LOS ANGELES -- Growing up in England, Naomi Scott, like so many other young girls, fell in love at an early age with Disney's animated heroines -- particularly Mulan, Pocahontas and Jasmine from "Aladdin." But while those three are officially part of Disney's juggernaut princess line of media franchises and toys, alongside the likes of ...Read more

CHICAGO -- In the fall, Netflix acquired a major soundstage complex in Albuquerque. Last month came news that the streaming service is opening a new production hub in Brooklyn, as well. Peter Hawley, who now heads up the Illinois Film Office under Gov. J.B. Pritzker, says one of his goals is to persuade Netflix to consider the same for Chicago. ...Read more

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has reached a tentative $44 million settlement with women who have accused him of sexual assault as well as creditors of his former studio, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

The proposed deal, which has not been finalized, was hammered out this week during mediation hearings stemming ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Cirque du Soleil has brought 25 different shows to the Chicago area over the last 30 years. I've reviewed 24 of them, from "Alegria" to "Saltimbanco" to "Varekai," from the old North Pier to the parking lot of the United Center to the new digs alongside Soldier Field, which is a fine spot to pitch le grand chapiteau. Once, Cirque was ...Read more

Rotten Tomatoes, which relies on credible ratings to drive traffic to its website, on Thursday took a step to prevent fake movie reviews.

The Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company said it would offer a new feature that shows reviews and ratings by verified moviegoers.

The push is part of an effort by Rotten Tomatoes to increase consumer ...Read more

For most audiences in the U.S., the new film "The Souvenir" will make for not one but two major discoveries. One is the raw, emotional performance by its 21-year-old star in her first significant screen role. The other is its 59-year-old writer-director making her fourth feature film.

The film is about a young woman (Honor Swinton Byrne) in ...Read more

You have questions (and comments). I have some answers.

Q: Could you please tell me if "The Cool Kids" (one of the best shows on TV now) has been renewed and will be back in the fall?

A: It appears to be done. In spite of a swell cast -- Martin Mull, David Alan Grier, Leslie Jordan and Vicki Lawrence -- and some amusing moments, the show did ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- He keeps his spray paint cans in an old cooler. His acrylic paints and chalk are stashed in a cracked milk crate. They are piled under a blue tarp beside two large dog kennels. A pair of well-trained pit bulls, Big Ugly and Space Ghost, sniff the air. If a stranger with bad intent ducks into this space, they know what to do.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Alan Menken's score for the 1992 animated Disney film "Aladdin" earned him one of his eight Oscars. That same year he shared the Best Music, Original Song Oscar with Tim Rice for "A Whole New World." That's the kind of success that could be used to argue it might not be wise to mess with the music, even with the animated tale ...Read more

CHICAGO -- "Bullets flying, mothers crying ... What good is freedom if we haven't learned to be free," Mavis Staples sings at the outset of her new album, "We Get By" (Anti).

It's a tough-as-nails gospel-blues, written by producer Ben Harper, that voices a central tenet of the singer's 70-year music career: the lessons and sacrifices made over ...Read more

While quality cannot be measured by minutes, the new live-action version of Disney's "Aladdin" runs 37 minutes longer than the animated 1992 film famous for Robin Williams' inspired vocal riffs and the song "A Whole New World."

And those 37 additional minutes are not high-quality minutes.

The studio has reaped the financial rewards of its ...Read more

CANNES, France -- It's not as if master documentarian Asif Kapadia, whose films have profiled Formula One legend Ayrton Senna and revered singer Amy Winehouse, is unfamiliar with famous folk. But there is fame, and there is Diego Maradona.

In his prime the greatest, most celebrated and most controversial player in the world's most popular sport...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner's office believes that the judge overseeing Meek Mill's case has been biased against the celebrity rapper, abused her discretion when she sentenced him to prison in 2017 for probation violations and should be removed from making decisions in his ongoing appeal.

Those assertions, made ...Read more

Cardi B has postponed concerts through the end of May to allow her body time to recover from post-baby liposuction and breast surgery.

A show Tuesday night in El Paso, Texas, was postponed, as was the rapper's appearance at a Memorial Day weekend event in Baltimore.

"Cardi was overzealous in getting back to work; she didn't take the time ...Read more