Latest news with #Elton
San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Exclusive: Mill Valley Film Festival undergoing change at the top
Zoë Elton has been associated with the Mill Valley Film Festival since its inception. But the 48th edition of the event will be the first in more than three decades without her as director of programming. Elton told the Chronicle on Monday, June 9, that she is transitioning to a part-time role and intends to make more time for her creative pursuits. 'I have in my background as well a life in writing and creating art,' she said. 'I'm a regular cartoonist and I want to make more space to have my own creative life back. That is really key for me.' The California Film Institute, which runs the internationally recognized star-studded event each October, posted the job opening of artistic director — as the position will now be called — later Monday and intends to launch a nationwide search this summer. 'The work that we do is absolutely amazing, but the extensiveness of the work and the pressure of the work, it never goes away,' Elton said. 'I can't remember the last time I had an actual vacation. We're always working. So, as rewarding as it can be, I'd like to relieve the pressure a little bit.' Elton's said her new role will be 'curatorial.' Executive Director and founder Mark Fishkin told the Chronicle that the decision was '100%' Elton's, and that he'd have been happy to have her as director of programming for as long as she wanted the job. 'The good news is she's not going anywhere,' Fishkin continued. 'Obviously not in that role, but she'll be here to give additional wisdom and her many years of experience to the programming department and the organization in general. That's the good side of it.' Elton has spearheaded several ongoing programs at MVFF that have helped define the event's mission, most prominently Mind the Gap, an initiative championing gender equity in film. She also is known for her commitment to world cinema and emerging voices. She is a ubiquitous presence at the film festival, often conducting post screening Q&As with some of the world's biggest stars and filmmakers. 'It's been an extraordinary experience to help shape MVFF from its early days into a respected presence in the world of film festivals,' Elton said in a statement released later Monday. 'I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with so many incredible filmmakers and creatives and to introduce their work to our community. Championing new voices and engaging with artists at all stages of their careers has been a true gift.' Elton was born in Hereford, England, and attended drama school in Hampstead in northwest London. She came to the United States in the 1970s, intending to hitchhike across the country, go to Peru, then back to England. Instead, she fell in love with Northern California and stayed; she has lived in Oakland for decades. 'Knowing those rock star moments when you think, 'Oh yeah, I did that,'' she explained. As to what her advice might be to her successor, Elton didn't hesitate. 'Breathe,' she said. 'Stay grounded. Love what you do. Let go of what you don't love.'
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Olly Alexander 'wants to take his foot off the gas' as a musician
Olly Alexander doesn't enjoy the "intensity" of the music business. The 34-year-old singer has put his music career on hold in recent months, in order to focus on acting, and Olly admits that the industry has been overwhelming at times. The Years and Years star told the BBC: "With music, there's an intensity to the way I've been working and putting albums out, promoting and touring. "I definitely want to take the foot off the gas in terms of that intensity." Olly announced his departure from his record label earlier this year, and the singer is currently preparing to star in a West End production of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. Olly is relishing the stability that acting has given him. He said: "I spent a lot of my previous years moving around, touring, which is so fun and amazing. But I also very much appreciate staying in one place now. "Having a home in London with my partner, my cats, just trotting off to the theatre every night - that just sounds like the most wonderful existence." Meanwhile, Olly previously revealed that he turned to Sir Elton John and Kylie Minogue for advice on how to deal with fame. The pop star - who has also enjoyed significant success as an actor - told the Evening Standard newspaper: "Working with Elton and even Kylie, two of the most iconic legends, they both told me how they've struggled as an artist to feel like at times they knew what they were doing, feeling really dark. "Elton talks a lot about how depressed he was and how difficult things got for him and hearing them talk about that you just go 'wow'." Olly actually found their advice to be really reassuring. The award-winning star said: "I'm someone who is constantly questioning why the hell I'm here and doing what I'm doing like 'oh my God' - I'm totally that person. But to hear that from people I really, really respect that it's normal and you just get through it somehow. That was good advice and good to hear."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
