#FASHIONFILES: HOT or NOT? Jean Paul Gaultier x Lil Nas X Collaboration!
For the release of his first album, Montero, Lil Nas X and Jean Paul Gaultier teamed up to create a reinterpretation of the iconic second-skin mesh top from Spring-Summer 2001 collection incorporating Lil Nas X’s camp aesthetic.
Ummmmm very Ed Hardy…For em ut’s a NO!!!!! What about you?
#RHOA: Shereé Whitfield Is Getting Nipped and Tucked Ahead Of Anticipated Season 14 Comeback!
Shereé Whitfield is getting ready for her Real Housewives of Atlanta comeback! The 51-year-old Bravo alum was spotted getting some work done to her face just days after it was reported she's returning to the franchise for Season 14.
Shereé was seen getting some changes done to the lower half of her face, including what appeared to be her jawline and chin.
But the RHOA star wasn't trying to hide her work from fans. She actually posted the raw video of her non-invasive procedure on social media, making it clear that "getting a little tweak" is just fine.
Sharing the unapologetic clip, Shereé wrote, "Ok yall, I have gotten soooo many messages regarding my experience at #Epione."
Revealing she's "very happy" with her results, the television personality encouraged her followers to "check out the raw and unfiltered video that they provided me to see how fast and professional they are!"
"Guy, getting a little tweak here and there is ok if thats how you feel but also remember u have to take care of ur skin first and foremost," Shereé added.
Ending her message in the most Housewives way, Shereé gave her own brand a plug. "Watch out for my new skin care line... SHE is coming soon," she teased.
As reported, RHOA stars Porsha Williams and Cynthia Bailey are out, and Shereé is in for Season 14.
Shereé was one of the original cast members and held a peach until Season 4. She came back as a friend in Season 8 before coming back full-time the following year.
She officially ditched the franchise in 2010. But Shereé isn't the only new face joining the cast.
Porsha and Cynthia are being replaced by Olympian Sanya Richards-Ross.]
#MusicNews: Adele Sets Date For Comeback Show?
Adele will make her live comeback in December.The 33-year-old singer is reportedly planning to mark the release of her long-awaited fourth album with a gig in Las Vegas - her first live event in over four years - on 10 December, which will be broadcast around the world.
A source told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “Adele’s new album is the most highly-anticipated record of the year. It’s been a long time coming but her label wants it released before Christmas and have their sights set on a performance in Vegas.
"Adele and her management have been in talks with BBC America about broadcasting it around the world. This will be one of few performances as part of her promotional tour.
“Obviously with ongoing Covid dramas and concern for safety it could affect recording, but this is the date scheduled right now.”
The 'Skyfall' singer's most recent album, '25', was released in 2015 and the follow-up is expected to finally be out in November, having been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ed Sheeran recently confirmed Adele was expected to be back "before Christmas".
Asked if his track 'Bad Habits' would be the song of the year, he said: “I don’t know, I think Adele’s coming back before Christmas. I’ve heard rumours.”
It was recently claimed Adele was planning a residency in Las Vegas and liked the idea because it would help her family situation.
The 'Hello hitmaker - who has nine-year-old son Angelo with ex-husband Simon Konecki - would be able to stay living in Los Angeles and be in Las Vegas via private jet in just 40 minutes.
A source said: "Adele has very recently been talking to musicians that she has worked with before to gauge their availability, to see whether they could be in Vegas for the gigs.
"It is all very exciting. It would make her a lot of money but it would also mean she could have a routine. It would be hugely lucrative for her but also really fun.
"She loves performing live and there would be no shortage of people travelling to see her once the Covid restrictions are dropped."
#HipHopNews: Lil Nas X To Misses Out On His First No. 1 Album - Thanks To Drake!
Lil Nas X released his debut album MONTERO on Friday (September 17), and the project is on pace for a big opening week on the Billboard 200 — but likely not big enough to top the chart.
Judging by early sales projections, Lil Nas X is set to lose out on scoring his first No. 1 album thanks to Drake‘s Certified Lover Boy, which is set to hold on to the top spot for a third consecutive week.
