How Christian artists are winning over listeners and entering pop's mainstream
NEW YORK (AP) — Christian music is growing in popularity while other genres struggle to grow new listenership. Experts and artists say there are a variety of reasons why this religious music is connecting. Social media and streaming are factors. So is the music's hopeful lyricism, which has evolved to reflect real life. Christian music has also begun embracing many different genres of music and industry professionals say the quality as improved. Certain Christian artists have also begun to crossover into mainstream music, like Lauren Daigle and Brandon Lake. The latter has a Grammy-nominated song in “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with the country singer Jelly Roll. They hope this isn't just a trend but a movement.
Timothée Chalamet wants to be great. ‘Marty Supreme’ might get him there
NEW YORK (AP) — Since his breakthrough performance in 2017’s “Call Me By Your Name,” Timothée Chalamet has been on an ever-ascending path that seemed to reach a culmination when he declared that he’s “in pursuit of greatness” while accepting the best actor award from the Screen Actors Guild for his performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown. “But “Marty Supreme” is yet another new level for Chalamet. His Marty is far from a period-piece study. He's a blur of forward motion. He’s a quintessentially American hustler, and it’s probably the defining performance of Chalamet’s young career. A year after he come so close, it may win him his first Academy Award.
Movie Review: An electric Timothée Chalamet is the consummate striver in propulsive ‘Marty Supreme’
A pitch-perfect Timothée Chalamet finds his greatest role to date in “Marty Supreme,” a breakneck ride from director Josh Safdie. Marty's a brash dreamer. His goal: to show the world he's the best table tennis player alive. It's a tall order for a kid from the Lower East Side but Marty never wavers in his self-belief. Chalamet, wire-thin with acne-scarred skin, small spectacles and a skimpy mustache, puts in an electric performance, writes Associated Press critic Jocelyn Noveck. And he's joined by an astonishing array of supporting players, especially a stylish Gwyneth Paltrow and terrific newcomer Odessa A'zion. Opens in theaters Christmas Day.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs seeks immediate release from prison in appeals argument
NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs are asking a federal appeals court in New York to order his immediate release from prison. The lawyers filed late Tuesday with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. They also want the court to reverse his conviction or direct his trial judge to lighten his four-year sentence on prostitution-related charges. The lawyers say Combs was treated harshly at sentencing by a judge. They say the judge let evidence surrounding charges he was acquitted of unjustly influence him. Combs is incarcerated at a federal prison in New Jersey. He was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking at a trial that ended in July.
Movie Review: The Korean satire 'No Other Choice' is a masterful thriller from Park Chan-wook
Leaves and bodies fall in “No Other Choice,” Park Chan-wook’s masterfully devilish satire with a chilling autumnal wind blowing through it. In it, Lee Byung-hun plays a family man fired unceremoniously from a paper mill after 25 years. To better his odds of employment, he decides to kill the more qualified paper-mill managers he might be competing with. The concept is a Grade-A barnburner of a movie idea. And in “No Other Choice,” Park remains at the peak of his powers, archly and elegantly spinning a yarn about a murderous rampage that accumulates wider and wider reverberations, writes AP Film Writer Jake Coyle in his review.
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Movie Review: In Jim Jarmusch’s starry ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ families struggle to connect
Jim Jarmusch invites audiences into three family gatherings of adult children in his gentle tryptic “Father Mother Sister Brother,” starring Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett and Tom Waits. In the first chapter, siblings drive together to visit their father. In the second, a mother awaits her grown daughters for their annual tea. And in the third, a brother and sister mourn their parents. In her review for The Associated Press, film writer Lindsey Bahr writes that the film is deeply cynical about family bonds and the possibility of ever really knowing ones' parents. Rated R, it's in select theaters Wednesday.
A daring scene on Broadway this season has audiences talking, in more ways than one
NEW YORK (AP) — Before the lights go down at “Liberation” on Broadway, the audience is talking. No, we mean really talking. That's largely because they've surrendered their phones to be locked in pouches as a condition of entry. The reason: one of the most daring and impactful live-theater scenes of this or any season, performed by six actors in the nude. Bess Wohl, who wrote the play that examines a feminist consciousness-raising group in 1970, says the scene reflects how those groups sought to learn about their bodies. The scene took careful work with an intimacy coordinator, including sensitivity training for security staff.
Pop culture in 2025: A ring for Taylor, an ill-timed KissCam ... and whatever ‘6-7’ means
In a year of pop culture moments, some things were old and some things were very new. What does the term “6-7” mean? Dictionary.com designated it the word of 2025 but even they couldn't define it. People were talking about “KPop Demon Hunters,” and especially singing its songs. They were talking about the Coldplay KissCam, and how adorable the capybara was. But then there were two names that have dominated our pop culture for years now. Taylor Swift kept making records with her album sales, and got engaged. And Beyoncé finally won her overdue Grammy for album of the year.
Ukraine's own 'Dancing with the Stars' is back on for a special episode with wartime heroes
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's own "Dancing with the Stars" show is back on, just for one special episode. This time, the stars are the country's wartime heroes, underscoring the nation's resilience in tough times. Before the war, the Ukrainian version of the international franchise was hugely popular. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — then an actor — won the dance competition in 2006, its debut year. Today, dancers in the show perform with prosthetic limbs, showcasing their strength in overcoming adversity. Like the whole country, the show has to deal with wartime challenges such as power outages or generators failing. Creative producer Volodymyr Zavadiuk says "Tantsi z zirkamy" — as the show is known in Ukrainian — is creating something special during tough times.
UK authorities bring new charges of rape and sexual assault against Russell Brand
LONDON (AP) — British authorities have brought new charges of rape and sexual assault against comedian Russell Brand. The U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges on Tuesday, involving incidents from 2009. Brand, aged 50, had already been charged in April with similar offenses involving four women. Those alleged incidents occurred between 1999 and 2005. Brand pleaded not guilty to those charges earlier this year. He is expected to appear in court on January 20 for the new charges. A trial is scheduled for June. Brand, known for his controversial comedy and online presence, denies all allegations.
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