Open Thread

Agence France-Presse reports: Forty years after its 1984 release, Bronski Beat’s hit “Smalltown Boy” has transcended generations to become an LGBTQ anthem for young and old alike. Bronski Beat’s label London Records knew they had a surefire hit on their hands as soon as they turned to the UK capital’s iconic LGBTQ club Heaven to promote the single. “Suddenly, as …

Variety reports: From corporate suites to studio lots, Hollywood is bracing for a possible Trump return, one that could bring chaos and deepen political divisions in a polarized country. The actors, writers and directors who make most of what Hollywood exports are overwhelmingly supportive of Kamala Harris and view Trump as an existential threat to their freedoms. They speak at …

Variety reports: Mattel, the toy company behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, is developing a feature film about the stereoscopic image device View-Master. The live-action movie will be developed with Sony Pictures and Escape Artists. View-Master has been around since 1939. In a press release, Mattel described the toy as a “popular childhood staple for generations,” one that has “taken its …

Deadline reports: Newsies fans have reason for a little Extra! bounce in their step today: The director, composer, lyricist and cast members of the Broadway musical and 1992 movie adaptation have reunited for a non-partisan get out the vote video that features new performances of updated songs from the show. The project is for Broadway Votes, the theater industry’s largest …

Variety reports: On Thursday, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, unveiled a long-awaited glimpse into the future with models for their new self-driving prototypes: the cybercab and the robovan. Also at the celebration was the new Tesla robot Optimus. However, one person who seemed pretty certain about the origin of these designs was “I, Robot” director Alex Proyas. The …

Variety reports: Ariana Grande appeared at Studio 8H for hosting duties Saturday night and did some spot-on imitations of Britney Spears, Celion Dion and more. The singer, who stars as Glinda in November’s hotly anticipated “Wicked,” expressing excitement in her opening monologue about returning to the famed studio for the show’s 50th season. Recalling her last time hosting, the pop …

Deadline reports: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl executive producer Carla Shelley is promising an emotional comeback for Aardman’s stop motion heroes as they return this winter in feature film format for the first time in nearly 20 years. “I think we’re going to make everybody cry. We’re going to surprise everybody and make you laugh as well. It’s really …

Deadline Hollywood reports: After much pre-release turbulence, The Apprentice today opens on 1,740 screens across the country. Inspiring coming-of-age tales are a Hollywood staple, but most are warm and cozy compared to The Apprentice. In this ‘70s-set Manhattan tale, an ambitious real estate developer looking to crack the big time finds a mentor and role model in a take-no-prisoners lawyer …

Deadline Hollywood reports: The cease-and-desist letter sent by Donald Trump‘s campaign to the makers of The Apprentice might have cooled distributor interest in the former president’s coming-of-age tale, but now all bets are off. The filmmakers and distributor Briarcliff Entertainment are pulling out the stops to create awareness for the film — and goad Trump to see it — when …

Deadline reports: Less than a week after Garth Brooks was accused of rape in California, the country singer was back in federal court in Mississippi today to kneecap his own attempts to keep real names in the matter out of the public eye. Having been revealed in the extremely graphic October 3 filing in LA Superior Court by a “Jane …

Variety reports: Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, two major theme parks in Orlando, are preparing to close as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton to hit as a major storm. Disney said it would shutter its theme parks and Disney Springs entertainment complex in phases beginning at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and will “likely” remain closed on Thursday. “We will …

Variety reports: Shaboozey‘s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has now led the Hot 100 songs chart for 13 weeks, easily reigning as the longest-running No. 1 single of the year. “A Bar Song” holds more than double the weight of Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help,” or the second longest-running single of the year, with six weeks total. …

Variety reports: Vice President Kamala Harris is heading back to CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” marking the Democratic presidential candidate’s first late night interview since landing the nomination in August. Harris will appear this Tuesday, Oct. 8, on “The Late Show” (which airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET). Harris on “The Late Show” will come a night after …

Variety reports: “Joker: Folie à Deux” is falling flat after earning a “D” CinemaScore, the lowest grade ever from the research firm for a comic book movie. The previous record holder was 2015’s “Fantastic Four,” which received a “C-” CinemaScore . Meanwhile, “Folie à Deux’s” predecessor, the 2019 original “Joker” from director Todd Phillips, earned a “B+” grade through the …

Billboard Magazine reports: “Let ’Em In,” the title of a Wings hit from 1976, also seemed to be the Grammy Screening Committee’s guiding principle in deciding who to allow to compete for best new artist this year. Sabrina Carpenter, who is on her sixth album, was ruled eligible. Many of the eligible artists have been nominated for new artist awards …

Variety reports: A makeup artist sued Garth Brooks on Thursday, alleging that the country star raped her in a hotel room, and subjected to her to unwanted sexual conduct on other occasions, including sending her lewd text messages and groping her breasts. The woman, identified as Jane Roe in the lawsuit, also accused Brooks of exposing himself to her on …

Variety reports: Wednesday’s vice presidential debate between Republican candidate JD Vance and Democratic nominee Tim Walz was mostly free of fireworks, and that was perhaps reflected in the ratings for the event as well. The debate, produced by CBS News and moderated by the Eye’s Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, drew approximately 43.2 million viewers — down 25% from the …

Variety reports: A man who for some reason smashed up a guitar with a hammer in Texas may have thought it had been signed by Taylor Swift — but it was not, in fact, an official Swift-certified guitar. The guitar the man destroyed had not been signed by Swift — and was not a certified official guitar used by the …

Deadline reports: Verizon says it is “making progress” toward restoring its wireless service after disruptions to user in several major U.S. cities. “Verizon engineers are making progress on our network issue and service has started to be restored,” the company said in a statement. “We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience some of our …

Variety reports: “Saturday Night Live” host Jean Smart kicked of this year’s 50th season of the storied sketch show with a monologue highlighting its home city, the Big Apple. Smart serenaded the audiences inside Studio 8H, singing, “I Happen to Like New York,” in which she took loving jabs at the city and reflected on her popularity among lesbians. “Lesbians …