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Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
The Weeknd brings ‘After Hours Til Dawn' back to Soldier Field, closing a chapter on the bad boy you can dance to
Three years ago, Abel Tesfaye — better known as The Weeknd — first brought his 'After Hours Til Dawn Tour' to Soldier Field. An acclaimed spectacle, the tour that started on such a high eventually brought the artist to his lowest low. In September 2022, during a show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles near the end of his tour's North American leg, The Weeknd abruptly lost his voice while performing 'Can't Feel My Face.' The incident, brought on by 'self-imposed pressure' and stress, he said, left the artist reckoning with the realities of the world he'd built since breaking out of his underground, internet anonymity into global superstardom. It inspired a complete overhaul of his latest album, 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' (released Jan. 31), as well as a companion film of the same title, with actors Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan co-starring alongside Tesfaye in what's been widely regarded as a hyper-stylized, hollow vanity project. Upon the album and film's releases, Tesfaye announced he'd be leaving his famed moniker behind. He felt he had 'said everything he could say' under the Weeknd name and was looking to explore different creative avenues musically. Despite the critical reception for his ventures outside of music, fans showed up in droves Friday night for the first of two nights of the 'After Hours Til Dawn Tour' (part deux), and to say goodbye (sort of). After opening sets from Mike Dean and Playboi Carti, the lights went down and a deep, crimson haze eclipsed the stage. Brooding and slightly ominous, it was a similar production to what graced the lakefront stadium in the summer of 2022, with a mainstage rising from a city of ruins, multiple runways and a towering, chrome Stargirl replacing what had been the moon. Tesfaye wasted no time getting right into the thick of it. Flanked by nearly three dozen shrouded and masked dancers, one of R&B's most enigmatic figures appeared as a glam Darth Vader or space-age Phantom of the Opera — ready to lead his followers through a celebration of excess, contradiction and dissociation like no one else can. Lyrically, The Weeknd's signature is oscillating between yearning lover boy and the worst guy you'd meet at the afters, set to a breakbeat pace. His career, both on the mic and on film ('Uncut Gems,' 'The Idol'), is built upon various layers and dynamics of who is ultimately the same person: himself. A hedonist hustler never satisfied. The predator and the prey. Secure in his insecurities and wreaking havoc because of it. As one concertgoer shared in passing, 'His music does remind you of a bad boyfriend, but when they make you like them again.' Is it survival mode? Maybe. For over the past decade, it has worked — making Tesfaye a cultural force. Adeptly walking the ever-thinning line between sexy and sleazy, he's undeniably one of modern pop music's most influential hitmakers and collaborators. For Stephanie Escobedo, longtime fan and owner of Through the Body Dance & Fitness Studio in West Town, the artist's latest album and film project heightened the anticipation ahead of this weekend's shows. 'It's visually beautiful, like a giant music video,' Escobedo said of the movie. 'I liked the imagery and how he played himself because he can't act for (expletive). I thought it was a cool omission of how awful of a person he was and how he used the two characters of Jenna and Barry to portray sides of himself. 'From what I understand,' she continued, 'he's going to step away from The Weeknd persona and just go by Abel. I'm interested to hear how Abel sounds, as opposed to this version of him I've loved since 2011.' For just over two hours, there were no breaks in the concert. Tesfaye delivered wall-to-wall vocals, showcasing a strength, clarity, and control over an instrument you'd never think once escaped him. 'It's been a long time since I've been in Chicago,' he recounted during the show. 