This week’s new TV, movies and more: ‘Turning Red,’ Ryan Reynolds and Mooski album | Entertainment News
This combination of photos shows promotional imagery for “The Adam Project,” a Netflix film premiering March 11, “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey,” a series premiering March 11 on Apple TV+ and “Turning Red,” an animated film premiering March 11 on Disney+. (Netflix/Apple TV+/ Disney+ via AP)
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
— “Turning Red,” the third straight Pixar movie to bypass theaters for a streaming debut, lands Friday on Disney+. Directed by Domee Shi, who made the Pixar short “Bao,” “Turning Red” is the first Pixar feature directed solely by a woman. It’s about Meilin Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian teenager with an over-protective mother (Sandra Oh), who begins turning into a giant, fluffy red panda when she feels a strong emotion. The film, featuring a pivotal BTS-like boy band, includes original songs from Billie Eilish and Finneas.
— In Netflix’s “The Adam Project,” Ryan Reynolds reunites with “Free Guy” director Shawn Levy to star as a time-traveling pilot who crash lands in his old backyard, where his younger self (Walker Scobell) and mother (Jennifer Garner) live. It’s a big-budget throwback that has some of the bouncy spirit of 1980s sci-fi adventures. And being a starry, expensive movie based on an original concept, it’s the kind of movie unlikely to be bankrolled by today’s studios for theaters. Instead, “The Adam Project,” which debuts Friday, is the latest in a string of Netflix releases for Reynolds, who starred in “Red Notice” and “6 Underground.” Mark Ruffalo co-stars.
— Many of the standouts of last year’s Cannes Film Festival have already made a major impression with moviegoers — films like “Drive My Car,” “The Worst Person in the World,” “Titane,” “A Hero” and many more. But don’t sleep on “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds.” Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s powerful drama is about a Chadian single mother (Achouackh Abakar Soulymane) seeking an abortion for her 15-year-old daughter (Rihane Khalil Alio) in a country where the procedure is all but outlawed. Yet having a child out of wedlock, too, could mean being socially ostracized. The film, which begins streaming Tuesday on MUBI, packs a brilliant mother-daughter story — and an important portrait of modern-day capital N’Djamena — into less than 90 minutes.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
MUSIC
This combination of photos shows album art for Bryan Adams’ pandemic-influenced “So Happy It Hurts” album, left, and “Betty Buckley Sings Stephen Sondheim,” a tribute to the late Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim. (BMG via AP, left, and Palmetto Records via AP)
— Alabama-bred soulful rapper Mooski is ready to drop his debut album, “Melodic Therapy 4 The Broken.” Mooski has upped the interest with catchy songs like “Track Star,” which racked up more than 475 million views on TikTok and has been streamed almost 74 million times on Spotify. A “Track Star” TikTok challenge inspired videos from Keyshia Cole, Lala Anthony, Dream Doll and Halle Berry, among others. His new album, out Friday, is led by the luscious “Soul Bleed.” Mooski has had a different path to music stardom — he served as a sergeant during a four-year tenure in the Marine Corps.
— Bryan Adams’ pandemic-influenced “So Happy It Hurts” album arrives Friday. The title track — an arena-rocking celebration of driving — “is about freedom, autonomy, spontaneity and the thrill of the open road,” the Canadian musician says. It is a joyous album and one outstanding track is “Never Gonna Rain,” with the lyrics “I’m gonna smile like I never had a heartache/Laugh like I never had a care.” One unusual track is the lead single, “Kick Ass,” with a lengthy spoken word introduction from comedian John Cleese.
— Legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim is still being celebrated and the latest tribute is theater icon Betty Buckley’s releases of a compilation album, “Betty Buckley Sings Stephen Sondheim.” The album collects various of the “Cats” Tony-winner’s previous interpretations of two dozen Sondheim’s songs, including “Anyone Can Whistle,” “Children Will Listen” and “Send in the Clowns.”
