Open Thread

Variety reports: Long live the new box office queen. After selling out stadiums across the country, Taylor Swift is filling movie theaters with “The Eras Tour” concert film, which ignited to estimates of $95 million to $97 million over the weekend. At the international box office, “Eras Tour” collected $31 million to $33 million, putting its initial global tally between …

Rolling Stone reports: The B-52’s singer Kate Pierson gets into the Friday the 13th spirit with her new solo single “Every Day Is Halloween,” co-written by Sia. “‘Every Day Is Halloween’ is a haunting yet uplifting song about a woman who is dying to be seen! She finally gets to return as an apparition, and all her secrets are finally …

Variety reports: Mark Goddard, known for playing Major Don West on the CBS series “Lost in Space,” died in Hingham, Mass. on Oct. 10 of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 87. In statement posted to Facebook, Goddard’s wife, Evelyn Pezzulich, confirmed that the actor was hospitalized with pneumonia and then transferred to a rehabilitation center, where the doctors discovered he was …

Variety reports: Since the dawn of cell phones, it’s been taboo to use them at the movies. But for the first time that he can remember, Marcus Theatres president Gregory Marcus is encouraging moviegoers to keep their iPhones in hand and — gasp — even use them for Taylor Swift‘s “Eras Tour” concert film, which premieres in theaters on Friday. …

Variety reports: Cher has denied the allegations that surfaced last month accusing her of employing four men to abduct her adult son. In a new interview with People, the singer adamantly states: “That rumor is not true.” The shocking allegation first appeared in divorce documents involving Cher’s son Elijah Blue Allman and his wife, Marie Angela King. They were recently …

Variety reports: These waters are getting choppy. On the same day that Warner Bros. dropped the trailer for its $215 million “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” embarrassing documents from the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial surfaced on Reddit, creating a new headache for the studio behind the film. Following “Aquaman’s” release in 2018, the studio and Wan decided to drop …

Deadline reports: As the camera swept across the crowd to RFK Jr. at the podium, he seemed to be searching through his coat pockets before making an aggravated noise and turning toward stage left, saying, “I need my speech.” Kennedy, who was wearing a mic, pointed to the teleprompter then walked off camera and, amid shuffling sounds, was heard saying, …

NBC News reports: Pedro Almodóvar, the filmmaker who has defined Spanish cinema for nearly the last four decades, tackles the quintessential American genre in his new Western short, “Strange Way of Life.” The 31-minute film stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as estranged lovers living on the American frontier who revisit the romance of their youth before finding themselves in …

Variety reports: British synth-pop group the Pet Shop Boys are the latest to call out Drake for allegedly not getting permission to use their lyrics in his newly-dropped “For All the Dogs” record. “West End Girls” was the first single the duo — comprised of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe — released. It became an instant hit in both the …

Variety reports: Sufjan Stevens‘ new record “Javelin” (out today via Asthmatic Kitty) has been widely described as a breakup record for its themes of heartbreak and suffering. On Friday morning, the subject matter became much clearer when Stevens penned and uploaded a dedication of the album to his late “beloved” partner Evan Richardson, who passed away in April. “This album …

Variety reports: Taylor Swift‘s “Eras Tour” concert film is breaking records before it even hits theaters. With a week until the movie graces the big screen, it has surpassed $100 million worldwide in advance ticket sales, according to its official distributor AMC Theatres. These revenues encompass all showtimes, locations and circuits playing “Eras Tour” across the globe, not just AMC …

Variety reports: The 77th Tony Awards are moving to the Upper West Side and will take place at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. It’s the fourth location change in four years for Broadway’s biggest night, held in prior years at Washington Height’s United Palace Theater, Radio City Music Hall and the Winter Garden Theatre. CBS will broadcast …

The New York Daily News reports: Netflix is reportedly planning to raise prices once the months-long actors’ strike is resolved. The price hike is expected to come “a few months” after the SAG-AFTRA strike is settled and most productions resume, according to the Wall Street Journal. The increase would occur in “several markets globally” — starting with the U.S. and …

Variety reports: If you’re piggybacking on someone else’s Disney+ account, you may soon have to pay up to access the streamer. The Mouse House has notified Disney+ subscribers in Canada that as of Nov. 1, “Unless otherwise permitted by your service tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household.” The notification to Canadian subscribers is part of …

Billboard Magazine reports: Britney Spears is lashing out at police for conducting a welfare check after she shared a video of herself dancing at home with knives. “Is it a joke in the news again with welfare checks??? Come on America … we cooler than that, right ??? The officers came to my home and said they would not leave …

Variety reports: A film based on Beyonce‘s smash hit Renaissance World Tour is in advanced talks to distribute directly to AMC Theatres, sources with knowledge of the project told Variety. The project is eyeing a Dec. 1 wide release, added insiders. The Beyonce deal follows on the heels of one Taylor Swift brokered for: a straightforward concert film based on …

CNN reports: A grand jury has indicted Duane Keith “Keffe D” Davis on charges of murder with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, Las Vegas authorities announced. Davis, 60, was arrested Friday morning in Las Vegas. His wife’s Henderson home was searched in July as part of the ongoing investigation. Shakur …

Deadline reports: Viewership for the second Republican debate fell to 9.5 million viewers, off by 26% from the 12.8 million who tuned in for the first GOP 2024 gathering last month. Even with the viewership drop, the debate was still the most watched show on TV on Wednesday. Fox Business and Univision telecast the event, and it was simulcast on …

Variety reports: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will bestow a replacement Oscar for supporting actress winner Hattie McDaniel to Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts during a ceremony titled “Hattie’s Come Home” in Washington D.C. on Oct. 1. Taking place at the Ira Aldridge Theater, the ceremony will …

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration plans to bring back open internet rules that were enacted during the Obama administration and then repealed by the Trump administration. In a speech on Tuesday, Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, declared that the repeal in 2017 put the F.C.C. “on the wrong side of history, the wrong side …