'Last time I was here, I said I'd play two nights — and look what you did!' Telling his audience that Soldier Field would have to drag him off the stage, he promised to go all night. With a 40-song setlist that included Playboi Carti joining him for 'Timeless' and Carti's own 'Rather Lie,' deep hits 'Wicked Games,' 'The Morning,' and the title track from his debut project 'House of Balloons' (2011), as well as now-expected classics such as 'The Hills,' 'I Feel It Coming,' 'Die For You,' and 'Save Your Tears,' Tesfaye basked in the glory of soundtracking a generation of situation-ships and manipulative love-bombing-you-can-dance-to. But really, you cannot help but dance to it. Try not to be physically moved by the pulsating rush of the synths driving 'Blinding Lights' or throbbing bass behind 'São Paulo.' And sure, the 'ballad' portions of the evening piled on the slightly indulgent vocal runs and pleas from Tesfaye to hear someone say they love him (so committed, you do genuinely believe he needs to hear it) were eye roll-inducing, but expect nothing less from a man who set up the stage visual for 'Call Out My Name' to ultimately look like a sacrificial sermon. If you're not here for a little bit of artistic narcissism from The Weeknd, what are you even doing? Alesa Vera, who was invited last minute by her cousin, said she appreciated that the artist ran straight through his set without any intermissions, costume changes, or exaggerated encore, giving everyone the most for their money. 'He really has so many hits. He sounded fantastic,' she shared after the show. 'That's hard to do. You forget how much you love certain songs. I was engaged the entire time.' As flames, fireworks, and synchronized, light-up bracelets decorated Soldier Field, The Weeknd wrapped his triumphant return by introducing himself as Abel Tesfaye. Whether a death or a rebirth, his performance was proof that no matter the perceived 'failures' he's endured — the music, the talent speaks for itself. For attendees Dre Holland and Amari White, however, The Weeknd will always be The Weeknd. 'The songs, he can't separate himself from those. People will always want to hear The Weeknd' Holland said while leaving Museum Campus. 'How much of his style can really change? I don't think he'll do it, but we'll see.' 'The fans are with him no matter what,' White added. 'He's captured something with his music and lyrics that only he does. I mean, look at all these people here.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Final Destination Bloodlines' breaks fiery world record for oldest stuntperson set ablaze
Final Destination Bloodlines directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein aren't popping the champagne just yet, but the Vancouver-based filmmaking duo is certain they've set a new world record. At the start of the latest entry in the ongoing horror franchise, veteran stuntwoman Yvette Ferguson is set ablaze during the film's fiery opening scene. In a video call from Los Angeles, B.C.-born Lipovsky says the stunt team is talking to the Guinness Book of World Records to try and get the feat recognized as breaking the world record for oldest person on fire. 'The whole stunt community in Vancouver came out to see this. We did it twice. It was a full-body burn and Yvette was 71 when we did it. When we cast her, she was so excited … They've been checking with Guinness to get it verified,' he says while sitting alongside his co-director. It turns out Ferguson came from a family of stunt people and being set on fire, but it was something she hadn't done in her career. 'She said, 'Everyone in my family has been burned, but I've never been burned,'' Lipovsky says laughing. 'It's a long process, but they're in contact with them,' Stein adds. Now playing in theatres, Final Destination Bloodlines arrives 14 years after the last entry in the horror series that has terrified moviegoers since the first movie was released in 2000. The new film follows Stefani (played by Langley, B.C.'s Kaitlyn Santa Juana), a college student who inherits her grandmother Iris' eerie knack for predicting when bad things are about to happen. It turns out grandma (who is played in the movie's 1969-set opening scene by Stargirl's Brec Bassinger) is able to forecast with Rube Goldberg-like precision the many ways death can — and will — come knocking. 'Death is coming for our family,' Iris warns her granddaughter. Franchise stalwart William Bludworth (played by the late horror movie icon Tony Todd, who died last November) warns Stefani that death won't stop until all the members of her family are six-feet under. Despite being away from the big screen for over a decade, Stein thinks audiences have never tired of the Final Destination series because they effortlessly show how things we take for granted in our everyday lives can quickly lead to bloody mayhem. 