Latest news with #MillionDollarBaby
Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Clint Eastwood at 95 on film-making: do something new, or stay home
Hollywood star Clint Eastwood urged fellow filmmakers to come up with new ideas, observing in a newspaper interview that the movie business is now full of remakes and franchises. Oscar-winning director Eastwood told Austrian newspaper Kurier he planned to keep working, saying that he was still in good physical shape and hopeful that no one would have to worry about him in that regard "for a long time yet". Eastwood's most recent film, legal drama Juror#2, came out in the United States last year and the newspaper said he was currently in the pre-production phase for another movie. When asked for his view on the current state of the film industry, the star of movies such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Dirty Harry, and director of dozens of films including Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, said: "I long for the good old days when screenwriters wrote movies like Casablanca in small bungalows on the studio lot. When everyone had a new idea," according to the German text of the interview. "We live in an era of remakes and franchises. I've shot sequels three times, but I haven't been interested in that for a long while. My philosophy is: do something new or stay at home," added Eastwood, who will turn 95 on Saturday. Asked where he got his energy from, Eastwood said: "There's no reason why a man can't get better with age. And I have much more experience today. Sure, there are directors who lose their touch at a certain age, but I'm not one of them." Eastwood, who made World War II thriller Where Eagles Dare in Austria with Welsh actor Richard Burton in the late 1960s, told the paper the secret to his success was that he had always tried something new as a director and an actor. "As an actor, I was still under contract with a studio, was in the old system, and thus forced to learn something new every year," he said. "And that's why I'll work as long as I can still learn something, or until I'm truly senile."
San Francisco Chronicle
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Morgan Freeman to bring ‘Symphonic Blues Experience' to the Bay Area
Morgan Freeman wants to immerse Bay Area music fans in the sounds of his home state of Mississippi. The actor, who turns 88 on Sunday, June 1, is bringing 'Morgan Freeman's Symphonic Blues Experience' to several Northern California venues this year, beginning with an evening at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall on July 25. The shows feature Freeman as host and narrator during a program of Delta Blues music by musicians from Clarksdale, Miss.'s Ground Zero Blues Club, which Freeman co-founded, in collaboration with local symphony orchestras. Thirteen dates have been announced so far, with more to come. Other Northern California stops on the tour include Stanford's Bing Auditorium on Nov. 19, Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto on Nov. 21 and Sonoma State University's Green Music Center in Rohnert Park on Nov. 22. 'The Blues is not just music, it's history wrapped in rhythm, the echoes of lives lived and lost; heartache and hope all tangled together,' Freeman says in a trailer for the tour posted on YouTube. 'This is the story of people who turned hardship into something powerful, who found beauty in their sorrows, and who sang out loud when the world tried to keep them quiet.' The San Francisco performance kicks off the tour, which is presented in partnership with Visit Mississippi, Visit Clarksdale and Memphis Tourism. Tickets range from $79 to $300 and are on sale at The other local venues will make tickets available in June. 'This experience gives the blues its rightful place on the world's stage and ensures its legacy continues to echo through future generations,' Freeman said in a statement announcing the tour. Freeman, who won the best supporting actor Oscar for his role in Clint Eastwood's best picture-winning boxing drama ' Million Dollar Baby ' (2004), has been a ubiquitous presence in film and television since the 1970s, when he was a regular on PBS' 'The Electric Company.' Memorable films include the best picture-winning films 'Driving Miss Daisy' (1989) and 'Unforgiven' (1992) as well as beloved films such as 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994), 'Se7en' (1995), ' The Bucket List ' (2007) and his role as Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's ' Dark Knight ' trilogy. Trained as both an actor and a dancer, Freeman was a member of the Opera Ring musical theater group in San Francisco in the early 1960s.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Does 2025 have a song of the summer? The internet has doubts
