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Once upon a time, mostly in the 1980s and 90s, the downtown Manhattan indie movie was a thing. Films like Jim Jarmusch’s Permanent Vacation, Edo Bertoglio’s Downtown 81, Larry Clark’s Kids and, later on, early Safdie brothers efforts like The Pleasure of Being Robbed were gritty off-the-cuff street features made on tiny budgets, shouldered by directors looking to capture the weird and wild world below 14th Street.

But living in that part of the city soon became expensive, and more expensive, and even more expensive — to the point that many writers, artists and filmmakers were priced out of their neighborhoods. Shooting in Manhattan also became exorbitantly costly, leaving room for only well-funded TV shows like Law & Order, Billions or Succession. Even the latest NYC-set Safdie joint (directed by Josh Safdie in his first solo effort) is an epic period piece, starring Timothée Chalamet, with a budget estimated between $50-$70 million.

Last night at the Deadline-hosted celebration of the Black List 20th anniversary, founder Franklin Leonard told attendees that there was more to come.

Now that more to come is here.

Just one day after the Travis Braun-topped 20th anniversary list came out, the Black List Wednesday revealed the inaugural Adaptation List. The selection highlights 61 novels published since the first list came out in 2005 that are primed to be made into big screen and small screen projects.

“There was only one real way to celebrate twenty years of annual Black Lists, make another list that celebrates writers and in so doing makes it more likely that great film and television gets made,” Black List chief Leonard said Wednesday of the list that includes books by Jennifer Egan, Jeffrey Eugenides, and N. K. Jemisin (see the full list below). “Once it was clear that we were going to expand into fiction in September,...

While The Black List has long been the go-to platform to discover indie scripts and hot new voices, the acclaimed organization is now launching an inaugural Adaptation List to spotlight the novels that industry insiders most want to see adapted for the screen.

These days, novel adaptations have been heating up Hollywood, thanks in no small part to the rise of BookTok. Beloved BookTok authors like Emily Henry and Colleen Hoover have already been slated to have their respective books brought to film and TV, while Taylor Jenkins Reid has been building a franchise of interconnected stories, including “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” “Malibu Rising,” and “Daisy Jones and the Six.”

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard and Creative Director of Fiction Randy Winston surveyed 84 publishing industry editors and literary agents, who selected the 61 novels that they believe are poised for adaptations. All novels had to be published after 2005, when The Black List launched.

Zara Larsson is soaking up the sun on vacation!

The 25-year-old “Lush Life” singer spent the day at the beach with boyfriend Lamin Holmén on Thursday (Sept. 19) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Zara was seen wearing a pink bikini top and white skirt while the 31-year-old dancer showed off his fit physique going shirtless as they snapped some photos of each other down by the ocean.

Just last weekend, Zara hit the stage for a performance at the 2024 Rock in Rio Festival in Rio.

In a new interview, Zara commented on the “I Just Wanna Be Part of Your Symphony” trend on TikTok and shared how she believes it all started.

Click through the gallery inside for 20+ pictures of Zara Larrson and Lamin Holmén at the beach…...

Patti Yasutake, a Los Angeles-based stage and screen vet known for work on Netflix’s “Beef” and a number of “Star Trek” franchises, died Monday at age 70, TheWrap has confirmed.

The news came after a long battle with cancer, her manager Kyle Fritz said. He also shared that a memorial service honoring her work and life is forthcoming at L.A.’s East West Players, her longtime theater home.

Yasutake, who was born on Sept. 6, 1953, was raised in L.A. cities Gardena and Inglewood and later attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she graduated with honors. Yasutake is also the sister of Irene Hirano Inouye, the founding president of the U.S.-Japan Council.

Yasutake went on to perform at East West Players, which the nation’s longest-running Asian American theater. While there, she worked under the theater’s cofounder and longtime actor Mako (“The Perfect Weapon”) for six years.

Lady Gaga is bringing her Jazz and Piano show back to Las Vegas!

On Tuesday, the pop star announced that she’ll return to Nevada this summer for an eight-night run of her beloved show. The residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM starts June 19 and wraps July 6.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public March 23 at 10 a.m. local time with a limited number of on-stage seats also available. Fans can access presale tickets starting Wednesday.

Gaga debuted her “Jazz and Piano” show — a celebration of jazz...

Lady Gaga is one of pop’s most prolific artists, and she’s released plenty of incredible studio albums across her decade-plus long career.

In celebration of the “Stupid Love” singer’s kick-off of the Chromatica Ball tour, we’re taking a look back and seeing how all of her studio albums fared on Metacritic, which compiles reviews from journalists around the world.