'It brings your anxieties to life. It says, 'What if your anxieties, those things that nag at you, were actually real and deadly?' I think that's why it has stuck with so many people over the years,' Stein says. As filmmakers, he and Lipovsky — who met in 2007 on the set of the Fox reality show On the Lot and together also directed the 2018 sci-fi thriller Freaks and Disney's 2019 action comedy Kim Possible — say that the Final Destination movies are unique among other horror films. 'They don't have a visible antagonist,' Stein says. 'There's no guy in a mask with a knife that goes around killing people or a monster in the woods. The deaths that are onscreen are created by the filmmaking … It's really the filmmaking that's coming for the characters, and as directors that was such a delightful opportunity.' Lipovsky says the pair are aiming to leave viewers traumatized by the time the last member of Stefani's family meets their demise. 'When things that happen in real life that aren't even part of Final Destination have weird circumstances around them, people say, 'That's a Final Destination situation.' That's a testament to the sticking power of these movies,' he says. So a family barbecue turns into a bloodbath and an attempt by one family member to cheat death at a hospital ends up as a sequence that will disturb anyone with an MRI appointment coming up. They even find ways to turn a head-clearing jog on a residential street into a deadly situation. 'When we were brainstorming ideas, we kept thinking about things we could ruin for people,' Lipovsky says. 'After you see this movie, every time you see a lawn mower or cup full of ice … even a penny; you'll never look at those things the same way again.' Because the beginning scenes for Final Destination movies are always memorable (Stein cites Final Destination 2's gory log truck sequence as a classic), the twosome wanted to craft something that would leave a lasting impression. Set atop the fictional Skyview Tower, Iris gets her first hunch that something is awry. She can see a chain reaction that's about to happen when the glass starts to crack under the weight of all the guests and the structure is about to go up in flames. Lipovsky says the idea for the horrific episode came from a visit he made to Toronto's CN Tower. 'I took a friend of mine who had lived in Toronto their whole life and had never been up the CN Tower because he was afraid of heights. I used him as inspiration for all the different things that (could go wrong),' he says. 'It took awhile to figure out all the details,' Stein adds. 'Basically, we wanted to tap into a visceral fear of heights. It was really cool to be able to bring that to the screen and make people feel like they were falling off this building, 400 feet in the air.' Final Destination Bloodlines is now playing in theatres. mdaniell@ Osgood Perkins and Theo James toy with death in 'The Monkey' 'Barbarian' director Zach Cregger on crafting the year's scariest (and wackiest) horror movie
India Today
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Brec Bassinger shares favourite death sequence in Final Destination franchise
Fifteen years after the last chapter closed, Death has found a new way back. 'Final Destination: Bloodlines', the sixth instalment in the beloved supernatural horror franchise, arrives with a chilling premise and a fresh cast — including 'Stargirl' alum Brec Bassinger, who promises this time, 'the fear cuts a little deeper.'Brec calls her casting in the film quite 'surreal,' in an interview with India Today Digital. 'I've done a lot of different things, but this film and franchise in particular — it's like my generation grew up watching it,' Brec tells us. 'My peers are all so excited about it. I have two older brothers who are dying to go see the movie and have watched all of them, so to get to be a part of something that people want to go see in theatres is so exciting to me.'advertisementDirected by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B Stein, with a screenplay by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor from a story developed alongside 'Spider-Man: Homecoming's' Jon Watts, 'Bloodlines' is a direct sequel to 2009's 'The Final Destination'. This time, the film traces a premonition passed down generations, starting in 1968, with a college student (played by Kaitlyn Santa Juana) discovering her grandmother once escaped death during a tower collapse. The chilling twist? Her entire bloodline was never supposed to exist. Bassinger plays a key role in this cursed family tree, caught in a web of inevitable doom. But despite being a long-time fan of the series, she wasn't quite prepared for the sheer scale of the production. 