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Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
How Alan Bergman kept the music playing
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Honorees Alan, left, and Marilyn Bergman arrive at the ASCAP Film and Television music awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Matt Sayles/Associated Press Advertisement Before teaming up with Marilyn in 1958, Alan worked at a Philadelphia television station. Though both Bergmans were born in the same Brooklyn neighborhood, and often attended the same events, they didn't meet until they worked separately for composer Lew Spence. It was Spence who suggested the two collaborate. The trio wrote several songs, including Frank Sinatra's 'Nice 'n' Easy' and Dean Martin's 'Sleep Warm.' The Bergmans's first movie song inadvertently described their career. They always found the right approach for the material, and their first song for a movie was the theme for the 1961 drama, 'The Right Approach.' But it wasn't until six years later that they began their streak of cinematic successes. Advertisement In the opening credits of Norman Jewison's 1967 masterpiece, 'In the Heat of the Night' Mr. Virgil Tibbs ( Sidney Poitier, center, in the 1967 film 'In the Heat of the Night.' United Artists The song is a blues number meant to evoke a sense of dread. Charles nailed the haunting vocal, and Billy Preston's organ playing added a gospel-like quality. Quincy Jones provided the music that set the tone for this murder mystery, but it's the Bergmans's lyrics that provide the protagonist's innermost thoughts. Tibbs is a Black man who is about to be stuck in racist Sparta, Mississippi during Jim Crow. As the song tells us, he'll have 'trouble wall-to-wall.' In his memoir 'This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me,' Jewison recalls Charles asking Jones if the people who wrote the lyrics were Black. 'No, Ray, they're white,' Jones responded. 'Can't be, man!' Charles said. 'Not with lyrics like that.' Indeed, 'In the Heat of the Night' contains some of the most soulful lyrics the Bergmans wrote. It's one of many examples where they understood the assignment. It really does sound like a Black man's lament, setting the stage for whatever will befall Virgil Tibbs as he deals with Rod Steiger's irascible racist, Chief Gillespie. Proving their versatility, the Bergmans also wrote lyrics for the country songs the Sparta characters listen to on their car radios and jukeboxes. These ditties are as far away from the blues as you can get. Glen Campbell sings a catchy yet hilarious one called 'Bowlegged Polly.' Advertisement The songwriters would take a more serious country music route by writing Charley Pride's 'All His Children' for the 1971 Paul Newman film, 'Sometimes a Great Notion,' but I'm getting ahead of the story. Steve McQueen in "The Thomas Crown Affair." United Artists Though it won best picture, 'In the Heat of the Night' was robbed of a best song nomination for its theme. The Academy made up for it a year later, giving Regardless, Noel Harrison's original version was a hit, and it was later covered by Dusty Springfield, Sting (for the Pierce Brosnan remake of 'Thomas Crown'), and a very, very anxious Muppet on 'The Muppet Show.' In total, Legrand and the Bergmans would earn seven Oscar nominations and two Oscars. Conversely, the next Oscar win by the Bergmans wasn't with Legrand, and it was for a song that everyone loves but me. Thanks to their fellow Brooklynite, Barbra Streisand, 'The Way We Were' may be the duo's most famous movie composition. A frequent collaborator, Streisand brought them on for 'Yentl,' where they earned their third Oscar. Streisand also sang the worst thing the Bergmans wrote, that hideous hit duet with Neil Diamond, 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers.' Advertisement 'The Way We Were''s Oscar win in 1974 capped a three Oscar night for the song's composer, From left, Ralph Carter, Esther Rolle, John Amos, Jimmie Walker, and BernNadette Stanis in a scene from "Good Times." CBSAlso in 1974, the Bergmans wrote the famous theme song to the Chicago sitcom, 'Good Times,' with Dave Grusin. The trio had previously collaborated on Donny Hathaway's ' If that wasn't confusing enough, 'Good Times' is saddled with and one of those lyrics (the one after 'scratchin' and survivin'') is practically unintelligible. I recall reading an article where Alan provided the lyric that's been misheard for the past 50 years. You can look it up, because I don't believe him! Grusin was also part of the Bergmans's biggest Oscar year, in 1983. He wrote the music for 'It Might be You' from 'Tootsie,' one of the couple's three best song nominations that night. They were also up with John Williams for 'If We Were in Love,' from the atrocious Luciano Pavarotti movie, 'Yes, Giorgio.' Their third nod that evening was for ' Advertisement I admit it's a bit ironic for me to devote so much time to discussing an Oscar category whose choices are so bad that I wish it would be retired. But songwriters like Alan and Marilyn Bergman and their collaborators remind me why the category exists in the first place. Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Hockey News Awards- Montreal Canadiens Edition
In the latest edition of The Hockey News, the magazine presents its awards to NHL players, its version of the NHL Trophies, as it were. There's only one Montreal Canadiens amongst the winners, which is, of course, Lane Hutson for the Teemu Selanne award, as the best rookie.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Toronto film festival: Angelina Jolie, Saoirse Ronan and Keanu Reeves lead lineup
