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Director Ezra Edelman is speaking out against the reign of estate-approved celebrity documentaries. The Oscar- and Emmy-winning “O.J: Made In America” director said during a recent appearance on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast in the below video that Netflix was “afraid” to debut his six-part, nine-hour docuseries about “Purple Rain” singer Prince amid disputes with the late musician’s estate.

The New York Times previously reported that Edelman’s long-gestating docuseries was blocked by Prince’s estate. The project, titled “The Book of Prince,” was officially canceled in early February after Edelman spent five years making it. Now, instead of “The Book of Prince,” Netflix and the Prince estate are working on a new, separate documentary.

“I’m not Prince, but I worked really hard making something, and now my art is being stifled and thrown away,” Edelman said of his shelved docuseries. “This is the thing I just find galling.

Plex is gearing up for an exciting lineup of films and series in November 2024. Viewers can look forward to a variety of new additions, including Blue Ridge, But I’m A Cheerleader, Call Jane, and Empire State. Cult classics like The Grudge, Hard Candy, House of 1000 Corpses, and The Midnight Meat Train are also hitting the platform, alongside more recent hits like Wind River and Where’d You Go, Bernadette? For fans of horror, thrillers, and emotional dramas, there’s no shortage of options. However, Plex is also bidding farewell to a number of films and shows in November. Among those leaving are 24 Hours to Live, Drive Angry, The Devil’s Rejects, Snowpiercer, and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage. If you’ve been meaning to watch these titles, now is the time to catch them before they disappear. For those looking to binge their favorites, many notable titles are still available for streaming.

We’ve lost another Hollywood legend. The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that cinematographer Bill Butler, best known for his work on the 1975 Steven Spielberg classic Jaws, has passed away at the age of 101. Butler died on Wednesday evening, according to the American Society of Cinematographers. He would have turned 102 on Friday – today.

Born on April 7, 1921 in Cripple Creek, Colorado, Butler earned his first entertainment industry credit by working as a camera operator on the 1959 film 1001 Arabian Nights. His first cinematographer credit came when his friend, director William Friedkin, hired him to shoot the 1962 TV movie The People vs. Paul Crump. He never attended film school, he just taught himself cinematography by watching movies and referring to the ASC manual. That approach definitely worked out for him. Over the next fifty-four years, he served as the cinematographer on eighty-four more projects, including Jack Nicholson’s Drive, He Said; The Bold Men,...

Oscar-nominated Cinematographer Wilmer C. Butler, whose work included a series of landmark films such as The Conversation (1974), Jaws (1975) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), has died. He was 101. The American Society of Cinematographers confirmed Butler’s passing.

Butler was the ASC’s most senior member, and he had a resume to match. He worked with directors such as Philip Kaufman, Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, Richard Donner, Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Ivan Reitman, Tobe Hooper, Joseph Sargent, Mike Nichols, John Cassavetes and Steven Spielberg.

Friedkin convinced Butler to be the cinematographer on The People vs. Paul Crump, a documentary about a prisoner slated for execution in Illinois. The project got Crump’s death sentence commuted.

He got his start in features with Philip Kaufman’s 1967 film Fearless Frank. Two years later, Friedkin introduced Butler to Francis Ford Coppola, with whom he shot The Rain People before going on to...

Emmy-winning cinematographer Bill Butler, who was Oscar nominated for shooting “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and was also the D.P. on Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws,” died Wednesday, according to the American Society of Cinematographers. He was 101.

Spielberg remembered Butler in a statement, saying, “On ‘Jaws,’ Bill Butler was the bedrock on that rickety, rocking boat called the Orca. He was the only calm in the middle of that storm, and as we went into a battle against nature and technology that wore both of us down, the audience eventually won the war. Bill’s outlook on life was pragmatic, philosophical and so very patient, and I owe him so much for his steadfast and creative contributions to the entire look of ‘Jaws.’”

In addition to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Butler served as d.p. on a number of other high-profile films of the 1970s, including Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation,...

Over 100 popular films are leaving HBO Max at the end of the month, but luckily you have the whole month to stream them.

