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In his first foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2013's Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn proved that a good soundtrack can be as crucial to a movie as any other element. The film's carefully selected array of '60s and '70s pop hits breathed new life into decades-old songs and provided a crucial piece of character for protagonist Peter Quill. He repeated the trick in the 2017 sequel and the 2023 threequel, proving that a good soundtrack isn't just about providing background music, but can speak to the inner lives of the characters and the world of the film.

Now, over a decade since debuting Peter Quill's "Awesome Mix," Gunn has brought that keen skill for needle drops to his new role as creative head of the Dcu. This is on full display in the Dcu's first official project, Max's animated series Creature Commandos, which features a rich playlist...

Jesse Malin has released the new single “Argentina,” written while the singer-songwriter was rehabbing from his spinal stroke in Buenos Aires. Additionally, actor-comedian Fred Armisen, filmmaker/musician Jim Jarmusch, Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz, and more have been added to one of Malin’s upcoming benefit concerts at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.

Malin, a staple of the NYC punk scene over the past three decades as a solo artist and as frontman of D Generation, was paralyzed from the waist down when he suffered the spinal stroke at a restaurant in May of 2023.

He has since started walking with the aid of a walker, but still has a long way to go in his recovery. He returned to perform last month on CBS Saturday Morning, where he gave “Argentina” its live debut. Now, he has released the official studio version.

“This might be one of my most personal songs,...

It started, as musical happenings sometimes do, with SoundCloud. About five years ago, Matt Sullivan, head of the indie label Light in the Attic, was turned on to a playlist that featured, as he recalls, “funky Seventies stuff, ambient modern classical, and disco.” A few songs reminded him of Cocteau Twins and other bands associated with the British label 4Ad. “It was all over the place,” he says, “but I fell in love with it.”

The twist was that all of the songs came from Ukraine and the Soviet Union...

Johnny Depp, Iggy Pop and filmmaker Jim Jarmusch are among those sharing memories about tattoo artist Jonathan Shaw in the trailer for the documentary feature Scab Vendor: Confessions of a Tattoo Artist.

Dark Star Pictures releases the movie from directors Lucas de Barros and Mariana Thome in theaters June 14 before it hits VOD platforms July 30. Scab Vendor examines the life of Shaw, who opened his Fun City Tattoo studio in New York City before tattooing was even legal in Manhattan.

The son of bandleader Artie Shaw and actress Doris Dowling, Jonathan Shaw suffered an overdose in his 20s. He bounced back by becoming a go-to tattoo artist in NYC, where he enjoyed a celebrity lifestyle and developed friendships with various public figures. The film also focuses on Shaw’s realization at the height of his career that he needed to change his path.

“My childhood was a typical American-dream nightmare,...

Jesse Malin will be the first to tell you that he owes much of his worldview, musical and otherwise, to Bad Brains singer H.R Now, with H.R. dealing with his own medical issues, Malin is directing fans toward a benefit concert for the singer while also announcing his own new project: the concert film and live album Chasing the Light.

On Friday, Malin previewed Chasing the Light, directed by Dave Stekert, with the release of a live performance of “I & I Survive” featuring H.R.

“H.R. was a childhood mentor of mine,...

Last week, Carnegie Hall resonated with the spirit and songs of Sinéad O'Connor and Shane MacGowan as an expanded lineup of luminaries took to the stage for a historic tribute concert.

Amanda Palmer and Billy Bragg Perform at tribute to Sinead O'Connor and Shane MacGowan

Credit/Copyright: Al Pereira

This profound celebration, organized by City Winery, not only honored the indelible legacies of these iconic musicians but also supported the crucial mission of Pen America with a donation of $65,000 to help them in their mission of advocating for freedom of speech worldwide.

The event, Sinéad & Shane at Carnegie Hall, saw an unprecedented gathering of talent, with performances that spanned the emotional spectrum, from heart-wrenching ballads to uplifting anthems. The night was not just a tribute but a powerful reminder of O’Connor and MacGowan’s profound impact on music and cultural dialogue. The event opened with comments from Roisin Waters...

