News

Nigel Sinclair, the British-American producer of music documentaries, executive producer of Rush, and founder of White Horse Pictures, Spitfire Pictures and Intermedia, has “firmly and vehemently” denied allegations of tax crimes in the United States.

Sinclair, 76, and Australian accountant Anthony Stewart were indicted last week by a federal grand jury and charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, filing false tax returns, filing false FBARs requiring individuals to report foreign financial accounts, and obstruction of justice.

They are alleged to have concealed $25m in income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through shell companies and caused more than a...

For the third year in a row—and fourth in the last five—White Horse Pictures finds itself in the middle of the Emmy horse race.

In 2020, the White Horse production The Apollo, about the legendary performing arts venue in Harlem, earned Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. Last year, White Horse’s The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart was nominated for six Emmys, winning one. This year it’s back in contention with Lucy and Desi, Amy Poehler’s documentary about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, which is nominated for half a dozen Emmys—more than any other documentary.

“I’m ecstatic,” says White Horse Pictures partner Jeanne Elfant Festa of the Emmy recognition. She’s a producer of the film, along with Poehler, Mark Monroe and White Horse co-founder and principal Nigel Sinclair. “It’s an honor, it’s a thrill. We have the best...

Five top TV documentary filmmakers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards nominees. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, August 9, at 6:00 p.m. Pt; 9:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our contributing editor Charles Bright and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 nominees:

Controlling Britney Spears (FX)

Synopsis: Britney Spears has said that her conservatorship had become “an oppressive and controlling tool against her.” This investigation reveals much of how it worked, including an intense surveillance apparatus that monitored her every move.

Four top TV documentary filmmakers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Wednesday, June 1, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Joyce Eng and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 contenders:

Janet Jackson (Lifetime)

Synopsis: The untold story of Janet Jackson filmed over the span of three years featuring archival footage, never before seen home videos and star-studded interviews.

Bio: The career of Rick Murray has included “Idris Elba: No Limits,...

The Force is strong with this week’s Watch List, as Obi-Wan Kenobi returns! That’s right, Ewan McGregor is back in a new Disney+ streaming series. And he’s not alone. This week’s streaming schedule also sees the long-awaited return of Netflix flagship series “Stranger Things,” plus a new Ricky Gervais special, a Ron Howard documentary and a network TV special about rescue dogs. What a week!

On with the television!

“Obi-Wan Kenobi”

Friday, May 27, Disney+

Lucasfilm/Disney+

Hello there. Lucasfilm and Disney+’s third live-action “Star Wars” series is really the one everyone has been waiting for. Ewan McGregor returns to the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a part he originated in George Lucas’ prequel films, to fill in some of the missing details from the “Star Wars” timeline. (Early promotional materials have shown Obi-Wan watching young Luke from afar and interacting with Owen Lars and Aunt Beru.

White Horse Pictures, the production company behind recent documentaries about the Beatles, Lucille Ball and the Bee Gees, is producing another look at a legendary entertainer: Gene Wilder.

Library Films’ Chris Smith, the filmmaker behind projects such as “Bad Vegan” and “100 Foot Wave,” is directing the documentary about the star of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” and “Young Frankenstein,” which will be told through the perspective of Jordan Walker-Pearlman, the late actor’s nephew and a filmmaker in his own right.

The documentary is produced in association with Sobey Road Entertainment, Harlem Hollywood and Mojo Global Arts. White Horse president and partner Nicholas Ferrall and partner Cassidy Hartmann will produce alongside Smith and Sobey Road’s Andrew Trapani. White Horse partners Nigel Sinclair and Jeanne Elfant Festa serve as executive producers alongside Mojo Global Arts’ Morris Ruskin and Joseph Mellicker. Joey Scoma will serve as editor and John Keller as co-executive producer.

Fans of The Beatles, rejoice: the Fab Four’s long-awaited documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, is finally here and available to stream on Disney+. Here’s everything you need to know about the new film, the group’s participation and how to watch Get Back online.

When Does The Beatles: Get Back Premiere? Release Date, Time

The Beatles: Get Back was officially released on November 25, 2021 on Disney+. The Beatles: Get Back is a three-part documentary and episodes will be released one at a time.

The first episode of Get Back...

