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Ben Fong-Torres was one of Rolling Stone’s first star writers, interviewing iconic subjects like Bob Dylan, Ike and Tina Turner, Linda Ronstadt, Marvin Gaye, and more. His first cover story was in May 1969, on Joni Mitchell. “For whatever reason, my byline was dropped,” he says. “I can’t exactly say that that was my first cover story since my name wasn’t on the cover.” But his byline appeared on his next cover: Sly and the Family Stone, in March 1970. “They’re tied for first place,” he says of the two stories.

It’s no surprise that this year’s Emmy nonfiction races are filled with films and series about iconic musicians, because music docs have been a main-stay at film festivals, in theaters and on television for decades. But the 2024-2025 season feels particularly robust, and particularly long on films about giants, from the Beatles to John Williams to Bruce Springsteen.

“I’m interested in story and conflict and characters and through lines in music,” said director David Tedeschi, who has worked with Martin Scorsese on documentaries about Bob Dylan, George Harrison, David Johansen and, this year, the Beatles. “And music is often a document of what artists were going through in the moment. So to tell those stories and to have the power of that music to go with it, it can be a very satisfying experience.”

This survey of a few of the most notable music films starts with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson,...

It’s a new month, and that means new movies on streaming. There are bountiful picks on everything from Netflix to Max to Prime Video to Apple TV+ this month, including a new horror-thriller starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, a bevy of romantic films for Valentine’s Day and some of the best films of the last few years newly added to your favorite streaming service.

Check out our picks for the best new movies streaming in February 2025 below.

“Kinda Pregnant” Amy Schumer in “Kinda Pregnant” (Netflix)

Netflix – Feb. 5

Happy Madison isn’t just for Adam Sandler comedies. Sometimes it’s responsible for Amy Schumer comedies too! In “Kinda Pregnant,” Schumer stars as “a woman who gets so jealous of her best friend’s pregnancy that she starts to wear a fake baby bump of her own,” according to Netflix. The movie was directed by Tyler Spindel, who happens...

After winning the Oscar for Best Documentary for his feature debut, Summer of Soul, Amir “Questlove” Thompson is returning to filmmaking with his sophomore feature, Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius). While the concept behind his second film might seem like a more straightforward biography, Questlove brings such a refreshingly deep approach to his subject that the result is utterly fantastic.

Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) Review

Sly Lives! tells the story of Sly and the Family Stone — one of the most influential groups of all time in Black music history and music history as a whole. Questlove already got a taste of Sly and the Family Stone’s story in Summer of Soul, ending his first film with their performance at the Harlem Cultural Festival, but in this film, he dives deep into the group and its frontman’s story and legacy.

Related Oscars...

Cult movie classic ‘Pretty Poison’ filmmaker Noel Black dead at 77 (photo: Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins in ‘Pretty Poison’) Noel Black, best remembered for the 1968 cult movie classic Pretty Poison, died of pneumonia at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on July 5, 2014. Black (born on June 30, 1937, in Chicago) was 77. Prior to Pretty Poison, Noel Black earned praise for the 18-minute short film Skaterdater (1965), the tale of a boy skateboarder who falls for a girl bike rider. Shot on the beaches of Los Angeles County, the dialogue-less Skaterdater went on to win the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film and tied with Orson Welles’ Falstaff - Chimes at Midnight for the Technical Grand Prize at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. Besides, Skaterdater received an Academy Award nomination in the Best Short Subject, Live Action category. (The Oscar winner that year was Claude Berri’s Le Poulet.) ‘Pretty Poison’: Fun and games and...