On Wednesday, a host of musicians came together to honor late Irish legends Shane MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor with a tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Most notably, O’Connor’s daughter, Roisin Waters, paid tribute to her mother with a stirring performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

The concert also saw Bettye Lavette sing “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” Cat Power put her spin on “The Body of an American,” and Resistance Revival Chorus cover “Thank You for Hearing Me,” among other performances of O’Connor’s music. Additionally, Glen Hansard and Imelda May teamed up to perform MacGowan and O’Connor’s duet “Haunted.”

Among the artists who covered songs by MacGowan and his band The Pogues were Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano (“A Pair of Brown Eyes”), Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz (“The Church of Holy Spook”), Billy Bragg, The Hold Steady...

For the last 37 years, Tibet House US has celebrated the Tibetan New Year (Losar) with an all-star benefit concert at Carnegie Hall. Revered as one of New York City’s longest-running cultural events, this year’s concert took place on Monday night (February 26th) with performances from the likes of Joan Baez, Maggie Rogers, Maya Hawke, Gogol Bordello, and many more.

As part of the enduring mission of Tibet House US to “protect, preserve, and empower the unique Tibetan culture,” the 2024 edition of the Tibet House Benefit Concert opened as per usual with entrancing chants from Tibetan Monks. Tibet House President Bob Thurman (and Hawke’s grandfather) gave opening remarks before one of the evening’s co-artistic directors, Laurie Anderson, took the stage. Accompanied by Martha Mooke, Shazad Ismaily, Tenzin Choegyal, and Gina Gershon on the jaw harp (!!), Anderson performed her Big Science B-side “Walk the Dog.”

Choegyal stayed on...

Irish music royalty Sinéad O’Connor and Shane MacGowan will be honored at an upcoming concert in New York City this spring.

On Monday, Carnegie Hall announced a one-night-only tribute show for the two musicians, featuring the likes of Cat Power, Dropkick Murphys, and David Gray on March 20, with 100 percent of net proceeds going to charity. The event, featured as a St. Patrick’s Day celebration on March 20, is being billed as “Sinéad & Shane at Carnegie Hall.”

Glen Hansard, Amanda Palmer, Eugene Hütz, the Moutain Goats, Julia Cumming of Sunflower Bean,...

An all-star Sinéad O’Connor and Shane MacGowan tribute concert will take place in New York City this spring.

The one-night-only tribute show goes down just after St. Patrick’s Day on March 20th at Carnegie Hall, and will feature performances from Cat Power, The Mountain Goats, Glen Hansard, Dropkick Murphys, Amanda Palmer, David Gray, Bettye Lavette, Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz, Sunflower Bean’s Julia Cumming, Kat Edmonson, and the Resistance Revival Chorus.

The occasion comes after O’Connor’s passing at 56 in July of 2023 and MacGowan’s death at 65 in November of 2023. Billed as “Sinéad & Shane at Carnegie Hall,” the tribute will celebrate the two Irish icons with covers of both artists’ songs.

Get tickets to “Sinéad & Shane at Carnegie Hall” here.

Several of the artists set to play the concert paid tribute to O’Connor and MacGowan last year with covers of their songs. Amanda Palmer took on...

Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz is launching his new label, Casa Gogol Records, with a single benefitting Ukraine. Hütz recruited Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division) for a cover of Angelic Upstarts’ “Solidarity.”

The pair’s take on the punk song comes in two forms, remixed by each artist respectively. Both Gogol Bordello’s “Unity” mix and Sumner’s “Right to Freedom” mix match their distinct genre disciplines, with the latter turning the track into a new wave dream.

“This is a particularly meaningful collaboration for us,” Hütz shared in a statement.

Gogol Bordello's international makeup is one of their greatest strengths, as each member brings the identity of their musical culture into the band. The documentary Scream of My Blood focuses on Eugene Hütz's journey from Ukraine to the United States, as well as the immigration stories of the other band members. The film explores the theme of identity and the importance of cultural inclusivity, emphasizing that there's a seat at the table for everyone and that staying true to one's roots enriches society.

For more than 20 years, Gogol Bordello has entertained audiences around the world with their "Gypsy Punk" style. Headed by Ukrainian-American frontman Eugene Hütz, Gogol Bordello grew from New York City's punk rock scene and added a uniquely global flair to their sound and aesthetic, ultimately emerging as one of the most commercially and creatively successful groups in a scene that once included legendary East Coast...