They include cinema classics like “Ben Hur,” the winningest film in Oscars history

Leaving April 5

The Inside Story, 1948

Reminiscence, 2021 (HBO)

Leaving April 11

Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace)

Leaving April 12

About Face: Supermodels Then and Now, 2012 (HBO)

Leaving April 13

The Last Duel, 2021

Game Theory With Bomani Jones, Season 1

Leaving April 18

The Lego Batman Movie, 2017

Leaving April 24

Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up!, 2022

Leaving April 27

Malignant, 2021 (HBO)

Leaving April 30

47 Ronin, 2013 (HBO)

3 Godfathers, 1948

Accepted, 2006 (HBO)

The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938

A Private War, 2018 (HBO)

An American in Paris, 1951

The American President, 1995

Any Given Sunday, 1999

Australia, 2008 (HBO)

Before I Fall, 2017 (HBO)

Ben-Hur, 1959

Black Legion, 1937

Blade, 1998

Blood Diamond, 2006

Blow Out, 1981 (HBO)

The Bodyguard, 1992

Boogie Nights, 1997

The Book of Eli, 2010

The Bourne Identity, 2002 (HBO)

The Bourne Supremacy, 2004 (HBO)

Bringing up Baby,...

February ushers in a new slate of movies and TV shows making their way to HBO and HBO Max, from a slew of James Bond movies to the recently released Olivia Colman-led “Empire of Light” to, yes, the Puppy Bowl.

“The Terminator,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Footloose,” “Taxi Driver” and “The Silence of the Lambs” all mark notable library offerings this month, in addition to “Superbad,” “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” and “Eighth Grade.”

Despite HBO Max pulling a number of originals from its roster over the past several months, HBO Max originals premiering on the platform this month include a Dionne Warwick documentary, an adult European animated series titled “Poor Devil” and “Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special” based on the popular animated series.

HBO Max is also beefing up its sports offerings by streaming soccer matches featuring the U.S. national teams,...

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and HBO Max got the memo. With its list of new releases for February 2023, the HBO streamer is bringing a very special Valentine’s Day episode into the fold.

Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special premieres on Feb. 9 and finds Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy celebrating their first Valentine’s Day together. Consider this a fun little aperitif for the fast approaching Harley Quinn season 3 – which will feature none other than freshly-installed DC czar James Gunn. Other HBO Max original series this month include another C.B. Strike special on Feb. 6 and Spanish-language animated comedy Poor Devil a.k.a. Pobre Diablo on Feb. 17.

February also looks to be a jam-packed month for movies on HBO Max. February 1 sees the arrival of many appealing library titles like Birdman, Casino Royale, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Terminator. Later on HBO Max...

The selection of titles for HBO Max in February 2023 will include the continuation of hit TV shows, premieres of holiday specials, and Oscar nominees. HBO Max’s January 2023 additions kicked off the new year with the premieres of TV shows like The Last of Us, which broke HBO records for having the highest jump in viewership for its second episode, and the original series Velma. The month also brought The Menu (2022) and the John Wick franchise to the platform’s library, with plenty more classic films and new releases set to drop on HBO Max in February.

In February 2023, HBO Max will host the streaming premieres of two 2023 Oscar nominees: Sam Mendes’ drama Empire of Light (February 7), which earned Roger Deakins a Best Cinematography nod, and HBO documentary All That Breathes (February 7), which is up for Best Documentary Feature. Also coming to HBO Max in 2023 are the premieres of Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special...

Much has been made of titles being quietly removed from HBO Max over the last few week, but while the number of films departing the service in September is substantial, at least subscribers have a heads up.

As is the case every month, various movies are due to leave HBO Max in September, and below we’ve got the full list of which films are leaving and when so you can prioritizing some viewing options. Noteworthy removals include the 2021 Warner Bros. thriller “The Little Things” starring Denzel Washington (leaving Sept. 16), the 2020 “Freaky Friday” horror riff “Freaky,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” films, the “Lethal Weapon” franchise, “Super 8,” “Tootsie” and the Nancy Meyers classic “The Holiday.”

Check out the full list of what’s leaving HBO Max in September below.

September 4

Meet the Patels, 2014

September 5

Turner Classic Movies: Follow the Thread, 2022

September 8

Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, 2018

September 9

Horrible Bosses 2,...

In what can be called movie geek comfort food, Battle: Los Angeles and Krull have become cult favorites over the years. Why? You can watch either movie while doing other things keeping an extra eye on the screen, have devout fans who can recite the dialogue verbatim and will defend both movies to the end. Guilty pleasures, yes, cult status, definitely.