Does 2025 have a song of the summer? The internet has doubts Show Caption Hide Caption 'Superman,' Mission: Impossible,' 'F1' and summer's must-see films USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt releases his list of summer's must-see films. The highlights include "Superman" and "Mission: Impossible." For friend groups carpooling to the beach this summer, there may not be a consensus on song choice. While Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" and Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby" were among the tunes considered the 2024 song of the summer, there's no such clarity this time around. Music fans have voiced frustration with the lack of clear contenders for the 2025 title, saying no song has gained the same level of momentum as Carpenter's caffeinated earworm or Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning diss track "Not Like Us." The public has never unanimously agreed an definitive song of the summer, an unofficial honor that drives debate every year over which artist drops the season's true anthem. Every year, listeners pick a track they feel is emblematic of summer, from The Beach Boy's 1963 "Surfin' U.S.A" or The Police's 1983 "Every Breathe You Take" to Katy Perry's 2010 "California Gurls" featuring Snoop Dogg. This year, the internet has been scratching its head trying to figure out which track will reign supreme. The conundrum only became more apparent when Spotify shared 30 predictions for the 2025 Song of the Summer, a list the streaming giant said considered "cultural expertise, editorial instinct and streaming data." Social media users not only bashed the list, but the state of this year's summer anthems as a whole. Some went as far as saying 2025 might not have any songs of the summer. A song of the summer can't be forced to emerge Wyatt Torosian, a 34-year-old marketing professional from Louisiana, said the issue stems from artists tailoring their releases in the spring, with the hopes of becoming the song of the summer. In Summer 2005, the success of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" was indisputable, with the R&B soul hit playing at any store you walked to, Torosian said. Yet in this era, where musicians heavily utilize social media to promote their work, he argues music simply being made with the intention of going viral. "Everyone's designing music for a TikTok algorithm, and they're not actually making music that people want to listen to," Torosian told USA TODAY. "As artists keep designing songs for algorithms, there's going to be less and less songs that even have the staying capacity to last for an entire summer." Leo Pastel, an independent R&B songwriter based in Cincinnati, said record labels are often the ones vying to have the summer anthem more than the artists themselves. He believes musicians generally haven't been making the "upbeat, bright, happy songs" that epitomize the title yet, and urges labels to just accept that. "Fans will make something, and then like the companies and the labels will pick up on it a year later and try to force it," he said. "There's not really a Song of the Summer this year and I think everyone understands that, but the labels are trying to create it." As a musician himself, Pastel said most artists know better than to force their work to be trendy, adding "anytime you try to force something, it just ends up coming off inauthentic. So it really has to come from an authentic place for it to really connect." A true song of the summer is undeniable When a track is a true song of the summer contender, it's almost irrefutable. Pastel said they're the songs that listeners can't escape from at clubs, or that they can't help but play while riding their bike. Hit summer songs were easier to identify decades ago when radio stations and TV programs had listeners largely consuming the same media at the same time, according to Pastel. Yet as streaming platforms have given listeners more control over what music they listen to, he said it takes lot more for a song to stand out amongst the masses. "It's a lot more difficult for one thing to be ubiquitous and for everyone to be paying attention to it. So I think that it'll be a lot more rare for us to see those major cultural moments like we were used to in years past," Pastel added. Kristi Cook, a pop culture content creator in Los Angeles, noted it's sometimes easier to judge a song of the summer after the season ends altogether. "It takes you back to a smell. It takes you back to a moment in time, like a piece of clothing," said Cook, who has nearly 400,000 followers on her TikTok page Spill Sesh. "Like, it just really takes you back to where you were when you were listening to that song the most. When it was the most played at restaurants or bars." Could the 2025 summer anthem could drop any moment? Many social media users have completely given up on 2025 having a song of the summer, with the exception of devoted fans championing their favorite artists' new releases. Fans of Charli XCX are even pushing for hyper-pop "party 4 u" amid a popularity resurgence, despite the song being released in 2020. Meanwhile, artists like Doja Cat, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Lil Wayne, Miley Cyrus and A$AP Rocky are all expected to drop albums in the near future. But summer hasn't officially begun, and Cook is encouraging people not to throw in the towel just yet. "People are looking at it a bit negatively because they don't agree or they don't like these songs that are available right now," she said. "Everyone's waiting for the 'Espresso.' I feel like everyone's just waiting because they hear all these teases or they're hoping their favorites are going to drop a song." With the music world still left in suspense, USA TODAY asked Torosian, Pastel and Cook what they believe should be the 2025 Song of the Summer. Here's what they said.
