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New York Times
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘And So It Goes' Traces Billy Joel's Dramatic Early Days: 5 Takeaways
The Tribeca Festival's opening-night premiere of the upcoming HBO documentary 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes' was marked, in part, by the absence of Billy Joel himself. Late last month, the musician announced that he was canceling all of his upcoming concerts because of a brain disorder called normal pressure hydrocephalus, which has led to problems with his hearing, vision and balance. After Robert De Niro called Joel 'the poet laureate of New York' and helped introduce the film with a dramatic reading of some of his lyrics ('He works at Mr. Cacciatore's down on Sullivan Street,' he intoned), one of the film's co-directors, Susan Lacy, told the Beacon Theater audience that Joel sent his greetings — with typical wry humor: 'In fact, he said, 'Getting old sucks, but it's still preferable to getting cremated.'' The audience roared with laughter. On a note of encouragement, Lacy said Joel 'will be back.' The crowd broke out into applause throughout the screening, which included just the first part of the two-part film. It still ran nearly two and a half hours as it covered Joel's childhood and rise to fame through his infamous 1982 motorcycle accident. (To put that in perspective: It doesn't get to the writing of 'Uptown Girl.' No Christie Brinkley yet.) There are pictures and footage of early Joel performances and stories about the surprisingly robust Long Island rock scene of the 1960s. But 'Part One' is largely an intimate portrait of Joel's relationship with his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, who would eventually become his manager, and it elevates her to a starring role in his life. It also features a host of stories about the making of some of his best-known songs, and tidbits about his Long Island obstinance. Here's some of what we learned. As Joel's relationship with Weber first foundered, he attempted suicide twice. Joel and Weber's relationship began in dramatic fashion: She was married to Jon Small, Joel's early bandmate, and had a son with him. Joel and Small first played together in a group named the Hassles, then broke off to start a Led Zeppelin-inspired metal outfit called Attila. (An album cover shoot featuring a longhaired Joel standing amid sides of raw beef, wearing fur, is something to behold.) Eventually, Joel fell in love with Weber, but when a guilt-ridden Joel shared his feelings with Small, he got punched in the nose and Weber left. Despondent, Joel overdosed on pills and was in a coma for days. His sister, Judy Molinari, who had provided the pills to help him sleep, recounts her guilt onscreen. 'I felt that I killed him,' she says. Joel drank a bottle of furniture polish in another attempt on his life. After moving back into his mother's house, he checked into an observation ward where his own struggles were put into perspective. From there he started to channel his feelings into music, and the songs that he wrote as a result of the experience would become his first solo album, 'Cold Spring Harbor.' After about a year, Weber re-entered his life. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Pink Villa
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Ramayana: Has Yash's Raavan found his Mandodari? Here's who will play his wife in Ranbir Kapoor starrer
Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana stands out as one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year. Featuring an impressive ensemble, the film has Ranbir Kapoor portraying Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash in the role of Raavan, and Sunny Deol stepping in as Lord Hanuman. Adding to the already stellar lineup, Kajal Aggarwal has been cast as Mandodari, Raavan's wife. Recognizing the significance of Mandodari's character in the Ramayana and wanting to find a strong on-screen match for Yash's Raavan, the creators were keen on casting a well-established actress with wide-ranging appeal across India. After considering various top contenders from both Bollywood and regional cinema, the team finalized Kajal Aggarwal for the role, owing to her strong fan base and popularity across both northern and southern markets. Meanwhile, Pinkvilla has exclusively learned that Yash joined the sets of Ramayana on April 30, 2025, and filmed his first shot as Raavan. According to a source close to the project, the actor is expected to shoot for nearly a month, covering scenes from both Part One and select portions of Part Two. He reportedly began filming with solo sequences and is scheduled to move on to combination scenes with Sai Pallavi (who plays Sita), Ranbir Kapoor (as Lord Ram), and Sunny Deol (as Lord Hanuman). The source also mentioned that the principal photography for Ramayana: Part One is on track to be completed within the next two weeks. Following that, the team is expected to continue work seamlessly on the sequel. For the uninitiated, Ramayana: Part One is slated for release during the Diwali 2026 weekend, with Part Two scheduled to hit theatres around Diwali 2027. The makers reportedly plan to complete the filming of both parts of Ramayana by the end of the year, after which they will shift focus to an intensive post-production phase. A source close to the project shared that the vision behind the film is to create a cinematic work that showcases Indian mythology on a global platform. Additionally, those who have had an early glimpse of the visuals are said to be highly impressed, describing it as an unprecedented visual spectacle.
RTÉ News
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Tom Cruise hunts all the Mission pieces in The Final Reckoning
"I need you to trust me one last time..." So Tom Cruise gravely intones as he makes another bid to own the summer box office - Barbie and Oppenheimer put paid to his efforts in 2023 - and perhaps brings the curtain down on a near-30-year franchise that got better as it went along - while he and us counted more grey hairs from the stunts alone. Picking up where 2023's Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part One (cannily, the title was changed to Final Reckoning to appeal to those who hadn't seen Part One) left off, the on-the-pulse plot sees agent-errant Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team trying to stop "parasitic AI" The Entity as it seeks to end the world as we know it. Hunt's fewer-by-the-hour supporters champion him as "the best of men in the worst of times" while the ever-growing list of doomsayers warns that "for every life he's tried to save, he's gambled millions more". Bragging rights are the least of everyone's worries. For anyone who tired of 'Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise in a Tom Cruise production of Tom Cruise ' a ways back, his latest offering to the movie gods won't do anything to change your mind, but for those of us still on board a train that went off a cliff at the end of the last instalment, Final Reckoning is a hoot and a muncher of a must-see. It does, however, pack one big frustration for the first hour and a bit: there's too much talking. With Cruise's charisma feeling strangely dialled down in the early stages and the supporting cast issued with signs that read, 'Will do exposition for close-ups', Final Reckoning gets stuck in missionsplaining amid the IP stitching, unnervingly recalls those 'If John has half a bucket of water' questions from maths class, and leaves the faithful fearing that they're going to be shortchanged when it comes to global salvation. But come the 70-minute mark longtime director Christopher McQuarrie's movie really comes into its own and rages until the close. Having done cars, bikes, and choo-choos the last time, the vehicular mayhem here involves an aircraft carrier, a submarine, and a biplane. A suspense-stacked Arctic sequence leads to a stunning underwater ordeal and then on to a franchise-best showdown where everything is literally up in the air. Once again, Cruise takes practical, in-person stunt work to new depths/heights - what a pity they're not handing out the first Stunt Oscar until 2027. The bit out on the wing? He did it nineteen times - and still wanted to go again. Bananas. The closing scenes are beautifully done, just right in terms of sentiment and style. Does Ethan Hunt survive? As Cruise, ever the bottom-line showman, laughed to Empire, "You gotta see the movie." As for his own plans after this, well, a line from the script says it best: "He'll figure it out." Always does.