'I was not prepared or did not know how big the production was,' she recalls. 'Our sets were massive. They built a whole skyview restaurant on a soundstage. I remember just walking in and seeing the size and grandness of the sets — I had never experienced that before.'advertisementThough 'Final Destination' films are known for their creative, chain-reaction deaths, Bassinger says the fear in this one is more grounded — precisely because it hinges on the universal, inescapable truth of mortality.'That's the biggest draw of fear with this particular franchise,' she says. 'A lot of horror films are like, 'Ah, ghosts, they're not going to mess with me.' But Death is something we can't cheat. We can't escape it. So, it's hard to disconnect from the fear this movie brings.'She still remembers the one death scene from the franchise that left an indellible impression. 'The gymnastics scene,' she says without hesitation. 'I've had clips of that pop up on my TikTok and Instagram. I guess it's because I watched it once all the way through, so now it pops up all the time. And every time I see it, I'm like 'ugh', it's scarred me.'Filming 'Bloodlines' came with its own high-stakes moments too. 'In the film it's half a second. You blink, you miss it,' she says. 'But on set, it was so scary to me. They blow fire at this guy who's already on fire, and I had to duck behind the bar. I was like, what if I duck at the wrong time? And they were like, 'Just don't duck at the wrong time.' So, I'm no longer acting — I'm genuinely just scared for my life.'advertisementShe adds, 'With the fire stuff, we only wanted to do one take because they were actually setting people on fire. I felt this pressure to get it perfect — not only to not get burnt, but also because this guy was having to be set on fire. So, I'm really proud of that moment.'When asked who she'd want to come back to as if she had to be reborn in the 'Final Destination' universe, she immediately responds, 'Totally biased, but I'm gonna say Ali Larter. Just because I think she's such a boss, cool woman. So, I choose her.'With a legacy cast that includes Tony Todd, and a fresh cast led by Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Richard Harmon, 'Final Destination: Bloodlines' reboots the franchise with emotional depth, high-concept horror, and plenty of Watch
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Quotes of the Week: The White Lotus, SNL50, Elsbeth, Reacher and More
You didn't think we'd forget our Quotes of the Week, did you? Per usual, the list below features more than a dozen of TV's most memorable sound bites from the past seven days, including moments both scripted and unscripted from broadcast, cable and streaming series. More from TVLine Quotes of the Week: I May Destroy You, Greenleaf, Yellowstone and More Quotes of the Week: Stargirl, Blindspot, Penny Dreadful, S.H.I.E.L.D. and More Quotes of the Week: The Twilight Zone, Search Party, Yellowstone and More This time around, we've got bon mots and zingers from Paradise, Ghosts, Harley Quinn, The Rookie, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, The White Lotus, The Voice, Chicago Fire and Elsbeth. Also featured in this week's roundup: Happy's Place drops another Reba Easter egg, Meryl Streep makes a Devil Wears Prada joke on SNL50: The Anniversary Special and Yellowjackets channels Right Said Fred. Plus, we've got double doses of St. Denis Medical and Cobra Kai, and a triple dose (!) of Reacher. Scroll through the list below to see all of our picks for the week, then hit the comments and tell us if we missed any of your faves! (With contributions from Vlada Gelman, Rebecca Luther, Charlie Mason, Matt Webb Mitovich, Dave Nemetz, Kimberly Roots and Ryan Schwartz) 'You gotta have a lot of money if you live how I live. I eat four-cheese lasagna! If it only got three cheeses, I ain't eatin' it!' Eddie Murphy does a mean Tracy Morgan impression 'Underwear-wise, this devil wears nada.' Mrs. Rafferty (Meryl Streep) leaves very little to the imagination 'I think the only thing more quintessentially Canadian than booing the U.S. national anthem at a hockey game is the fact that they waited politely for the right time to do it.' 'What the f—k is he doing? I mean, besides dramatically eating.' Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) has no time for Xavier's diner-set theatrics 'That's it?' 