Paul McCartney will tell the stories behind 154 songs he wrote throughout his career in his upcoming book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, due out November 2nd. The tunes (detailed below) include titles from his work with the Beatles, Wings, and his own solo recordings. It also includes the words to an unrecorded Beatles song, “Tell Me Who He Is,” from the early Sixties; McCartney discovered the handwritten lyrics in a notebook while researching the book.

The anthology features McCartney’s handwritten lyrics, previously unpublished photos, drafts, and drawings. He accompanies...

Beloved American ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her popular sock puppet Lamb Chop will be the subject of a new documentary feature from White Horse Pictures and MoJo Global Arts.

“Shari & Lamb Chop” will be directed by Emmy-nominated Lisa D’Apolito, director of “Love, Gilda,” the documentary about the late Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner.

As a young female ventriloquist with big aspirations, Shari Lewis was searching for a voice who could say things that a young woman in the 1950s could not, and found it in a sock puppet named Lamb Chop. The duo debuted on CBS children’s television series “Captain Kangaroo” in 1956 and went on to attain cultural icon status in the U.S. by the end of the 20th century.

Lewis died in 1998. The documentary will examine her journey, which included winning 13 Emmys and a Peabody and authoring 60 children’s books, and her impact on children’s...

(L-r): Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon in The Beatles: Get Back. Photo by Linda McCartney. © 2020 Apple Corps Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

The Walt Disney Studios, Apple Corps Ltd. and WingNut Films Productions Ltd. announced today that Disney+ will bring “The Beatles: Get Back,” a Disney+ Original documentary series directed by Peter Jackson, to fans and music lovers worldwide over the Thanksgiving holidays.

Because of the wealth of tremendous footage Peter Jackson has reviewed, which he has spent the past three years restoring and editing, “The Beatles: Get Back” will be presented as three separate episodes. Each episode is approximately two hours in length, rolling out over three days, November 25, 26 and 27, 2021, exclusively on Disney+.

“As a huge Beatles fan myself, I am absolutely thrilled that Disney+ will be the home for this extraordinary documentary series by the legendary filmmaker Peter Jackson,” said Bob Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board,...

Disney has opted against a theatrical release for Peter Jackson’s upcoming documentary on The Beatles, “Get Back.” The documentary will now be released as a six-hour, three-episode docuseries on Disney+ rolling out over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Each episode will be around two hours long and will premiere Nov. 25-27.

“The Beatles: Get Back” was originally set to hit theaters in September 2020, and most recently had been scheduled for an August 27 release.

The series includes never-before-seen footage from The Beatles’ recording sessions during their 1970 album “Let It Be,” including the iconic rooftop concert on London’s Savile Row, which marked their final live performance as a group. In all, the doc features footage from more than 60 hours of film (shot by Michael Lindsay-Hogg) and more than 150 hours of unheard audio.

“In many respects, Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s remarkable footage captured multiple storylines,” Jackson said. “The story of friends and of individuals.

The Beatles’ forthcoming film “Get Back” — a Peter Jackson-directed documentary culled from the footage from the 1970 “Let It Be” film — will premiere as a Disney Plus original documentary series over the Thanksgiving holidays.

Because of the wealth of tremendous footage Jackson has reviewed, which he has spent the past three years restoring and editing, “The Beatles: Get Back” will be presented as three separate episodes. Each episode is approximately two hours in length, rolling out over three days, November 25, 26 and 27, 2021, exclusively on Disney Plus.

The film, snippets of which were previewed during a Universal Music Group presentation last year as well as a “montage” debuted online, is culled from more than 50 hours of footage taped in January of 1969 as the Beatles worked on material that ultimately became the “Let It Be” album and feature-length film. Based on the previewed footage, “Get Back” will present a counter-narrative to “Let It Be,...

All products and services featured by IndieWire are independently selected by IndieWire editors. However, IndieWire may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

There’s really nothing like a good music documentary. Rivaled only by maybe true crime and movie documentaries, music-based films are great because they show the story behind the stories of our favorite artists, songs, bands, and record labels.

When you love documentaries the best place to find them all together is a streaming platform. Netflix reigns supreme, but there are a lot of other options out there at a cheaper price. From Hulu to Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Showtime, and Paramount+, you can enjoy tens of thousands of movies and TV series from your TV, phone, and other streaming devices for under $20 a month. Hulu is the most affordable option out of...