50 Years Ago, Elton John Became First Artist to Enter Billboard 200 at No. 1 – Just How ‘Fantastic' Was the Feat?
Fifty years ago, in the Billboard issue dated June 7, 1975, Elton John did something no one had ever done before: He entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1. He achieved the feat with his ninth studio album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. The album dislodged Earth, Wind & Fire's That's the Way of the World, which had spent the three previous weeks at No. 1. It was potent enough to hold Wings' Venus and Mars – the band's follow-up to its classic album Band on the Run – to the No. 2 spot for four consecutive weeks before Wings finally moved up to No. 1 for one week. More from Billboard Elton John's 'Yellow Brick Road' Journey in Billboard's Back Pages: From 'Silly' Upstart to Undeniable Icon Queens of the Stone Age Couldn't 'Over-Rehearse' for Paris Catacombs Concert Film: 'You Go Down There & All the Plans Are Off' Billboard & Global Venture Partners Launch Billboard Africa In the nearly two decades between the introduction of the Billboard 200 in March 1956 and Captain Fantastic's history-making accomplishment, the highest any album had entered the Billboard 200 was No. 2. Van Cliburn's Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 debuted in the runner-up spot in the issue dated Aug. 4, 1958 (which, coincidentally, was the same week the Hot 100 debuted, with Ricky Nelson's 'Poor Little Fool' as the inaugural leader). How was a classical album able to get off to such a fast start? Cliburn had achieved global fame when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 near the height of the Cold War. A cover story in TIME (May 19, 1958) proclaimed him 'The Texan Who Conquered Russia.' His album topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks, won a Grammy for best classical performance – instrumentalist and received an album of the year nod. Since the Cliburn album was a little far afield, let's go deeper. The highest that a contemporary pop or rock album had debuted prior to Captain Fantastic was No. 3. That was the debut position for The Beatles' Hey Jude (March 21, 1970) and a pair of Led Zeppelin albums: Led Zeppelin III (Oct. 24, 1970) and Physical Graffiti (March 15, 1975). Three more contemporary pop or rock albums had debuted in the top five prior to Captain Fantastic: the Woodstock soundtrack (No. 4, June 6, 1970), George Harrison's All Things Must Pass (No. 5, Dec. 19, 1970) and Elton's previous studio album Caribou (No. 5, July 6, 1974). Captain Fantastic was Elton's sixth No. 1 album in less than three years. His 1972 album Honky Chateau reached No. 1 in its fifth chart week. A pair of 1973 albums – Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – both reached No. 1 in their fourth weeks. A pair of 1974 albums – Caribou and Greatest Hits – both reached the top spot in their second weeks. Elton was steadily getting hotter year-by-year, as you can see. Captain Fantastic's debut at No. 1 received considerable media attention and contributed to Elton's status as the Greatest Pop Star of the Year – years before Billboard officially recognized such a thing. In calendar year 1975, Elton had three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 (one a carryover from 1974) and three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 (plus an uncredited, but prominent, featured role on a fourth – Neil Sedaka's 'Bad Blood'); had a cameo as The Pinball Wizard in the hit movie adaptation of The Who's Tommy; made the cover of TIME (the inevitable cover line: 'Rock's Captain Fantastic'); and became the first artist since The Beatles to play a concert (two, actually) at Dodger Stadium. Since Elton's through-the-roof 1975, we've seen such artists as the Bee Gees (1978), Michael Jackson (1983-84) and Taylor Swift (2023-24) experience this same 'how-much-hotter-can-they-get' phenomenon. Captain Fantastic was a loosely autobiographical concept album about the struggles that John (Captain Fantastic) and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy) experienced in the early years of their careers in London from 1967 to 1969, leading up to John's eventual breakthrough in 1970. Captain Fantastic spent its first six weeks at No. 1 before yielding the top spot to Wings' Venus and Mars and then Eagles' One of These Nights (which had five weeks on top). In late August, Captain Fantastic returned for a seventh week at No. 1. Only two other John albums ever logged seven or more weeks at No. 1: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (eight weeks on top in 1973) and Greatest Hits (10 weeks on top in 1974-75). Captain Fantastic received two Grammy nominations: album of the year (John's third in that category, following Elton John and Caribou) and best pop vocal performance, male. He lost both awards to Paul Simon for Still Crazy After All These Years. (Fun Fact: Simon had also won album of the year, in tandem with Art Garfunkel, for Bridge Over Troubled Water five years earlier, when the Elton John album was nominated.) Gus Dudgeon, who produced John's album, received a Grammy nod for producer of the year, non-classical. (He lost to Arif Mardin.) Just one single was released from Captain Fantastic: 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight.' Despite its length and somber tone, the song reached No. 4 on the Hot 100, a reflection of Elton's popularity at the time. Clocking in at 6:45, 'Someone Saved' was the longest song to crack the top five on the Hot 100 since The Temptations' symphonic soul smash 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone' (6:53), a No. 1 hit in December 1972. Of course, even though just one single was released from Captain Fantastic, Elton was blanketing pop radio at the time. The week Captain Fantastic debuted, John's previous single, the marvelous, disco-accented 'Philadelphia Freedom,' rebounded to No. 10 on the Hot 100, having reached No. 1 in April. And though it was never released as a single, John's rendition of 'Pinball Wizard' from the Tommy soundtrack was played on many pop radio stations with the frequency of a hit single. The Billboard staff included three songs from Captain Fantastic on its 2022 list of the 75 Best Elton John Songs, timed to coincide with the star's 75th birthday. 