USA Today
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
The 8 irritating 2025 NBA playoff ads that won't stop airing, ranked
The 8 irritating 2025 NBA playoff ads that won't stop airing, ranked On some level, I understand why a league like the NBA would want to keep a tight rotation of commercials for the playoffs. In the same fashion that a head coach of an NBA team keeps a tight playoff rotation, you want your best players (commercials) getting as many minutes as possible to maximize your chances at winning (getting revenue). That doesn't excuse the fact that the NBA has somehow managed to piece together the most annoying possible commercial rotation for the playoffs ... for the second straight year! And the worst part is, if I weren't writing this article, I wouldn't have even been sure about what products were being sold to me in these ads. So, while making me gradually lose my mind, are they having the intended effect of making money for these companies? I have my doubts about that. Let's take a look at the heart of the NBA's 2025 playoff commercial package and rank them by how irritating, frustrating, and utterly grating they all are. 8. Charles Barkley and "ChuckGPT" for FanDuel I guess I find this one technically less objectionable than the others on this list because Barkley is a magnetic personality. At least he's entertaining. At least he's got charisma. And when you watch this ad the first few times, it is actually kinda funny. But integrating some Barkley-centered generative AI that is somehow accurate about everything concerning the Chuckster? Are we sure that's an accurate portrayal of generative AI? Sure. 7. Draymond Green finds a loose ball for Kia This commercial actually debuted in 2024, but that hasn't stopped the NBA or Kia from drilling it into our heads during this postseason. It's not even really all that annoying compared to some of the top choices above. Still, I tire of watching Draymond Green stare at and confront a wolf. What does that have to do with a car? Someone explain it to me like I'm five. Don't worry, I'll wait. 6. Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" used as THE tentpole song Look, I understand. I know Aerosmith is an incredibly popular band. But whose idea was it to make one of the most famous songs of a group that peaked roughly half a century ago the seeming theme song of these entire NBA playoffs? Who is this for? Does the NBA even care about catering to a younger audience anymore? Are we really leaning into nostalgia that much? It's so silly and cringe to me. I didn't include a specific video example because there are just so many different versions with different NBA stars. 5. Wingstop's "Million Dollar Baby" Again, here we have another older ad that didn't debut during this postseason. Which, at this point, I wish the NBA hadn't recycled it. So, let's be clear. Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby" song is a banger. It is decidedly NOT a banger when I have to hear it seemingly countless times during every playoff game. This commercial has ruined the song for me. I need a cleanse from it. 4. The Thunder accidentally wore the same outfit for AT&T At this stage, it's apparent that the Oklahoma City Thunder and AT&T might usually make one of the year's most irritating commercials if they get together in the spring. One year after the disaster of "What a Pro Wants," we have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren mistakenly not coordinating the same outfit together. And you guessed it, they were "Thunderstruck" about it. If only they had AT&T, this wouldn't have happened, apparently? Mhmm. 3. Will Ferrell "Pay Your Own Way" I love Will Ferrell. I still use PayPal on occasion. I do not love them together here with Ferrell singing a high-pitched parody of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way." And I particularly dislike how this commercial features various people getting frustrated about Ferrell's singing, as if it were a tacit acknowledgement of how annoying people find this commercial in real life. Is that supposed to be funny? How meta. 2. The NBA's Villanova Guys finding a way to connect (Exasperated, gathering the words) WE GET IT. THEY WERE TEAMMATES IN COLLEGE AND IN THE NBA AND NOW THEY'RE NOT. STOP USING THE CORNY CHARLIE PUTH SONG FROM A VIN DIESEL MOVIE. SO FUNNY. (Exhales) Gah. OK, I feel better. 1. Jalen Green is apparently the biggest and the largest This commercial in itself isn't necessarily the most annoying, even though I'd love to not hear BigXthaPlug's "The Largest" for a while after this. It's more about the timing and who's featured. For the life of me, I cannot believe that Jalen Green, an overrated shot-chucker propped up by some corners of NBA media because he was a No. 2 overall pick, got this prominent of a spot for the playoffs. Who did Wingstop think Green was when they booked him for this ad? Do some people really think Green is a "star," instead of a flashy offensive black hole? I've learned so much during these playoffs.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The 8 irritating 2025 NBA playoff ads that won't stop airing, ranked
