Latest news with #BleeckerStreetMedia
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jill Sobule Dies In House Fire: LGBTQ Artist Behind 'I Kissed A Girl' & 'Supermodel' Was 66
Jill Sobule, the pop artist best known for songs including 'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Supermodel,' has died in a house fire. She was 66. According to local news reports, firefighters in responded to call at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday at a house in Woodbury, Minnesota, which was fully engulfed in flames upon arrival. The cause of the fire is under investigation. More from Deadline 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Mike Peters Dies: The Alarm's Frontman Was 66 Andrew Karpen Dies: Bleecker Street Media Founder And CEO Was 59 'Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,' her manager John Porter said in a statement shared with our sister publication Rolling Stone. 'I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.' Born Jan. 16, 1959, in Denver, Sobule released her Todd Rundgren-produced debut album Things Here Are Different in 1990. Other albums include Happy Town (1997), Pink Pearl (2000), Underdog Victorious (2004), California Years (2009), Dottie's Charm (2014) and Nostalgia Kills (2018). Singer-songwriter and guitarist Sobule became popular for her self-titled second album in 1995, which featured the lesbian anthem 'I Kissed a Girl,' the first gay-themed song to make the Top 20 on Billboard's Modern Rock, and the bop 'Supermodel,' which appeared that year in the seminal teen film Clueless. Watch her quirky video for 'I Kissed a Girl,' a different song from Katy Perry's debut hit of the same name: Composing music for film and television, Sobule's work appeared in Nickelodeon's Unfabulous, and she acted and performed her music in the 2004 film Mind the Gap. She also appeared as herself in a 2003 episode of The West Wing and had roles in the features Mind the Gap and Grace of My Heart and on Oddville, MTV. RELATED: Sobule's death comes ahead of the June 6 release of the original cast recording for her 2023 Off-Broadway musical memoir F*ck7thGrade, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of her self-titled album. Explaining that she's 'been known to do topical and political songs' in her career, Sobule said while touring with The Fixx last month: 'I'm certainly not used to tiptoeing around. So it's interesting and even wonderful to figure out what you can get away with and how you can still relate to people who disagree with you.' DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO: Best of Deadline Brad Pitt's Apple 'F1' Movie: Everything We Know So Far Everything We Know About 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 So Far 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jill Sobule Dies In House Fire: LGBTQ Artist Behind ‘I Kissed A Girl' & ‘Supermodel' Was 66
Jill Sobule, the pop artist best known for 'I Kissed a Girl' and other songs including 'Supermodel,' has died in a house fire. She was 66. According to local news reports, firefighters in responded to call at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday at a house in Woodbury, Minnesota, which was fully engulfed in flames upon arrival. The cause of the fire is under investigation. More from Deadline 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Andrew Karpen Dies: Bleecker Street Media Founder And CEO Was 59 'On Swift Horses' Director Explains How Jacob Elordi & Daisy Edgar-Jones' Dynamic "Transcends Sexuality" 'Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,' her manager John Porter said in a statement shared with our sister publication Rolling Stone. 'I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.' Born Jan. 16, 1959, in Denver, Sobule released her Todd Rundgren-produced debut album Things Here Are Different in 1990. Other albums include Happy Town (1997), Pink Pearl (2000), Underdog Victorious (2004), California Years (2009), Dottie's Charm (2014) and Nostalgia Kills (2018). Singer-songwriter and guitarist Sobule became popular for her self-titled second album in 1995, which featured the lesbian anthem 'I Kissed a Girl,' the first gay-themed song to make the Top 20 on Billboard's Modern Rock, and the bop 'Supermodel,' which appeared that year in the seminal teen film Clueless. Watch the video for 'I Kissed a Girl' here: Composing music for film and television, Sobule's work appeared in Nickelodeon's Unfabulous, and she acted and performed her music in the 2004 film Mind the Gap. Sobule's death comes ahead of the June 6 release of the original cast recording for her 2023 Off-Broadway musical memoir F*ck7thGrade, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of her self-titled album. Explaining that she's 'been known to do topical and political songs' in her career, Sobule said while touring with The Fixx last month, 'I'm certainly not used to tiptoeing around. So it's interesting and even wonderful to figure out what you can get away with and how you can still relate to people who disagree with you.' Best of Deadline Brad Pitt's Apple 'F1' Movie: Everything We Know So Far Everything We Know About 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 So Far 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Los Angeles Times
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Bleecker Street CEO and indie film champion Andrew Karpen dies at 59