Ministry have unveiled the track “Just Stop Oil” as the latest single from their upcoming album, Hopiumforthemasses, which is set for release on March 1st.

The new song follows the album’s first single, “Goddamn White Trash,” which arrived in August along with the announcement of the new LP. As is evident in the title, “Just Stop Oil” is political in tone, with Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen stating, “Ministry approves this message and the movement behind it. Enough is Enough!”

While “Just Stop Oil” doesn’t feature any guests, other tracks on the album boast appearances by Pepper Keenan, Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello), and Jello Biafra.

Ministry will support the album with a previously announced headlining 2024 North American tour featuring support from Gary Numan and Front Line Assembly. The outing kicks off in late February, with tickets available here.

Take a listen to “Just Stop Oil” in the lyric video below,...

Ministry have announced their 16th studio album, Hopiumforthemasses, due March 1st, 2024. In advance of the LP, the industrial legends have offered up the video for lead single “Goddamn White Trash” featuring Pepper Keenan of Corrosion of Conformity.

In line with frontman Al Jourgensen’s M.O. as of late, Hopiumforthemasses looks to be another politically-charged rampage. The song titles say it all: “Just Stop Oil,” “Aryan Embarrassment,” etc.

“Just like you or anybody else, I’m simply a passenger in this lifetime,” commented Jourgensen in a press release. “I’m watching social changes, political changes, and economic changes, and I comment on them because I do have a First Amendment right. A lot of people say artists and athletes should shut up and play ball. No, I’m on this trip too.”

He continued, “If I see something, I say something. That reflects on where each album goes. Instead of...

Gogol Bordello has been mixing Ukrainian folk songs with rock and roll for over two decades. Still, the current war in Eastern Europe makes frontman Eugene Hütz’s heritage more relevant than ever. That’s why, in the first scene of Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story, the beat of drums is overlapped with the disturbing sound of bombs exploding on Ukrainian soil. Directed by Nate Pommer and Eric Weinrib, the documentary retraces the history of the punk group while also discussing how music is a powerful tool for preserving culture, denouncing injustices, and lifting people’s spirits in challenging times.

Eugene Hütz, founder and frontman with U.S. gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, would likely to have ended up a painter wearing “dirty pants and long hair” had his parents not left the Soviet Union when he was 16.

“I would probably have become a painter, as there was more of a path paved in that in my family,” he says. “I was drawing most of my childhood and my uncle – Mikhail Mykolayev – is a pretty well-known painter who still lives in Kyiv.”

Fresh from playing a brief, impromptu solo guitar gig at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, following the international premiere of a new documentary about the band, “Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story,” Hütz fits the bill, although his khaki cargo pants are not paint spattered.

The singer was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, but the Hütz family left years of Communist oppression behind and moved to Western...

"Some people go out and rediscover their roots... but sometimes roots just come and get you." Rock on with a band unlike any other!! An official trailer is available for a new music documentary titled Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story, about the band Gogol Bordello and its lead singer, a Ukrainian punk rocker named Eugene Hütz. This premiered at both the Tribeca Film Festival and Karlovy Vary Film Festival in Czechia recently. It's a profile of Eugene and his life, growing up as a Ukrainian living abroad, and as a musician for this legendary gypsy punk band with a cult following. Co-director Nate Pommer describes the film's layers: "On the one hand, it is an instruction manual on how not to give up and pursue your dreams; on the other hand, it is a tribute to Ukrainian culture." Hütz recently appeared at the Kviff fest and played a concert at the premiere.

From indoor ice skating feats to Russell Crowe rocking the crowd, the 57th edition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival has launched with all its unconventional charisma intact.

Audiences who had to weather a downpour clearly showed no signs of dampened spirits as they cheered the fest’s opening gala dancers on ice skates, then rose to their feet to applaud guests Crowe and Alicia Vikander, both of whom accepted honors for their robust range of film work.

Vikander, in accepting the award of fest president Jiri Bartoska, said she was moved to be celebrated in the Czech Republic, where her international career first took off with the 2012 shoot of “A Royal Affair.”