According to HITS Daily Double, CLB is set to reign supreme atop the Billboard 200 with an additional 156,000 total album-equivalent units, while MONTERO is on track to sell over 125,000 total album-equivalent units in its first week, good for the No. 2 spot.
Previously, Certified Lover Boy shifted over 613,000 total album-equivalent units in its first week — the biggest sales week of 2021 by far — before adding around 236,000 sales to that sum in its second week.
If HITS Daily Double‘s latest projections are accurate, Drake’s total Certified Lover Boy sales will pass the one million-mark by its third week, making it eligible for platinum certification.
A No. 1 album isn’t the only thing Drake has denied Lil Nas X. The “Industry Baby” rapper recently revealed in a Breakfast Club interview he tried to secure features from Drake and Nicki Minaj on MONTERO but was unsuccessful.
“Drake replied ’cause you know Gee Roberson’s my manager,” he explained. “He was still working on Certified Lover Boy and whatnot and he was 100 percent focused on that. This was like a few weeks ago and I understood completely, and he said he’s down to do something but [it was] just not the right time. He was trying to get his own shit together.”
Nevertheless, Lil Nas X still managed to assemble a star-studded supporting cast for MONTERO, which boasts appearances from Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Miley Cyrus and Sir Elton John. It appears a deluxe edition is on the way with possible cameos from Kid Cudi and City Girls.
MONTERO‘s projected Billboard 200 debut will match Lil Nas X’s last project — 2019’s 7 EP — which also peaked at No. 2. The EP sold approximately 77,000 first-week total album-equivalent units and was nominated for the prestigious Album of the Year award at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Elsewhere on the Billboard 200, Kanye West’s Donda, which previously earned Mr. West his ninth No. 1 album, is set to fall from No. 2 to No. 3 behind, while Doja Cat’s Planet Her is expected to hold firm at No. 6.
Eddie Murphy Signs 3-Film and First-Look Deal With Amazon Studios!
Eddie Murphy has signed both a three-film deal with Amazon Studios and a first-look deal to develop original film projects with a potential to star.
The news comes on the heels of Murphy working with Amazon on “Coming 2 America,” which had a huge streaming debut on Amazon Prime Video in March.
Specifically, Amazon said — citing third party Screen Engine/ASI’s weekly PostVODTM ranking — that the comedy sequel was the No. 1 streamed movie of that particular opening weekend and boasts the No. 1 opening weekend of any other streaming movie in 2021 to date or in the past 12 months. In its debut week, “Coming 2 America” also topped Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings among all streamed SVOD content.
“Eddie is a legend both in front of and behind the camera,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “With undeniable comedic and dramatic genius, he consistently delivers entertaining, original stories and characters to audiences around the world. We could not be more excited to help carry on the tradition and to officially welcome Eddie into the Amazon family.”
Up next for Eddie Murphy, he’ll reprise a role from another one of his comedy classic franchises when he returns for “Beverly Hills Cop 4.” He’ll also star in an untitled comedy from Netflix and Kenya Barris alongside Jonah Hill. Murphy is an Oscar nominee for his work in “Dreamgirls,” and he also received acclaim for his performance in the 2019 biographical film “Dolemite Is My Name.”
Murphy is represented by WME, ML Management, Rogers & Cowan/PMK and Ziffren Brittenham.
The Weeknd and Nicolás Jaar Sued for Copyright Infringement Over “Call Out My Name”!
The Weeknd, Nicolás Jaar, and Frank Dukes have been sued by producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange for copyright infringement, Pitchfork can confirm. The complaint was filed September 17 in a California federal court, and alleges that the Weeknd’s 2018 My Dear Melancholy, track “Call Out My Name” is “strikingly and/or substantially similar, if not identical” to Fox and Strange’s 2015 track “Vibeking.” The suit points out a number of compositional similarities between the songs. “Both works are in a minor key,” it reads. “Both works are in a 6/8 meter that is less common in popular music. Both works are played at a similar tempo. And both works use features of electronica, ambience, pop, hip-hop, rock, and R&B to achieve a particular atmospheric and melancholic sound.” Find the full complaint below.
