Fecal Matter — the fashion brand, that is — is suddenly everywhere
Zendaya, Kylie Jenner and Demi Moore have all walked the red carpet in Fecal Matter. That's the English translation of Matières Fécales, the fashion brand that has had a pivotal year. Their avant-garde designs and theatrical runway shows have made them the talk of the fashion world with a dark and edgy take on ball gowns. Take Zendaya's angelic look at the New York premiere of “The Odyssey” or model Gabbriette Bechtel's wedding dress. The design duo Steven Raj Bhaskaran and Hannah Rose Dalton are set to unveil their latest collection at Paris Fashion Week in September.
John Carpenter turns a hell-elevator dream into 'Cathedral' graphic novel and album
LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Carpenter has teamed up with his family for a new project, “Cathedral,” a graphic novel with an original album. The famed director of horror classics like “The Thing” and “Halloween” says the movie industry is too corporate now, so he prefers more creative, less costly outlets. After dreaming about a church with an elevator to hell, Carpenter collaborated with his godson, Daniel Davies, and son, Cody, on the album. His wife, Sandy King, helped with the graphic novel. Carpenter, who is also a composer, says music is the greatest art form and believes it should remain a human endeavor.
Q&A: Ms. Lauryn Hill on the Diaspora Calling! festival in the UK, the Fugees' legacy and D'Angelo
Ms. Lauryn Hill is bringing her Diaspora Calling! festival to the U.K. for the first time. That is 10 years after its inaugural edition in Brooklyn. The event will be hosted by Dave Chappelle and feature performances by Erykah Badu, YG Marley, Fireboy DML and others. It will be held at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes, England. Hill and Wyclef Jean, two-third of Fugees, will perform their landmark album “The Score” in its entirety. In a rare interview with The Associated Press, Hill says the idea behind the event is to bring the community she and Jean have built all over the diaspora together. She also talked about the late R&B singer D'Angelo.
Ariana Grande’s new video sets off talk about body and beauty standards — again
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a hallmark of our increasingly connected world — there’s seemingly always something to say, an opinion or feeling or critique to express. But just because we can say anything, does that mean we should? It’s come up most recently in the wake of a new music video from singer Ariana Grande and the release last week of her new album, “Petal.” The video spurred rampant commentary — and not primarily about the images of a blood-spattered Grande holding a chainsaw, but about her overall extremely thin appearance. That, in turn, spurred even more commentary.
Movie Review: Jane Schoenbrun’s ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ turns slasher tropes inward
Gillian Anderson plays the reclusive final girl of a 1980s slasher franchise in “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.” Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, Hannah Einbinder plays an up-and-coming filmmaker obsessed with recruiting Anderson's Billy Presley for a reboot. In her review for The Associated Press, film writer Lindsey Bahr writes that “it’s a thoughtfully constructed fever dream that wears its high and low brow references on its sleeve — a bold and worthy vision that continues Schoenbrun’s exploration of transitioning using the cinematic and pop cultural tools at their disposal and reinventing them in their image.” Rated R, it's in theaters Friday.
Movie Review: 'One Night Only' is a tease, but its stars score
“The Purge” for sex is the best way to describe the premise of “One Night Only.” The U.S. government has passed a mandate that premarital sex is illegal except for one night a year. For the past three years, sex out of wedlock has been off limits except for an annual 12-hour reprieve. Yet “One Night Only” is less interested in extrapolating the potentially very bizarre ramifications of its dystopian concept than it is selling a surprisingly tame romantic tale, writes AP Film Writer Jake Coyle in his review. “One Night Only” may be dressed up as a raunchy sex comedy, but it’s a rom-com at heart, and a chaste one at that.
Amanda Knox defends her comedy show at Edinburgh festival as honoring her murdered former roommate
LONDON (AP) — Amanda Knox is defending a show she is performing at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in Scotland over the coming days. The American student convicted and later acquitted of the murder and sexual assault of her British roommate Meredith Kercher 19 years ago in Italy was a 20-year-old student in Perugia when Kercher was found stabbed to death in her bedroom in the apartment they shared with two Italian women. Knox was convicted and then acquitted over the murder. Knox said Thursday in an Instagram post that her comedy show “honors Meredith Kercher’s memory and calls out the violence that was done to her and to me.”
Music Review: ‘Lost Weekend’ is Phoebe Bridgers' evocative sonic collage
On her third studio album, “Lost Weekend,” Phoebe Bridgers pairs unique sonic arrangements with her signature complex lyrical verses to create a collage of the years since we last heard from her as a solo artist. It's her first alone since 2020's “Punisher,” and since the return of her supergroup Boygenius and their 2023 album “The Record.” Listeners are brought on a sort of road trip, writes The Associated Press' Elise Ryan. What's most stark throughout is the intentionality Bridgers and her collaborators display. There is space between verses and instrumental arrangements — but none of it is wasted.
Space for music on late-night TV has dwindled. New media seeks to offer an alternative
NEW YORK (AP) — When CBS ended “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings. Performing on late-night has historically been a unique avenue for artists hoping to access new audiences. But the space is dwindling. Shows are ending and the ones that exist are cutting their performances down. In its place, nascent online programming seeks to offer a new alternative. Shows like “Outside Tonight” on YouTube are reimagining the format, offering independent and developing artists a chance to shine. The media landscape is changing, and artists must adapt to new ways of reaching fans.
New York Film Festival unveils lineup to main slate. James Gray opens and Ava DuVernay closes
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Film Festival has unveiled the main slate of films to its 64th edition, including films from James Gray, Ava DuVernay and Tony Gilroy. Organizers for Film at Lincoln Center on Wednesday announced the 32 films selected for its prestigious main slate lineup. Kicking off the festival will be Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” a Queens-set crime drama starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller. Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” is the festival's centerpiece gala. Ava DuVernay’s “14th,” a documentary on the much-contested constitutional amendment, will close the festival. The New York Film Festival runs Sept. 25 to Oct. 12.