'Tower of Babel' ranked No. 73, 'Curtains' was No. 29, and 'Someone Saved' was way up at No. 3, with Billboard's Melinda Newman saying of the latter song, 'The song has more drama than a made-for-Lifetime movie, including allusions to John's first suicide attempt in 1968. With a heavy, slow, and instantly unforgettable piano-pounding melody that matches the theatrical storytelling … 'Someone' is like slowly walking through molasses in the best possible way, Sugar Bear.' In November 1975, just five months after Captain Fantastic became the first album to debut at No. 1, Elton's follow-up album, Rock of the Westies, became the second. Unlike Captain Fantastic, Rock was led by a highly commercial single, the zesty funk-reggae smash 'Island Girl,' which topped the Hot 100 for three weeks. In October 1976, Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life became the third album to debut at No. 1. No other albums debuted in the top spot for a little more than a decade, until Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's Live/1975-85 achieved the feat in November 1986. The following year, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson started on top with their hit-laden albums Whitney and Bad, respectively. In May 1991, Billboard began compiling the Billboard 200 based on actual units sold. As a result, No. 1 debuts became much more common. Between June and December 1991, seven albums entered the chart at No. 1 – slightly more than the six albums that had achieved the feat over the previous 16 years. (Since December 2014, the chart has ranked titles by equivalent album units, incorporating streaming and sales, with albums continuing to regularly soar in at No. 1.) In 2006, John recorded a sequel of sorts to Captain Fantastic. That album, The Captain & the Kid, reached No. 18 on the Billboard 200. Two songs from Captain Fantastic were featured on the 2018 tribute album, Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. Mumford and Sons covered 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight.' Coldplay took on 'We All Fall in Love Sometimes.' That album reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Four Decades of 'Madonna': A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album on the Charts Chart Rewind: In 1990, Madonna Was in 'Vogue' Atop the Hot 100
Leader Live
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Elton John says ‘we will not back down' in awards speech addressing AI concerns
The Government has repeatedly rejected changes to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, proposed by the House of Lords, aimed at strengthening protections for the creative sector. Peers have attempted to amend the Bill by adding a commitment to introduce transparency requirements, aiming to ensure copyright holders are able to see when their work has been used and by who. A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn) Veteran rock singer Sir Elton, 78, who picked up the Creators' Champion Award at Billboard's Global Power Players Event on Wednesday, is among hundreds of creatives who have raised concerns over AI companies using copyrighted work without permission. In an Instagram post he thanked the US magazine for the award and said: 'Supporting the next generation of British artists is one of the major driving forces in my life. 'As everyone in that room was aware, the Data Bill is currently looming over our industries and the future livelihood of all artists. It is an existential issue. 'Earlier this evening, the Government was defeated for an unprecedented fifth time by the House of Lords who have backed the crucial amendment to the Bill. 'I am now calling on the Government to do the right thing and get transparency added to the Bill. 'Administration of copyright must be transparent. And it must have an artist's full permission. These two principles are the bedrock of our industry. They must be included in the data Bill as a backstop. 'Let's be clear – we want to work with the Government. We are not anti AI. We are not anti big tech. We are not against Labour. We want a solution that brings all parties together in a way that's transparent, fair and allows artists to maintain control of their work. 'We will not let the Government forget their promise to support our creative industries. We will not back down and we will not quietly go away. This is just the beginning. 'Thank you, Billboard. And thank you Baroness Kidron and The House of Lords for standing up for our world-beating artists, journalists, playwrights, designers and authors.' The prolonged impasse and the conduct of proceedings at Westminster now threatens the future of the whole Bill and its measures, including a crackdown on deepfake porn abuse.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sir Elton John: Labour treating musicians ‘like s---'
Sir Elton John has accused Labour of treating musicians 'like s---' in an impassioned attack on the Government over its approach to artificial intelligence (AI). The 78-year-old singer said ministers had ignored the pleas of artists after the Government suffered an unprecedented fifth defeat in the House of Lords over plans to allow tech companies to train their AI models on copyrighted materials. Speaking at a Billboard event in London, Sir Elton said: 'The entertainment business in this country brings in £125bn a year and they are treating us like s---. They're treating us like idiots.' The Rocket Man singer accused ministers of having their 'heads in the sand', adding: 'In fact, the Labour Party at the moment should be called the Ostrich Party.' The Government has been locked in a protracted standoff with the House of Lords over the Data Bill, which would grant tech companies access to any copyrighted materials unless the rights owner explicitly opts out. Supporters of the bill, who include former Meta executive and deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg, say the legislation is needed to support Britain's emerging AI industry. But the plans have sparked a furious response from the creative industries, including high-profile figures from the arts such as Dua Lipa, Kate Bush and Sir Ian McKellen. They have warned that the new laws would amount to 'giving away' work to tech firms and put the UK's creative sector at risk. Baroness Kidron, a former filmmaker who directed Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, has led opposition against the Bill in the Lords. Her amendment would force tech companies to be transparent about what material they use to train AI models. Peers voted by 221 votes to 116 in favour of the proposal last night. This embedded content is not available in your region. Credit: Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg – BBC One The standoff raises the risk that the entire bill could be shelved unless ministers accept the amendment or put forward their own proposals as a compromise. Sir Elton branded the political stalemate an 'existential issue' and a 'f---ing mess'. He thanked members of the House of Lords for backing the amendment, saying: 'Thank you so much, you guys. You rock.' He added: 'Copyright must be transparent and it must have an artist's full permission. These two principles are the bedrock of the industry and they must be included in the Data Bill as a backstop.' While Sir Elton attacked the Government over its approach to copyright and AI, he said: 'We're not against Labour and we want a solution that brings all parties together in a way that is transparent and fair and allows artists to maintain control of their work.' He added that the creative industries were 'not anti-AI [and] not anti-big tech either'. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has been contacted for comment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