Elsewhere in the suit, Fox and Strange allege that the Weeknd’s song uses the same scale degrees as “Vibeking,” specifically in the melody of the hook. The complaint also states that the Weeknd and his co-writers created the song “without a license, authorization, or consent from Plaintiffs.” The suit also includes musical charts comparing the notation between the two songs.
When reached for comment, Stephen M. Doniger, an attorney for Fox and Strange, stated:
The Weeknd is no stranger to accusations of infringement, and this one is probably the most egregious claim against him and his team to date. Epikker (Suniel and Henry) works with many artists in the industry, and was profoundly disappointed to discover the liberal copying of “Vibeking,” an original Epikker song that was shared with the Weeknd years ago in good faith, in “Call Out My Name.” We look forward to bringing these facts to light and securing reasonable compensation and credit for Epikker.
#RIP💔😥🌺🙏 Melvin Van Peebles, Influential Director, Actor and Writer, Dies at 89!
Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking filmmaker behind “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song,” and father of director and actor Mario Van Peebles, has died. He was 89.
“Sweet Sweetback” was a groundbreaking film a few times over. Van Peebles financed and released the film independently, paving the way for an entire ecosystem of indie cinema. Because he couldn’t afford a traditional marketing campaign, he used the film’s soundtrack album to build awareness for the movie. And most crucially, he proved that films by Black filmmakers about Black life in America could be a profitable endeavor, presaging the explosion in Blaxploitation cinema of the 1970s.
“Dad knew that Black images matter,” Mario Van Peebles said in a statement from the Criterion Collection. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth? We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free. True liberation did not mean imitating the colonizer’s mentality. It meant appreciating the power, beauty and interconnectivity of all people.”
“Sweet Sweetback” will be screened at the New York Film Festival this week for a 50th anniversary tribute. “In an unparalleled career distinguished by relentless innovation, boundless curiosity and spiritual empathy, Melvin Van Peebles made an indelible mark on the international cultural landscape through his films, novels, plays and music,” the Criterion Collection said.
Among those who paid tribute to him were director Barry Jenkins, who wrote, “He made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame and admittedly, while the last time I spent any time with him was MANY years ago, it was a night in which he absolutely danced his face off. The man just absolutely LIVED.”
He made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame and admittedly, while the last time I spent any time with him was MANY years ago, it was a night in which he absolutely danced his face off. The man just absolutely LIVED pic.twitter.com/IIpfU8wI7q
— Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) September 22, 2021
Warrington Hudlin, founder of the Black Filmmaker Foundation, said,” As the Godfather of Black Cinema, he left us with both the inspiration and challenge to continue his artistic and racial disruption of the society we were born into. And he likely continues that provocation in the next life.”
Melvin and Mario Van Peebles teamed on the 1989 film “Identity Crisis,” with Melvin directing and Mario scripting and starring as a rapper possessed by the soul of a dead fashion designer. Melvin appeared in the 1993 Mario Van Peebles-directed “Posse,” in which Mario also starred, as well as in Mario’s Black Panther drama “Panther” (1995), with Melvin adapting the script from his own novel, the Mario Van Peebles-directed “Love Kills (1998) and the Mario-directed “Redemption Road” (2010).
Melvin Van Peebles also acted in the work of others, appearing in the 1991 feature comedy “True Identity”; Reginald Hudlin’s Eddie Murphy vehicle “Boomerang” (1992); big-budget Arnold Schwarzenegger action film “Last Action Hero” (1993); Charlie Sheen action film “Terminal Velocity” (1994); 2003 comedy “The Hebrew Hammer,” in which Melvin reprised the role of Sweetback and Mario also appeared; and Tina Gordon Chism’s 2013 romantic comedy “Peeples,” in which he played Grandpa Peeples.
In 1988 Mario Van Peebles starred in the brief NBC sitcom “Sonny Spoon,” about a private detective, in which his father was also a series regular as the private eye’s bar-owning father. On TV he also made guest appearances on series including “In the Heat of the Night,” “Dream On,” “Living Single” and “Homicide: Life on the Street.”
