Categories
Movies

There’s a couple of small films I want to see right now, but none of these major films interest me at all.

Box office report: The Jungle Book easily bests The Huntsman: Winter’s War

Charlize Theron’s evil queen was no match for the king of the jungle.

The Jungle Book topped the box office once again, declining only 41 percent for a second weekend of $60.8 million. After only 10 days of domestic release, The Jungle Book has racked up $191.5 million in North America and $528.5 million worldwide, and its solid second weekend ranks as the 15th best of all time — and the biggest second weekend of 2016.

While The Jungle Book soared, new release The Huntsman: Winter’s War was relegated to second place, debuting to an estimated $20.1 million. That’s less than half of what the original Snow White and the Huntsman earned when it opened to $56.2 million in 2012. The new Huntsman movie ditched Kristen Stewart, retained Theron and Chris Hemsworth, and added Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain to the cast, but the latest installment only earned a B+ CinemaScore. The budget for Huntsman: Winter’s War was about $115 million.

Barbershop: The Next Cut also held up fairly well in its second weekend, dipping only 46 percent to earn an estimated $10.8 million this weekend. So far, the third installment in the Barbershop series has earned $36 million domestically.

And even though Zootopia now has some PG-rated competition from The Jungle Book, Disney’s animated adventure also continued its excellent run, adding another $6.6 million to its domestic total. So far, Zootopia has raked in an estimated $316 million domestically and $591 million internationally, bringing its global total to $907.1 million. Zootopia is now the third-biggest Walt Disney Animation Studios release of all time, after Frozen and The Lion King.

Finally, fifth place went to Melissa McCarthy’s The Boss, which dropped about 39 percent in its third weekend to earn $6.1 million for the weekend. Its domestic total is now at $49.5 million.

Here are this weekend’s top five at the box office:

1. The Jungle Book — $60.8 million
2. The Huntsman: Winter’s War — $20.1 million
3. Barbershop: The Next Cut — $10.8 million
4. Zootopia — $6.6 million
5. The Boss — $6.1 million

Categories
People

May he rest in peace.

Prince’s Friends and Family at Paisley Park for ‘Beautiful’ Private Memorial as Singer’s Body Is Cremated

Friends and family gathered at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on Saturday in honor of iconic musician Prince.

Sheila E was spotted arriving at the compound on Saturday, dressed in an all white outfit. Other friends and family members, including Mayte Garcia, were spotted arriving as well, some of whom brought purple floral arrangements. A source confirms to PEOPLE that it was a private memorial for the singer.

On Saturday, Prince’s publicist confirmed that friends and family had held a private memorial and that the late musician’s body had been cremated.

“A few hours ago, Prince was celebrated by a small group of his most beloved: family, friends and his musicians, in a private, beautiful ceremony to say a loving goodbye,” the rep said in a statement. “Prince’s remains have been cremated and their final storage will remain private. We ask for your blessings and prayers of comfort for his family and close friends at this time. The cause of death remains unknown and it will be at least four weeks before we receive the results of the autopsy. An announcement will be made at a future date for a musical celebration. ”

Prince’s publicist confirmed that he had died on Thursday, April 21, at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota. However, no cause of death was released at the time.

The star had been reportedly battling the flu for several weeks and his private plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday, April 15, when the 57-year-old singer was rushed to a local hospital in Moline, Illinois. (A source also told PEOPLE that the singer had been struggling with a “serious illness” before he died.)

Prince had been traveling back from what would become his final concert in Atlanta, which took place on April 14. The gig took place after he had to cancel a previous concert the week before due to illness. According to one concert-goer, there was no indication that Prince was ill when he performed on April 14.

The larger-than-life musician – known as much for his over-the-top showmanship as he was for his award-winning music – was born in Minneapolis and developed a love of music from his parents, who were both musicians. His 1984 album, Purple Rain, has long been lauded as one of the greatest albums of all time. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Categories
Business

Hopefully they can figure it all out easily.

Prince’s Business Affairs Were Reported To Be Chaotic Before His Death

Prince’s business empire lacked control before his death, and now his relatives and lawyers are left scrambling to pick up the pieces.

Sources close to the singer tell TMZ he often switched up his team of advisers, especially if he didn’t like what they had to say. We’re told Prince lacked high powered attorneys with the kind of experience needed to sort out business affairs, and handle a music catalog like his.

Sources say Prince’s sister Tyka has been calling most of the shots since his death. However, even honchos at his label, Warner Bros Music aren’t sure where the rights to his songs will fall.

It’s also being said that reports of the singer’s fortune being close to $300 million are inflated, and it’s probably closer to half that. Still, it’s a ton of dough someone will have to control.

Categories
People

I can’t wait to hear it all!!

