Music
Things Are Happier Than Ever for Billie Eilish and Disney
On September 3, Disney+ will host Billie Eilish’s first-ever filmed concert. The Robert Rodriguez-directed film, Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, features a sequential performance of every single song from Eilish’s upcoming sophomore album. Filmed from the stage of the Hollywood Bowl, this will (according to the Mouse House) be the only time the full track list will be performed in this fashion. From a filmmaking standpoint, Rodriguez will include animated elements from co-director and Oscar-winner Patrick Osborne that highlight Los Angeles, Eilish’s hometown. “I’ve never done anything like this,” Eilish notes in the film’s recent teaser. Conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, the film will feature appearances by Eilish’s brother, Finneas, the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, and the Los Angeles, Philharmonic.
Festivals
Yes, We Cannes! How the Festival Managed a Victory During a Pandemic
“It was a wonderful festival and an exceptional one as well,” Thierry Frémaux, the Cannes Film Festival’s artistic director said at the conclusion of the festivities on July 17. “We managed to pull it through at the right time and in conditions that were almost normal thanks to a protocol that was intelligent and responsible.” To the delight of cinephiles all over the world, the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival successfully brought the stars out to celebrate the best in cinema over the course of a two-week period. To date, there have been no major clustered outbreaks of the virus. So, how did they do this in the middle of a pandemic? For starters, the festival spent more than a million dollars on regular, free COVID testing for its approximately 28,000 attendees. The stars came out in droves, as did top-level industry executives. The festival also saw its first Black jury president in Spike Lee (who went viral when he accidentally revealed Titane as the winner of the Palme d’Or a bit prematurely). According to Frémaux, he’d never seen so many standing ovations at Cannes. “We had not imagined that the reunion would be so sumptuous.”
Technology
Permission Granted: YouTube Joins With BTS for ‘Permission to Dance’ Video Challenge
Say you’re a technology giant looking to add some punch to your platform … where do you turns? Well, if you’re YouTube, the answer is uber-popular K-pop supergroup BTS. The pop stars and the tech company officially launched their “Permission to Dance Challenge” by inviting people from all over the globe to share homemade 15-second versions of the group's most recent hit. BTS’ global army (yes, they are legion) begins their challenge on Friday, July 23, and have until Saturday, August 14 to submit clips. And the prize? Your video could be showcased by BTS in a compilation video! To participate, all fans have to do is post their clip with the hashtags #PermissiontoDance and #Shorts to be considered. This partnership comes after YouTube’s announcement that their Shorts feature was expanding to more than 100 countries. According to general manager of Big Hit Music, Shin Young Jae, “Just as ‘Permission to Dance’ sends the message that you don’t have to ask anyone for permission to dance, we hope that we can bring people all over the world together to dance along with us, free of any limits or constraint. We are very excited to watch this challenge come to life on YouTube Shorts and can’t wait to see what you all create.”
Theater
The Rockettes Return: Radio City Music Hall To Host Christmas Spectacular in November
After canceling their annual holiday production for the first time in 87 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes will return to Radio City Music Hall for the 2021 season. From November 5, 2021, through January 2, 2022, is poised to bring a little joy to a community that feels some is long overdue. “There’s nothing like the Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular to get us into the holiday spirit and make the season unforgettable,” says James Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of MSG Entertainment. The Christmas special, which has been seen by more than 69 million people since it debuted in 1933, will stay committed to the safety of its guests and performers, asking attendees to follow evolving venue protocols. For its part, Radio City Music Hall will continue to review venue requirements and update ticket buyers as necessary. Now that the show is back, we’re all excited to get our kicks in Manhattan.
Film
HBO to the Max: Warner Bros. To Produce 10 Movies Exclusively for Streamer in 2022 The big screen is back, but the small screen is still bright. As their experimental day-and-date release schedule for 2021 winds down, Warner Bros. has committed to producing at least ten or more films exclusively for their HBO Max platform in 2022. Speaking as part of AT&T’s second quarter earnings call, WarnerMedia CEP Jason Kilar promised, "motion pictures matter and will continue to matter.” Warner Bros. is primed to move back into a traditional release strategy for most titles in its slate. However, most tentpole films will have a shortened 45-day window for exclusivity. From his perspective, Kilar doesn’t see the industry “going back to the way the world was in 2015, 2016 or 2017” with a long window for a theatrical run leading to home video release. The company itself will be going through quite the transformation next year, as WarnerMedia will spin off from AT&T and merge with Discovery (with Discovery CEO David Zaslav taking control of the new company). Time will tell if this move satisfies or frustrates filmmakers and filmgoers who disliked the way certain films were effectively “downgraded” when theaters shuttered. Bottom line: the more movies we get, the better!
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