‘Flora And Son’ Star Eve Hewson Reveals The Fear She Had To Overcome To Make John Carney’s Irish Musical Drama: “I Was Scared Of Singing”

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Taking a one-for-us victory lap after one-for-them studio smash “Captain Marvel,” indie duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden blow a big, self-indulgent kiss to the late-’80s East Bay with “Freaky Tales.” Berkeley-born Fleck was all of 10 years old in early 1987, when this nostalgia-fueled anthology film is set, which explains the wide-eyed way he romanticizes the defining subcultures of the time (with Boden presumably doing her best to broaden the film’s incredibly specific, “you had to be there“ appeal). In four distinct but intertwining chapters — populated mostly with fresh faces, plus grizzled-but-gorgeous Pedro Pascal — “Freaky Tales” melds wildly different sectors of the city: There’s the rowdy-yet-respectful Gilman Street punk crowd; the revolutionary Oakland hip-hop scene (including Too $hort, whose raunchy rap anthem gives the film its name); the Warriors’ historic victory over the Lakers, in which local basketball legend Eric “Sleepy” Jones scored a record-setting 29 points in the fourth quarter; and a disturbing spike in neo-Nazi-linked hate crimes, which strangely serves to tie everything else together.

Gossip have shared new album title track ‘Real Power’, written by Beth Ditto in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.The band returned earlier this year with details of a comeback and new album, which will land on March 22 and be their first music since 2012’s ‘A Joyful Noise‘.‘Real Power’ follows first single ‘Crazy Again’ in previewing the Rick Rubin-produced album, and Ditto spoke in a statement of the global anti-racism protests that inspired the new song.“That song is about how awesome our city is and how it really showed up,” she said. “The system was being rearranged and we were forcing people to reckon with it at a time when it could literally make you ill to gather, during a pandemic.“That’s real power — people coming together, making those decisions to be in the streets.”Listen to ‘Real Power’ below.“Getting to work with Rick again was a true gift!” the band exclusively told NME in a recent interview.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Skywalkers: A Love Story” lends new meaning to the words “high anxiety.” It’s a documentary set in the world of rooftoopers, the new generation of daredevils who scale the tallest buildings they can find, climbing to the tips of skyscrapers and posting top-of-the-world footage of themselves on social media. Directed by Jeff Zimbalist (a former rooftopper himself), the film is brilliantly edited, and it’s full of amazing, terrifying, transfixing verité shots of figures walking on girders, sprawling on ledges, and scaling the spindly, often curved spires that shoot out of the tops of buildings, consisting up close of ladders in the form of precarious slats.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Prominent Italian producers Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli are exiting their Fremantle-owned companies — Wildside and The Apartment, respectively — in an industry shakeup expected to lead them to jointly form a new independent scripted content outfit. Gianani and Mieli co-founded Wildside in 2009 and turned it into the powerhouse behind major global dramas such as RAI/HBO’s “The Young Pope” and “My Brilliant Friend,” to name a few.

Skepta has revealed the line-up for his inaugural Big Smoke Festival this summer – check it out below.The new event is due to be held at Crystal Palace Park in south-east London on Saturday, July 6, and will feature a bill curated by the Tottenham rapper himself. Tickets are available here.Skepta will be performing too, marking his only UK performance of 2024.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years.

Disney‘s Wizards Of Waverly Place is set to return for a sequel series, with Selena Gomez reprising her role as Alex Russo.The Disney Channel fantasy sitcom, which helped launch Gomez’s career, originally ran from 2007 to 2012.As reported by Deadline, Disney has now ordered a pilot for a reboot of the series, which will also see David Henrie return as Gomez’s onscreen sibling Justin.The pair are joined by new cast members Janice LeAnn Brown (Disney’s Just Roll with It), Alkaio Thiele (Call Me Kat) and Mimi Gianopulos (American Princess).The original Wizards Of Waverly Place followed a group of teenage wizards living on the titular street in New York’s Greenwich Village.The new series will reportedly pick up its story after a mysterious incident at WizTech, where an adult Justin Russo has neglected his wizard powers in favour of pursuing a normal, human life with his wife and two sons.However, he’s soon drawn back into the world of magic when a powerful young wizard in need of training shows up at his door, and Justin realises he must embrace his past to secure the future of the Wizard World.The revival pilot comes from writers and executive producers Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, who are behind another Disney Channel comedy spin-off, Raven’s Home.“Ohhhh we are sooo back to our childhoods,” wrote one excited fan on X/Twitter in response to the news. Another posted: “I hope the show is able to appeal to both kids and adults.