Abramorama, a New York-based independent distribution company, has acquired worldwide rights to “Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache.”

Directed by Khyentse Norbu, the film will debut on April 8 with a virtual live premiere hosted by the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC. “Looking for a Lady With Fangs and a Moustache” will also be available on Abramorama’s digital platform. Following the screening, Norbu is participating in a conversation moderated by Dr. Richard J. Davidson.

It tells the story of Tenzin, a modern Tibetan entrepreneur, utterly skeptical of ancient, mystical beliefs, who is suddenly haunted by frightening dreams and hallucinations. A sage tells him those are omens for his imminent death. With seven days to save his life, Tenzin embarks on an unconventional and sacred journey into feminine energy.

“I hope this film will transport audiences to a profound, mystical, and yet very real and accessible dimension...

(L-r): Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon in The Beatles: Get Back. Photo by Linda McCartney. © 2020 Apple Corps Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Filmmaker Peter Jackson has released an exclusive sneak peek of his upcoming documentary “The Beatles: Get Back” for fans everywhere to enjoy. The 5-minute special look is available to fans worldwide on TheBeatles.com and streaming on Disney+.

Jackson said, “We wanted to give the fans of The Beatles all over the world a holiday treat, so we put together this five-minute sneak peek at our upcoming theatrical film ‘The Beatles: Get Back.’ We hope it will bring a smile to everyone’s faces and some much-needed joy at this difficult time.”

“The Beatles: Get Back” will open in US theaters on August 27, 2021.

Peter Jackson, director of The Beatles: Get Back. ©Apple Corps Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Acclaimed filmmaker Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back...

Peter Jackson gave Beatles fans an early Christmas present on Monday when he shared some pretty nifty footage of the famed U.K. band for his upcoming documentary.

The long-awaited film was supposed to have debuted by now, but was pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is now set to open in U.K. theaters August 27, 2021

In the five-minute video, which you can see above, bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon mostly goof off in the studio while recording “Get Back,” one of their many hit singles and also the documentary’s namesake.

“We wanted to give the fans of The Beatles all over the world a holiday treat, so we put together this five-minute sneak peek at our upcoming theatrical film ‘The Beatles: Get Back.’ We hope it will bring a smile to everyone’s faces and some much-needed joy at this difficult time,...

"You can actually control the band with a bass." Gather 'round, Beatles fans! There's a new documentary in the works. Paul McCartney revealed on Twitter a trailer for a brand new "documentary event" in the works titled Paul McCartney x Rick Rubin. Though, officially, it's still untitled and still seeking distribution. However, the early word is that Frank Marshall is helping produce this docu-series event that will feature six episodes with music producer Rick Rubin exploring "McCartney's unbelievable musical journey." The doc will cover McCartney's "long and massively influential career, from his pre-Beatles days to the present... [They] will also feature master tapes from a number of Beatles recordings, with the masters leaving Abbey Road Studios for the first time." This might end up being the definitive Beatles doc, despite plenty of others including Eight Days a Week recently. This teaser trailer doesn't reveal too much, but there is some footage.

Director Ron Howard has made four documentaries in the last seven years, but he’s a relative newcomer to the nonfiction format. By the time he made his first doc, he had directed 21 narrative features and had been acting, increasingly intermittently, for more than 50 years.

His first three docs were all focused on music: 2013’s “Made in America,” about Jay-Z’s music festival of the same name; 2016’s “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week,” about the Beatles’ days as a touring band; and 2019’s “Pavarotti,” about the operatic tenor. But his latest one, “Rebuilding Paradise,” isn’t showbizzy at all. Instead, it chronicles the Northern California town of Paradise as it tries to rebuild after the devastating 2018 California wildfires that destroyed most of the town.

The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and had its TV debut on the National Geographic Channel in November, follows a...

Veteran’s campaign credits include Underworld franchise, Million Dollar Baby, End Of Watch.

As AFM 2020 Online gets underway Voltage Pictures has hired industry veteran Robert Burke as EVP marketing and distribution with immediate effect.

Burke, who launched Lakeshore Entertainment’s marketing division and subsequently ran consultancy Ten One Entertainment, will report directly to Voltage president and COO Jonathan Deckter.

He arrives at a busy time for the company, whose After We Collided is in release and has been a success story for the independent marketplace, earning close to $50m so far from an international run during the pandemic.