World premieres starring Angelina Jolie, Saoirse Ronan and Keanu Reeves lead this year's lineup for the Toronto film festival. The 50th edition of the festival will again feature a string of films hoping to gain awards traction, taking place after the Venice film festival. Jolie, who premiered a film at last year's Toronto as director, will return in front of the camera for the French director Alice Winocour's drama Couture. She will play a film-maker arriving in Paris for fashion week, following her role as Maria Callas in last year's Netflix biopic Maria. Winocour previously premiered the Eva Green-led sci-fi film Proxima at the festival. Ronan, who was last seen in the alcoholism drama The Outrun and Steve McQueen's Blitz, will lead the Bristol-set comedy thriller Bad Apples, playing a teacher forced into drastic lengths while dealing with a particularly troubling 11-year-old. The official synopsis promises 'uneasy laughs' and a 'provocative' tone. Reeves will lead Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, Good Fortune, as an angel who engineers a body swap between a poor and a rich man, played by Ansari and Seth Rogen, respectively. Ansari has said he hopes the film helps to resurrect the theatrically released R-rated comedy. 'Aziz is great,' Reeves told Entertainment Weekly. 'A great writer, director, actor. I had such a fantastic experience working with him.' Toronto will also see directorial debuts from actors James McAvoy, Brian Cox and Euphoria's Maude Apatow, daughter of Judd Apatow. McAvoy directed California Schemin', based on the true story of Scottish rappers pretending to be American, Cox has helmed Glenrothan, a drama described as a 'love letter to Scotland', and Apatow is behind Poetic License, a comedy starring her mother Leslie Mann. The festival will also see the world premiere of Christy, a biopic of the groundbreaking female boxer Christy Martin starring Sydney Sweeney. The film, from the Animal Kingdom director David Michôd, will cover Martin's rise in the 1990s and then later her husband's attempt to murder her. 'Our film is a wild mix of inspiring underdog sports-world story and personal saga,' Michôd said to W Magazine. 'Sydney trained her butt off to play the part. The beauty of Sydney is that she turned up to work every day with her tail wagging, ready to go. No matter how tough it was, she was like a ray of sunshine.' Other true stories premiering include the 1930s-set Palestine 36 about a Palestinian uprising against colonial British rule, the historical drama Nuremberg starring Rami Malek and Russell Crowe, Agnieszka Holland's Franz Kafka biopic Franz, Swiped which stars Lily James as the founder of the dating app Bumble and Paul Greengrass's previously announced survival thriller The Lost Bus, which stars Matthew McConaughey as a schoolbus driver trying to save children from the deadly 2018 Camp fire in California. Premieres that had also already been announced before Monday include Rian Johnson's much-anticipated Knives Out sequel Wake Up Dead Man, which brings back Daniel Craig and adds Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close and Mila Kunis, the buzzy Brendan Fraser-led comedy drama Rental Family from Beef director Hikari, the Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance's Roofman with Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, Nicholas Hytner's period comedy The Choral starring Ralph Fiennes and based on an original Alan Bennett script and Steven Soderbergh's dark comedy The Christophers with Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen and Baby Reindeer breakout Jessica Gunning. Chris Evans will also play a movie star abducted by a group of radicals in Sacrifice, an action comedy also starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek, John Malkovich and Charli xcx. Director Bobby Farrelly, known for co-directing hit films such as There's Something About Mary, will unveil Driver's Ed, a new comedy starring the White Lotus breakout Sam Nivola. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James will also headline the heist thriller Fuze from the Scottish director David Mackenzie. Other notable premieres include the offbeat romantic comedy Eternity with Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller, mystery thriller The Ugly from Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho and Easy's Waltz from True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto with Al Pacino and Vince Vaughn. Documentaries set to premiere include Baz Luhrmann's EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert and films about subjects such as John Candy, teen series Degrassi and music festival Lilith Fair. The festival takes place from the 4 to 14 September.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Toronto film festival: Angelina Jolie, Saoirse Ronan and Keanu Reeves lead lineup
World premieres starring Angelina Jolie, Saoirse Ronan and Keanu Reeves lead this year's lineup for the Toronto film festival. The 50th edition of the festival will again feature a string of films hoping to gain awards traction, taking place after the Venice film festival. Jolie, who premiered a film at last year's Toronto as director, will return in front of the camera for French director Alice Winocour's drama Couture. She will play a film-maker arriving in Paris for fashion week, following her role as Maria Callas in last year's Netflix biopic Maria. Winocour previously premiered the Eva Green-led sci-fi film Proxima at the festival. Ronan, who was last seen in alcoholism drama The Outrun and Steve McQueen's Blitz, will lead Bristol-set comedy thriller Bad Apples, playing a teacher forced into drastic lengths while dealing with a particularly troubling 11-year-old. The official synopsis promises 'uneasy laughs' and a 'provocative' tone. Reeves will lead Aziz Ansari's directorial debut Good Fortune, as an angel who engineers a body swap between a poor and a rich man, played by Ansari and Seth Rogen, respectively. Ansari has said he hopes the film helps to resurrect the theatrically released R-rated comedy. 'Aziz is great,' Reeves told Entertainment Weekly. 