Prince dead: Musician’s secret vault reportedly contains ‘thousands’ of unreleased songs

The world says its painful goodbyes, but Prince’s musical legacy doesn’t yet appear to be over.

Long has the legend of Prince’s secret vault embedded itself into music’s most secretive whisperings; as recently as last year, The Guardian reported the vault was crammed with enough unreleased material for the musician to posthumously release an album a year until the next century. Back in 1996, The New York Times reported the vault as containing “at least a thousand” unreleased songs.

However, the vault was just another factor in the icon’s mystique; Prince’s famous drive for total privacy, for the only reality we saw to be the magic on stage. He never spoke of the vault or the treasures contained within, with our only knowledge coming from those who worked with him.

Prince’s former sound engineer Susan Rogers, for example, claims she first created the vault; “I joined Prince in 1983 when he was preparing to do Purple Rain. I realised it would be smart for me to get his tapes together in one place. I was aware there were a lot of pieces missing. It became an obsession. I wanted us to have everything he’d ever recorded.”

“I called up the studios he’d been using and said: ‘Have you got any Prince tapes’? This is his legacy. We need to protect these things. It’s an actual bank vault, with a thick door. It’s in the basement of Paisley Park. When I left in 87, it was nearly full. Row after row of everything we’d done. I can’t imagine what they’ve done since then.”

“I think over 70% of the music we’ve worked on for Prince is yet to come out,” said Brent Fischer, a composer who worked on orchestration for Prince’s work for 30 years. “There are a lot of songs that were sent to us clearly with the idea that they would never be released. They were almost comical songs that he would work out with his horn players. There was a lot of wild horn parts and experimentation with samples. I’d like to see ‘All My Dreams’ come out. We enjoyed that song so much. I think it’s nine-and-a-half minutes. It’s this epic journey.”

Unreleased projects include side-project The Rebels, a group effort created with his backing band which aimed for stronger rock elements; live jam sessions recorded in late 1985 to early 1986 known as The Flesh; and Dream Factory, recorded with The Revolution from 1986. It’s unknown whether these tracks are contained within the vault, but there’s clearly an absolutely colossal amount of material hidden away.

“He could put out music for the next generation and it would still be relevant,” said Prince’s childhood friend and longtime bass player. “I don’t think you’ll ever get to hear everything in the vault because you’d have to sit down for 10 years. There is just too much to go through.”

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

This is why he’s The Boss!!!

Bruce Springsteen cancels North Carolina show over anti-LGBTQ law

Bruce Springsteen has canceled his upcoming concert in North Carolina due to a recently passed state law which discriminates against the LGBTQ community.

In a statement posted on his Facebook account, Springsteen explained why he decided to scrap the show, which was scheduled to take place at the Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday. “HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use,” he wrote. “Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden.”

The new law states that “Transgender people who have not taken surgical and legal steps to change the gender noted on their birth certificates have no legal right under state law to use public restrooms of the gender with which they identify,” according to the Charlotte Observer.

Springsteen, often an outspoken voice when it comes to political and social issues, added, “To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress.”

He concluded by saying, “Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters.”

“Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”

Read his full message below.

“As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.”

Springsteen’s The River Tour resumes on April 12th at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Categories
Movies

You couldn’t pay me to see THE BOSS. It looks absolutely horrible.

Box office report: The Boss bests Batman v Superman with $23.5 million

Melissa McCarthy is still The Boss of the box office. Her latest comedic effort premiered in theaters this weekend and earned the top spot with an estimated $23.5 million.

It was a close race between The Boss and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The DC blockbuster experienced a massive drop in its second week in theaters, and the film was neck-in-neck with The Boss. But by the weekend’s end, it came just shy of the No. 1 spot with $23.44 million, bringing its domestic total to approximately $296.69 million.

Zootopia, on the other hand, remains solid. It closed out this weekend with $14.35 million and a cumulative domestic total of $296.01 million. Hardcore Henry, the first-person actioner, was the other major premiere this weekend. From 3,015 locations, the film earned less than projected with $5.1 million, though it seemed to target a very specific audience: male gamers who love first-person shooters like Call of Duty.

Rounding out the leftovers were My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 ($6.42 million), Miracles From Heaven ($4.84 million), God’s Not Dead 2 ($4.05 million), The Divergent Series: Allegiant ($3.6 million), 10 Cloverfield Lane ($3 million), and Eye in the Sky ($2.83 million).

Here are this weekend’s top five at the box office:

1. The Boss – $23.48 million
2. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – $23.44 million
3. Zootopia – $14.35 million
4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 – $6.42 million
5. Hardcore Henry – $5.1 million

Categories
Awards

The show was such a snore!! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

‘Star Wars’ leads winners at profanity-laden MTV Movie Awards

LOS ANGELES – A passionate kiss, Leonardo DiCaprio’s “Revenant” bear encounter and a foul-mouthed hosting duo dominated Saturday’s profanity-laden MTV Movie Awards, where “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” came away the top winner.