In “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” which Van Peebles wrote and directed, dedicating the film to “all of the Black brothers and sisters who have had enough of the Man,” Van Peebles starred as the title character, an orphan (portrayed as a child by Van Peebles’ son Mario) raised in a California bordello, where he does menial tasks and grows up to appear in live sex shows there; one day he’s told to ride along with two crooked detectives (who collect protection money from the whorehouse and elsewhere), and they end up beating a Black militant. Sweetback finally decides he’s had enough and attacks the cops, saving the Black militant; from that point the film focuses on Sweetback’s flight to the Mexican border.
Van Peebles employed a variety of interesting effects, including a great deal of hand-held work “to help express the paranoid nightmare that the fugitive’s life had become,” according to the book “The 50 Most Influential Black Films: A Celebration of African-American Talent, Determination, and Creativity.”
Produced on a total budget of $500,000, “Sweetback” saw box office of $10 million, according to “The 50 Most Influential Black Films”; a few months after, the studio-made, Gordon Parks-directed “Shaft,” starring Richard Roundtree, was released and became a significant success.
“Sweetback” and “Shaft,” together with the following year’s “Superfly,” directed by Gordon Parks Jr., are generally regarded as having together given birth to the Blaxploitation genre.
Van Peebles, however, was critical of many Blaxploitation films for being devoid of political content.
Columbia had offered Van Peebles a three-picture contract on the strength of his previous film “Watermelon Man,” but neither Columbia nor any other other studio would finance the film project that would become “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song,” so he did so himself; Bill Cosby loaned him $50,000 to complete the project.
The soundtrack to the film, featuring Earth, Wind & Fire, was released prior to the film itself in order to generate publicity and word of mouth.
When “Sweetback” drew an X rating from the MPAA, Van Peebles cleverly transformed this significant hindrance to any film’s box office prospects into an advertising tagline that played well with his target audience — “Rated X by an all white jury” — and declared, “Should the rest of the community submit to your censorship that is its business, but White standards shall no longer be imposed on the Black community.”
“Sweetback” drew a mixed critical response. The New York Times wrote a devastating review upon its release, but in a 1995 reappraisal, Stephen Holden wrote, “This sulphurous nightmare of racial paranoia and revenge eclipses even ‘Reservoir Dogs’ in evoking a world of infinite seaminess, injustice and cruelty. Mr. Van Peebles’s film was not only the granddaddy of (Blaxploitation films) but also the most innovative and politically inflammatory.”
In 2003 Mario Van Peebles directed the film “Baadassss!,” which was both a documentary and an homage to his father’s “Sweetback.”
The multitalented Melvin Van Peebles had four shows on Broadway, the first of which was “Ain’t Suppose to Die a Natural Death,” for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics; it started Off Broadway and ran for a total of 325 performances in 1971-72. The musical, which contained material from his three albums “Brer Soul,” “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death” and “As Serious as a Heart-Attack,” was Tony nominated for best musical, and Van Peebles was nominated for best book of a musical and best original score, while the musical also received nominations for direction, scenic design and set design. It is set for a Broadway revival in 2022.
For his next musical the following year, Van Peebles took more control, not only penning the book, music and lyrics but also producing and directing. “Don’t Play Us Cheap!” earned him another Tony nomination, for book of a musical, and in 1973 he adapted it into a film.
For 1980’s “Reggae: A Musical Revelation,” Van Peebles contributed only the book, but two years later, the original comedy with music “Waltz of the Stork,” with book, music and lyrics by Van Peebles, produced and directed by Van Peebles and starring Van Peebles, ran for 156 performances. (Mario contributed background vocals and appeared in drag in some scenes.) Van Peebles turned “Waltz of the Stork” into the 2008 film “Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha,” which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.
For the “CBS Schoolbreak Special” episode “The Day They Came to Arrest the Books,” Van Peebles won a Daytime Emmy in 1987 for outstanding writing in a children’s special and also won a Humanitas Prize.