“I had a flush of amazing memories,” she told the crowd assembled in the grand hall of the 70s-tastic Hotel Thermal. Vikander, who will be presenting “Firebrand,” said the role of Henry VIII’s surviving wife appealed...

At this time last year, the organizers of the Karlovy Vary international film festival — the biggest cinema event in the Czech Republic and the premium A-list festival for all of Eastern Europe — were scrambling. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, just a few months earlier, had disputed the entire region. Filmmakers from Prague to Tallinn were rushing to show their support for the Ukrainian people and their battered industry. When the Odesa International Film Festival (Oiff), scheduled for July 2022, had to be canceled, festivals near Ukraine joined forces to show cross-border solidarity. Poland’s Warsaw Film Festival stepped up to host Odesa’s competition program. The PriFest in Kosovo opened up its schedule to screen full-length and short films by Ukrainian debutant directors.

And in Karlovy Vary, a festival best-known for its stunning location — in the number one spa town of the Czech Republic — and glamorous celebrity guests, organizers hosted the Oiff’s selection of works-in-progress,...

Vice News has released the trailer for its documentary “Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story,” which will be showing at Karlovy Vary Film Festival next week.

The film had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival earlier in June and Nate Pommer, who directed alongside Eric Weinrib, was awarded a special jury mention. The jury said the film was being recognized “for the enduring use of art as a weapon against cant and authoritarianism.”

The jury added: “We are grateful to the director for translating Gogol Bordello’s rebellious joy and rage at remaining human and vibrant in the face of everything time has thrown in its path.”

The film is an intimate, career-spanning portrait of Ukrainian-born punk musician Eugene Hütz. It chronicles Hütz’s childhood journey to the U.S., his rise to fame with punk band Gogol Bordello and his return to Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian musician discusses his new documentary that traces his history along with that of his homeland and the Russian invasion

Ukrainian-born musician Eugene Hütz, leader of the New York-bred band Gogol Bordello, readily admits he first found it shocking when he came across images of his old friends armed to the teeth in battle in the current war with Russia. “It was particularly alarming that somebody you used to jam and rock out with is now on TikTok with a rocket launcher,” he said. “But after that initial blow, it quickly settled in that this is part of the historical DNA of Ukrainians. Being a self-sufficient warrior is at the center of our identity. This has always been in us.”

Hütz’s life epitomizes that. His defiant spirit began in childhood, when his family struggled to resist the soul-crushing influence of the then Soviet Union in the 70s and 80s.

Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hütz has organized secret concerts and provided donations in support of soldiers defending Ukraine in the country’s ongoing war against Russia. His new charitable effort brings together friends from Green Day, Fugazi, Dead Kennedys, and more for the collaborative charity single “United Strike Back.”

“Here, living legends of punk and hardcore who always meant so much to me, come together to show their much needed support for Ukrainian freedom fighters,” Hütz said in a statement.

The lineup for the record includes appearances from Tre Cool of Green Day,...

Ukrainian punk rockers Gogol Bordello have recruited former Dead Kennedys lead singer Jello Biafra and a cast of punk and hardcore all-stars for a new collaborative charity single called “United Strike Back.” Stream it below.

The track also features Green Day’s Tre Cool, Fugazi’s Joe Lally, and Ministry’s Monte Pittman, as well as Agnostic Front’s Roger Miret, Kazka’s Oleksandra “Sasha” Zaritska, and Puzzled Panther. Over pulverizing guitars, Gogol Bordello’s lead singer Eugene Hütz is joined on vocals by Biafra, Sasha, Miret, and Puzzled Panther.

“That’s the way your palace crumbles/ That’s the way house of cards tumbles,” Hütz, Biafra, and Miret sing on the chorus. “That’s the way dictator story ends/ As we stand with brothers sisters/ And lovers and our friends.”

“Punk and hardcore is always there to show support to a friend in trouble. Especially when [it’s the] entire nation,” said Hütz in a statement.

New documentaries about Biz Markie and Milli Vanilli are among the films set to screen at 2023 Tribeca Festival, which takes place June 7 through 18 in New York City.

The Sacha Jenkins-directed All Up in the Biz, a documentary on the late New York hip-hop legend Biz Markie — featuring celebrity interviews, rare film, reenactments, and animation — will get its world premiere at Tribeca. Milli Vanilli also makes its world premiere. Directed by Luke Korem, the film traces the origins and downfall of singers Rob & Fab.