“The Force Awakens,” the third-highest grossing film of all time, led with 11 nominations and beat out blockbusters such as “Jurassic World” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” for movie of the year. Lead star Daisy Ridley won best breakthrough performance.

“It’s especially amazing to be part of a film that represents all genders – two genders – and races and ages in such a positive and aspirational way,” Ridley said.

It’s all about the unpredictable and irreverent moments at Viacom Inc.’s fan-voted Movie Awards, which taped Saturday in Los Angeles and will air Sunday on the MTV network.

Hosts Kevin Hart and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson set the tone for the evening as they opened with curse words and insults, at one point dressing up as Batman and Superman to throw barbs at the A-list superhero actors in attendance.

They also rapped about Oscar-winner DiCaprio having sexual intercourse with a bear in “The Revenant”.

“Pitch Perfect 2” stars Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine won best kiss and recreated their messy film smooch, passionately grabbing each other on stage.

Charlize Theron won best female performance for playing Imperator Furiosa in “Mad Max: Fury Road”. She said the film was “in part a story of the power of women and the power to create our own destinies,” dedicating her win to “all the Furoisas”.

Halle Berry introduced actor-singer Will Smith as a “champion for diversity” when awarding him the MTV Generation Award. Smith joked the accolade was “the old ass dude award”.

“I want to display love, play roles that have dignity and I just want to help in this world,” the “Concussion” star said.

Other winners included hip-hop biopic “Straight Outta Compton” for best true story, Ryan Reynolds for best comedic performance and best fight for “Deadpool,” Amy Poehler for best virtual performance in “Inside Out” and Chris Pratt for best action performance for “Jurassic World”.

Actress Melissa McCarthy crowd-surfed to the stage to accept the Comedic Genius award, saying “I’m the first woman to receive this award but I am certainly not the first one to deserve it”.

“My mother taught me not to fear being the butt of the joke, not to worry about being likeable or perfect, and to lovingly go for the kill,” she said.

List of winners from the 2016 MTV Movie Award

Winners of the 25th annual MTV Movie Awards, presented Saturday at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif.:

Movie of the year: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Female performance: Charlize Theron, “Mad Max: Fury Road”

Male performance: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”

Virtual performance: Amy Poehler, “Inside Out”

Action performance: Chris Pratt, “Jurassic World”

True story: “Straight Outta Compton”

Documentary: “Amy”

Comedic performance: Ryan Reynolds, “Deadpool”

Breakthrough performance: Daisy Ridley, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Best kiss: Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine, “Pitch Perfect 2”

Best fight: Ryan Reynolds and Ed Skrein, “Deadpool”

Best hero: Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2”

Best villain: Adam Driver, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Ensemble cast: “Pitch Perfect 2”

MTV Generation Award: Will Smith

Comedic Genius Award: Melissa McCarthy

Categories
Music

I’ll certainly give this a listen…more than a few times.

Paul McCartney announces massive new compilation

Paul McCartney fans have a new authoritative compilation.

McCartney announced the upcoming release of a new 67-track compendium, “Pure McCartney” that covers the entirety of his post-Beatles output. That spans a wide-ranging career including tracks from “McCartney,” his underrated 1970 solo debut, his band Wings, his electronic project the Fireman and a bevy of more recent cuts, including a remixed Michael Jackson collaboration and his song for the video game “Destiny.”

In a statement Thursday, McCartney said, “Me and my team came up with the idea of putting together a collection of my recordings with nothing else in mind other than having something fun to listen to.”

“Maybe it’s to be enjoyed on a long car journey or an evening at home or at a party with friends? So we got our heads together and came up with these diverse playlists from various periods of my long and winding career.”

McCartney’s most recent solo album, “New,” was released in 2013, and he kicks off a new solo tour in Fresno on April 13. The “Pure McCartney” compilation will be available in two- and four-CD versions as well as a four-LP package, and it’s due out June 10.

Categories
Awards

Congrats to all the winners!!

Juno Awards 2016: The Weeknd, Bieber, Dean Brody among winners

The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye, cleaned up at the 45th annual Juno Awards in Calgary on Sunday, taking Album of the Year with Beauty Behind the Madness and Single of the Year for Can’t Feel My Face, to go with Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at Saturday’s pre-show.

Tesfaye first acknowledged his peers in the last award of the evening.

“All the other nominees made amazing albums this year. Make some noise for them!” Tesfaye said as he accepted his fifth trophy of the weekend, before giving thanks to his mom and fans.

He was up against Drake, Jean Leloup, Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber in the Album of the Year category.

Bieber took the fan choice award and offered a video acceptance as he wasn’t present.