Even HBO Max has it listed as such.

The 2011 sci-fi and 1982 fantasy films have come to HBO Max and are available to stream now.

“Marines don’t quit.”

Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, and from director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath Of The Titans), is the exciting story of a squad of U.S. Marines who become the last line of defense against a global invasion. It gets the military right than most war movies. Numerous Marine units assisted in filming and the movie contains some awesome scenes with Black Hawks,...

The return of fan-favorite shows, auteurs tackling new original series, new documentaries and more headline what’s new on HBO Max in April 2022.

Top of the list is the HBO Max original series “The Flight Attendant,” which returns for its second season on April 21. Then there’s the long-awaited return of Bill Hader’s “Barry” on April 24 on HBO and HBO Max, as well as Season 3 of “The Black Lady Sketch Show” on April 8.

In terms of new originals, “The Wire” and “The Deuce” creator David Simon is back with the new series “We Own This City” on April 25, which chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. Michael Mann executive produces and directs the first episode of the neo-noir “Tokyo Vice,” which premieres on April 7. And Ben Foster stars as Holocaust survivor Harry Haft in the HBO Original Film “The Survivor,” which...

April is about to be a good month for returning HBO and HBO Max properties.

HBO Max’s list of releases for April 2022 features three hotly anticipated seasons of television. The Flight Attendant, which helped launch HBO Max as a viable spot for good dramedy in 2020, premieres its second season on April 21. That will be followed by another go-around for the sci-fi comedy Made for Love on April 28. Of course, the big ticket item this month is something that HBO Max inherited from its cable cousin. Barry season 3 will continue the story of hitman-turned-actor Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) on April 24.

The TV offerings run much deeper than just returning shows this month. April 7 sees the arrival of Tokyo Vice, a sprawling crime drama with some episodes directed by Michael Mann. The series stars Ansel Elgort as an American journalist embedding himself in Tokyo’s criminal underground in the late ’90s.

Well this isn’t very Cool at all. On Friday, funk/R&b legend Morris Day told fans that he has been forbidden by the Prince estate from performing as or otherwise making use of the name Morris Day & the Time.

“I’ve given 40 years of my life to building up a name and legacy that Prince and I came up with. A name that while he was alive, he had no problem with me using. I literally put my blood, sweat and tears into bringing value to that name. In fact, he booked me on several tours, and many jam packed nights at Paisley Park, under the name Morris Day & The Time. Not once ever saying to me that I couldn’t use that name configuration,” Day said in a statement posted to the Morris Day & The Time Facebook account.

“However, now that Prince is no longer with us – Suddenly,...

At age 12, Tevin Campbell — freshly signed to Warner on the strength of a voice that was already drawing comparisons to Michael Jackson — hopped on a call with Prince. “I remember riding in the limo and talking to him over the phone,” Campbell says. “I knew who Prince was, of course, but at the time, I had a really, really, really high voice, so I didn’t pay attention to a lot of male artists — I couldn’t sing male artists’ songs. To me, meeting Whitney would’ve been, ‘Aaaah!'...

Tony Sokol Oct 30, 2018

Prince’s estate chooses Ava DuVernay to direct multi-part documentary on the late artist.

"Man, I hate makin' movies," Prince sang on "Movie Star" off his twentieth album Crystal Ball. But he lived his life more cinematically than most musicians or stars of the silver screen. He was also one of the most documented. He has thousands of hours of unreleased songs in a vault, and recorded many with video footage. Ava DuVernay will go through the archives to direct a multi-part Prince documentary on for Netflix, according to Variety. The documentary will cover Prince’s entire life.

DuVernay, who directed Netflix's 2016 private prison exposé 13th, which was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature, as well as Selma , Queen Sugar and the upcoming Central Park Five series, has the full cooperation of Prince’s estate, which provided interviews, archival footage, and photos for the project.

As Variety reported exclusively earlier this month, Prince’s estate and Sony Music Entertainment have inked an exclusive distribution agreement. The deal, officially announced today, includes 35 previously released album titles from the artist’s catalog — several of which are among the best-selling titles from his original 19-year stint on Warner Bros. Records. Those albums, which include “1999,” “Diamonds and Pearls,” “Sign O’ the Times” and nine others, will move over to Sony in 2021.