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
— A small-town murder case gets big-star wattage in NBC’s “The Thing About Pam,” with Renée Zellweger in the title role. Pam Hupp’s links to several deaths have been recounted in multiple episodes of “Dateline NBC,” a podcast, books and now the series co-starring Josh Duhamel and Judy Greer. The 2011 killing of Betsy Faria (Katy Mixon) in Troy, Missouri, led to the conviction of her husband, Russ (Glenn Fleshler). He was exonerated in a second trial, but Betsy Faria’s death began the unraveling of “a diabolical scheme deeply involving” Hupp, as the network put it. The series debuts 10 p.m. EST Tuesday.
— Another film star, Samuel L. Jackson, headlines the six-part series “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey,” arriving Friday on Apple TV+. Based on the Walter Mosley novel, Jackson plays an forgotten man, one facing dementia, who becomes the caretaker for an orphaned teen (Dominique Fishback, “Judas and the Black Messiah”). The pair learns that Ptolemy’s memories might be restored by treatment, leading to difficult truths about the past, present and even the future. Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Damon Gupton, and Walton Goggins are in the cast.
— Italian scenery, Italian food and Stanley Tucci make for a banquet in the return of CNN’s series “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” a combination travelogue and drool-inducing food celebration with actor as engaging tour guide. He’s also our proxy taster, with the contrasting dishes of Umbria and Venice part of the menu in season two, debuting 9 p.m. EST Sunday, March 13, on the cable channel. Tucci wants us to do more than eat: His goal is to educate himself and viewers on Italy’s culture and history through its much-loved cuisine. Viewers will have time to digest what they’re learning, with the series’ second half arriving in the fall.
— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber
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Photos: Notable Deaths in 2022
Meat Loaf
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Meat Loaf, the heavyweight rock superstar loved by millions for his “Bat Out of Hell” album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” died Jan. 20, 2022. He was 74.
Sidney Poitier
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Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking actor and enduring inspiration who transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen and became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, died Jan. 6, 2022. He was 94. Poitier won the best actor Oscar in 1964 for “Lilies of the Field.”
Ronnie Spector
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Ronnie Spector, the cat-eyed, bee-hived rock ‘n’ roll siren who sang such 1960s hits as “Be My Baby,” “Baby I Love You” and “Walking in the Rain” as the leader of the girl group The Ronettes, died Jan. 12, 2022. She was 78.
Bob Saget
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Bob Saget, the actor-comedian known for his role as beloved single dad Danny Tanner on the sitcom “Full House” and as the wisecracking host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” died Jan. 9, 2022. He was 65.
Louie Anderson
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Louie Anderson, whose four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely, Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series “Baskets,” died Jan. 21, 2022. He was 68. In 2016, Anderson won a best supporting actor Emmy for his portrayal of Christine Baskets, mother to twins, in the FX series “Baskets.” He was a familiar face elsewhere on TV, including as host of a revival of the game show “Family Feud” from 1999 to 2002.
Howard Hesseman
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Howard Hesseman, best known as the hard-rocking disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati,” died Jan. 28, 2022. In addition to earning two Emmy nominations for his role on “WKRP,” Hesseman also appeared on “Head of the Class” and “One Day at a Time,” along with guest appearances on “That 70’s Show,” among others. The Oregon native also hosted “Saturday Night Live” several times. — CNN
Sally Kellerman
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Sally Kellerman, the Oscar and Emmy nominated actor who played Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in director Robert Altman’s 1970 film “MASH,” died Feb. 24, 2022, at age 84. Kellerman had a career of more than 60 years in film and television. She played a college professor who was returning student Rodney Dangerfield’s love interest in the 1986 comedy “Back to School.” But she would always be best known for playing Major Houlihan, a straitlaced, by-the-book Army nurse who is tormented by rowdy doctors during the Korean War in the army comedy “MASH.”
Peter Bogdanovich
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Peter Bogdanovich, the ascot-wearing cinephile and director of 1970s black-and-white classics like “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon,” died Jan. 6, 2022. He was 82. Bogdanovich was heralded as an auteur from the start, with the chilling lone shooter film “Targets” and soon after “The Last Picture Show,” from 1971, his evocative portrait of a small, dying town that earned eight Oscar nominations and catapulted him to stardom.
André Leon Talley
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André Leon Talley, a towering figure who made fashion history as a rare Black editor in an overwhelmingly white industry, died Jan. 18, 2022. He was 73. Talley was the former creative director and editor at large of Vogue magazine. Often dressed in sweeping capes, he was a highly visible regular in the front row of fashion shows in New York and Europe for decades.
