Latest News by Industry
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
— Filmmaker David Lowery (“The Green Knight,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”) brought a lyrical magic and a quiet sweetness to his remake of “Pete’s Dragon” and now is trying his hand at a live action take on the Peter Pan story. He follows in footsteps of people like Steven Spielberg (“Hook,” 1991), Joe Wright (“Pan,” 2015) and Benh Zeitlin (“Wendy,” 2020), some of whom struggled more than others in their attempt to capture the high flying adventure of the J.M. Barrie tale that we can’t seem to quit. The cast includes Jude Law as Captain Hook, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell, Jim Gaffigan as Mr. Smee and Alan Tudyk as George Darling. “Peter Pan & Wendy” arrives on Disney+ on Friday, April 28.
— Forget what you think you know about the music documentary. Brett Morgen, who did wonders with the Kurt Cobain story in “Montage of Heck,” rewrites the cliché script for his David Bowie doc “Moonage Daydream,” debuting on HBO and HBO Max on Saturday, April 29. He eschews the typical talking head format and a traditional narrator for something more experiential, allowing the viewer to immerse themselves in the music and the David Bowie experience. As A.O. Scott wrote in the New York Times, “it’s less a biography than a séance.”
— Over on Hulu, “Glee” alum Dianna Argon is a woman facing intense societal pressure to have kids before her time runs out in filmmaker Alexis Jacknow’s “Clock,” premiering Friday, April 28. After a strange meeting with a doctor, she ends up at a biotech firm as a participant in a clinical trial run by Melora Hardin. That’s when the horrifying visions start in this sleek, sinister sci-fi thriller.
NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
— Smokey Robinson’s new album “Gasms” finds the 83-year-old in a frisky mood, with the Motown icon writing a collection for the bedroom. There is yearning across its nine tracks and just a few titles alone hint at that: “Beside You,” “I Wanna Know Your Body” and “How You Make Me Feel.” The album has a bit of old and new, with songs like “I Keep Calling You” and “Roll Around” written years ago melded with newer tunes. He admits it’s his most blatantly sexy collection and that jumps out with the title track, in which he tells his lover “You give me gasms.” The album is out Friday, April 28.
— The National will release “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” and it’s got some monster collaborations. The band’s ninth full-length studio, out Friday, April 28, is led by “Eucalyptus” and “Tropic Morning News” and has songs with Taylor Swift (“The Alcott”), Phoebe Bridgers (“This Isn’t Helping,” “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend”) and Sufjan Stevens (opener “Once Upon a Poolside”). One song, “New Order T-Shirt,” has singer Matt Berninger crooning: “I keep what I can of you/Split-second glimpses and snapshots and sounds/ You in my New Order T-shirt.”
NEW TELEVISION TO STREAM
— The CW is putting the pedal to the metal with a six-part docuseries about the adrenaline, colorful personalities and passion surrounding the Indianapolis 500, a 500-mile open-wheel auto race that is considered a premier racing event and one of the oldest around. “100 Days to Indy” takes viewers behind-the-scenes beginning on day one of the IndyCar racing season. While production on episodes 1-5 of “100 Days to Indy” are completed, the final episode of the season will be filmed May 28, the date of the 107th Indianapolis 500. “100 Days to Indy” premieres Thursday.
— Paramount+ is retelling the story of “Fatal Attraction” through a contemporary lens. Like the 1987 film starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, this version tells the story of a torrid affair between Alex, a single woman, played by Lizzie Caplan, and Dan, a married man (Joshua Jackson) with a young daughter. Where it differs though is that this is a limited TV series and instead of portraying Alex as so-called “crazy” and a bunny boiler, (although there are a few Easter eggs thrown in there for people who remember the movie), the show delves more into mental health. It also holds Dan more accountable for cheating on his wife in the first place. “Fatal Attraction” debuts Sunday, April 30.
— In the new National Geographic limited series, “A Small Light,” Bel Powley plays Miep Gies, who along with her husband, helped to hide Anne Frank’s family among others during World War II. “When (Anne’s father) Otto Frank asked her if she would help hide his family, she said yes right away, (with) no hesitation,” co-executive producer and writer Joan Rater told the AP in a recent interview. “It’s inspirational, it’s hopeful.” Liev Schreiber plays Otto in the series and Billie Boullet portrays Anne. “A Small Light” debuts Monday, May 1 on National Geographic and will stream on Disney+ and Hulu the following day.
— Alicia Rancilio
NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
— Cal Kestis, the protagonist of Electronic Arts’ 2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, was on a mission to rebuild the gang after they got purged by Darth Vader. With the help of developer Respawn Entertainment, Cal also managed to revive a franchise that had gone dormant, at least in the video game arena. He’s back for more in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The poor dude’s still on the run, but he has mad lightsaber skills, some nifty Force tricks and a spunky droid named BD-1. Will Cal wreak vengeance on Vader? No, that’s Luke Skywalker’s job. But EA is promising that Survivor will deliver plenty more of the interplanetary exploration and challenging saber-swinging combat that made Fallen Order a hit. The Force reawakens Friday, April 28, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
___
Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.