The Prince catalog covered under the new agreement will be distributed by Legacy Recordings, a division of Sme, with worldwide rights beginning immediately to 19 previously released album titles originally released between 1995 and 2010. The list of album titles includes “The Gold Experience” (1995), “Emancipation” (1996), “Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic” (1999), “The Rainbow Children” (2001) and “3121” (2006), as well as titles originally distributed by Sony including “Musicology” (2004) and “Planet Earth” (2007). Additional album titles from the 2014-2015 era will also be distributed with worldwide rights...

Updated: Sony Music has struck a deal with Prince’s estate to license an unspecified catalog of the artist’s music, three sources close to the situation tell Variety, although it was unclear at press time whether the agreement had been finalized.

A rep for Sony Music had no comment; reps for Prince’s estate did not immediately respond to Variety‘s requests for comment.

A licensing deal for the material was struck with Universal in February of last year, but the assets were found to have been misrepresented by the estate’s entertainment advisors at the time, resulting in the rescission of that $31 million deal. That deal covered music representing the bulk of Prince’s post-1996 work, when he left Warner Bros. after 19 years with the label, as well as recordings dating from the Warner era under contracts that would expire in the next couple of years, along with...

From his film debut in “Purple Rain” to his last appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” Prince made rare — but unforgettable — appearances on the big and small screens.

In his film debut, Prince played a semi-autobiographical musician who struggles in his home life and channels all his energy and passion into music. Designed as a star vehicle for the musician, the 1984 film contained several extended concert sequences.

Prince directed and starred in 1986’s “Under the Cherry Moon,” co-starring Kristin Scott Thomas. He played a gigolo who worked with a partner to swindle rich French women, but things, of course, get complicated when he falls in love with one of them.

In 1990, Prince reprised his “Purple Rain” role as The Kid in the semi-sequel, “Graffiti Bridge,” this time as a more successful musician and club owner who must contend with rivals in attempting to keep his business.

Read original story Prince’s...

“Ladies and gentlemen… The Revolution!”

Purple Rain screens Thursday May 17th at 7:00pm at Schlafly Bottleworks. This is part of the A Film Series “Culture Shock” Film Fest which has moved to the second Thursday of every month.

Purple Rain is pure ‘80s. The late Prince was at the top of his game in 1984, a musical genius who was bringing together everything from punk to funk to heavy metal in a singular fusion that pointed the way to a race-blind future. Everyone wanted to see this movie, which was not much more than an extended music video. The plot of Purple Rain is hackneyed and has a paper-thin screenplay, Something about Prince as a small-time nightclub star in Minnesota known as ‘The Kid’ who dreams of making it big, but there always seems to be something standing in his way. That’s about it. But the film was outstanding,...

Death Note director Adam Wingard has recently revealed that his original choices for the voice of Ryuk, "a demon in glam rock clothing," were David Bowie and Prince, respectively. The choice of Willem Dafoe to voice Shinigami Ryuk has been seen as a very wise choice for Netflix's Death Note and Dafoe was the first "actor" to be chosen, but Wingard initially wanted to have the 2 musicians before Dafoe came in to assume the role. While a lot has been changed from the original Manga story, Wingard made a conscious decision to keep Ryuk as faithful to the source material as he could, but it appears that wasn't always the case. And it sounds like he may have inadvertently cursed the two iconic musicians who died within months of each other.

Wingard recently sat down with Gizmodo to discuss the release of Death Note. While explaining what his vision for Ryuk was originally,...

Prince wasn’t big on the stock market — but he did have nearly $1 million in gold bars.

The Carver County District Court released an inventory of the late singer’s estate last Friday. While many items are still being appraised and valued, the documents obtained by People make it clear that the “Purple Reign” icon had exactly zero dollars worth of “stocks, bonds and other securities.” Apparently he preferred to keep his cash the old fashioned way.

Sixty-seven 10 oz. gold bars, valued currently at $836,166.70, were found in his possession when he died of a fentanyl overdose on April 21.

Of far...

We pay tribute to the film stars and directors from around the world who sadly passed away in 2016.Hector BabencoArgentine-born Brazilian director Hector Babenco died on July 13 at 70-years-old.He found international success with Brazilian slum drama Pixote (1981), going on to make Kiss Of

We pay tribute to the film stars and directors from around the world who sadly passed away in 2016.