The third...

Exclusive: HBO Documentary Films has acquired North American rights to The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart. The feature documentary, which was an official selection of the 2020 Telluride Film Festival before it was scratched by the pandemic, tells the story of an iconic band that is way more than a symbol of the polyester disco era from when their soundtrack fueled Saturday Night Fever. That was just one part of their evolution as musicians, and Frank Marshall has directed an intimate look at siblings Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb. They wrote more than 1,000 songs, including twenty number one hits throughout their career. The film will premiere on HBO later this year and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

Pic is a Polygram Entertainment presentation of a Kennedy/Marshall and White Horse Pictures production in association with Diamond Docs;. Marshall produced alongside Nigel Sinclair and Jeanne Elfant Festa,...

AGC Studios will fully finance an untitled biopic about Lang Lang from Oscar-winning director Ron Howard.

The film about the world-renowned pianist will be produced by Howard’s longtime partner Brian Grazer, as well as Imagine Entertainment President of Features Karen Lunder and AGC Studios Stuart Ford.

The screenplay by Michelle Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney, the team behind “Paper Man” and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” is based on “Journey of a Thousand Miles,” a memoir that Lang Lang wrote with David Ritz.

Lang Lang ranks as one of the greatest classical pianists, beloved for his dramatic playing style. But his rise to the top of the music world came at great personal cost. His childhood was marred by the collapse of his parents’ marriage and his family’s precarious financial situation. After moving to America, Lang Lang attended the Curtis Institute of Music where he was mentored by Gary Graffman,...

Amy Poehler will direct a documentary with the working title “Lucy & Desi” about the marriage between comedy icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz for Imagine Documentaries and White Horse Pictures, the two companies announced Monday.

Poehler is making her documentary feature directorial debut on the project, and she will also produce the film through her Paper Kite banner. The film has already begun production and will be financed by Imagine Documentaries.

“Lucy & Desi” will tell the story of the groundbreaking comedian Ball, who forever changed the way the world viewed comedy and paved the way for scores of women who followed in her footsteps. The film will utilize archival film and personal still photos, first-person narratives and examine how Ball evolved from a performer to a businesswoman and through “I Love Lucy” and more worked to break barriers for women in entertainment and beyond.

Also Read: Netflix Picks Up Documentary...

Exclusive: Amy Poehler will make her documentary feature directing debut for Imagine Documentaries and White Horse Pictures on Lucy & Desi, the working title for a definitive film about the remarkable personal and professional partnership between comedian Lucille Ball and husband Desi Arnaz.

This will be the biggest documentary to be fully financed by Imagine Documentaries and the film will have the benefit of full cooperation from the estate of Ball & Arnaz and their family. Through her Paper Kite banner, Poehler will produce with Imagine’s Justin Wilkes and Michael Rosenberg, White Horse’s Nigel Sinclair and Jeanne Elfant Festa, and Diamond Docs’ Mark Monroe. Imagine’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Sara Bernstein will be executive producers with White Horse’s Nicholas Ferrall and Cassidy Hartmann, and Diamond Docs’ Morgan Sackett. Monroe also serves as writer.

The film will tell the story of the groundbreaking comedian who changed the landscape,...

Two new streaming services made impressive debuts in the 2020 Emmy race. Disney+ and Apple TV+ shattered the expectations of naysayers, who worried that the streamers wouldn’t have the snob appeal or reach to register with Emmy voters. The nominations total for each of these freshmen streaming networks bested the previous first year nominations record by streaming services.

Thanks in large part to the massive success of the first ever live action series set in the “Star Wars” universe, Disney+ just had the best first year nomination tally ever for a streaming service. They snagged a total of nineteen nominations, fifteen of which came from the cultural phenomenon “The Mandalorian.” The saga of a lone gunslinger in a galaxy far far away went viral thanks to Baby Yoda memes, but won over TV fans thanks to its western and samurai influenced presentation. It earned a surprise Drama Series bid, a...

“Rebuilding Paradise,” the new documentary from Ron Howard, promises something in its title that for most of its running time seems very hard to deliver. The prospect of rebuilding after the devastating wildfire that destroyed most of the Northern California town of Paradise feels almost impossible for that city’s residents – and, in fact, the sequences that give the movie its power often as not deal with the losses that can never really be rebuilt or fixed.