'A great writer, director, actor. I had such a fantastic experience working with him.' Toronto will also see directorial debuts from actors James McAvoy, Brian Cox and Euphoria's Maude Apatow, daughter of Judd Apatow. McAvoy directed California Schemin', based on the true story of Scottish rappers pretending to be American, Cox has helmed Glenrothan, a drama described as a 'love letter to Scotland' and Apatow is behind Poetic License, a comedy starring her mother Leslie Mann. The festival will also see the world premiere of Christy, a biopic of groundbreaking female boxer Christy Martin starring Sydney Sweeney. The film, from Animal Kingdom director David Michôd, will cover Martin's rise in the 1990s and then later her husband's attempt to murder her. 'Our film is a wild mix of inspiring underdog sports-world story and personal saga,' Michôd said to W Magazine. 'Sydney trained her butt off to play the part. The beauty of Sydney is that she turned up to work every day with her tail wagging, ready to go. No matter how tough it was, she was like a ray of sunshine.' Other true stories premiering include the 1930s-set Palestine 36 about a Palestinian uprising against colonial British rule, historical drama Nuremberg starring Rami Malek and Russell Crowe, Agnieszka Holland's Franz Kafka biopic Franz, Swiped which stars Lily James as the founder of dating app Bumble and Paul Greengrass's previously announced survival thriller The Lost Bus, which stars Matthew McConaughey as a schoolbus driver trying to save children from the deadly 2018 Camp fire in California. Premieres that had also already been announced prior to today include Rian Johnson's much-anticipated Knives Out sequel Wake Up Dead Man, which brings back Daniel Craig and adds Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close and Mila Kunis, the buzzy Brendan Fraser-led comedy drama Rental Family, Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance's Roofman with Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, Nicholas Hytner's period comedy The Choral starring Ralph Fiennes and based on an original Alan Bennett script and Steven Soderbergh's dark comedy The Christophers with Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen and Baby Reindeer breakout Jessica Gunning. Chris Evans will also play a movie star abducted by a group of radicals in Sacrifice, an action comedy also starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek, John Malkovich and Charli xcx. Director Bobby Farrelly, known for co-directing hit films such as There's Something About Mary, will unveil Driver's Ed, a new comedy starring The White Lotus breakout Sam Nivola. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James will also headline heist thriller Fuze from Scottish director David Mackenzie. Other notable premieres include offbeat romantic comedy Eternity with Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller, mystery thriller The Ugly from Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho and Easy's Waltz from True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto with Al Pacino and Vince Vaughn. Documentaries set to premiere include Baz Luhrmann's EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert and films about subjects such as John Candy, teen series Degrassi and music festival Lilith Fair. The festival takes place from the 4th to the 14th of September.
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Independent Singapore
Changi dethroned: Istanbul takes the crown, but travellers aren't buying it
Photo: Depositphotos/czamfir SINGAPORE: For many years, Singapore's Changi Airport has been the recognised darling of travel brochures, wowing international travellers and domestic guests with its opulent indoor parks, butterfly haven, and the world's loftiest indoor cascade, but in the latest Travel + Leisure 2025 World's Best Awards, a new name sits at the top — Istanbul Airport, scoring a remarkable 98.57, edging out Changi. The rise of Istanbul Airport has been immediate and outstanding with its ever-growing global connectivity, lustrous architectural design, and its promise to improve the passenger experience. Istanbul's accomplishment marks a shift in what global travellers appreciate most—competence, scope, and innovation. However, not everyone is convinced and swayed. On Reddit, responses to the new status of Changi have been a combination of scepticism, disapproval, and national pride, predominantly from admirers of the Singapore airport. 'As someone who has transited at Istanbul Airport before, all I can say is it's large,' one user commented. 'But decor-wise and ambience? Changi is still better, and don't get me started on food prices—S$40 for a mediocre kebab? I've had better, cheaper ones in Europe.' Another netizen was quick to say that rankings like these are frequently predisposed. 'These crowns are all about perspective. I've been to many airports, and Changi still stands out for me, but what works for one traveller may not for another.' Some were more critical of the article itself, accusing it of interpreting key facts. 'Shallow reporting,' one Redditor wrote. 'There's no attempt to explain why Istanbul topped the list or how the survey was conducted. It feels like the article was written just to check a box.' While Istanbul Airport may be praised, it has its detractors, too. 'Transferred through Istanbul recently,' an unsatisfied traveller shared. 'It was a nightmare. Long lines, poor signage, sluggish security. We had enough layover time, but still missed our connecting flight. It was chaos.' Still, others saw the unseating of Changi as a cue that superiority and distinction can't be everlasting. 'Singapore must learn that not every time, everything can be No. 1,' one comment read, echoing a touch of tough love. Eventually, the 2025 rankings tell a story beyond the scores. They underscore a changing international landscape in air travel, one where new airports like Istanbul are challenging old favourites. Whether this is a changing of the guard or merely a temporary shakeup remains to be seen, but one thing is clear — the rivalry for the skies has never been more vicious. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