Hector Babenco

Argentine-born Brazilian director Hector Babenco died on July 13 at 70-years-old.

He found international success with Brazilian slum drama Pixote (1981), going on to make Kiss Of The Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned a best director Oscar nominee and William Hurt earned an Oscar win for best actor.

Babenco went on to direct Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson in Ironweed (1987) and Tom Berenger and John Lithgow in At Play In The Fields Of The Lord (1991).

After undergoing cancer treatment in the 1990s, he returned to the director’s chair for films including Brazilian prison...

Today in film history, November 2, 1990, “Graffiti Bridge,” a sequel of sorts to “Purple Rain,”written by, directed by, and starring Prince in his final film role, was released in USA theaters by Warner Bros. In “Graffiti Bridge,” the late… Continue Reading →...

“Ladies and gentlemen… The Revolution!”

Purple Rain plays this weekend (June 3rd and 4th) at The Tivoli at midnight as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli midnight series.

Purple Rain is pure ‘80s. The late Prince was at the top of his game in 1984, a musical genius who was bringing together everything from punk to funk to heavy metal in a singular fusion that pointed the way to a race-blind future. Everyone wanted to see this movie, which was not much more than an extended music video. The plot of Purple Rain is hackneyed and has a paper-thin screenplay, Something about Prince as a small-time nightclub star in Minnesota known as ‘The Kid’ who dreams of making it big, but there always seems to be something standing in his way. That’s about it. But the film was outstanding, wonderfully scored and was a huge hit. Prince’s...

When the news broke that Madonna was slated to honor Prince at the 2016 Billboard awards, the reaction was … mixed. For example, someone started a Change.org petition decrying the choice, and news of the outcry apparently reached Billboard executive producer Mark Bracco, who defended the decision to have Madonna perform on Tuesday to the Associated Press. Madonna and Prince had something of a tangled relationship, to put it mildly: Consensus seems to be that they dated in the mid-'80s. They collaborated in 1989 for "Love Song," from Madonna's album Like a Prayer. At some point, their relationship soured, to...

As Prince's death has reminded us, Purple Rain was a landmark: a film that blended gritty cinematic intensity with one of Hollywood's most eruptive original scores. Released in 1984, the film – which has returned to over 200 theaters since his death – turned Prince into a movie star and grossed $70 million at the box office, making it the 10th highest-grossing movie of that year.

But it's also easy to forget that, over 30 years ago, the idea of making a movie around a pop star – especially a relatively new one like Prince –was considered a risky move,...

Fans around the world are still mourning the tragic loss of Prince, who died suddenly yesterday at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota at the age of 57. Earlier today, AMC Theatres announced that they will be screening Prince's classic 1984 film Purple Rain on the big screen, starting tomorrow. Take a look at the theater chain's statement from a press release issued earlier today.

"Immediately after learning of Prince's tragic death on Thursday, AMC Theatres worked with the Warner Bros. distribution team to bring Purple Rain to the big screen. AMC will pay tribute to the music legend by playing the iconic movie at 87 of AMC's locations by this Saturday, April 23 through Thursday, April 28. For more information, please visit AMCTheatres.com/Purple-Rain."

A victim of his own anger, the Kid (Prince) is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music.

Prince called Ingrid Chavez the "Spirit Child." She was his muse and collaborator at Paisley Park while he made his conceptual 10th album, Lovesexy, and she her poetry-driven LP May 19, 1992. The mutual inspiration is most clearly heard on songs like Prince's sensual "I Wish U Heaven" and its sister work, Chavez's "Heaven Must Be Near." Prince was so rapt by Chavez's poetry that he halted all progress on The Black Album while they were together for an intense three-month period during a bitter Minneapolis winter. Later, Prince cast Chavez...

What do you say about Purple Rain that hasn't already been said? Not only is it one of the greatest music films of all time, but it's one of the defining films of the 1980s and earned Prince an Oscar. The soundtrack spent nearly a full half-year at Number One on the Billboard charts, sold 20 million copies worldwide and won two Grammys. But as with all things Prince, that's not the full story. A number of truly excellent books and articles have been written about the making of Purple Rain, and we're here to share some of the best bits of them with you.