Here’s how their ranking system works: “Creating our proprietary Metascores is a complicated process. We carefully curate a large group of the world’s most respected critics, assign scores to their reviews, and apply a weighted average to summarize the range of their opinions. The result is a single number that captures the essence of critical opinion in one Metascore.”

From her 2008 debut studio album The Fame up to 2021′s Love For Sale, here’s how Lady Gaga’s albums are ranked…

10. Artpop (2013)

Metascore: 61

Billboard wrote that “Coherently channeling R&b,...

Lady Gaga will revive her special “Jazz and Piano” show for a new Las Vegas residency scheduled to kick off later this summer.

The 12-concert run will launch Aug. 31 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, with shows scheduled through September and wrapping Oct. 4. Tickets will go on sale Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. Pt, though various presales will be available, including one for those in Gaga’s Little Monsters fan community (that starts Aug 1. at 12 p.m. Pt). Full ticket info is available on the residency’s website.

Gaga debuted her...

Since his “retirement” from filmmaking in 2013, director Steven Soderbergh has never fully backed away from the world of features: He has eight movies to his name in the past decade — more than some of his peers have produced in their entire careers. But Soderbergh did subsequently branch out into the world of TV, a medium he’s approached with the same enterprising, experimental spirit as he does his latter-period films. First came 2014’s “The Knick,” the Cinemax period medical drama helmed entirely by Soderbergh at a time when marquee directors were just starting to dabble in TV; then “Mosaic,” a project released in 2017 as both an interactive app and an HBO series, showing the same interest in new technology that’s led Soderbergh to shoot multiple movies on an iPhone.

“Mosaic” was a collaboration with screenwriter Ed Solomon, who also penned Soderbergh’s 1950s noir “No Sudden Move.” The new...

Thq Nordic have today announced that We Sing Pop is available globally, right now, in both digital and physical formats. We Sing Pop releases today on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and features the most star-spangled song list ever to grace a singing-game…

A virtual hall of fame, We Sing Pop promises the most exclusive artists, all-original recordings and official music videos. The full track list includes modern pop royalty from Beyoncé to Sia and Coldplay, alongside international pop icons Abba and the late legend George Michael, with anthems from his earlier ‘Wham!’ days, and his later solo career. The latest installment in the multi-award winning We Sing series, We Sing Pop has been developed and produced by interactive music collaboration We Sing Productions, a joint enterprise between Thq Nordic, Wired Productions and Le Cortex. Formed back in 2016, all three companies collaborated on the original series.

Aspiring pop starlets can...

Zara Larsson is "dating a couple of people".

The 19-year-old singer has revealed she is currently seeing two guys at the same time, explaining she is not "exclusive" to anyone.

Opening up about her dating life, the blonde beauty shared: "I'm dating a couple of people. I'm not exclusively anyone's."

And Zara has insisted she's not currently obsessing about anyone in particular, revealing a 25-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio is the only person she has ever had a crush on.

She told the Metro newspaper: "My only crush is Leonardo DiCaprio - when he was 25. That person is not in this world anymore."

The 'Lush Life' singer also bemoaned the sexist attitudes that continue to follow female singers and their personal life.

Zara said: "People are so quick on judging women - yet they put male rock stars on this pedestal. If a girl was doing all these things, she would be f***ing slated.

This post originally appeared on Entertainment Weekly.

Whether he’s reading to kids at the White House, hitting up local bookstores on Black Friday, or giving recommendations to his daughters, President Barack Obama may as well be known as the Commander in Books.

Potus is an avid reader and recently spoke to the New York Times about the significant, informative and inspirational role literature has played in his presidency, crediting books for allowing him to “slow down and get perspective.” With his presidency coming to an end this Friday, EW looked back at Obama’s lit picks over the years...

Welcome to The Night Of's day after, when viewers are undoubtedly experiencing the slightly woozy, vaguely hungover sensation that accompanies eight weeks of investment in a TV show and the promise of a potentially earth-shaking pay-off that, in the end, can be filed under mileage-may-vary. To be fair, it was apparent very early on that this HBO miniseries wasn't likely to dominate the modern equivalent of water-cooler discussions in a way that, say, the true-crime phenomenon Making a Murderer did last winter, or the spot-the-Reagan-era-reference game that was Stranger Things...

