Beatles don’t come cheap.
A quartet of movies based on the Fab Four is coming our way, and while the films aren’t close to releasing yet, we’re getting a peek at the price tag for the project.
‘By saying “Free Palestine,” you’re not admitting what you really think.’
Now, that may be the catering budget for your average Marvel movie, but it’s still an alarming figure for four dramatic features. All four films, to be shot over an extended 15-month period, will be helmed by Sam Mendes (“Skyfall,” “1917”).
“Can’t Buy Me Love,” perhaps, but money will get you some recognizable faces.
Let’s meet the Beatles: John Lennon (Harris Dickinson), Paul McCartney (Paul Mescal), Ringo Starr (Barry Keoghan), and George Harrison (Joseph Quinn).
The Liverpool lads remain a permanent part of pop culture — for us older folk. But is that the case for Gen Z, the generation most likely to visit theaters?
“Money (That’s What I Want).” And they’ll need plenty of it to recoup those exorbitant costs ...
These reviews don’t go to 11. In fact, some are real “s**t sandwiches.”
“Spinal Tap: The End Continues” hits theaters this weekend, 41 years after the original mockumentary made this faux band immortal. We certainly didn’t need a new “Spinal Tap” movie. The original, directed by and co-starring Rob Reiner, gave us so many classic lines and gags, it feels like it never went away.
The new film features the key original cast members (Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean) along with returning co-stars (Fran Drescher, Paul Shaffer) and copious cameos (Paul McCartney, Elton John).
Reviews have been mixed so far, with even the positive notices saying the sequel can’t come close to measuring up to the original.
What could?
One relief? It appears Reiner’s late-stage Trump derangement syndrome didn’t enter the frame, beyond a brief reference to Stormy Daniels. Phew.
The bad news is one distinct reality. Reiner’s directorial career fell off a creative cliff after a stunning run of movie classics (“Stand By Me,” “Misery,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “A Few Good Men,” “The Princess Bride”). He hasn’t had a hit since 2007’s “The Bucket List,” a film few would rank near the top — or even middle — of his filmography.
More than one critic cited a brutal line from the 1984 original in their reviews — the aforementioned sandwich ...
For a guy who made a show about nothing, Jerry Seinfeld suddenly has something profound to say. And he’s virtually all alone in saying it, especially in the rarefied air of modern celebrity.
The legendary comic teed off against the pro-Palestinian movement, comparing it to the KKK. Except the latter group at least scores points for honesty.
Not this bunch, the sitcom superstar said.
Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. By saying “Free Palestine,” you’re not admitting what you really think. So it’s actually — compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, “We don’t like blacks; we don’t like Jews.” OK, that’s honest.
The comments come as nearly 4,000 of his industry peers pledge not to work with film groups with Israeli ties for their complicity with war crimes.
Seinfeld has all that sitcom money at this point. He also has a bigger moral compass than many of his peers, apparently ...
RELATED: Grieving Charlie Kirk: How to cling to God in the face of evil
“There are no words,” we often say in the face of tragedies like Wednesday’s shocking murder of conservative superstar Charlie Kirk. Unfortunately, the media generally insists on talking anyway.
Sometimes, miraculously, they get it right. Like “The View” host Sunny Hostin, of all people:
This man was 31 years old with two children, I think ages 1 and 3, a family man, a wife. Now, all these children will grow up without their father. This woman will grow up, you know, grow old without her husband. I just — this country — there’s just no place for this kind of violence in this country. I am heartbroken over it. ... The First Amendment is the first amendment for a reason. We should be able to voice whatever opinions we have.
God bless Charlie Kirk and his family.
Some Beverly Hills cops are getting back at a left-wing activist who takes videos of them — with a good bit of wit attached to it.
Vice News reported that Los Angeles-area activist Sennett Devermont recorded cellphone video as he was trying to talk to uniformed Beverly Hills police officers on a sidewalk last month — but the chatter was interrupted by a familiar sound.
It was coming from Officer Julian Reyes' cellphone he was holding aloft. It was an acoustic guitar, and a man singing: "Yesterday / all my troubles seemed so far away / now it looks as though they're here to stay / oh, I believe in yesterday."