Melvin Van Peebles was born in Chicago and attended West Virginia State College and then Ohio Wesleyan University, where he earned a B.A. in English literature. He served in the Air Force as a navigator-bombardier for three years.
Van Peebles experimented with career as a painter, and, growing appalled by the racist portrayal of African Americans in movies, made some film shorts as an amateur in the late ’50s and early ’60s. He did stints as a postal worker and, in San Francisco, a cable-car grip — about which he wrote his first book, “The Big Heart,” in 1957. He spent some time in Mexico; in Holland he studied astronomy at the University of Amsterdam and acting at the Dutch National Theater.
The Cinematheque Francaise invited Van Peebles to screen his shorts at its theater in Paris, where he spent some time as a street entertainer and wrote five novels (in English); the last of these books, “La Permission,” enabled his admission to the French Cinema Center as a director and led to a grant of $70,000. While still in Paris he adapted this novel into his first feature-length film, the Van Peebles-written and -directed “The Story of a Three-Day Pass” (1968), which concerned an interracial love story and addressed racism — a Black soldier is involved with a white girl and demoted as a result.
“The Story of a Three-Day Pass” led to his first directing assignment in the U.S.: “Watermelon Man,” a comedy about a bigoted white man who’s turned into a Black man (played by comedian Godfrey Cambridge) overnight. His wife was played by Estelle Parsons.
Joe Angio’s 2005 documentary “How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)” recounted the roller-coaster life of Van Peebles.
Van Peebles was married once, to the German-born actress and photographer Maria Marx, in the 1950s, but the marriage ended in divorce after several years.
In addition to son Mario, he is survived by son Max Van Peebles, an occasional actor and assistant director, daughter Marguerite, and grandchildren. His daughter Megan pre-deceased him.
Whoopi Goldberg Signs 4-Year Deal to Stay on 'The View'!
Whoopi Goldberg is going the distance. The 65-year-old star will stay aboard on The View for four more years thanks to a newly inked deal, via THR.
According to the news outlet, Whoopi will stay on for four more seasons, covering the newly launched Season 25 through Season 28. The financial details were not immediately revealed.
She is now in her 15th season overall at The View, joining the current season with Joy Behar, Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin.
Michael Blackson Donates $10,000 Towards Anthony Johnson’s Funeral Expenses!
Michael Blackson has donated $10,000 to the family of Anthony Johnson to help cover his funeral expenses. In an Instagram post shared by Hollywood Unlocked, the Coming 2 America actor made a check in the aforementioned amount out to match the other $10,000 that fans donated.
On Monday (Sept. 20), Blackson took to Instagram to encourage his fans to donate to his personal Cash App so the late actor could be buried. “If he's ever made you laugh, let's all contribute and send him home the right way,” he captioned the post. “I’m not sure what anyone is doing, but I’m going to raise my own money for him.”
Blackson’s generous donation came after Johnson’s wife Lexis Jones Mason called out those who showed “fake love” to her husband after news of his passing surfaced. On Wednesday (Sept. 22), the widow spoke to TMZ about how she was struggling to raise money to bury her husband.
“Y’all say y’all love him, but y’all not helping. Where’s the love?” Mason said.
“We’re gonna have a service. I’m gonna do everything I know he would’ve done for me,” she added. “It’s just hurtful. I would not be asking if I had it.” Mason said she wanted to raise $20,000 to bury Johnson in Rose Hills, a cemetery in California. She also revealed plans to cremate her husband if the funds were not raised in time.
Anthony Johnson’s wife calls out “fake love” while struggling to cover funeral expenses
As previously reported, Johnson, who was most known for his role as Ezal in Friday, was found “lifeless” earlier this month in a Los Angeles grocery store. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. So far, his cause of death has not been released.
Throughout his career, Johnson starred in almost 50 films and television shows, including Menace II Society, Lethal Weapon 3, The Players Club, B*A*P*S, I Got The Hook-Up and “Martin.”
Raquel Welch Spotted For First Time In Over 2 Years!
Raquel Welch was spotted for the first time in over two years while stopping by the Heritage Auctions building in Beverly Hills on Friday.