Other music-oriented documentaries include the Jake Sumner-directed Ron Delsener Presents,...

Exclusive: It’s going to get loud at the Tribeca Festival.

Vice News announced today the feature documentary Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story will premiere at the festival on June 13, a film Vice describes as “a wild punk-rock-doc that explodes off the screen.”

Scream of My Blood, directed by Nate Pommer and Eric Weinrib, centers around musician Eugene Hütz, leader of the punk band Gogol Bordello, who immigrated to the United States from Ukraine as a kid. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of his native country last February, the filmmaking team followed him as he returned to Ukraine with his band to perform for Ukrainian soldiers.

“Through never-before-seen photo and video archives spanning two decades – including concert performances, backstage moments and intimate interviews – Scream of My Blood follows the epic journey of Eugene Hütz, Gogol Bordello frontman and one of the greatest storytellers of our time, as...

Speaking by Zoom from an undisclosed location in the north of Ukraine, Andrii Dmytrenko points to the knee pads hidden beneath his fatigues. The uniform is a far cry from what he would have worn onstage with his alt-pop band Adm:t, for which he’s lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist, but he’s grateful for it. “At the beginning [of the war], there was no possibility to obtain such clothes or gear from the government because of the quantity of people who started serving,” he says as he steps gingerly around rubble. “Most...

Gogol Bordello, the punk group led by Kyiv-born singer Eugene Hütz, played a secret show for an audience of Ukrainian soldiers last week.

Vice reports that the unannounced concert took place at an undisclosed location near the frontlines of the Russian invasion. About 50 soldiers witnessed the gig, including an outfit of elite special forces troops wearing green berets.

Exclusive: We watched @GogolBordello play a secret gig in Ukraine.

Vice World News was in attendance as the international punks and their Ukrainian-born frontman Eugene Hütz performed an exclusive set for soldiers at an undisclosed location.

Exactly 33 years ago Thursday, on April 14, 1989, Sonic Youth staged a concert in Kyiv, Ukraine, one of the last Western acts to play in the then-Soviet city prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the U.S.S.R. Amid the current Russian invasion, the pioneering band has unearthed a partial recording of that Kyiv gig to raise money for humanitarian efforts.

Live In Kyiv, Ukraine 1989, available to purchase through Sonic Youth’s Bandcamp page, includes nine songs from the band’s first-ever show in the city,...

Madonna doesn't care what us mere mortals think, and who could blame her? Forget Queen Esther; Madonna was Queen of Dragons for Purim! You can't shush her during a movie! So why would terrible reviews stop her from directing another movie? They won't!

The book that's luring Madonna back to the director's chair is a politically charged love story by Rebecca Walker, "Adé: A Love Story." Walker, who is the daughter of Alice Walker and Mel Leventhal, has previously written non-fiction about feminism, sexuality, being multiracial and Jewish, and her painful, contentious relationship with her Pulitzer Prize-winning mother. "Adé" is a semi-autobiographical novella about a bisexual woman who, while traveling abroad with a friend, falls in love with a Swahili Muslim man named Adé. Their love affair, which takes place on an island off the coast of Kenya, is interrupted by political upheaval and much more.

Madonna co-wrote and directed...

Oren Kaplan, long-time member and guitarist for Gogol Bordello, recently filed suit on behalf of himself and the rest of the band against lead singer Eugene Hutz. The lawsuit spawns almost entirely from a dispute over money, and specifically the money that Hutz allegedly took from the band's group accounts and moved into accounts only accessible by him. Kaplan also alleges that Hutz took over the business operations of Gogol Bordello without telling anyone, and he arranged a promotional Coca-Cola deal without informing Kaplan. To make things all the more uncomfortable, according to the lawsuit, “Hutz accomplished this ruse ...

Multitalented actor Liev Schreiber has been cast in the title role in the Showtime pilot Ray Donovan, a drama set in Hollywood, California. Production will begin in Los Angeles in early 2012. Ray Donovan is a Showtime production and is created by Southland creator Ann Biderman. Biderman, Mark Gordon and Bryan Zuriff will executive produce.

