Latest news with #Slayer
Geek Tyrant
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Reboot Pilot Adds Five New Cast Members, Including SEVERANCE Star Sarah Bock and FRAISER Alum Jack Cutmore-Scott — GeekTyrant
Plot details are still under wraps, but sources confirm the story will follow Armstrong's character as the newest slayer, while Gellar returns as Buffy—an exciting blend of old and new for longtime fans. The revival seems like it's in good hands. Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman are writing and showrunning, while Oscar-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao will direct and executive produce under her Book of Shadows banner. Gellar is also on board as an executive producer alongside Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui, and yes, even Dolly Parton via Sandollar Productions. The project is a collaboration between 20th Television and Searchlight Television, the same team that brought the original Buffyverse to life. Excitement has been building since the first table read, which Gellar recently teased with a behind-the-scenes photo. Buffy the Vampire Slayer started as a 1992 cult film written by Joss Whedon and directed by Fran Kuzui, before becoming a groundbreaking TV series in 1997. The show ran for seven seasons across The WB and UPN, introducing fans to a beloved ensemble that included Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, and James Marsters. Its success even spawned the spinoff Angel starring Boreanaz. With this reboot blending legacy characters and fresh blood, the big question now is: how will this new Slayer story honor Buffy's legacy while forging its own path? We'll find out soon enough when Hulu officially unveils the pilot.
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
A diss from Lollapalooza inspired Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne to create Ozzfest in 1996
Ozzy Osbourne, the world-renowned heavy music and cultural icon who died Tuesday a few weeks following his final live performance, led myriad lives: The lovable if bumbling patriarch of hit reality show The Osbournes; metal progenitor as Black Sabbath's frontman; and a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer who released 13 solo albums to multi-platinum success with radio staples like 'Crazy Train,' 'No More Tears' and 'Changes.' But one of his most lasting legacies came thanks to Ozzfest, the annual multi-band touring juggernaut spearheaded by manager/wife Sharon Osbourne. It began in 1996 and ran until 2018, with top-tier bands including Slayer, Tool, Motorhead and System of a Down often returning for multiple years. And we have the Perry Farrell-founded Lollapalooza Festival to thank for Ozzfest. 'In 1996 I said to my agents for Ozzy, 'Ozzy should be on Lollapalooza.' They went and asked, and the response was, 'Ozzy's not relevant,'' Sharon Osbourne told writer Richard Bienstock in Billboard. 'Sharon got pissed off about that. ... 'You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna do the Ozzfest.' I thought she'd f—king gone nuts,' Ozzy told Bienstock, co-author of 'Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival.' Sharon, a powerhouse who learned music business tactics from father Don Arden, a heavyweight and feared music manager and agent, was on fire, furious at the disrespect leveled at her husband. The first Ozzfest was a mere two dates — one in Arizona, one in California — but like subsequent touring Ozzfest's, it featured the crème de la crème of metal, both chart-toppers and newcomers divided between two stages. Ozzy headlined the first fest and Black Sabbath the second, along with Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Type O Negative, Fear Factory and Machine Head. In a Halloween 2023 episode of the Osbournes Podcast, Ozzy asked Sharon about bringing back the tour, which ended in 2018 with a single show in Los Angeles. Prior to that, in 2016, for two years, it had become Ozzfest Meets Knotfest when the second fest, created by Slipknot manager Cory Brennan in 2012, teamed up with Ozzfest. On the podcast episode, Ozzy asked Sharon: 'Not just one [at] the f—ing [Kia] Forum, but a whole Ozzfest?' His wife replied in the affirmative but gave context to the Ozzfest dynamic that ultimately halted the festival. 'It was a very weird beast, because all the bands were our mates, but the managers were greedy, and for some reason, they thought that we were making billions on it, and we weren't,' Sharon said. 