Christmas Album Bombs

When news broke on Thursday that Simon Kinberg — best known for being a writer, producer, director or all of the above on much of the “X-Men” franchise — had been hired by Lucasfilm to write and produce a new “Star Wars” trilogy, it came as a surprise to many executives at Lucasfilm and Disney.

Former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast member Adrienne Maloof and Beyoncé were unlikely inspirations for “Anora’s” hair and makeup team. In the Sean Baker film, Anora (aka Ani, played by Mikey Madison) is a young woman who scrapes by stripping and escorting in Brighton Beach, N. Y. After meeting and quickly marrying Ivan (Mark Eidelshtein), […]

Christian Linke, the creator of Netflix’s “Arcane,” admits he was inspired by the U. S. two-party system of politics and their inability to communicate with each other. “Arcane” is set in a utopian city called Piltover and the wasteland city that runs underneath it called Zaun. Its citizens live off the scraps of rich Piltover residents […]

Hidden behind a strip of gay bars in downtown Palm Springs, an unmarked door opens into a modern-day speakeasy called The Evening Citizen. The walls are black, with dark velvet accents, and the lighting is low, except for a spotlight behind the bar that shines on the portrait of a man who could be the […]

Harry Styles doppelgangers flocked to London’s Soho Square on Saturday to show off their best impressions of the “Watermelon Sugar” singer — for a grand prize of £50. It’s the most recent in a string of so-called lookalike contests, which kicked off with Timothée Chalamet in New York (where the actor himself made a surprise […]

The major Hollywood studios skirted this weekend and held off on new releases, a decision that likely hedged against an uncertain national mood following the presidential election. Their absence is others’ gain though, as A24’s tricky thriller “Heretic” and Lionsgate’s seasonal play “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” each look to make a solid impression in […]