Open Thread

Variety reports: Ticket sales at the box office this weekend will be flowing as freely as spice on the desert planet of Arrakis. Director Denis Villeneuve‘s big-budget sequel “Dune: Part Two,” where “spice” is an all-powerful commodity, is targeting $70 million to $80 million in its opening weekend. Warner Bros., the studio behind the sci-fi epic, is conservatively projecting a …

Variety reports: Over 20 years after Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, was shot to death in his Queens recording studio, two men have been convicted for the murder. On Tuesday, jurors at the U.S. District Court’s Eastern Division of New York in Brooklyn delivered the long-expected decision following weeks of testimonials. Karl Jordan, Jr., identified as Mizell’s …

Variety reports: The age rating for the 1964 “Mary Poppins” has been increased in the U.K. due to “discriminatory language.” On Friday, the British Board of Film Classification upped the Disney movie’s cinema rating from U, meaning it contained “no material likely to offend or harm,” to PG for “discriminatory language.” In a statement to Variety, a BBFC spokesperson said …

Variety reports: Kenneth Mitchell, known for his multiple roles on “Star Trek: Discovery,” died from ALS complications on Saturday. He was 49. On “Star Trek: Discovery,” Mitchell played Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha and Tenavik, as well as Aurellio. He also voiced several characters in an episode of “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” His other notable credits include portraying Carol Danvers’ father in …

Broadway.com reports: Everybody rejoice! After premiering in Baltimore and launching a whirlwind national tour, the joyous all-Black reimagining of the classic L. Frank Baum story and MGM movie musical arrives on Broadway. Wayne Brady plays the titular Wiz, Deborah Cox plays Glinda and Nichelle Lewis fills those big glittering slippers as Dorothy. The show boasts a dynamite creative team: Amber …

Variety reports: Two years after the hit Amazon Prime Video superhero series aired its Season 3 finale, “The Boys” will finally be back in town. The fourth season of Amazon’s Emmy-winning drama “The Boys” will debut with three episodes June 13. Comprised of eight episodes total, “The Boys” Season 4 will air with new installments dropping weekly through its season …

Variety reports: Vice Media Group is making drastic changes in the face of financial difficulties. In a memo to Vice employees Thursday, CEO Bruce Dixon said the company will be cutting “several hundred” jobs in the next week. As part of its major restructuring, Vice will discontinue publishing content on its own website, Vice.com, and will instead put “more emphasis …

Variety reports: Tony Ganios, the comedic actor known for his turn as fan-favorite Meat in Bob Clark’s “Porky’s” and as Perry in Philip Kaufman’s 1979 coming-of-age comedy-drama “The Wanderers,” died Feb. 18 following surgery at a hospital in New York. He was 64. Ganios was known for his roles in 1980s teen comedies and action movies. He gained prominence for …

Billboard Magazine reports: Pop and R&B/hip-hop superstar Beyoncé makes her debut on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Feb. 24) with her first two entries on the survey: “Texas Hold ‘Em” at No. 1 and “16 Carriages” at No. 9. As previously reported, the songs start at Nos. 2 and 38, respectively, on the all-genre Billboard …

Playbill reports: Look out SIX, here comes FIVE: The Parody Musical. Henry VIII and his six wives had nothing on Donald, the 45th, and these five ladies. Poised to make America laugh again, FIVE is an irreverent musical comedy revue starring some of the women in the life of America’s past (and hopefully not future) President. Ivana, Marla, and Melania …

Variety reports: “Oppenheimer” swept the BAFTAs on Sunday night, winning awards for director Christopher Nolan and actor Cillian Murphy as well as taking home the prize for best film. Overall, the movie took home seven golden BAFTA masks, with “Poor Things” coming in second place with five wins. BAFTA chair Sarah Putt opened the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall …

Variety reports: Paramount’s “Mean Girls” musical made fetch happen after surpassing $100 million at the global box office. The oh-so pink movie musical has generated $101.2 million worldwide after six weeks of release, including $71.2 million in North America and $30 million from 31 international territories. Based on the Broadway adaptation of the 2004 comedy classic, “Mean Girls” was originally …

Playbill reports: Broadway Backwards, the annual benefit concert celebrating the LGBTQ+ community via songs from the musical theatre, will return to Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre, current home of Disney’s Aladdin, March 11 at 8 PM. Produced by Broadway Cares, the evening will benefit the theatrical nonprofit and New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center). What …

Variety reports: For the first time in over 10 years, a new animated “X-Men” show has arrived. The first trailer for Disney+’s “X-Men ’97” is here, and it continues the story from the classic ’90s cartoon, “X-Men: The Animated Series.” It begins streaming on Disney+ on March 20. The beloved “X-Men: The Animated Series” ran from 1992-1997 for five seasons. …

Variety reports: Marvel Studios has its “Fantastic Four.” The superhero quartet — the first characters created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee — will be played by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka …

Variety reports: Is Beyoncé going to get some love at the country radio format, now that she’s released a single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” that openly embraces the genre? That’s a big question mark, as radio programmers, like many others in the music industry, are still reeling from the shock of her surprise release the night of the Super Bowl, with …

Variety reports: In an elaborate series of teaser videos, Beyonce has announced the long-awaited “Act II” of her 2022 “Renaissance” album — and as long rumored, it appears to be a country-leaning album, due March 29. In the elaborate, self-referencing ad, we see Beyonce scrolling through songs on an iPhone, then at a lemonade stand (referencing her 2016 classic album …

Deadline reports: Could Super Bowl LVIII be the most-watched ever? After a record year for the NFL, Sunday’s big rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers certainly has the potential to break a viewership record. Currently, the most-watched Super Bowl in history is actually last year’s Chiefs-Eagles game, which was watched by more than 115 million …

Variety reports: This Super Bowl Sunday, don’t forget Uber Eats — but also, as the food-delivery service has learned, don’t forget that trying to make light of a life-threatening allergy is bad PR. Uber Eats, a division of the ride-sharing company, on Feb. 6 debuted its 60-second 2024 Super Bowl commercial, centered on the running joke of forgetfulness. But one …

Deadline reports: A good sized earthquake rattled windows across Los Angeles at about 1:47 p.m. today. Preliminary reports put the temblor at 4.6 on the Richter Scale and have it centered about 7.7 miles southwest of Westlake Village. It was the largest such shake felt in that area in some time. There was no immediate word of damage or injuries, …