'We made a profit, but it was not like we could retire on it. Managers and agents wanted more and more and more, and it just wasn't cost-effective anymore.' With Ozzy's declining health and the voluminous work and hoopla leading up to the 'Back to the Beginning' show on July 5, 2025, discussion about future Ozzfests or Ozzfest Meets Knotfest have been quiet. But with increasingly few high-profile outlets for new heavy music, Sharon's goal of 'breaking new bands' via Ozzfest's second stage would be welcome. She's still helping careers; by putting British singer Yungblud on the 'Back to the Beginning' show singing Ozzy's 'Changes,' the young singer reached a massive worldwide audience — especially in America, where he has yet to break through in a notable way. Twenty-five years ago, Disturbed were a young Chicago lineup when offered a spot on the prestigious touring fest in 2000. 'They gave us this platform to really help catapult our career,' Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan said in 2024. 'It seemed like every time we would play these major markets on Ozzfest, we would [then] see SoundScan numbers and big spikes in album sales, so that told us that we were at least connecting live, because people were running out to buy the album, and it was a significant amount of albums being sold at that time.' 'The album came out in March of 2000 and by the end of the summer, we finished Ozzfest, and the album had gone Gold,' Donegan recalls. 'We sold over 500,000 records in that short period of time. A lot of credit goes to the exposure that we got on Ozzfest, because we were playing amphitheaters five days a week, and it was the size [of] crowds we needed to be in front of.' Sharon has a deserved reputation as a savvy and fierce businesswoman, but nearly every band who played Ozzfest has nothing but praise for their tenure on the festival. As Donegan recalls, 'Sharon and Ozzy and the whole family were just very accommodating to us. She's one of the toughest women in the business. She won't take s— from anyone, and she makes that very clear, and, to us, as a band, she was very loving and motherly and accepting. It was amazing.' Tom Beaujour, who worked with Sharon and Ozzfest during his tenure as editor of metal magazine Revolver, recalls, 'She was always incredibly straightforward and fair to deal with. You didn't get the run-around. When she said that something would be done, it got done.' Bands and businesspeople alike respected Mrs. O's status. 'You also knew never to mess with Sharon,' continues Beaujour, who is also co-author of 'Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival.' 'And you didn't tell Sharon you were going to do something and not do it, because you would get blacklisted. You just knew not to mess with Sharon, ever. I always thought that that was a great thing, because it's really nice to actually know where you stand with people. And know that if you get out of line, the hammer is going to drop.' Sharon illustrated that point on the Osbournes Podcast, recounting the story of an early Ozzfest when one band refused to go on stage until she agreed to give them an additional $10,000. Showing the mettle that took her own and Ozzy's career to great heights, Sharon recalls, 'They were holding everything up. And I said, 'Of course, of course, I'll give it to you!' They went on, played and [afterwards] I went, 'F— you. You signed a contract. Your agent agreed to it, and now you're just gouging.'' Her commitment to nurturing talent extended to a label she started, Divine Recordings, which in 2000 signed a promising (very) young band, Pure Rubbish. As singer Derek Dunivan recalled, 'My first show ever singing lead was a showcase for Sharon Osbourne in Houston. She called Ozzy on the phone, and thinking about that tripped us out! We went to Ozzfest that week, and they eventually decided to sign us a month or so later. All the majors were after us at the time.' Pure Rubbish played the second stage on the U.K. run of Ozzfest in 2001. Dez Fafara of Coal Chamber told writer Bienstock in Billboard that 'Sharon knew it was a smart idea to put on a heavy metal, that's-all-that-we're-playing-today festival. And that if she made sure that that genre had its comeuppance and had its day in court, everybody would come. And surely everybody did.' The band Kittie, who released their debut album 'Spit' in 2000, became the first female band booked in the tour's history with their time on Ozzfest the same year. Drummer Mercedes Lander says, 'I can't believe the impact that we had,' with singer Morgan Lander concurring, 'It's really difficult to admit to myself that yes, what we did really mattered. But people are coming out and saying, 'When I was in high school, you changed my life.' 