Andrew Karpen, chief executive and founder of independent film distribution company Bleecker Street Media, died Monday of glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 59. Karpen founded the New York City-based Bleecker Street in 2014 with backing from 5-hour Energy founder Manoj Bhargava. In its first few years, Bleecker Street released such films as 2015's 'Trumbo,' starring Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren, and the Viggo Mortensen-led 'Captain Fantastic' in 2016. Since its founding, Bleecker Street has released more than 75 films, including the 2017 Steven Soderbergh comedy 'Logan Lucky,' 2024's Oscar-nominated 'Golda,' comedy-drama 'Hard Truths' and, most recently, 'The Wedding Banquet,' a remake of the 1993 Ang Lee romantic comedy starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran. 'Our industry has lost a giant,' Kent Sanderson, Bleecker Street president and Karpen's longtime friend, said in a statement. 'Andrew taught us all so much, foremost of which is the value of kindness, honesty, and family above all else. His leadership and courage will inspire all of us at Bleecker Street for the rest of our lives, and we are dedicated to continuing his passion for and legacy of championing cinema.' Karpen began his career at Miramax before moving to Oxygen Media as its senior vice president of finance and planning. He then spent more than a decade at Focus Features, the specialty film arm of NBCUniversal, starting as its chief operating officer responsible for finance, strategic planning and operations before rising to president and then co-chief executive. He left Focus Features in 2013, after Universal Pictures named a new head of the specialty imprint and relocated its headquarters from New York to the studio lot in California. Universal said at the time that the company asked Karpen to remain with the studio but that he opted to stay in New York with his family. He is survived by his wife, Pam; sons Josh and Zack; daughter Sloan; and Josh's wife, Kristen, who is expecting their first child.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Andrew Karpen Dies: Bleecker Street Media Founder And CEO Was 59
Bleecker Street Media founder and CEO Andrew Karpen died Monday from glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer that upended his life when it was discovered in January 2024. He was 59. Karpen has been a fixture in the independent film space for decades, and went from co-CEO of Focus Features to form Bleecker Street Media in 2014. Bleecker has released more than 75 films since then, theatrical releases across all genres. That includes films from auteurs like Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky), Debra Granik (Leave No Trace), andOscar-nominated films including Captain Fantastic and Trumbo. He was known as the epitome of class; an executive you could look in the eye and trust what he told you. He turned 59 on April 18. More from Deadline 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Bleecker Street Media CEO Andrew Karpen Rebounds From Harrowing Brain Cancer Diagnosis Bleecker Street Acquires U.S. On Josh O'Connor Drama 'Rebuilding' Deadline detailed the ordeal that Karpen and his wife Pam went through, a piece I wrote to spur donations to help the work of Dr. John Boockvar, a neurosurgeon at the Brain Tumor Center at Lenox Hill Hospital, and the pioneering work they do to combat glioblastoma. It went against his penchant for spurning the spotlight, but Andrew and Pam's revelations helped raise a significant sum for a worthy cause and a doctor who prolonged his life and gave him precious time. Karpen was feeling robust when he headed to his office on January 2, 2024, getting a start on a year that would see 11 film releases over the next 12 months. He had been experiencing unusual feelings; stumbling while he and Pam played pickleball with friends over the holiday and some numbness in his right leg. When he got to the office, he had difficulty typing with his right arm. He called his doctor and was told to come home immediately. A CAT scan and MRI revealed the fatal brain cancer. A first brief surgery revealed the depths of the problem. The first surgeon could not get deep enough into the brain to remove much of the tumor. Karpen was losing dexterity quickly because the tumor was sitting on and putting pressure on the part of the brain that controls those motor skills. That led Andrew and Pam to Boockvar, who attacked the cancer aggressively. The doctor and his work has been featured in two Netflix documentaries. Karpen underwent a full craniotomy, a four-hour procedure that excised most of the tumor. While there was danger of paralysis or worse, Karpen pulled through. After a course of chemotherapy and radiation, the Karpens got news that the tumor was gone. While they knew that the glioblastoma could reassert itself in other ways, which it did, this was a miracle reprieve. It allowed Andrew to be able to see his oldest son, Josh, get married last July in Colorado, something that meant the world to him. Josh and wife Kristen are now expecting their first child. DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO: I've known Andrew for years. We bonded quickly over three things: a passion for independent theatrical film and all the challenges that come with toiling in that space; being able to be part of Hollywood and live on the East Coast, he in Connecticut and me from Long Island. Also, there was our mutual passion for the New York Football Giants. Pam's family has been season-ticket holders since 1938, and Andrew stayed in proximity to be a tailgating fixture at most home games. The season opener always fell during the start of the Toronto Film Festival, and we made it a point to catch the game at some bar, usually surrounded by other execs and agents. One year, Karpen had to beg out because he was obliged to go to a premiere of a female-driven acquisition title which he didn't buy. I gave him good-natured abuse for years, mindful he was doing his job. As Karpen dealt with brain cancer, Bleecker Street was held together by a team of execs headed by his longtime friend and colleague Kent Sanderson. 'Our industry has lost a giant,' Sanderson told me. 'Andrew taught us all so much, foremost of which is the value of kindness, honesty, and family above all else. His leadership and courage will inspire all of us at Bleecker Street for the rest of our lives, and we are dedicated to continuing his passion for and legacy of championing cinema.' Karpen is survived by wife Pam; his sons Josh and Zack; his daughter Sloan; and Josh's wife Kristen. The family would appreciate donations made in Karpen's name to the Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Center, or Fairfield County Hospice House. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About The 'Reminders of Him' Movie So Far 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Everything We Know About 'The Phoenician Scheme' So Far