Ray Donovan is Hollywood's best professional "fixer." He's the one called in to solve the complicated, confidential and controversial problems of the city's elite. He can make anyone's problem disappear, except the ones created by his own family. The series, which has comedic undertones, will take a novelistic look at contemporary Los Angeles.

Considered one of the finest actors of his generation, Liev Schreiber's repertoire of resonant, humanistic and oftentimes gritty portrayals have garnered him praise in film, theatre and television. Schreiber recently completed production on P.J. Hogan's comedy Mental alongside Toni Collette and...

Multitalented actor Liev Schreiber has been cast in the title role in the Showtime pilot Ray Donovan, a drama set in Hollywood, California. Production will begin in Los Angeles in early 2012. Ray Donovan is a Showtime production and is created by Southland creator Ann Biderman. Biderman, Mark Gordon and Bryan Zuriff will executive produce.

Ray Donovan is Hollywood's best professional "fixer." He's the one called in to solve the complicated, confidential and controversial problems of the city's elite. He can make anyone's problem disappear, except the ones created by his own family. The series, which has comedic undertones, will take a novelistic look at contemporary Los Angeles.

Considered one of the finest actors of his generation, Liev Schreiber's repertoire of resonant, humanistic and oftentimes gritty portrayals have garnered him praise in film, theatre and television. Schreiber recently completed production on P.J. Hogan's comedy Mental alongside Toni Collette and...

Read our top-rated entries to the Guardian's annual competition to find the best young talent in arts writing

Overall Winner

Visual art, under 14

Freddie Holker, 12 – Homage to Lucian Freud, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Disgusting. That's what I'm thinking; that's my gut instinct. It's reminiscent of the swimming-pool changing rooms back at school, where I'm scared to look at anything in case it offends someone. This is the Homage to Lucian Freud, one of Britain's best modern artists, who died on 20 July 2011. Seventeen paintings by Freud are displayed. I'm standing in an eerily plain room in the Metropolitan Museum of Art 3,000 miles away from where I'm comfortable.

The only painting I can easily look at is, funnily enough, Naked Man, Back View. The only one that doesn't contain full-frontal nudity offers full dorsal nudity. It shows a fat man plonked on a footstool. His sitting position pushing out roll...

When it comes to pop culture, Ukrainians have long been overlooked in terms of hotness — primarily because any Ukrainians who walked around wearing less than a parka died instantly of hypothermia. Fortunately for us, the 21st century marks the rise of hot young Ukrainian celebs as more and more sexy Slavs have been discovered by Hollywood and the world.

In the words of the Ukrainian passenger on that infamous Seinfeld episode, “You not say Ukraine is weak!” With that in mind, we present you with a list of fourteen sexy Slavs who could keep anyone warm on those cold Siberian nights.

Maksim Chmerkovsky (aka Maks)

This Ukrainian Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, instructor and dance-partner-with-a-temper-but-who-is-always-right on Dancing with the Stars is not only a crazy hot dancer and buff beyond belief. Maks, as he is known, is also the owner of four dance studios in the New York City area...

Lord Of The Rings star Elijah Wood became gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello's saviour on the road - when his celebrity helped save the group from a time-consuming police investigation.

The actor joined his girlfriend, Gogol Bodello drummer Pamela Racine, on tour and he quickly proved he can be useful to have around - especially when your band is stopped by the infamously thorough cops in Arizona.

Band frontman Eugene Hutz explains, "They were really determined to find some drugs, so they're searching for, like, an hour until they obviously don't find any.

"One cop comes back with this shiny face, like he's got something. He goes, 'How do you explain your possession of this?' And it was a bag with Elijah's name tag on it.

"Five minutes later they're all taking pictures with Elijah for their families."...

What Her Madgesty wants, Her Madgesty gets! And what Madonna wants right now is to be taken seriously as a film director.

It looks like her wish has been granted: The Weinstein Company, who scored multiple Oscars this year with The King’s Speech, has picked up the distribution rights to the Queen of Pop’s latest directorial effort, W.E., a historical romance about a contemporary New York woman, played by Abbie Cornish, who becomes obsessed with the love story between Britain's King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy) and American divorcee Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough) only to find the realities of their relationship far more complicated than she ever imagined.