James + Semaj is a column where James Franco talks to his reverse self, Semaj, about new films. Rather than a conventional review, it is place where James and Semaj can muse about ideas that the films provoke. James loves going to the movies and talking about them. But a one-sided take on a movie, in print, might be misconstrued as a review. As someone in the industry it could be detrimental to James’s career if he were to review his peers, because unlike the book industry—where writers review other writer’s books—the film industry is highly collaborative, and a bad review of a peer could create problems. So, assume that James (and Semaj) love all these films. What they’re interested in talking about is all the ways the films inspire them, and make them think. James is me, and Semaj is the other side of me.

There's his name about a minute into the opening credits of The Night Of: James Gandolfini. That Gandolfini, who died three years ago, is still listed as an executive producer on the new HBO miniseries speaks to the deal he signed way back when he was going to co-star in the project (in a role now played by John Turturro), and to his role as one of the people championing it through development. It also evokes images of a time when HBO owned the Prestige TV game outright, benevolently renting space out to would-be challengers because its position was so strong. That was a long time ago, before the rise of Netflix and all the other Peak TV players, and before HBO skidded into its current rough patch. Executives keep leaving abruptly. Recent dramas have either failed outright (the expensive, star-laden Vinyl got unrenewed last month), imploded quickly (True...

Now

The 93rd edition of the iconic Now Music compilation returns on 18th March 2016, featuring 44 hits including the current number 1 by Lukas Graham – 7 Years.

To celebrate we 2 copies of Now That’S What I Call Music! 93 along with 2 copies of Now That’S What I Call Brit Hits to give away.

Now That’S What I Call Music! 93

CD One

01. Lukas Graham – 7 Years

02. Justin Bieber – Love Yourself

03. Zayn – Pillowtalk

04. Coldplay – Hymn For The Weekend

05. Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (SeeB Remix)

06. Zara Larsson – Lush Life

07. Jonas Blue feat. Dakota – Fast Car

08. Shawn Mendes – Stitches

09. Major Lazer feat. Nyla & Fuse Odg – Light It Up (Remix)

10. Snakehips feat. Tinashe & Chance The Rapper – All My Friends

11. Little Mix feat. Jason Derulo – Secret Love Song

12. Jess Glynne – Take Me Home

13. Ellie Goulding – Army

14. One Direction – History

15. Selena Gomez – Hands To Myself

16. Jason Derulo – Get Ugly

17. Sigma & Rita Ora – Coming Home

18. Elle King...

Richard Price has gone through a lot of life changes over the last ten years and come out pretty much the same. He got divorced, sold his family’s art-filled Gramercy Park townhouse —and then, in 2008, married the writer Lorraine Adams at a ceremony in his new home, a five-story Harlem brownstone restored to its Victorian bones and stocked with photos by Weegee, the seedy street-life touchstone of his later fiction. After publishing his last and maybe most ambitious literary procedural, Lush Life, a thin-sliced vivisection of the Lower East Side, he decided to focus even more intensely on his novels, and less on the increasingly tedious, decreasingly lucrative sideline of screenwriting. Yet his adaptation of the novel Child 44 will hit theaters in April, and he’s writing a script for Scott Rudin from his latest novel, The Whites. So much for change.Out February 17, The Whites was another...

This morning we have new news about the Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga album, "Cheek to Cheek."  In addition to the track listing for both the standard and deluxe versions of the album (you can see a portion of the artwork from the deluxe cover above), which is now available for digital pre-order, the two have also released a new song, "I Can't Give you Anything but Love." There is also the promise of a new studio video release for "I Can't Give you Anything but Love" later in the week, which is the second track to be released.  First up was Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" at the end of July.  That song debuted at #1 on the Billboard Digital Jazz chart.  While most of the album features the two singers performing together, there are a couple of solo tracks included as well (one from each on the standard version...

'Cheek to Cheek' hits shelves on September 23.

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are ready to dance cheek to cheek.

The duo's long-anticipated collaboration album, Cheek to Cheek, now has a release date: September 23. Gaga and Bennett made the announcement on NBC's Today show on Tuesday.

"The collaboration's just been so wonderful. It's so natural singing with Tony and I just learn so much from him every day," Gaga told Savannah Guthrie. "I'm so happy."

Related: 17 Times Lady Gaga Worshipped Her Little Monsters at the artRAVE

Gaga and Bennett first began work on Cheek to Cheek about two years ago after previously collaborating on his 2011 album Duets II. It's Gaga's first release since last year's Artpop and, according to Bennett, will show off a whole new side of the pop star.

"They're going to say we had no idea she sings that well," he told the Associated Press on Monday, just before...