It was an evening of music, applause and standing ovations at Calgary’s Saddledome.

Walk Off the Earth took Group of Year, beating out Hedley, Marianas Trench, Metric and Three Days Grace.

“We love you back!” singer Sarah Blackwood said to a cheering audience as she accepted the award.

Dean Brody’s Gypsy Road took Country Album of Year.

Brody shouted out thanks to his management group, “the whole team that has built me up and brought me to what I am today,” and his fans and family.

Edmontonian Alessia Cara was awarded the coveted Breakthrough Artist of the Year over fellow nominees Coleman Hell, Francesco Yates, Scott Helman and Tobias Jesso Jr.

“I have never made an acceptance speech before,” the young artist said, tearing up a little.

“Thank you so much,” she said to fans and her team.

Veteran rocker Burton Cummings was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Cummings took the stage and teared up during what felt like an endless standing ovation.

“Thanks, folks. That is just remarkable,” he said.

“I share this and dedicate this to my hometown of Winnipeg. I lost my mom two years ago and I think she is up there looking down … I have been so lucky. I have been surrounded by so many good people.”

The show was co-hosted by Canadian singer Jann Arden and Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery.

The telecast opened with a performance from Cara, who burst onto the global scene last summer with her infectious R&B-fused pop hit Here.

“There’s nothing like being embraced from home,” said Cara, who was nominated for four Junos this year, including breakout artist and the fan choice award.

Most of the 42 Juno Awards were already handed out at a gala dinner in Calgary on Saturday night.

Music-industry stalwarts like the Weeknd, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Bieber won awards, but the field had many first-time nominees.

Categories
Movies

The new baseball season just started! Who’s going to the movies these days?!?

Box office report: Batman v Superman drops to $52 million in second weekend

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is falling faster than a speeding bullet.

Warner Bros.’ superhero epic plummeted 68 percent in its second weekend, from $166 million to only $52.4 million. That’s a steep drop, and although Batman v Superman scored the seventh-biggest opening weekend of all time, it only earned the 26th biggest second weekend. After 10 days in theaters, Batman v Superman has earned an estimated $261.5 million domestically and $681.3 million worldwide.

Although Batman v Superman set records last weekend for the biggest domestic March opening of all time and the biggest worldwide superhero opening, there was some uncertainty as to how it would perform in its second weekend, especially with negative reviews and a lukewarm B CinemaScore. Still, Batman v Superman’s fall to earth is actually fairly similar to what Man of Steel did three years ago. When Zack Snyder’s first Superman movie hit theaters in June 2013, it opened to $116.6 million before falling 65 percent in its second weekend. The fact that Batman v Superman had a slightly steeper drop isn’t all that surprising, especially since Batman v Superman had worse critical reviews and a worse CinemaScore.

But it’s important to note that Man of Steel went up against two major new releases in its second weekend: Monsters University and World War Z, both of which knocked Man of Steel to third place. Batman v Superman didn’t have any competition in its second weekend, as the only major new release was the faith-based drama God’s Not Dead 2.

And God’s Not Dead 2 didn’t prove to be much of a threat: The faith-based drama only opened to $8.1 million. That’s less than what the original opened to back in 2014 ($9.2 million) — even though the sequel opened in 2,419 theaters and the first God’s Not Dead only debuted in 780.

As for the holdovers, Zootopia had another solid weekend, adding $20 million to its total. The critically acclaimed animated movie fell only 17 percent domestically in its fifth weekend, crossing $275 million domestic and $500 million international. Zootopia now has a domestic total of $275.9 million and $787.6 million worldwide.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 also held up fairly well in its second weekend, dipping only 38 percent to $11.1 million. The Nia Vardalos-starring sequel has earned $36.5 million domestically after 10 days.

And a second faith-based drama rounded out the top five, with the Jennifer Garner-starring Miracles from Heaven earning $7.6 million in its third weekend. Its domestic total is now at $46.8 million.

Outside of the top five, the Mike Epps-starring parody Meet the Blacks debuted to $4.1 million, and Eye in the Sky, the military thriller starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and Alan Rickman, expanded into 1,029 theaters to also earn $4.1 million. Since opening in limited release four weeks ago, Eye in the Sky has earned $6.2 million domestically.

At the specialty box office, Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic, Miles Ahead, opened to $122,751in four theaters for a strong per-theater average of $30,688. Richard Linklater’s new comedy Everybody Wants Some!! also opened on Wednesday in 19 theaters, earning $323,000 for the weekend with a per-theater average of $17,000.

Here are this weekend’s top five at the box office:

1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — $52.4 million
2. Zootopia — $20 million
3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 — $11.1 million
4. God’s Not Dead 2 — $8.1 million
5. Miracles from Heaven — $7.6 million