And while the film reaches for and finds moments of healing and rejuvenation, it’s easier to walk away from it feeling anger at the causes of the devastation than hopefulness for a community that is still sifting through the ashes.

Still, Howard is a skilled enough filmmaker to highlight that hope just enough to keep “Rebuilding Paradise” from being overwhelmed by loss. His first nonfiction film to deal with current events and...

Anna Marsh, the newly appointed CEO of leading European film and TV group Studiocanal, comes off as self-contained and mild-mannered, but her bullish track record at the company and relationships with big-name producers such as David Heyman (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Andrew Rona (“Non-Stop”) suggests she has an iron fist in that velvet glove.

A 12-year Studiocanal veteran, Marsh — who replaced Didier Lupfer as chief executive — knows the company inside out. She started managing international sales in her early 30s, then became executive VP of distribution and, later, managing director of the banner’s U.K. subsidiary. At 40, the sophisticated New Zealand-born, France-educated Marsh now ranks as one of Europe’s most powerful executives in the industry, and one of the continent’s few women in a top leadership position in entertainment.

Marsh has succeeded in “striking distribution deals and built relationships with creative talent and with every platform and every studio,...

I was introduced to legendary opera singer Luciano Pavarotti at a young age because my dad was an opera singer at one point in his life. I have a lot of memories listening to my dad sing, and he was heavily inspired by the likes of artists like Pavarotti. When you listen to him sing, you can’t deny the beautiful talent that he has. His voice is seriously mind-blowing!

Director Ron Howard (Solo: A Star Wars Story) is a huge fan of Pavarotti, and he has gone ahead and directed a documentary that tells his story. It will also help introduce audiences to the singer and show us how he became such an icon. The doc was “created from a combination of Luciano Pavarotti’s genre-redefining performances and granted access to never-before-seen footage,” and it “will give audiences around the world a stunningly intimate portrait of the most beloved opera singer of all time.

"After working on Eight Days a Week I became fascinated by another cultural icon, who took an elite art form and made it entertainment for the masses." –Ron Howard. CBS Films has launched the first official trailer for the feature-length documentary Pavarotti, directed by Ron Howard - a spectacular look at the life and voice of opera legend Luciano Pavarotti. Born in 1935 in Northern Italy, Pavarotti went on to become one of the world's most famous and successful opera singers. He was one of the Three Tenors who performed their first concert during the 1990 FIFA World Cup before a global audience. This doc is made by the same crew that made Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years, which means it will be a comprehensive film covering his entire life with tons of incredible archival footage. And it's being mastered for Dolby Atmos cinemas. As he is the one-and-only Pavarotti!

(Brooklyn, NY . November 3, 2016) . The Broadcast Film Critics. Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) announced the winners of the inaugural Critics. Choice Documentary Awards tonight at a gala event, hosted by Penn Jillette at Bric in Brooklyn.

Oj: Made in America took home the most awards for the evening with Best Documentary (Theatrical Feature), Best Director (Theatrical Feature) for Ezra Edelman, Best Limited Documentary Series and Best Sports Documentary.

13th won three awards for Best Documentary (TV/Streaming), Best Political Documentary and Best Director (TV/Streaming) for Ava DuVernay.

The Best First Documentary (TV/Streaming) was a tie, with awards going to both Jacob Bernstein and Nick Hooker for Everything is Copy: Nora Ephron: Scripted and Unscripted. and Deborah Esquenazi for Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four. Jack Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg won Best First Documentary (Theatrical Feature) for Weiner.

The Beatles:...

Los Angeles, CA (October 10, 2016) . The Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca) and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (Btja) have announced the nominees for the inaugural Critics. Choice Documentary Awards. The winners will be presented their awards at a gala event on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at Bric, in Brooklyn, New York.

.It is an amazing time for documentaries, with the ever-increasing number of platforms enabling producers to reach enthusiastic and growing audiences for non-fiction storytelling,. said Bfca and Btja President Joey Berlin.

.This is clearly demonstrated in the depth and quality of our inaugural nominees. We have a wealth of brilliant creators who are bringing to light some of the most entertaining and illuminating stories being told today. Indeed, documentary filmmaking is modern investigative journalism. We look forward to celebrating all these fine and important achievements at the first Critics. Choice Documentary Awards gala on November 3rd..