Did the world demand more jazz from Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett? Well, that's what the world's gonna get. Cheek to Cheek, out September 23, will have a slew of classics (including "It Don't Mean a Thing [If It Ain't Got That Swing]," "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered," and "Lush Life") and one original song written by Gaga called "Paradise." First, their cover of "Anything Goes," done as traditionally as Gaga can — although she does wear a piano caftan at 0:26.

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett will release their album of jazz standards, “Cheek To Cheek” on Sept. 23. The first track, a remake of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” came out today via iTunes. The odd bedfellows formed a mutual admiration society three years ago and seemed besotted with each other’s talent ever since Gaga recorded “The Lady Is A Tramp” with Bennett for his “Duets II” album. The album features the twosome singing in tandem and solo as they work through the Great American Songbook, performing such classics as “Lush Life,” “Anything Goes,” “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” and “Sophisticated Lady.” Bennett, of course, helped bring much of the Great American Songbook alive over his seven-decade career. It turns out that Gaga grew up on the American standards. “It was very important to Tony that this was a jazz record,” Lady Gaga said in a statement.

Linda Ronstadt was the biggest selling female rock star of the 70′s, and has charted 38 Billboard Hot 100 singles, with 21 reaching the top 40, 10 in the top 10, three at #2, and one #1, and influenced generations of female musicians. So why did it take until this year, after the announcement that she has Parkinson’s disease, until she was finally nominated and inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame? That’s some shady shit, right there.

Maybe she was too outspoken over the years? Maybe she tried on too many musical hats? No one in pop music history has tried on so many musical styles and had so much success with them. From country, pop, rock, R&B, big band, opera, to children’s songs, to the all-time biggest selling non-English language album in the U.S (Canciones De Mi Padre), Linda has been fearless and exuberant in her diverse career choices.

Today is her 68th birthday,...

Looks like the man who was Tony Soprano won't be back on HBO in, at least, the near future. According to Deadline, the premium cable network has passed on "Criminal Justice," the drama pilot in which James Gandolfini played a lead role. The project, which was announced in September and shot in the fall, is a remake of the 2008 Peter Moffat BBC series that each season followed one person through the criminal process -- Ben Whishaw in the first round, Maxine Peake in the second. Gandolfini played a jailhouse lawyer in the New York-set HBO pilot, while Rizwan Ahmed ("Four Lions"), Bill Camp ("Compliance"), Peyman Moadi and Poorna Jagannathan also starred. The episode was written by Richard Price ("Lush Life") and directed by Oscar-winning writer Steven Zaillian ("Schindler’s List"), but despite the talent attached, didn't please the famously finicky HBO enough to get a greenlight. HBO's...

It really can’t be true, can it? Richard Gere has never been nominated for an Oscar? Really? Let’s check again. For Chicago, surely. Nope. Officer and a Gentleman? Nope. Unfaithful, The Hoax, Primal Fear? Eh-eh. Damn… Dude’s due.

With Arbitrage, Gere might finally land that elusive nomination. In the Sundance hit from first-time writer/director Nicholas Jarecki, Gere plays a Bernie Madoff type who needs to unload his financial company before Wall Street figures out he’s short $412 million. It’s a subtle, daring performance, but also one that reminds you how consistently remarkable the 63-year-old has been for more than 35 years,...

It's not exactly a chance to see what fate befell his "The Sopranos" character post-"Don't Stop Believin'," but the prospect of getting to see more James Gandolfini on HBO can only be a good thing. Deadline reports that Gandolfini has been cast in a lead role in the pilot for "Criminal Justice," written by Richard Price ("Lush Life," "The Color Of Money"), to be directed by Steven Zaillian ("Gangs of New York," "Schindler’s List") and slated to shoot this fall. According to Deadline, "Criminal Justice" is a crime drama set in New York and loosely based on Peter Moffat's 2006 BBC series of the same name. Rizwan Ahmed ("Four Lions"), Bill Camp ("Compliance"), Peyman Moadi and Poorna Jagannathan are also in the cast. The British version of the show was made up of two season, each five episode long and broadcast over successive nights,...

Joe Henderson always had the respect of fellow musicians and hardcore jazz fanatics, but for a long time it seemed the closest he'd get to fame was his brief stint in Blood, Sweat & Tears (years later he reminisced, in one of my favorite interviews, about how that short period was when sax companies wanted his endorsement and gave him free horns). Hardly fair considering that he spent a quarter century ranked among the top three tenor saxophonists alive, along with Rollins and Shorter. Then, almost miraculously, Verve put together a masterful production/promotion campaign that made him more famous in his last decade than he'd ever been before. Alas, emphysema took him at age 64, but he'd managed to leave an impressive legacy with nary a misstep -- he never made a bad album, and his appearance on anyone else's album was always a mark of quality. (Why is Ptah, the...