Paparazzi caught the 81-year-old actress — who rose to fame as a sex symbol of the 1960s — looking casual in a white top, black pants and platform wedges paired with a straw hat and stylish eyeglasses.
In several of the snaps, Welch wears a face mask due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; she also appeared to be holding on to her breasts as she strolled through the 90210.
Prior to her recent daytime outing, fans hadn’t seen or heard from Welch since her 2019 interview with the U.K.’s Sunday Post. While chatting with the outlet, the entertainer — who made a name for herself in such films as “Bedazzled,” “The Biggest Bundle of Them All” and “One Million Years B.C.” — explained that she enjoys keeping a “low profile” after decades of fame.
Sixties superstar Raquel Welch, 81, is seen out in public for the first time in over two years as she stops by an auction house in Beverly Hills.
Still, Welch admitted that it’s “nice to be noticed” occasionally.
“I think it is much better than not being noticed!” she said at the time. “My whole career has been about being noticed, just like any other actor or actress, so I am grateful that people are still interested.”
Midtown-Manhattan Pizzeria Sells $432M Mega Million Ticket!
Because Tuesday’s Mega Millions winning ticket was sold at a pizzeria in Midtown Manhattan, one lucky lottery buyer in New York City may be wondering about that question of what to do with that type of money.
According to the NY Lotto website, the person who bought the ticket with the numbers 36, 41, 45, 51, 56, and the mega ball 13 at Pronto Pizza on West 48th Street beat the odds of one in 302 million.
The winner will have the option of obtaining the taxed lump sum or three installments over three decades.
If you missed out on this win, there is another opportunity to win the Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, which has now reached $490 million.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are ‘Fine’ After a Fire Erupts In Their California Home!
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are reportedly doing fine after a fire broke out in their California home on Monday, Sept. 20.
According to Page Six, Smith and Pinkett Smith were the only ones reported to be in the Calabasas residence when fire trucks and an ambulance arrived to the scene, roughly at 3:30 p.m.
Following the incident, an unnamed source close to the Smith family revealed to the publication that the fire initially started in the basement and that the couple is now safe.“They are all fine and in the home. A fire broke out in the basement, and a fireman was treated, but everyone is fine.”
In addition to the source’s statement, an eyewitness around the area reiterated a similar tale by revealing that a blaze erupted on “one of the properties,” and that “someone was treated at the scene,” without hospitalization. Despite the reports, it has yet to be determined what caused the fire, and if there were any damages.
The couple began building the 25,000- square-foot estate back in 2003 and completed the project seven years later. In 2011, Pinkett Smith shared with Architectural Digest the idea behind their Mediterranean-style home. She said, “For Will and me this home was always a spiritual endeavor. We’re very earthy, organic people. We wanted to create a family retreat, something made by hand and as natural as possible, something that ties back to the land.”
Two years following that interview in 2013, the pair listed the nine-bedroom home on the market for $42 million, but ultimately for undisclosed reasons changed their minds and kept the property.
This initial property is also where the 50-year-old shoots her hit Facebook Watch series “Red Table Talk” alongside her daughter Willow Smith and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris. Pinkett Smith recently celebrated her birthday at the estate with a roller rink-themed party. Guests included Toni Braxton, MC Lyte and Jordyn Woods.
Madonna goes topless to promote her Paramount+ rock-doc Madame X!
On Wednesday, seven-time Grammy winner Madonna went topless behind a red curtain to promote her rock-doc Madame X, which premieres October 8 on Paramount+.
The 63-year-old Queen of Pop's personal videographer Ricardo Gomes directed the film during the Lisbon, Portugal stop of her 75-date 11th concert tour spanning 2019-2020.
The Madame X Tour was shut down early due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Madonna was forced to cancel 14 shows due to lingering knee and hip injuries.
The self-made superstar had mostly completed the documentary in April after seven months of production when she first screened it for 12 people in a 500-seat theater.
Madge (last name Ciccone) practically invented the modern rock-doc with Alek Keshishian's 1991 film, Truth or Dare, capturing her Blonde Ambition Tour.
The Material Girl also teased BTS footage on Wednesday from her upcoming V Magazine #133 cover shoot hitting shelves November 1.