“W.E. is about the nature of true love, and the sacrifices and compromises that are often made,” Madonna said in a press release. “I’ve wanted to tell this story for a very long time, and bringing it to life has...

"W.E.", the new feature directed by Madonna, will debut in a world premiere at the 68th annual Venice Film Festival September 2011.

"W.E.", follows the story of Britain’s King Edward and his relationship with American divorcee Wallis Simpson, starring Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough and Laurence Fox.

Madonna's 2008 first feature "Filth and Wisdom", starred Richard E. Grant and Eugene Hutz.

Click the images to enlarge...

Madonna's new film will get its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The 52-year-old singer has directed new movie 'W.E.' - a two-tier tale about Britain's King Edward VIII's relationship with American Wallis Simpson and a modern story regarding a woman called Wally Simpson - and the full feature will be shown to critics and audiences at the Venice Lido during the September event. The film stars Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough and Laurence Fox, while 14-year-old daughter Lourdes has been given a cameo role. All the stars are expected to descend on the Italian city for the premiere, according to The Daily Mail Madonna - whose only other directing credit is 2008's 'Filth and Wisdom', which starred Richard E. Grant and Eugene Hutz - showed a few scenes from the film at last month's Berlin Film Festival in a bid to pick up distributors.

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

Aside from Eugene Hutz occasionally charming us with his mustache and singing chops in 'Filth and Wisdom' (his band, Gogol Bordello, is a lot more fun to watch), Madonna's directorial debut wasn't exactly earth-shattering. We announced last year that the iconic singer would be taking another turn behind the camera for 'W.E.,' based on the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII. Looks like we won't have to wait until the April Cannes selections announcement to find out that the film will not be completed in time for the festival.

THR recently confirmed that 'W.E.' will not be screened at Cannes in May. The film, which is currently in post-production, is expected to be part of the fall festival circuit. Next month, Madonna will be hosting a private screening in Berlin of "select footage" for foreign distributors attending the Efm.

Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical

Aside from Eugene Hutz occasionally charming us with his mustache and singing chops in 'Filth and Wisdom' (his band, Gogol Bordello, is a lot more fun to watch), Madonna's directorial debut wasn't exactly earth-shattering. We announced last year that the iconic singer would be taking another turn behind the camera for 'W.E.,' based on the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII. Looks like we won't have to wait until the April Cannes selections announcement to find out that the film will not be completed in time for the festival.

THR recently confirmed that 'W.E.' will not be screened at Cannes in May. The film, which is currently in post-production, is expected to be part of the fall festival circuit. Next month, Madonna will be hosting a private screening in Berlin of "select footage" for foreign distributors attending the Efm.

I’m so jealous of Elijah Wood. He has loads of money, he got play Frodo Baggins, I bet he is really good friends with Eugene Hutz (Golgol Bordello), and no one has ever pulled the “I’ve never slept” look off so well.

Read more on Elijah Wood gets to have a dog friend in the trailer for “Wilfred”…...

Madonna has made a career out exploring new trends, steadily evolving her sound and branching out in any direction that interests her. And that's not just focused on music either, as she has explored the different facets of the worlds of film, fashion and now physical fitness. Madonna will be opening a series of gyms with the name "Hard Candy" (a moniker they share with Madge's 2008 album) in various cities around the world (Mexico City will get the first one, set to open in November).

While Madonna isn't as advanced as the likes of Kiss in the marketing and diversification department, she can easily catch up with the following ideas.

The Madonna Network

If Oprah Winfrey can have her own home on cable and there is one network focused entirely on knitting, then Madonna can certainly fill a broadcast day. There could be a fashion show hosted by Lourdes, documentary...

A film that slipped through the cracks for most was 2004's Everything is Illuminated. Actor Liev Schreiber (X-Men Orgins: Wolverine, Sum of All Fears) makes his directorial debut adapting the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, and does a decent job of film making. The movie drifts from humor to tragedy, but manages to maintain its warmth throughout.The film stars Elijah Wood as Jonathan, an eccentric young Jewish-American who obsessively collects objects connected to his family history. Although Elijah Wood is the big name on the bill, it is Eugene Hutz (front man for gypsy-punk band Gogol...

