Latest news with #MusicBox
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Sam Ryder on heartbreak and the healing power of music
Sam Ryder joins The Independent for a candid interview, opening up about the heartbreak and raw emotion behind his latest music. He reflects on the 'open, raw wounds' left by breakups and how songwriting became a form of release. Catch Sam's unforgettable Music Box session, where he delivers powerful, stripped-back performances of his latest releases, 'OH OK' and 'Armour' – available to watch on YouTube and Independent TV. Catch Sam's unforgettable Music Box session, where he delivers powerful, stripped-back performances of his latest releases, 'OH OK' and 'Armour' – available to watch on YouTube and Independent TV.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Magnolia Pictures Acquires U.S. Rights To ‘It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley,' Amy Berg's Documentary On Late Ethereal-Voiced Musician
EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures has landed U.S. rights to It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg's portrait of the late musician who developed an adoring fan base before his untimely death at the age of 30. Magnolia plans to release the film theatrically (available in Dolby Atmos) on August 8. The documentary, which enjoys a 100 percent critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, will premiere on HBO and stream on HBO Max this winter, as part of the Music Box series created by Bill Simmons. More from Deadline Director Amy Berg On Her Jeff Buckley Documentary: Late Singer-Songwriter 'Brought So Much Love And Authenticity To His Music' – Sundance Studio 'The Case Against Adnan Syed' Director Amy Berg Strikes First-Look Deal With Fremantle New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Docu 'Prime Minister' Acquired By Magnolia, HBO Docu Films & CNN Films After Prize-Winning Sundance Bow 'Told through never-before-seen footage from Buckley's archives and intimate accounts from his mother Mary Guibert, former partners Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser, Jeff's former bandmates, including Michael Tighe and Parker Kindred, and luminaries like Ben Harper and Aimee Mann, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley illuminates one of modern music's most influential and enigmatic figures,' notes a release. 'His only studio album, Grace, was released to astounding reviews and challenged conventional ideas of genre and gender. His intimate and influential cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' further catapulted him to fame. Still, under pressure to produce his second album, he retreated to Memphis to escape the spotlight and the ever-growing glare of the public eye. In a tragic accident, Buckley drowned in the Wolf River in Memphis in 1997, leaving behind an unfinished second album and a legion of devastated family, friends and fans.' Magnolia Pictures co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley said in a statement, 'With only one studio album, Jeff Buckley became a legend. Amy Berg has captured his brilliance and complexity in this incandescent film that no true fan can miss.' Berg's credits include the Academy Award-nominated Deliver Us From Evil (2006); West of Memphis (2012); Prophet's Prey (2015); the Emmy-nominated docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed (2019), and Janis: Little Girl Blue, her 2015 documentary about iconic singer Janis Joplin. 'I've spent practically my entire career trying to make this film which takes a very intimate look at one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time,' Berg commented. 'I'm so excited Magnolia and HBO have come onboard to share this film with the world and give old fans and new audiences a chance to experience Jeff from this unique vantage point. I couldn't imagine a better team to roll this into the world!' A Topic Studios and Fremantle Film, It's Never Over: Jeff Buckley is produced by Ryan Heller (A Real Pain), Christine Connor (Nuclear Family), Mandy Chang (The Mona Lisa Curse), Matthew Roozen (A Mouthful Of Air), Jennie Bedusa (The Space Within) and Amy Berg. Executive producers are Mary Guibert, Alison Raykovich, Brian A. Kates, Michael Bloom, Jennifer Westin, Maria Zuckerman, Brad Pitt, and Ian Stratford. 'Working with Amy on this labor of love has been a gift,' said Topic Studios' Ryan Heller and Christine Connor. 'And we are delighted that our friends at Magnolia and HBO are joining us to help ensure that Jeff's remarkable story reaches the widest possible audience.' Mark Reynolds, Global Head of Documentaries & Factual, Fremantle, noted, 'We are delighted to have partnered with Amy Berg and Topic Studios on this deeply human and beautifully made film – with such intimate recollections of an artist who continues to inspire – honoring Jeff's legacy with the care and reverence it deserves. We're equally excited to be collaborating with Magnolia as our North American distributor to help share this powerful story with audiences.' The acquisition deal was negotiated by Magnolia Pictures SVP of Acquisitions John Von Thaden, with Submarine's Josh Braun, Dan Braun and Matt Burke on behalf of the filmmakers. It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals around the world including CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, the Sydney Film Festival in Australia, the Provincetown International Film Festival and Nantucket Film Festival – both in Massachusetts. Musician Ben Harper, who as noted above appears in the documentary, became friends with Buckley after they met at a rock festival in France. In an interview with Deadline at Sundance, he told us about the power of Buckley's voice. 