In it, Madonna donned a black Valentino bustier, white Philip Treacy feathered hat, and Neil Lane crucifix selected by stylist B. Åkerlund. ]]]
Teyana Taylor Announces The Last Rose Petal Tour Ahead of Retirement!
After announcing her plan to retire from music last year, Teyana Taylor is giving her fans one final tour.
The singer took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce The Last Rose Petal Tour, a 12-city farewell that kicks off in San Francisco on November 7. “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard,” Teyana captioned her tour announcement. “However for every goodbye God makes the next hello closer. Come out and watch me, leave it all out on the stage… One last time… Just for you & as my last rose petal falls, I say farewell…”
Taylor has been quiet this year after having a tremendous 2020. In December of last year, Taylor hosted the 2020 Billboard Women in Music event, where she celebrated some of the industry’s most important voices. The evening was full of surprise guests, inspiring speeches, and plenty of music, with honorees that spanned multiple generations and genres, including Jessie Reyez, Dolly Parton, and Jennifer Lopez.
“Tonight’s honorees helped us look through the darkness and find the light. Their music inspired our Zoom dance parties, they used their platforms to fight a global pandemic, to fight for equality, and encourage voters to make their voices heard,” said Taylor in her opening speech. “While the world was in lockdown, these women were standing up, doing what women do best: getting to the work and getting to the money.”
Two months prior, Taylor recruited Sir Elton John to play piano in the visual for her track, “Lose Each Other.”
The emotional “Lose Each Other,” which comes off Taylor’s acclaimed, third LP, The Album, tells the tale of a couple breaking up and imagining life without each other. A beautifully-choreographed dance sequence underscores the song’s heartbreaking yet hopeful lyrics. Like the video itself, Elton’s appearance is both subtle and striking.
“As a director, I wanted the imagery to be simple, yet powerful, which is why I choose an all-white background and bold looks,” explained Taylor, who directs the majority of her projects under the moniker of “Spike Tee.” “I wanted my audience to understand how love’s hardships can also be beautiful.”
How Britney Spears feels about the new Netflix doc ‘Britney vs Spears’!
Britney Spears does not support Netflix’s new documentary about her conservatorship, “Britney vs Spears,” Page Six has learned.
“This is another unauthorized documentary without her blessing or participation,” a source exclusively told us on Wednesday.
Netflix just released the trailer for the forthcoming documentary — due out on Sept. 28 — which looks to explore the global pop star’s 13-year conservatorship battle.
“No one would talk. Until they did,” a narrator can be heard saying in the clip.
Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr, who directed “Britney vs Spears,” said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Wednesday that she tried to get ahold of Spears, 39, for the project.
“I always hoped and dreamed and wished and prayed to the documentary gods,” she said. “I tried to contact her repeatedly. But I had to sit with the understanding that it was unlikely ever to happen.”
Carr said she even sent the “Overprotected” singer a letter and has “reason to believe that she was able to read it,” but added, “I think she’s focusing on her new beau.”
Spears recently got engaged to longtime boyfriend, Sam Asghari, after five years of dating.
It’s widely known that the “Oops! … I Did It Again” singer is not a fan of having the most traumatic moments of her life replayed onscreen.
After the heart-wrenching FX/New York Times doc, “Framing Britney Spears,” came out in February, an insider told us Spears could barely bring herself to watch it at first.
“She’s chosen not to watch it because she’s fed up with the conservatorship,” a source told Page Six right after its premiere.
However, after a few days passed, we learned Spears eventually caught a few scenes, which a source told us left her feeling “emotional.”
“There are parts of the film that were too hard and emotional for her to watch — the scenes that describe the most difficult times of her life, the relentless media circus and the harsh focus on her as a young mother,” an insider said. “But, she feels, for the first time in many years, that people are on her side and things will get better for her.”
Carr told the LA Times she made “the creative decision” to not utilize the “same imagery” that Spears found traumatizing.
“The incidents that happened in 2007 during one of the episodes at the hospital — you’re never going to see those,” the filmmaker said.
