Cinema, Theater & TV news

• Box office cats-tastrophe: Cats projected to lose $70m

  31-12-2019 22:01
  
  The Universal Pictures film is bound for the litter box as one of 2019’s biggest flopsCats appears set to make movie hiss-tory – as a major box office failure for Universal Pictures.The critically panned film, which had a reported budget of $95m (£72m), made only $6.62m (£5m) during its opening weekend and is projected to lose Universal at least $70m (£53m), the LA Times reports – while Deadline reports the project could lose at least $71m (£54m) and Var
  
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• Why the Most Ridiculous Part of ‘The Irishman’ Actually Works

  31-12-2019 17:31 via nytimes.com
  
  The digital effects were mocked for trying to make an old man young. But this is the rare American film that accepts what being old really means.
  
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• 'The pressure is immense': catching up with Corrie's first black family

  31-12-2019 16:00
  
  This year, Coronation Street shocked fans by introducing the Baileys – its first family of colour after almost 60 years on air. How have they been received? When it was announced in April that Britain’s longest-running soap, Coronation Street, would be introducing its first black family, the response was one of shock and incredulousness. Lenny Henry simply tweeted “wow” at the news, while theatre director Matthew Xia asked: “How have the producers managed to get awa
  
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• ‘Jo Was Everything I Wanted to Be’: 5 Writers on ‘Little Women’

  31-12-2019 14:48 via nytimes.com
  
  Julia Alvarez, Virginia Kantra, Anna Quindlen, Sonia Sanchez and Jennifer Weiner talk about how the book, now a hit movie, inspired them.
  
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• Meet Focus Group Man: the most unlikely meme of 2019

  31-12-2019 14:00
  
  81-year-old actor Ruben Rabasa found fame after 40 long years by shrieking ‘stinky’ in a comedy sketch that took on a life of its own. He talks about his newfound notoriety‘When I read the script, I thought: ‘This is crazy. How can I say this?’” says Ruben Rabasa. The 81-year-old actor appears in just one sketch in Netflix’s surreal comedy I Think You Should Leave, written and co-created by Saturday Night Live alumnus Tim Robinson. But – as Focus G
  
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• Vivendi sells Universal Music stake to Tencent consortium

  31-12-2019 13:17 via ft.com
  Deal for 10% share values label at €30bn and represents latest sign of sustained recovery in sector
  
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• Were you paying attention? It's the seriously tough TV quiz of the decade

  31-12-2019 11:00
  
  Think you know everything about Don Draper and Downton Abbey? What about reality show stars from 2014? Test your telly nous with our ultimate quiz Why did Lord Grantham vomit blood everywhere on Downton Abbey?PoisonBurst ulcerGastro-oesophageal reflux diseaseIn Line of Duty, what is Ted Hastings’ catchphrase?“Now we’re drinking Castrol”“Now we’re sucking diesel”“Now we’re necking petrol” Why did Planet Earth 2 make you hate racer snakes
  
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• New Year's Eve TV: the stars align for end-of-year revelry

  31-12-2019 07:00
  
  A host of celebrities including Tom Hanks and Motsi Mabuse join Graham Norton. Plus: Stormzy rings in the new year at Jools’ Annual Hootenanny. Here’s what to watch this eveningThe perfect accompaniment to the end-of-year revelry, this year’s BBC lineup is packed with starry turns. Graham Norton’s New Year’s Eve show sees him joined by Tom Hanks to talk about his upcoming film role as Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, plus actor Stephen Graham, St
  
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• Miranda Sawyer’s best radio and podcasts of 2019

  31-12-2019 07:00
  
  The year we came close to peak podcast nonetheless saw a wealth of talent, while radio saw more upheavalIn 2019, “I’m making a podcast” overtook “I’m writing a film script” as the standard media dilettante response to that ever-tricky question: “What do you do, exactly?” Every week brought a new slew of podcasts. Sue Perkins launched one. David Dimbleby, too. Dawn O’Porter, Stacey Solomon, Gemma Collins, even Robbie Williams...The BBC, in par
  
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• Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett review – go on, call him ‘fella’!

  31-12-2019 00:00
  
  The Line of Duty actor follows in the footsteps of his great hero, though his intriguing film is ultimately elusive. Beckett would surely approveIf the work Adrian Dunbar is best known for – the police drama Line of Duty – left us with the tantalising riddle about the identity of the master criminal H, his new documentary tries to unmask an even more evasive man: Samuel Beckett. In Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett (BBC Four), the actor we know and love as Superinten
  
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