Yup, it was Paul McCartney singing the Beatles' classic "Yesterday" — arguably one of the most popular songs ever, as it was performed over 7 million times just in the 20th century — and recorded more than 1,600 times.
As you can probably guess, the Beatles rightfully are quite protective of unauthorized uses of their songs, and when they show up in videos, those clips are typically blocked.
According to Devermont, the tactic worked. He noted in his Instagram post of the interaction with police that "it seems they think playing copyrighted and licensed music will keep the word from getting out. And turns out.. they are right! I sent this video to multiple news agencies who covered the story. Most said they can't share it... why??? Because it's playing Beatles music."
Vice News said songs like "Yesterday" showing up in Instagram videos can trigger the platform's algorithmic copyright filters which can result in videos being taken down — and suspension of live streamers' accounts for repeated infractions.
When the latter video began, Vice News said Devermont was talking to Sgt. Billy Fair, who used his cellphone to play "Santeria" by '90s band Sublime when Devermont was trying to talk to him in a separate video — and Devermont was quite frustrated:
More from Vice News:
This strategy isn't entirely surprising. Nick Simmons and Adam Holland, researchers at Lumen Database, which studies copyright takedowns on social media, noted last year that music in videos filmed at Black Lives Matter protests had repeatedly resulted in them being removed from social media sites on copyright grounds. They theorized that, while these removals seemed incidental, that copyright could be weaponized by police.
"Law enforcement, or indeed anyone of any ideological persuasion who was seeking to prevent videos of a particular event from being shared online, need only make sure that copyrighted audio is present with sufficiently recognizable clarity and volume in the background of a protest or other event," they wrote. "A chilling prospect indeed."
Now, we're seeing it actually happen.
Beverly Hills police told Vice News in a statement that "the playing of music while accepting a complaint or answering questions is not a procedure that has been recommended by Beverly Hills Police command staff" — and that the videos of Fair were "currently under review."
To mark this sobering development, here's a live version of McCartney playing the melancholy "Yesterday" in 1965 when it was brand new:
Yesterday (With Spoken Word Intro / Live From Studio 50, New York City / 1965)youtu.be
Two notorious Islamic State terrorists from Britain have been brought to the United States to be tried for their alleged role in the capturing, torturing, and gruesome beheading of Western hostages — including four Americans — in Syria in 2014 and 2015, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
In a news conference, Justice Department officials said that El Shafee Elsheikh, 32, and Alexanda Amon Kotey, 36, former British citizens and members of the ISIS cell known as "The Beatles," are expected to make their first appearances Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
Elsheikh and Kotey are charged with hostage-taking and other serious terrorism offenses that resulted in the deaths of American journalists Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff and humanitarian aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. Before being transported to the U.S., they had been detained in Iraq by the U.S. military.
DOJ announces charges for ISIS 'Beatles' youtu.be
Mueller was reportedly imprisoned by ISIS fighters in Syria for 18 months, during which time she was subjected to brutal rape and torture by "The Beatles" and even forced to marry since-killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Her death was announced in 2015 but her body has never been recovered.
The October 2019 U.S. forces operation that killed al-Baghdadi was subsequently named after Mueller.
In a statement regarding the charges, Attorney General William Barr said, "These charges are the product of many years of hard work in pursuit of justice for our citizens slain by ISIS. Although we cannot bring them back, we can and will seek justice for them, their families, and for all Americans.
"Our message to other terrorists around the world is this — if you harm Americans, you will face American arms on the battlefield or American law in our courtrooms. Either way, you will be pursued to the ends of the earth until justice is done," Barr added.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said during the news conference, "We have been inspired by [the American hostages'] memories and moved by the determination and grit of their families, families [who] will never rest until justice is done. To them, I say this: Neither will we."
According to the indictment, Elsheikh and Kotey engaged in prolonged physical and psychological violence against the hostages. They made up one half of "The Beatles," along with the Mohamed Emwazi, also known as "Jihadi John," who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2015, and an unnamed fourth who is currently incarcerated in Turkey.
Prosecutors will reportedly not seek the death penalty as a part of the charges. That option was taken off the table to pave the way for the terrorists to be transferred to the U.S. and allow for British authorities to share evidence and information.
Islamic State 'Beatle' Alexanda Kotey 'organised plot to execute soldiers' in London | ITV News youtu.be
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