13th, 30 For 30: O.J.: Made in America...

Sigourney Weaver: 'I'm often asked to play roles that would have traditionally gone to men but now go to me because that's the way our world has changed so I think it's a very good time for women´´ Photo: Courtesy San Sebastian Film Festival/Gorka Estrada Sigourney Weaver declared there has never been a better time to be an older actress as she talked about Ja Bayona's A Monster Calls, Alien, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years and working with A-list directors at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

The star, who is in town to receive a Donostia Award for lifetime achievement as well as to promote Bayona's feature, also wasted no time in voicing support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

She said: "As women know, we are strong and we are the glue that holds our world together. It's very exciting in the Us now that,...

Chicago – They were the greatest show on earth, for what it was worth. But what they also were was one of the most fascinating show business stories in history. Director Ron Howard encapsulates John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr during their initial meteoric rise in the descriptively titled ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years.’

Rating: 5.0/5.0

The Beatles history, in ten short years, continues to intrigue and delight rock music scholars and admirers. Ron Howard does a spectacular job of focusing on three crucial years, the years that The Beatles were a traveling road show. Beginning with their conquering of America in February of 1964, through their last organized live concert in San Francisco on August 29th, 1966, the four boys in the band became men, and faced a tsunami of adoration, backlash, surreality and collective joy. This is a love fest by Ron Howard, dedicated...

As expected, Clint Eastwood's Sully enjoyed a second straight weekend atop the box office and it wasn't much of a competition. Not one of the weekend's three new widest releases managed to even top ten million as Blair Witch and Bridget Jones's Baby fell well short of expectations and Open Road's Snowden pretty much delivered as expected depending on whom you asked. Overall, the weekend's top twelve was down 11.6% compared to last week and down 24.3% compared to last year with the top twelve generating an estimated $74.6 million, just $136k shy of the worst weekend of the year so far. With an estimated $22 million, Sully dropped only 37% in its second weekend as the film's domestic cume now stands at $70.5 million, just $1.8 million shy of the entire run of Tom Hanks' Bridge of Spies, which went on to earn six Oscar nominations last year including a win for Supporting Actor.

Paul Shaffer in the spotlight on the Beatles: "I was so enthralled with Jackie Wilson already and The Four Seasons that this was a new sound, brand new." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

I must confess, before I go on with this feature, that when I was 12, my girlfriends were obsessed with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison, so much so that when they played Beatles, I was Yoko Ono.

Paul Shaffer and the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation founder and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band member, Steven Van Zandt, hosted the rock 'n' roll New York premiere of Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years, written by Mark Monroe. Whoopi Goldberg, Julie Taymor, Paul Rudd, Bobby Cannavale, Bob Gruen, Vincent Pastore, Max Weinberg, Tony Sirico, Maureen Van Zandt, and many other guests attended.

Favorite Beatle for Alessandro Nivola: "My...

Rock and Roll Forever Foundation founder Steven Van Zandt recalls his first Beatles song: "Yeah, it was I Want to Hold Your Hand." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Steven Van Zandt and Paul Shaffer hosted the Imagine, Apple Corps and White Horse Films New York première of Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years at Village East Cinema last night. Elvis Costello, Sigourney Weaver, Larry Kane, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Izzard, Howard Goodall, and The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night and Help director Richard Lester share their memories in Howard's loving Beatles tribute, written by Mark Monroe.

Julie Taymor, Paul Rudd and Bobby Cannavale at The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years reception Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

The Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind director's latest film erupts like a sudden familiar, yet fresh, scent that engulfs you and carries you back to a place half-imagined,...

Madonna hit the red carpet for the world premiere of The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years in London on Thursday. The singer posed for photos in a black and white ensemble before heading inside; the big event also brought out the two surviving Beatles, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Madonna and Paul's children have also collaborated recently; in March, Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon was tapped as one of Stella McCartney's new muses and starred in the designer's Pop fragrance Summer 2016 campaign. Of Lourdes, Stella said, "She's an independent, inspirational, and free-spirited young woman." The apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree! Madonna headed to London this week ahead of her son Rocco Ritchie's first day of school. The singer and her ex-husband director Guy Ritchie have been embroiled in an eight-month custody battle over the 16-year-old and settled the case earlier this month.