Wristcutters: A Love Story Dir. Goran Dukic (2006) A slight digression: musician and sometime actor, Eugene Hutz, best known for his work as Gogol Bordello's frontman and as Alex in the film version of Everything is Illuminated, must have the charisma of 1000 suns. Or the type of charisma that inspires people to become obsessed with him. There's a documentary on him, The Pied Piper of Hutzovina, and Madonna's debut as a director, Filth and Wisdom, is mostly centered around Hutz. Wristcutters: A Love Story, has a central character of Eugene, a Russian musician played by actor Shea Whigham, who is based on Hutz. Imagine how charismatic and interesting Hutz must be to inspire so many people's art... Mindboggling, right? And in Wristcutters, Eugene shows our hero, Zia (an all-grown-up Patrick Fugit), around the afterlife limbo for suicides where the movie is set. Based on the short story Kneller's Happy Campers...

Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

Much in the same way that Babe Ruth would have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame even if he had never picked up a bat, Madonna likely would have been considered a legend even if she hadn't ever recorded a single note of music (though it certainly hasn't hurt her). Her film work is full of iconic roles (such as Eva Peron in "Evita," which won her a Golden Globe) and her electric presence has kept many films crackling (like her work in "Dick Tracy," "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "A League of Their Own"). In recent years, she has turned her attention behind the camera,...

Gogol Bordello has played the main stages at Coachella, Lollapalooza and All Points; the group and frontman Eugene Hutz was declared totes buds with Madonna during the Live Earth enviro-orgy in 2007. Last night at Brooklyn Bowl -- cap. 600 -- the mulit-lingual, gypsy-punk rockers moved the large scale madness down no notches for the reduced sized venue. While the majority of the crowd smilingly sipped their beers in the back of the hall, those in the know where pressing hot bodies with other hot bodies in a swirl of pogoing girls, purse-less, and oft-shirtless boys-to-men gripping the air and reducing...

Gogol Bordello’s problem has never been breadth: Infamous for stuffing everything from punk to flamenco into its globe-shaped stewpot, the sprawling ensemble has released a body of work that practically oozes eclecticism. Depth, on the other hand, has sometimes been an issue. Frontman Eugene Hutz is always ready with a passionate, politically charged lyric, but the band’s admittedly prodigious energy sometimes reduces its discs to buzzing contraptions with only two settings: crazy and crazier. Relatively speaking, Trans-Continental Hustle takes a bit of a breather. Although the group is still a whirling dervish of rubbery rhythms, bleating horns, and ...

Pop queen Madonna has roped in Aussie star Abbie Cornish to play the lead in her new film 'W.E.'The Material Girl's new film tells the story of the relationship between Britain's King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor - as Wally Winthrop, a woman who is obsessed with the Duchess of Windsor's life.The '4 Minutes' hitmaker,who will be directing the film, had revealed that she wanted British star David Tennant to play the monarch, but is said to have changed her mind, reports contactmusic.com.Madonna has previously directed 2008 film 'Filth and Wisdom', which starred Richard E. Grant and Eugene Hutz, although she has served as a writer on documentary 'I Am Because We Are'.The film's preliminary release date is 2011.

Madonna made her directorial debut at the Berlin Film Festival in 2008 with Filth and Wisdom, which starred Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hutz as the perv-pummeling frontman of a struggling gypsy punk band in London. Now, Madge has her eye on English history with W.E., the story of King Edward VIII abdication of his throne in order to marry his divorced lover (via Variety)....

· It's only Tuesday, and already the Say Whaaaa? suggestion box welcomes its first submission of the week: Madonna plans a return to directing with the biopic W.E., about the affair between King Edward VIII and his twice-divorced American lover Wallis Simpson. The relationship caused Edward to abdicate his throne in 1936 -- an event whose historical repercussions persist today as Vera Farmiga has been linked to the role of Simpson and Madonna is co-writing a script with her Truth or Dare director Alex Keshishian. No actor has yet been attached to the role of Edward, but Madonna stock player Eugene Hutz deserves at least an audition. [Variety]

Nick Cave tries his own bizarro pairing, Kathryn Bigelow finds temp work at HBO, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.