'You just hadn't heard anything like it until he came along. It was as singular an instrument as has existed in the world of sound. As powerful and raw, it was equally as vulnerable and fragile. And to have those two counterpoints all within the same instrument was just something unheard of… To be that raw, but that elegant at the same time, and to be that powerful yet that fragile at the same time was just shocking.' At Sundance, Berg shared more about her long effort to make the Buckley documentary. 'I finally met up with Mary [Guibert, Jeff Buckley's mom] in 2010, but she didn't give me the rights for another nine years,' she told Deadline. 'But every time I finished a film, I would reach out to Mary. She did share the archive with me back then, and I was blown away by the voicemail messages and the DAT recordings and his candor, and I just kept at it. I always wanted to tell a love story about Jeff because he brought so much love and authenticity to his music. So, I chose people that had a real deep connection with him to be in the film. It's a love story that simply transcends time. ' Best of Deadline List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Samantha Crain is mesmerising in Music Box performance of ‘Gumshoe' and Dart'
Samantha Crain delivered a mesmerising performance of songs from Gumshoe, her first full-length album in five years. The Oklahoma-born artist has received widespread critical acclaim for her astute, observational songwriting, which she injects with her signature wit. For Music Box, she performed the title track from Gumshoe as well as the song 'Dart'. See her live on tour in the US from June through to the end of July. Stay tuned to Independent TV for more Music Box featuring the latest acts breaking through, available across desktop, mobile and connected TV, as well as our YouTube channel.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Watch rising indie star Annie DiRusso's electrifying pared-back performance of ‘Back in Town'
Annie DiRusso is one of her generation's most exciting new talents, having recently released her brilliant debut album, Super Pedestrian. The Nashville -based indie-rock artist was born and raised in New York, and incorporates street-smart, witty songwriting and buzzy DIY indie sounds with sprawling Americana sensibilities. For Music Box, she performed her latest single 'Back in Town' along with 'Legs'. Catch her on tour in North America from 23 May. Stay tuned to Independent TV for more Music Box featuring the latest acts breaking through, available across desktop, mobile and connected TV, as well as our YouTube channel.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Breaking Baz: ‘Wicked's Cynthia Erivo Will Sink Her Teeth Into 23 Roles For ‘Dracula' In London's West End
EXCLUSIVE: Wicked's Cynthia Erivo will play Bram Stoker's demonic vampire and 22 other roles in Dracula, a one-woman theatrical extravaganza set for next year in London's West End, from the creatives and producers behind Sarah Snook's Broadway and London triumph The Picture of Dorian Gray. Stoker's gothic shocker explores the dark corners of Victorian-age sexuality, fear and desire. The tale, first published in 1897, is both alluring and horrifying, full of terrifying and dreamlike imagery. More from Deadline Tony Awards Nominations: 'Buena Vista Social Club', 'Maybe Happy Ending' And 'Death Becomes Her' Lead Way – Complete List Cynthia Erivo Cast As Jesus In 'Jesus Christ Superstar' At The Hollywood Bowl 'Wicked' Concert Special Set For NBC And Peacock Ahead Of Sequel's November Theatrical Bow Dracula, adapted and directed by Kip Williams, marks Oscar-nominated Erivo's return to the stage for the first time since her Tony Award-winning role as Celie in The Color Purple, which she starred in for two years in New York before exiting in January 2017. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art-trained artist played Celie in London, and honed her craft in several plays and musicals in the UK before relocating to the U.S. The Sydney Theatre Company production of Dracula will play the Cameron Mackintosh-owned Noel Coward Theatre for a limited 16-week engagement February 4-May 31, 2026. Michael Cassel, producer and CEO of Australia's Michael Cassel Group, and Adam Kenwright, a top London and Broadway producer and ace international marketing guru, reunite to produce the STC production as they did with Dorian Gray, which they took to London's Theatre Royal Haymarket and the Music Box, where it runs until June 29. Confirming the Dracula news exclusively to Deadline, Cassel says 'the stars have aligned and we've got an amazing actor in Cynthia to join us.' The initial approach to Erivo was made nine months ago in the middle of the hectic global promotional tour for Wicked. Buoyed by Erivo's interest, Cassel and Kenwright moved with appropriate supernatural speed to hook up the London-born star with Williams. He showed her archival video of the STC production of Dracula that played Sydney's Roslyn Packer Theatre for four weeks last year with Aussie actress Zahra Newman playing the nocturnal fiend. Williams spoke with Erivo about what he terms 'cine-theatre,' where actors interact with live and pre-recorded video feeds. Later, Erivo saw Snook's performance, now Tony-nominated, at the Music Box and visited with her afterwards. Obviously, that show's vastly different from Dracula, but it enabled Erivo to envision how Williams stages his interactive work with camera operators moving with balletic grace across the stage as an artist performs multiple roles. 'She has really spent most of her time with Kip just talking through the inspiration and the dramaturgy of it all. For them to connect in that way has been important for them because this is a show that they go and create together,' Cassel explains during a call from Melbourne, where he's been overseeing a production of the musical Beetlejuice at the city's Regent Theatre. Cassel points out that the West End's Dracula will not 'be a blueprint' of the Sydney version. 'I think what's so exciting, I think for her, and for us, while we know what the story is, they get to go and create this role in the rehearsal room in London together, and that was very appealing to Cynthia to put her own interpretation on the role and explore that with Kip.' The list of 23 characters that Erivo will perform include the fanged Count Dracula, who sustains life by sucking the blood of the living; Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified solicitor who travels to to meet his new client who resides in a castle nestled in the remote Transylvanian mountains; Mina Murray, Harker's fiancée; her friend Lucy Westenra; and Professor Van Hesling, vampire hunter and expert in occult lore. To pull off all those and other roles 'you need great actors,' says Cassel, 'and we just couldn't be happier with Cynthia leading the charge.' Wicked fans will no doubt be elated to learn that Erivo will sing in Dracula, but just one song. The original piece in the show is composed by Clemence Williams, who, as it happens, has been nominated for a Tony Award for sound design for The Picture of Dorian Gray. RELATED: Cassel was quick to state that Dracula's 'a play not a musical, but there is an original song in it' that will be performed towards the end of the 1 hour, 50 minute show. Wicked: For Good, part two of director Jon M. Chu's screen adaptation of the Broadway hit musical, opens November 21, while rehearsals for Dracula start late December. However, with Dracula performances beginning February 4, Cassel and Kenwright are cognizant of the fact that Erivo may need to skip off to one or two awards shows and are making provision in the show's performance schedule should that eventually arise. 'We're taking that into account,' Cassel adds, 'putting all those pieces in place so that Cynthia can be a part of everything else that's going on in her life — we'll build that in.' 'Again why we're just so thrilled Cynthia has agreed to choose this as a project she really wants to be a part of. When you look at Sarah as well, these actors have these amazing experiences on film or television, but the draw to the theatre, and indeed to do something that is so challenging, I think it's testament to the caliber as actors that these individuals are. It's challenging what they're being asked to do. It's a world apart from what Cynthia's been doing recently, and she can go and find that character and be challenged night in, night out as all good actors are in front of a live audience and I think that's really thrilling.' Erivo has several other projects ahead of Dracula. They include hosting the 78th Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 8. Following that, she will star alongside Teo Yoo (Past Lives) and Isabel May (1883) in director Takashi Doscher's action thriller Karoshi for 87Eleven and Lionsgate. There are other movies in Erivo's diary, plus taking on the role of Jesus in a concert version of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl in early August. When Stoker published his epistolary novel, critics saw it as a reflection of aspects of Victoria-era society. Cassel nods while observing that Williams in his adaptation delves 'much more much into the metaphorical power of Dracula and reorienting the psychological battle between fear, desire and denial, and I think that's much more resonant now, that's my view. 'It's got a great contemporary lens on it.' Cassel and Kenwright refuse to talk about further life for Dracula with Erivo after the Noel Coward Theatre. Broadway has not been mentioned, yet. 'All of our focus is on the West End and to make that a success and welcome Cynthia into the world of Dracula,' says Cassel. 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