Marilyn Bergman
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Marilyn Bergman, the Oscar-winning lyricist who teamed with husband Alan Bergman on “The Way We Were,” “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” and hundreds of other songs, died Jan. 8, 2022. She was 93.
Gaspard Ulliel
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French actor Gaspard Ulliel, known for appearing in Chanel perfume ads as well as film and television roles, died Jan. 19, 2022, after a skiing accident in the Alps. He was 37. Ulliel portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in 2007’s “Hannibal Rising” and fashion mogul Yves Saint Laurent in the 2014 biopic “Saint Laurent.” He is also in the Marvel series “Moon Knight.”
Ivan Reitman
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Ivan Reitman, the influential filmmaker and producer behind many of the most beloved comedies of the late 20th century, from “Animal House” to “Ghostbusters,” died Feb. 12, 2022. He was 75. Known for bawdy comedies that caught the spirit of their time, Reitman’s big break came with the raucous, college fraternity sendup “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” which he produced. He directed Bill Murray in his first starring role in the summer camp flick “Meatballs,” and then again in 1981’s “Stripes,” but his most significant success came with 1984’s “Ghostbusters.”
Dan Reeves
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Dan Reeves, who won a Super Bowl as a player with the Dallas Cowboys but was best known for a long coaching career highlighted by four more appearances in the title game with the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons, all losses, died Jan. 1, 2022. He was 77.
Don Maynard
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Don Maynard, a Hall of Fame receiver who made his biggest impact catching passes from Joe Namath in the wide-open AFL, died Jan. 10, 2022. He was 86. When Maynard retired in 1973, he was pro football’s career receiving leader with 633 catches for 11,834 yards and 88 touchdowns. The Jets retired his No. 13 jersey.
Michael Lang
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Michael Lang, a co-creator and promoter of the 1969 Woodstock music festival that served as a touchstone for generations of music fans, died Jan. 8, 2022. He was 77.
Lawrence N. Brooks
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Lawrence N. Brooks, the oldest World War II veteran in the U.S. — and believed to be the oldest man in the country — died Jan. 5, 2022, at the age of 112.
Charles McGee
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Charles McGee, a Tuskegee Airman who flew 409 fighter combat missions over three wars and later helped to bring attention to the Black pilots who had battled racism at home to fight for freedom abroad, died Jan. 16, 2022. He was 102.
Manfred Thierry Mugler
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French fashion designer Manfred Thierry Mugler, whose dramatic designs were worn by celebrities like Madonna, Lady Gaga and Cardi B, died Jan. 23, 2022. He was 73. Mugler, who launched his brand in 1973, became known for his architectural style, defined by broad shoulders and a tiny waist. The use of plastic-like futuristic fabric in his sculpted clothing became a trademark.
Bill Fitch
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Bill Fitch, who guided the Boston Celtics to one of their championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career spanning three decades, died Feb. 2, 2022. He was 89. A two-time NBA coach of the year, Fitch coached for 25 seasons in the NBA, starting with the expansion Cleveland Cavaliers in 1970. He was Larry Bird’s first pro coach with Boston in 1979, won a title with the Celtics in 1981 and spent time with Houston, New Jersey and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Gary Brooker
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Gary Brooker, the Procol Harum frontman who sang one of the 1960s’ most enduring hits, “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” died Feb. 19, 2022. He was 76. Brooker was singer and keyboard player with the band, which had a huge hit with its first single, “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” With its Baroque-flavored organ solo and mysterious opening line – “We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor” — the song became one of the signature tunes of the 1967 “Summer of Love.”
Charley Taylor
Updated
Charley Taylor, the Hall of Fame receiver who ended his 13-season career with Washington as the NFL’s career receptions leader, died Feb. 19, 2022. He was 80. Taylor was the 1964 NFL rookie of the year and was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1960s Team. The eight-time Pro Bowl selection was a first-team all-NFL pick in 1967.
Dwayne Hickman
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Dwayne Hickman, the actor and network TV executive who despite numerous achievements throughout his life would always be remembered fondly by a generation of baby boomers for his role as Dobie Gillis, died Jan. 9, 2022. He was 87.
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