It's entirely possible to be a massive Prince fan — to recognize him as the most influential musician since James Brown and the most dexterous since Stevie Wonder — and still admit that he never quite cracked his ambition to be a movie star. His three fictional films — the iconic Purple Rain and the forgotten Under the Cherry Moon and Graffiti Bridge — never enraptured the way his albums did, partly because there was always something otherworldly and ephemeral about Prince Rogers Nelson that never translated to the screen. Like his fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan,...

Compared to his massive discography, extensive collection of live bootlegs, and vaults full of tantalizingly unknowable gems, Prince's career on film is heartbreakingly short: Purple Rain (1984), Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Sign O' the Times (1987), and Graffiti Bridge (1990).

Of these, Purple Rain is the best known, as it accompanied Prince's public transition from dynamic entertainer to world-conquering star, and culminates with the legendarily histrionic performance of "Purple Rain." It also helped inspire Dave Chappelle's skit about Prince and basketball, an inexhaustible source of Prince-related laughter. But it's Sign O' the Times,...

Iconic American musician Prince, whose death was announced yesterday, made memorable contributions to cinema through his music and performances.

Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson), who rose to fame in the 1980’s with records such as ‘1999’, ‘Sign o’ the Times’ and ‘Parade’ and went on to sell more than 100 million albums, died aged 57 at his home in Minnesota.

The pioneering musician provided soundtracks to a number of productions including the 1989 Tim Burton directed Batman and Spike Lee’s Girl 6 – which played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 1996.

His songs were used in dozens of films during his nearly 40-year career, including Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo and Juliet and Paul Brickman’s Risky Business.

In 1985, he won an Oscar for his score of Purple Rain. ‘When Doves Cry’ from the same film was also nominated for the Golden Globe for best original song, an accolade that Prince picked up twenty years later for ‘The Song of the Heart...

Chanchassen, Minn. – One of rock’s most legendary and mysterious figures, whose full and real name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died on April 21st, 2016, after paramedics found him unresponsive at his Paisley Park home in Chanchassen, Minnesota. No cause of death has been given. The singer was 57 years old.

Prince was born in 1958, in Minneapolis, and received his royal moniker from his father, Prince Rogers, Sr. (he was a jazz musician, it was a stage name). He showed music aptitude even as a child, and in 1975 he formed the band 94 East with his cousin. Demo tapes resulted in representation at age 17, and led to his debut “For You” on Warner Bros. records in 1978. One year later, the self-titled “Prince” album was the follow up, and yielded his first national exposure with the songs “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and “Why You Want to Treat Me So Bad.”

Prince, During the...

In 1984, I was 7 years old , and "When Doves Cry," the song from both the film and album Purple Rain, was a massive radio hit. From the backseat of my parent's station wagon, I listened eagerly, absorbed every word, and sang it verbatim to the teenagers at the local pool. (Much to their delight.) Even at that young age, I knew the lyrics were poignant and kind of heartbreaking - I also knew it was the greatest song I'd ever heard. The same can still be said today. The great thing about Prince, who died on Thursday, was that his music...

In 1984, I was 7 years old , and "When Doves Cry," the song from both the film and album Purple Rain, was a massive radio hit. From the backseat of my parent's station wagon, I listened eagerly, absorbed every word, and sang it verbatim to the teenagers at the local pool. (Much to their delight.) Even at that young age, I knew the lyrics were poignant and kind of heartbreaking - I also knew it was the greatest song I'd ever heard. The same can still be said today. The great thing about Prince, who died on Thursday, was that his music...

The film and music world is in mourning once again after another legend has died far too soon. We reported the tragic news earlier today that Prince has passed away at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, at the age of 57. While no details have been given regarding the cause of death, tributes have already started flooding in through social media as the news broke.

Initial reports revealed that Prince's body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in the a.m. hours. TMZ obtained audio of the 911 dispatch call, where an unidentified caller said there was a "male down, not breathing." The singer had recently cancelled two concert dates due to health issues, and his representatives said he had been battling the flu, when his private jet made an emergency landing in Illinois on Friday, April 15. An exact cause of death hasn't been released yet, but we'll be...