On some level, I understand why a league like the NBA would want to keep a tight rotation of commercials for the playoffs. In the same fashion that a head coach of an NBA team keeps a tight playoff rotation, you want your best players (commercials) getting as many minutes as possible to maximize your chances at winning (getting revenue). That doesn't excuse the fact that the NBA has somehow managed to piece together the most annoying possible commercial rotation for the playoffs ... for the second straight year! And the worst part is, if I weren't writing this article, I wouldn't have even been sure about what products were being sold to me in these ads. So, while making me gradually lose my mind, are they having the intended effect of making money for these companies? I have my doubts about that. Let's take a look at the heart of the NBA's 2025 playoff commercial package and rank them by how irritating, frustrating, and utterly grating they all are. I guess I find this one technically less objectionable than the others on this list because Barkley is a magnetic personality. At least he's entertaining. At least he's got charisma. And when you watch this ad the first few times, it is actually kinda funny. But integrating some Barkley-centered generative AI that is somehow accurate about everything concerning the Chuckster? Are we sure that's an accurate portrayal of generative AI? Sure. This commercial actually debuted in 2024, but that hasn't stopped the NBA or Kia from drilling it into our heads during this postseason. It's not even really all that annoying compared to some of the top choices above. Still, I tire of watching Draymond Green stare at and confront a wolf. What does that have to do with a car? Someone explain it to me like I'm five. Don't worry, I'll wait. Look, I understand. I know Aerosmith is an incredibly popular band. But whose idea was it to make one of the most famous songs of a group that peaked roughly half a century ago the seeming theme song of these entire NBA playoffs? Who is this for? Does the NBA even care about catering to a younger audience anymore? Are we really leaning into nostalgia that much? It's so silly and cringe to me. I didn't include a specific video example because there are just so many different versions with different NBA stars. Again, here we have another older ad that didn't debut during this postseason. Which, at this point, I wish the NBA hadn't recycled it. So, let's be clear. Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby" song is a banger. It is decidedly NOT a banger when I have to hear it seemingly countless times during every playoff game. This commercial has ruined the song for me. I need a cleanse from it. At this stage, it's apparent that the Oklahoma City Thunder and AT&T might usually make one of the year's most irritating commercials if they get together in the spring. One year after the disaster of "What a Pro Wants," we have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren mistakenly not coordinating the same outfit together. And you guessed it, they were "Thunderstruck" about it. If only they had AT&T, this wouldn't have happened, apparently? Mhmm. I love Will Ferrell. I still use PayPal on occasion. I do not love them together here with Ferrell singing a high-pitched parody of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way." And I particularly dislike how this commercial features various people getting frustrated about Ferrell's singing, as if it were a tacit acknowledgement of how annoying people find this commercial in real life. Is that supposed to be funny? How meta. (Exasperated, gathering the words) WE GET IT. THEY WERE TEAMMATES IN COLLEGE AND IN THE NBA AND NOW THEY'RE NOT. STOP USING THE CORNY CHARLIE PUTH SONG FROM A VIN DIESEL MOVIE. SO FUNNY. (Exhales) Gah. OK, I feel better. This commercial in itself isn't necessarily the most annoying, even though I'd love to not hear BigXthaPlug's "The Largest" for a while after this. It's more about the timing and who's featured. For the life of me, I cannot believe that Jalen Green, an overrated shot-chucker propped up by some corners of NBA media because he was a No. 2 overall pick, got this prominent of a spot for the playoffs. Who did Wingstop think Green was when they booked him for this ad? Do some people really think Green is a "star," instead of a flashy offensive black hole? I've learned so much during these playoffs. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Ranking the 8 incredibly annoying 2025 NBA playoff ads that won't stop