'Yeah… and no f–king mercy.' Robby (Tanner Buchanan) hypes up his girlfriend Tory (Peyton List) ahead of her final tournament fight 'Welcome to the Valley… bitch!' Tory (Peyton List) gives Zara (Rayna Vallandingham) a taste of her own medicine after knocking her out 'Parenting is hard. But at some point you have to let the kids spread their wings and make their own mistakes.' 'Wait — Smitty, do you have kids…?!' 'Do I!' Chen (Melissa O'Neil) learns that Smitty (Brent Huff) contains multitudes (though we're still not buying the Olympics thing) 'You'll notice a lot of bald white guys in Thailand. The locals call them LBHs: Losers Back Home.' Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) gives her withering assessment of the resort's clientele — including her own boyfriend 'Do you have a wife I can steal you away from?' Gabby (Melissa Peterman) channels her inner Barbara Jean while making a move on Brock — err, Maverick (Christopher Rich) 'I'm too sexy for this cave, too sexy for this cave, too sexy for this cave. I'm too sexy for this rope, too sexy for these rocks, too sexy to be mur-dered.' Mari (Alexa Barajas) channels Right Said Fred while killing time as Ben's hostage 'I learned from Snoop last year that when they go low, you get high.' Apparently, Michael Bublé was among those coached by Snoop Dogg 'Even the Daily Planet agrees. It says here that you're a murderer!' [Harley, reading headline] 'Forty-eight?!?!' Harley (Kaley Cuoco) is enr-age-d to read Lois Lane's headline [Duffy, sarcastically] 'Nice place.' 'The Motel 6 was booked.' 'This is more like a Motel 2.' Duffy (Sonya Cassidy) tracks down Reacher (Alan Ritchson) at his spartan digs 'My grandma used to call me her 'angel doll' after I won the Most Beautiful Baby contest at the county fair.' [Reacher, taking another look at his cohort] 'You won?' Angel Doll (Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz) explains his nickname to Reacher (Alan Ritchson) 'What flavor is this?' 'Today's special, Lavender Infusion.' 'This is why people beat you up on the sidewalk.' Richard (Johnny Berchtold) and Reacher (Alan Ritchson) take a moment to cool down 'Did you know that they call us Stellaride?' 'Who's…they?' 'I don't know actually.' Stella (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Severide (Taylor Kinney) learn about their couple name after Violet mentions it 'Well, I still have a hall pass, so I can go to the break room now and then we can start after lunch.' 'Maybe.' ''Maybe'? Did everyone sever their balls in the elevator this morning?' Neither Dylan nor Mark (Adam Scott) are racing to help Helly (Britt Lower) retrieve the message Irving left behind a break room poster. Also: Ouch! 'Pretty pumped about Serena's birthday drinks… I downloaded a Spotify playlist called Top Hits, since I'm not familiar with the latest music. I hope they play 'We Don't Talk About Bruno.' That's kind of my new jam.' Yep, looks like Matt (Mekki Leeper) is about four years behind the pop culture times 'What's the problem?!' 'She's old and sleeping! It feels weird to just reach in her lap without consent.' 'Ronan Farrow is not at the hospital today. Just grab the damn thing!' Matt (Mekki Leeper) is nervous about wrangling a cat from the lap of a sleeping patient, while Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey) has no such concerns 'Look, guys, I just came up with the same sauce, OK. People come up with the same great idea all the time: Armageddon and Deep Impact, A Bug's Life and Ants. It happens.' 'Actually, Ants was a rip-off of A Bug's Life.' 'DreamWorks rushed it into production after they caught wind of what Pixar was doing.' 'That actually makes a lot of sense. Ants felt rushed.' Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) tries to reason with Pete's mafia in-laws, who clarify some (movie) things for Pete (Richie Moriarty) 'You don't want to start too late, panic senior year, end up sharing a prison cell with a Desperate Housewife.' Educational consultant Lawrence (Matthew Broderick) urges a couple to begin planning for their son's college future ASAP 'I… was just ordering a chicken fried steak.' Audrey James (Leven Rambin), everyone — good at singing, bad at lying when caught about to kiss Bode 'How do I look?' 'Like you're late for pilates with the other mums.' 'It looked a little less yellow in the brochure.' 'A little less yellow than what, a solar flare?' 'Done?' 'Oh-ho, not even a little bit, Spongebob.' J.D.'s (Todd Lasance) 'hi-vis performance vest' is a bright yellow target for Evie (Tuuli Narkle) Best of TVLine Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More ER Turns 30: See the Original County General Crew, Then and Now The Best Streaming Services in 2024: Disney+, Hulu, Max and More