Sad news for film and music lovers everywhere, as the entertainment industry lost another one of its all-time greats earlier today. Film and music icon Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, has passed away at the age of 57. Prince's publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, confirmed the death earlier this morning, after police and medical staff were called to the musician's Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

TMZ reports that Prince's body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in the a.m. hours. The site obtained audio of the 911 dispatch call, where an unidentified caller said there was a "male down, not breathing." While no exact cause of death has been determined yet, the singer had been suffering from health issues recently. On Friday, April 15, his private jet had to make an emergency landing in Illinois, and his representatives said that the singer had been battling the flu. He appeared at...

TMZ broke some sad news this morning: legendary rock star Prince (real name: Prince Rogers Nelson) has passed away at the age of 57. His body was reportedly discovered early this morning at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota. He had apparently been having some health problems recently and was fighting a bad case of the flu.

Prince was a giant in the world of music, selling over 100 million albums and winning seven Grammys during his long career, but he had some success on the big screen as well. He appeared in the films Purple Rain, Under The Cherry Moon, Sign 'o The Times, and Graffiti Bridge, and won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score for Purple Rain. He also memorably created the soundtrack for Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film.

I'm sad that I never took the time to really get into his music, because I remember being pretty blown...

Prince in Purple Rain

Prince, whose music made him a superstar and whose contributions to the world of film have been considerable, has died at the age of 57, his publicist has said. He suffered a medical emergency aboard a flight home from an Atlanta gig last week, but was released from hospital hours after an emergency landing in Illinois. The nature of his health problems has not been made public at this time but it is rumoured that he fell prey to a severe strain of flu.

Prince broke into film in 1984 with Purple Rain, a film themed around the album of the same name. Two years later he directed and starred in Under The Cherry Moon and he reprised his Purple Rain character in 1990's Graffiti Bridge. Alongside his fictional work, he featured in the documentary Sign O' The Times.

Though he still loved performing, Prince had stepped back from releasing albums.

Prince, the legendary and innovative musician and actor, has died at age 57. A representative for the singer confirmed his death to the Associated Press.

“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57,” his rep told Los Angeles TV station Ktla.

“Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson reports that on April 21st, 2016, at about 9:43 am, sheriff’s deputies responded to a medical call at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen,...

Music icon Prince, who won multiple Grammy awards as well as an Oscar during his storied four-decade career, has died. He was 57.

According to TMZ, which first broke the news, Prince’s body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early Thursday.

Prince cancelled a pair of concerts in Atlanta earlier this month, citing the flu. A week later, his private jet had to make an emergency landing in Moline Ill., when he fell ill.

RelatedPrince Honored With MTV Marathon; Regular Programming Suspended

The Minneapolis native broke through to mainstream success in 1979 with the release of his self-titled sophomore album,...

Any current movie-goer will know with a sense of resignation that if the film they are about to watch makes more than a one-percent profit at the box-office there will be the inevitable cash-in sequel that will suck the very joy from their hearts.

It was not always so. Even the most unlikely and sometimes unprofitable movie experiences spawned follow-ups. To the extent that no-one even knew they happened.

We cast a glance at the five most astounding:

5. Graffiti Bridge (1990)

The most hardened connoisseur of film has been known to exclaim “What? There was a sequel to Purple Rain?” Well, yes there was. Whilst the 1984 original gained some notoriety via the excellent title track and rumours spread through your high school that a woman actually takes off her shirt in it, it was universally derided and for good reason. However, with the powerful financial backing of it’s star, there was a completely undesired follow-up.

Jimmy's End | Alexander Mackendrick | Princefest | Barbican Cinemas 2 & 3

Jimmy's End, Nationwide

Alan Moore has been notoriously dismissive about movie adaptations of his comic-book masterpieces, often with good reason. V For Vendetta, Watchmen, From Hell, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: none of them have approached the power of their source material. So now Moore's gone and had a go himself. The prelude, Act Of Faith, and the half-hour Jimmy's End, are the first in what's promised to be a series of films, directed by his regular collaborator Mitch Jenkins and set in the same dreamy, non-linear world. They've generously put it online so you can try and work it out for yourself.

Alexander Mackendrick, Edinburgh

Born in the Us and raised in Scotland, Mackendrick flitted between both during his stilted but eventful career, and the best of his work combines the two national sensibilities. He's best known for his three first-class Ealing comedies: Whisky Galore!