Madonna is facing a class action lawsuit filed by two fans after her December concerts in New York City’s Barclays Center began “over two hours” later than scheduled.On Wednesday (January 17), two ticket buyers, Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed a complaint alleging that the singer had breached her contract with attendees and violated New York state laws by beginning her concert on December 13 at 10:30PM rather than the stipulated 8:30PM timing.In the introduction of the lawsuit, which was first shared by Billboard, Fellows’ and Hadden’s attorneys wrote that “defendants’ actions constitute not just a breach of their contracts with Plaintiffs and Class Members, but also a wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent representation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.” The full document can be read here.Extending the accusations to Madonna’s concerts at the same venue on December 14 and 16 – which allegedly also began “over two hours late” – the attorneys claim that the concerts’ stipulated 8:30PM start time as represented on the tickets was “material to Plaintiffs’ agreement to purchase the tickets”, and that Madonna’s failure to satisfy the expectations of an 8:30PM start time caused legal damage to concertgoers who “had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day”.In addition, the attorneys claimed that the concerts’ 1AM conclusion resulted in ticket holders being faced with “limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs”, adding that a number were left “stranded in the middle of the night”.On the violation of New York state laws, the attorneys invoked the state’s General Business Law 149,

Green Day have shared a riotous video for their new single ‘Bobby Sox’, which appears on their new album ‘Saviors’ – watch it below.‘Saviors’, the band’s 14th studio album, is out today (January 19) and has been previewed by the singles ‘Dilemma’, ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ and ‘Look Ma, No Brains!’.In a recent interview, Billie Joe Armstrong discussed ‘Bobby Sox’ in relation to the moral panic over trans issues, which he says is “fucking close-minded”.Speaking to the LA Times, Armstrong recalled playing ‘Bobby Sox’ to a friend, who is a similar age to him. “And it brought a tear to his eye when he heard the second verse,” Armstrong said of the song’s lyrics, which explore gender fluidity.The verse in question sees Armstrong sing: “Do you want to be my best friend? / You can drive me crazy all over again / And I’ll bore you to death / Doesn’t matter when we are in love / You’re not just any type of girl / My one true love and you’re my world / Do you wanna be my girlfriend? / Do you wanna be my boyfriend?”Watch the track’s video below.Of ‘Bobby Sox’, Armstrong added: “Nowadays it’s more common for kids to be LGBTQ, and there’s more support.

When ITV’s Vera finally comes to an end after 13 seasons this month, there will be a crime drama shaped hole in the life of many fans.

A man who got five women pregnant at the same time threw the mums-to-be a joint baby shower. Music artist Zeddy Wills impregnated musician Lizzy Ashliegh and four others, meaning they were all pregnant at the same time.

Scots BBC star Natasha Raskin Sharp has announced the birth of her first baby with husband Joe Sharp after keeping the pregnancy under wraps from fans.

The Uk Government has announced further details on its plans to ensure parents and carers are able to claim National Insurance (NI) credits for years where they have not claimed Child Benefit. This will help more people to fill gaps in their National Insurance record to claim more State Pension in retirement.

Teachers and a parent at a Wishaw high school have raised thousands for two charities.

Last week we left champion Galloway cattle breeder Jim Ross of Romesbeoch just after he met wife Selina, the duo having met through Lower Nithsdale Young Farmers, when he was serving as chairman and she as secretary.

Coronation Street actress Sally Ann Matthews has been flooded with support from fans and colleagues after the TV star, who plays Jenny Connor in the soap, shared some heartbreaking personal news.Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Sally, 53, announced the devastating passing of her uncle with a poignant photo and caption with her 107,000 followers. Support and messages of condolence have since poured in for the actress after she shared how she'd had to say goodbye to her beloved uncle this week.The picture that she posted appeared to show a young Sally Ann with her late family member on the beach.The three people in the photograph had their backs to the camera as they looked out across the sea.

Fay Ripley has come a long way from her early days selling men's clothes door-to-door and is now one of the UK's most loved actresses. After graduating from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1990, Fay landed a role in a pantomime version of Around the World in 80 Days. From there, her career took off.

King Charles III discreetly made a change to an act to prevent both Prince Andrew and Prince Harry from acting as substitutes for him when he took to the throne. The 75 year old monarch, who became King following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, added both his sister, Princess Anne, and brother, Prince Edward, to the list of family members who can act for him in the Counsellors of State Act 2022.

Omid Djalili Launches Production Outfit

Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani are exiting their Fremantle-owned Italian production companies.

The Libertines have shared a dramatic new single from their upcoming album – listen to ‘Shiver’ below.The band will release new album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ on March 8, and have so far shared the tracks.The release of the album will be preceded by a tour of intimate club gigs across the UK in January and February dubbed The Albion Tour, which the band have described as a return to “[their] roots in these small sweaty clubs, where [they] can see the whites of the crowds eyes”.After debuting a number of tracks at a sweaty Margate gig last month, they have now shared ‘Shiver’, of which Carl Bârat said: “Peter had a song and I had a song and we mashed them up and did it collaboratively.”Pete Doherty added: “I would probably find it difficult to work out who did what because we were both there the whole time through its creation. It should really be called ‘The Last Dream Of Every Dying Soldier’, but everyone liked the title ‘Shiver’.”In an NME interview from last year, Doherty spoke of how ‘Shiver’ references the band watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth while recording the album in Jamaica.“It was really strange,” he said.