores what happened during the 2019 and 2020 bushfires from the perspective of victims, activists and scientists, as well as the lack of political will to address climate change.
In addition to directing, Orner executive produces alongside Cate Blanchett.
The LA-based Australian director won an Oscar for producing Alex Gibney’s 2008 doc Taxi To The Dark Side. Her credits also include Chasing Asylum, which tackled Australia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, and The Network, a behind-the-scenes look at the largest TV network in Afghanistan.
Burning is one of two Australian films selected for this year’s TIFF,...
Produced by Propagate Content, Dirty Films and Amazon Studios, the film marks Amazon’s first feature-length Australian documentary commission. To screen as part of the TIFF Docs strand, it explores what happened during the 2019 and 2020 bushfires from the perspective of victims, activists and scientists, as well as the lack of political will to address climate change.
In addition to directing, Orner executive produces alongside Cate Blanchett.
The LA-based Australian director won an Oscar for producing Alex Gibney’s 2008 doc Taxi To The Dark Side. Her credits also include Chasing Asylum, which tackled Australia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, and The Network, a behind-the-scenes look at the largest TV network in Afghanistan.
Burning is one of two Australian films selected for this year’s TIFF,...
- 8/5/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
BenedictionThe lineup has been unveiled for the 2021 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, which will take place over 10 days (September 9-18) both in-person and physically in Toronto, and digitally across Canada. Wavelengths - FEATURESFutura (Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher)The Girl and the Spider (Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher)Neptune Frost (Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman)A Night of Knowing Nothing (Payal Kapadia)Ste. Anne (Rhayne Vermette)The Tsugua Diaries (Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes)Wavelengths - SHORTSThe Capacity for Adequate Anger (Vika Kirchenbauer)Dear Chantal (Querida Chantal) (Nicolás Pereda)earthearthearth (Daïchi Saïto)Inner Outer Space (Laida Lertxundi)Polycephaly in D (Michael Robinson)“The red filter is withdrawn.” (Minjung Kim)Train Again (Peter Tscherkassky)Midnight Madness After Blue (Dirty Paradise) (Bertrand Mandico)Dashcam (Rob Savage)Saloum (Jean Luc Herbulot)Titane (Julia Ducournau)You Are Not My Mother (Kate Dolan)Zalava (Arsalan Amiri)TIFF DOCSAttica (Stanley Nelson)Beba (Rebeca Huntt)Becoming Cousteau...
- 8/4/2021
- MUBI
Titles include a new film from ‘Host’ director Rob Savage.
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has added 35 feature titles to its line-up for 2021, predominantly across the TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths strands.
The new titles include 11 world premieres, consisting of eight in TIFF Docs and three in Midnight Madness.
Titles in the latter include Dashcam, the new film from Rob Savage, director of 2020 pandemic horror hit Host. Savage was named a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2013.
Also in the Midnight Madness section is Kate Dolan’s You Are Not My Mother, inspired by the mythology of the Changeling, which...
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has added 35 feature titles to its line-up for 2021, predominantly across the TIFF Docs, Midnight Madness and Wavelengths strands.
The new titles include 11 world premieres, consisting of eight in TIFF Docs and three in Midnight Madness.
Titles in the latter include Dashcam, the new film from Rob Savage, director of 2020 pandemic horror hit Host. Savage was named a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2013.
Also in the Midnight Madness section is Kate Dolan’s You Are Not My Mother, inspired by the mythology of the Changeling, which...
- 8/4/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
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