Chicago – “NYC 22” reminds me of a cover song by a really strong bar band. You can admire the craftsmanship. It doesn’t hit any wrong notes. And it reminds you of what you like about the original. But it can’t replace it. “NYC 22” is so derivative of other programs that it is constantly fighting with itself because it exposes its own flaws through the comparison. It feels like “NYPD Blue” and “Southland,” but those are the brilliant originals. This is the cover version.

TV Rating: 3.0/5.0

The cast of “NYC 22” is a strong one but the more important voice is behind the scenes as the show was created by the brilliant Richard Price, the author of the novels “Clockers,” “Samaritan,” “Lush Life,” and more, as well as one of the main writers of “The Wire.” (Read and see everything in the previous sentence…now.) Richard Price knows...

We know what you're thinking: another Gotham-based cop show?! Well, this CBS series is created by novelist-screenwriter Richard Price ("Clockers," "Lush Life"), and Robert De Niro is an executive producer. Go behind the scenes April 12 for a screening of the premiere episode and a discussion with creative personnel and cast members, including Terry Kinney, Adam Goldberg, Leelee Sobieski, Tom Reed, and Stark Sands. Find out if you're right for any background roles! Paley Center for Media, 25 W. 52nd St., NYC. 6:30 p.m. $20. (212) 621-6800 or www.paleycenter.org.

By Beck/Smith

HollywoodNews.com:Leelee Sobieski certainly goes against type in her first-ever regular series role — playing an Iraq War MP-turned-tough cookie rookie cop in CBS’s April 15-debuting “NYC 22″ police drama. She’s convincing, especially in moments like when she gets a juvenile thug in an armlock to make sure he understands the importance of treating her with respect. But as soon as the director called “Cut” in that scene, she was saying “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” the actress recalls.

“He was really so cute — like a little angel kid. It’s very hard when you have to do some stuff like that. I’m always going around giving everyone hugs,” admits Leelee.

She tells us she didn’t have to think twice about taking the role. Executive producers Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal were a lure, “of course.” Also, “I’ve always loved Richard Price’s writing,...

A filmmaker mentioned on the Shadow And Act 2010 list of filmmakers to watch (read that post Here), Rodney Evans (Brother To Brother) was recently spotlighted on indieWIRE‘s “In The Works” feature.

Within the profile was information on Evans’ second feature film, Day Dream, which, as the feature title suggests, is in the works, and is also an Ifp Labs project. The film already has its cast attached in Anthony Mackie (who also starred in Brother To Brother), Idris Elba and Aunjanue Ellis.

MsWOO initially profiled the film on this blog last year, June 2009, when it was 1 of 10 projects selected by Today Film Independent for its seventh annual Fast Track program, sponsored by Eastman Kodak – a three-day film-financing market.

Looks like he was able to get the funding he needed to go into production!

Day Dream, like Brother To Brother, is another somewhat nostalgic trip through black history, and centers...

Producer Jack Lechner has signed a first-look deal with Joshua Blum's production and talent management company Washington Square Arts & Films. Lechner, who will be based at Wsf's Manhattan office, will be charged with bringing in new projects as well as shepherding select projects already on Wsf's roster as Wsf expands to produce four to six projects annually.

Both Lechner and Wsf also will continue to pursue projects independently.

Wsf's projects include the Emmy-winning documentary "Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life" and the feature "Old Joy," directed by Kelly Reichert. The company is currently developing a documentary about Spalding Gray with Steven Soderbergh.

An independent producer, Lechner has served as a senior executive at Miramax, Film Four and HBO, among others. He was executive producer of the Oscar-winning doc "The Fog of War" as well as the new doc "Smile 'Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story," which will premiere...

  New York -- The war in Iraq may seem like it's mostly out of the headlines these days, but it was on the minds of the voters Monday night at the News and Documentary Emmys.

Stories about wounded veterans and their plight back home, a Marine veteran who videotaped the war in Iraq, the battle to get body armor on more troops and family members from an infantry unit of the Iowa National Guard serving together were honored. A "Bill Moyers Journal" about how the Iraq war was marketed and the annual "Iraq: Where Things Stand" on ABC News also won.

PBS by far led the networks and "60 Minutes" was tops among programs as winners of Monday night's News and Documentary Emmys.

PBS won 10 awards, including best documentary for the Independent Lens production, "Billy Strahorn: Lush Life." CBS took home five, including three for "60 Minutes" and two for "Sunday Morning.