'You influenced me as an artist.' And a lot of them are women.' Drawing a parallel to the early days of Lollapalooza, Beaujour notes that both fests drew 'curious kids who were looking for a subculture and operating outside of what was maybe on the radio. I think for all of its existence, in a weird way, Ozzfest had that. The bands on there were huge, but metal has always been a subculture and somewhat reviled and outside of what the mainstream press covers. I think that Ozzfest always catered to a subculture, and to a kid who feels a little bit like an outsider doesn't fit in. In a way,' Beaujour said, 'Ozzfest had a much more lasting relationship the outer reaches of popular culture than Lollapalooza, which very quickly had incredibly popular bands on it.' From the Datsuns to the Dwarves to Dimmu Borgir, many underground bands were represented on Ozzfest, while cool collabs abounded among bigger names: Late Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington joined Disturbed in 2001 to perform a cover of Pantera's 'Walk,' and relationships among varied bands developed, leading to on- and off-stage collaborations … and shenanigans. A well-organized Ozzfest tour would be a welcome addition to the current festival landscape. However, as Beaujour notes, 'the first year of Lollapalooza, which was basically started as a Jane's Addiction farewell tour,' didn't have Jane's Addiction on subsequent Lollapaloozas. 'But Sharon always had Ozzy, and people never get tired of Ozzy,' Beaujour says. With the passing of the Prince of Darkness, and without his powerful presence to anchor an Ozzfest, any future configurations of the tour would need to be reimagined. Many musicians were excited and honored to be part of Ozzfest in large part because they were huge fans of Ozzy and Sabbath, their own music hugely influenced by them. And, as The Times noted in a 1997 review of Ozzfest, 'Since Black Sabbath's '70s heyday, its progeny have upped the ante considerably when it comes to rock's shock value. But in the end Black Sabbath still packed the most potent musical charge.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot Adds 5 — Including Severance and Frasier Vets
Scoobies, assemble! Hulu's Buffy reboot pilot just added several series regulars to the cast, TVLine has learned. They include a Severance scene-stealer, a Major Crimes detective and Frasier's son. More from TVLine Chris Meloni Joins, William H. Macy Circling Hulu's NFL Drama From Dan Fogelman Washington Black's Sterling K. Brown and Ernest Kingsley Junior Revel in the 'Brotherhood and Mentorship' Hulu's Historical Drama Gave Them Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Premiere Date Revealed - Find Out Who's Returning After 3-Year Absence Sarah Bock (Severance) will play Gracie. Ava Jean (Law & Order: SVU) will play Larkin. Faly Rakotohavana (Unprisoned, Raven's Home) joins as Hugo. All are series regulars. Though no official character information is available, these roles match up with the roles of the new Slayer's close friends that TVLine first reported in March. In addition, Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier, Deception) will play the reboot's Mr. Burke (dare we hope he's a Giles-type Watcher?) and Daniel di Tomasso (Major Crimes) will play a character named Abe. Both are series regulars. The potential series continuation, which likely will find original series lead Sarah Michelle Gellar reprising her titular role as a recurring guest star, is said to be focused on a new Slayer and 'the next chapter in the Buffyverse.' As previously reported, Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) will play the new lead, who is said to be a brainy and cerebral teen that's possibly more Willow than Buffy. Further details remain TBA. Chloé Zhao (who won a directing Oscar for her 2020 feature Nomadland) is attached to direct and executive-produce the project, with additional EPs including Gellar, Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, Kaz Kuzui and Dolly Parton. (Berman, the Kuzuis and Parton all executive-produced the original Buffy series.) As for other returning Buffy cast members, no one from the original cast has been confirmed (yet) aside from Gellar herself. 'We will try to find a balance between new and old characters,' Gellar teased. 'My dream is to bring back everyone who has died, but space will have to be made for new stories as well.' Is your excitement for 2.0 growing? Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Buffy Reboot: 10 Characters We Need Back — and One We Don't View ListBest of TVLine Stars Who Almost Played Other TV Roles — on Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, Lost, Gilmore Girls, Friends and Other Shows TV Stars Almost Cast in Other Roles Fall TV Preview: Who's In? Who's Out? Your Guide to Every Casting Move!