Meanwhile, Spears’ conservatorship issues are still playing out in real life.
Her attorney, Mathew Rosengart, filed new court documents on Wednesday, further explaining to the court why Britney’s dad, Jamie Spears, should be removed as her conservator immediately.
The next hearing in this case is scheduled for Sept. 29 — one day after the Netflix doc premieres.
Kevin Hart Teams With Director F. Gary Gray On ‘Lift’ At Netflix!
(Via deadline): Kevin Hart and director F. Gary Gray are set to team for the first time on Lift, a heist film that Netflix acquired last March as a spec script by Dan Kunka. Production will begin at the top of the year. The film is produced by Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon for Genre Pictures, Matt Reeves and Adam Kassan for 6th & Idaho, and Hart and Brian Smiley for HartBeat Productions.
Hart will play a master thief who is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 flying from London to Zurich.
Lift falls under Hart and HartBeat Productions’ creative partnership with Netflix. They are currently in production on comedy Me Time starring Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall. The Batman director Reeves’ 6th & Idaho is also in a Netflix deal.
Gray, who is coming off Straight Outta Compton, The Fate of the Furious and Men in Black: International, had been set to next direct the action film Muscle with Vin Diesel. That film remains very much on track, but Diesel and Gray will pick that back up after Lift is finished and Diesel completed Fast and Furious 10.
Hart is coming off the HartBeat-produced Fatherhood.
Kunka has several projects set around town. TriStar and Escape Artists have the sci-fi adaptation Cagn, Focus Features and George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse have Water Crisis, based on an investigative journalist who recently documented how the world is running out of water; and Church of Spies has Philip Noyce set to direct. Kunka previously sold the Black List script Yellowstone Falls, which has Louis Leterrier to direct, Space Race at Universal with Dan Trachtenberg directing and Crime of the Century at Universal with Chris Morgan producing.
Kinberg separately has at Netflix Here Comes the Flood, which Jason Bateman is aboard to direct. Kinberg wrote the script, which sold in a giant spec deal. It is an elevated, character-driven love-story heist movie, with the heist playing out in increments.
Hart is repped by UTA and 3 Arts; Gray is repped by UTA and Nina Shaw. Kunka is repped by Verve and Lit Entertainment Group.
Warriors Owner Seems To Be Not Interested In Trading For Ben Simmons!
Ben Simmons wants no parts of the Philadelphia 76ers, and it appears a contending team out west wants no parts of him.
The Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob spoke Tuesday to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Lacob took some time to address the trade rumors linking the 76ers star Simmons to the Warriors and made clear that it likely will not be happening any time soon.
“In some ways, it doesn’t really fit what we’re doing,” said Lacob. “He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know.”
“He’s very talented,” Lacob continued about Simmons. “The problem is: We have Draymond [Green]. Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the playmaking. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”
Lacob was wise not to mention Simmons by name because that could be seen as tampering. The Warriors don’t need Simmons, but at the same time, they don’t need to throw salt on the man’s name either.
Tory Lanez Stirs Speculation With Cryptic Tweet!
Tory Lanez is signing off. On Tuesday night, the Toronto rapper took to Twitter to share a cryptic message where he seemingly announced his departure.
“It’s been real,” the One Umbrella boss told his 2 million followers.
Additionally, he cleared out his entire Instagram account and changed his profile photo back to the default pic. He hasn’t posted on either of his social platforms since the tweet.
It’s unclear what prompted the strange message, but it may have something to do with his pending court case involving Megan Thee Stallion. In October of last year, Lanez was charged with felony assault for allegedly shooting the “Savage” rapper in the foot. He faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted, but the case has yet to go to trial.
Last month, a judge increased his bail after prosecutors say he violated a protective order to stay away from Megan when he came within 100 yards of her at Rolling Loud Miami.
It was seemingly all good just days ago as he and Drake faced off in a friendly 1-on-1 basketball game in Miami.
Social media weighed in with their own theories about Tory’s cryptic tweet. While some fans shared their support, others weren’t as kind.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
MANE PARKING SPOT?
Pun intended of course
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!!!
EFREM
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