She flew to London on Monday to look after 16-year-old son Rocco during his first week of school. But on Thursday night, it was girls' night out for Madonna as she hit the premiere of director Ron Howard's new documentary on The Beatles. The film, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years, chronicles the best-selling band during the years of their initial success, focusing on their history-making world tours and their power as a live act. With two gal pals by her side, the 58-year-old singer rocked the blue carpet - wearing a button-down black and white varsity dress.

She flew to London on Monday to look after 16-year-old son Rocco during his first week of school. But on Thursday night, it was girls' night out for Madonna as she hit the premiere of director Ron Howard's new documentary on The Beatles. The film, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years, chronicles the best-selling band during the years of their initial success, focusing on their history-making world tours and their power as a live act. With two gal pals by her side, the 58-year-old singer rocked the blue carpet - wearing a button-down black and white varsity dress.

"There's no switching off… You're on 24 hours a day."

If you’re a fan of The Beatles there’s a new documentary coming out from director Ron Howard called The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years. The doc includes some rare never-before-seen footage of the iconic band as they toured the world to play their music. It covers the years from 1962 to 1966, which were some of the craziest years for the band as they rose to stardom. It also features interviews with those who lived through it. It's really cool to see some of this footage of The Beatles that we’ve never seen before. I’m looking forward to learning more new things about these legendary musicians thanks to this doc.

The Touring Years is based on the first part of The Beatles’ career (1962-1966) – the period in which they toured and captured the world’s acclaim.

From Optimum Releasing to Paddington and Legend, Studiocanal is now the UK’s biggest indie producer-distributor. Screen speaks to CEO Danny Perkins.

In 1999, the year Danny Perkins, Will Clarke and Paul Higgins launched Optimum Releasing, they set out their stall as smart, nimble new operators in the UK distribution arena by re-releasing black-and-white British classic The Third Man (a Studiocanal film) opposite the George Lucas juggernaut Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Fast forward to 2016: Studiocanal UK (whose French parent Studiocanal, the subsidiary of pay TV giant Canal Plus, purchased Optimum in 2006) has assumed the mantle of the UK’s largest non-studio producer-distributor.

Off the back of huge successes including Paddington and Legend, it now finds itself entrusted with delivering the key building blocks of corporate owner Vivendi’s content strategy.

“A lot of the core values are still there,” Studiocanal UK CEO Perkins tells Screen of the heady journey from scrappy newcomer to cornerstone...

From Optimum Releasing to Paddington and Legend, Studiocanal is now the UK’s biggest indie producer-distributor. Screen speaks to CEO Dany Perkins.

In 1999, the year Danny Perkins, Will Clarke and Paul Higgins launched Optimum Releasing, they set out their stall as smart, nimble new operators in the UK distribution arena by re-releasing black-and-white British classic The Third Man (a Studiocanal film) opposite the George Lucas juggernaut Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Fast forward to 2016: Studiocanal UK (whose French parent Studiocanal, the subsidiary of pay TV giant Canal Plus, purchased Optimum in 2006) has assumed the mantle of the UK’s largest non-studio producer-distributor.

Off the back of huge successes including Paddington and Legend, it now finds itself entrusted with delivering the key building blocks of French owner Vivendi’s content strategy.

“A lot of the core values are still there,” Studiocanal UK CEO Perkins tells Screen of the heady journey from scrappy newcomer to cornerstone...

Ron Howard's documentary about The Beatles, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years, will premiere in U.S. theaters on September 16. If you don't want to leave your living room, however, you can just wait until the next day and catch it streaming on Hulu. Eight Days A Week, which takes a close look at the Beatles from 1962-1966, marks the beginning of Hulu Documentary Films. The plan is to grow into a collection of documentaries that will stream exclusively on Hulu, helping the site to compete with Netflix. Picking up Eight Days A Week is a strong start for Hulu — the doc is fully authorized and was made with cooperation from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. You can watch the first trailer below.

Over 50 years on, The Beatles are the most examined and talked-about band in history. And that’s a testament to the sheer wealth of brilliant music, and the myth-making that went alongside, that John, Paul, George and Ringo were responsible for. There have been plenty of documentaries, including the epic “Anthology” series, but we still […]

The post Watch The Trailer For Ron Howard’s Beatles Documentary ‘Eight Days A Week,’ Film Set For September Release appeared first on The Playlist.