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Film of Black Sabbath farewell to release in early 2026
A film of the star-studded show that Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath said would be their final gig will be released early next bade farewell to live performing in Birmingham, supported by a host of legendary music acts in front of 40,000 fans at Villa Park on 5 group were joined by performers including Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Slayer, with guest appearances from the likes of Ronnie Wood, Steven Tyler and Jack To The Beginning: Ozzy's Final Bow, would be a "distilled version" of the all-day event and include exclusive behind-the-scenes access and interviews, a post on Osbourne's X account said. The concert film would be a celebration of the 76-year-old singer and the legacy of Black Sabbath, the post said, capturing "the raw power and emotional weight of Ozzy's final bow in his hometown".It said: "Featuring thunderous performances of War Pigs, Iron Man, Children of the Grave, and a show-stopping Paranoid, the film promises a deeply personal and electrifying farewell from the godfather of heavy metal." The legendary frontman, who has Parkinson's disease, sang with his fellow founding fathers of heavy metal while seated on a black musicians and celebrities sent in video messages that were played at the show - held a stone's throw from Ozzy's childhood home - alongside messages from fans."You are one of the most remarkable singers of our time," Sir Elton John told Osbourne in his message."Without Sabbath there would be no Metallica," the US group's frontman James Hetfield told the crowd during their travelled from across the world and sported their own rockstar outfits for the farewell - with everything from tattoos to socks bearing Osbourne's name or image. After playing five songs from his solo career, Ozzy was joined by his Black Sabbath bandmates - guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward - for four more, finishing with 1970 classic group's final performance raised £140m for charity, according to the event's musical director, Tom Morello. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Wales Online
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
20 brilliant pictures of the first Blackweir Live event as Cardiff hosted huge crowds and global stars
A huge summer of music in Cardiff saw the introduction of a brand new gig series in one of the city's beautiful parks. Blackweir Live has taken over Blackweir Fields in Bute Park, and brought four global artists to Cardiff. Although the gig series has been met with some criticism, many have enjoyed seeing the impressive line-up. The gig series kicked off with American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan, followed by Alanis Morissette, thrash metal band Slayer, and finally music legend Stevie Wonder, all of who delighted the massive crowds. With a capacity of a whopping 35,000 people this gig series is awe-inspiring. Read why we think the concert series taught us we can dream big, here. Blackweir Live is run by Depot - who also look after the Cardiff Castle gigs which has seen Elbow, James, Snow Patrol and more perform - and Cuffe and Taylor. Home to a massive and towering stage, many concertgoers could not get over how huge the site was. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here At Blackweir Live, there were bars lining each side and food stalls with pretty much every cuisine you could imagine; you weren't just limited to burgers and chips here. Noah kicked off the gig series with a very impressive set, featuring his hits like Stick Season and You're Gonna Go Far, meanwhile Alanis brought all the 1990s nostalgia. Slayer's pyrotechnics and hard rock classics elicted some righteous moshing, and the icon that is Stevie Wonder finished the gig series with classics like Superstition and Isn't She Lovely. Often the weather was stunning for the gigs, meaning the fans remained dry. An impressive feat for summer in Wales. The insane operation behind pulling off the first-ever Blackweir Live can not be ignored. They nailed the scale of the road closure, seeing fans exit safely and head home. There were pedestrian bridges built over the canal just for the gigs to ensure a smooth exit, there were extra trains from Great Western Rail and Transport for Wales, and the whole event felt well-thought-out and clear. Here are some of the pictures from the first-ever Blackweir Live gig series in Cardiff.