Not that you'd know by looking at him, but Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson (better to known to fans, critics, The Revolution, the Library of Congress and super models everywhere simply by his first name) turns 54 years young today. One of the few true musical geniuses of our time, Prince has reinvented, cut up, torn out and revolutionized pop, R&B, soul, rock, funk, dance music and hip-hop in just about every conceivable way—all the while remaining creatively independent, perpetually soulful and eternally cool.

As much as I'd love to share a massive YouTube retrospective compiling a hundred or two choice Prince classics, as you might have noticed, The Kid is a bit particular about his image, voice and likeness appearing online. So, instead, let's take a look back at Prince's other major contribution to pop culture: his three so-bad-they're-completely-amazing theatrical feature films.

For your nostalgic pleasure, here are 15 of our favorite Purple Rain,...

Not that you'd know by looking at him, but Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson (better to known to fans, critics, The Revolution, the Library of Congress and super models everywhere simply by his first name) turns 54 years young today. One of the few true musical geniuses of our time, Prince has reinvented, cut up, torn out and revolutionized pop, R&B, soul, rock, funk, dance music and hip-hop in just about every conceivable way—all the while remaining creatively independent, perpetually soulful and eternally cool.

As much as I'd love to share a massive YouTube retrospective compiling a hundred or two choice Prince classics, as you might have noticed, The Kid is a bit particular about his image, voice and likeness appearing online. So, instead, let's take a look back at Prince's other major contribution to pop culture: his three so-bad-they're-completely-amazing theatrical feature films.

For your nostalgic pleasure, here are 15 of our favorite Purple Rain,...

'Idol' expert Jim Cantiello offers up suggestions for the top eight as they tackle songs of the cinema.

By Eric Ditzian

"American Idol" top 8

Photo: Fox

"American Idol" ended last week in a swirl of shock, anger and boo- hooing as Pia Toscano was sent home and Ryan Seacrest was reduced to begging viewers: "We need you! Stay with us this season!"

Where does the show go from here? Well, "Idol" will be relying on the bright lights of Hollywood to wash out memories of arguably the most shocking elimination in its history, as the remaining eight singers take on songs of the cinema. That's a familiar theme in "Idol" land, one last seen just last year (recall how Crystal Bowersox gave a killer country-rock makeover to Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright"), but which stretches back all the way to season two.

What direction should the contestants take?...

For all his unknowable aloofness, Prince's raison d'etre boils down to the three word refrain of one of his signature songs: "Let's go crazy." No matter what genre he is bending (rock, funk, R&B, jazz, hip-hop) or what his current lyrical fixations are, Prince's music always has been about letting go of inhibitions. On Wednesday night (December 29), the 52-year-old music legend spent a little over two hours on stage at New York City's Madison Square Garden strutting, dancing and shredding through the most manic moments of his massive back catalog, unburdened by anything other than the need to move some hips and shake some asses.

Prince's current "Welcome 2 America" tour (which only has one more date — a final Msg show in January) has featured an ever-evolving set list that hits many of the artist's signature 1999 and Purple Rain high notes with a healthy dose of more...

I thought the response to my "Do You Ever Lie about the Movies You've Seen? " post was excellent, and on top of everything so many of you said, several new questions came as a result. One of them, offered by 'Steve Mott', asks the question in the headline: Do you have guilty pleasures you don't like to admit to?

Steve lists his guilty pleasure as 10 Things I Hate About You, a film I personally love and was just discussing recently with a friend when the topic of "Where the hell did Julia Stiles go?" came up. To that effect I also love Save the Last Dance and to answer the Stiles question before someone gets smart in the comments, yes, she has the Bourne films and wrote and directed a film starring Zooey Deschanel and has also been doing plenty of work on stage. Moving along...

Other personal...

By Stephen Saito

As McA of the Beastie Boys, Adam Yauch has rapped about "Three MCs and One DJ," but as a filmmaker, he's had to learn to go solo. With his latest documentary "Gunnin' For That #1 Spot," Yauch is continuing the tradition of musicians who crossed over to direct movies, something that started all the way back when Frank Sinatra sat in the director's chair for 1965's World War II drama "None But the Brave." From documentaries to narratives, here's a list of modern musicians who have become filmmakers in one form or another in recent years.

Madonna

It seems as though the one place Madonna has never been able to reinvent herself is on the big screen, but that might change. Although she's had an almost disastrous track record as an actress (particularly when working with whomever was her significant other at the time), one forgets that Madonna...