'Being Heumann,' about a disability rights activist, to open Toronto film festival
NEW YORK (AP) — A film about the late disability rights activist Judith Heumann will open the 51st Toronto International Film Festival. Festival organizers announced Tuesday that “Being Heumann” will make its world premiere on the opening night of the Canadian festival Sept. 10. “Being Heumann” marks director Siân Heder’s follow-up to her Oscar best picture winning “CODA.” Heumann has been called the “mother of the disability rights movement” for her longtime advocacy and for lobbying for what eventually led to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. She died in 2023. Heumann was also a central figure in the Oscar-nominated 2020 film “Crip Camp.”
Tracee Ellis Ross is making her Broadway debut and completing a bucket-list item
NEW YORK (AP) — Tracee Ellis Ross is making her Broadway debut in “Every Brilliant Thing.” The play explores depression through a narrator who lists life's joys, like ducklings and spaghetti Bolognese, to uplift a depressed mother. Ross steps into a role previously played by Daniel Radcliffe and Mariska Hargitay. The audience participates, adding a unique twist. Written by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, the play adapts to each performer, making it personal. Ross finds the experience both challenging and fulfilling, connecting deeply with the material. She describes it as a hopeful story about what makes life worth living. Ross makes her debut Tuesday.
Jonathan Anderson shifts Dior buzz from Taylor Swift’s hidden wedding gown to sculptural couture
PARIS (AP) — Jonathan Anderson arrived at Paris couture week with the fashion world still waiting to see the Dior wedding dress he made for Taylor Swift. On Monday, on the first day, he tried to give it something else to look at. Three days after Swift married NFL star Travis Kelce at New York’s Madison Square Garden, with both of them dressed by Dior, Anderson returned to the runway with a sculptural, heavily pleated haute couture collection inspired by American artist Lynda Benglis. The wedding commission was a major win for the LVMH-owned French house and for Anderson, the 41-year-old Northern Irish designer appointed last year to overhaul all of Dior’s fashion lines.
George Clooney to get the lifetime achievement prize from Venice Film Festival
George Clooney is returning to the Venice Film Festival this year to receive a lifetime achievement award. Organizers announced Monday that Clooney will be honored with the Golden Lion at the 83rd edition of the festival in September. Clooney expressed his excitement, calling the festival his favorite and the award a tremendous honor. He has had many memorable appearances in Venice, including with films like “Out of Sight” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.” The festival director praised Clooney as a charismatic and versatile artist. The Venice Film Festival runs from Sept. 2 to Sept. 12.
Hemingway’s masterpiece on Spain's bull runs turns 100 years old with its allure intact
PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — One hundred years ago a book was published that put Spain's biggest bull run festival on the map for millions of readers around the world. Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” has inspired generations of adventurers to travel to Pamplona each year for the weeklong San Fermin bull run festival. This year is a must-not-miss festival for the biggest fans of the novel that is a classic work of American modernism. Americans remain the leading foreign nationality for the daredevils who test their mettle each morning during the festival by running down the streets of Pamplona with a small herd of charging bulls.
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NASCAR uses 3 of its youngest drivers for Rolling Stones collaboration
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — The first Rolling Stones album was released in 1964. NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch was born in 2006. Of course, when it comes to Mick Jagger and company, time seems almost irrelevant. The 19-year-old Zilisch says everyone knows who the Rolling Stones are. Zilisch joined fellow drivers Carson Hocevar and Jesse Love for a music video as part of a collaboration between NASCAR and the Stones ahead of the band’s 25th studio album, “Foreign Tongues,” which comes out on Friday. The partnership includes a merchandise collection featuring the band’s tongue and lips logo, along with two NASCAR-themed vinyl editions of “Foreign Tongues.”
From ‘The Invite’ to ‘The Studio,’ Seth Rogen loves screaming at Olivia Wilde
Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde have found a unique chemistry in screaming at each other on screen. They first explored this dynamic in “The Studio” and now in “The Invite,” which opens nationwide on July 10. Wilde says they have a mutual understanding that allows them to perform without holding back. The two actors first met at a table read for “Knocked Up” over 20 years ago. Rogen and Wilde spoke about their roles and the film’s American themes. Wilde also shared insights on creative freedom, contrasting her experience with studio productions.
What to Stream: Rolling Stones, 'Little House on the Prairie' and 'Backrooms'
The latest Rolling Stones album and the streaming debut of the hit movie “Backrooms” are some of the new entertainment options available this week. The Stones' “Foreign Tongues” album includes collaborations with Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood and more. Finn Wolfhard and Adam Lambert also release new albums on July 10. On the streaming side, “Backrooms,” directed by Kane Parsons, debuts on premium video-on-demand on July 7. “Reminders of Him” and “The Long Walk” are also available this week. In gaming, “College Football 27” and “Echoes of Aincrad” are set for release. A new version of “Little House on the Prairie” debuts on Netflix.
'Minions & Monsters' tops Fourth of July holiday box office, barely beating 'Toy Story 5'
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Minions & Monsters" has topped the July Fourth weekend box office, narrowly beating "Toy Story 5." The latest film in the "Despicable Me" franchise earned $36.4 million, according to studio estimates. "Toy Story 5" followed with $31 million in North America. The Minions movie, which opened on Wednesday, earned $61.4 million in its first five days. "Young Washington" opened in third place with nearly $21 million. "Supergirl" came in fourth with just under $10 million, a steep drop from its opening weekend. Overall, the weekend box office was down 24% from the previous year, but theaters are seeing more moviegoers overall than they did last summer.
The best movies of 2026 so far, from 'Project Hail Mary' to 'Rose of Nevada'
The best films of the year so far include “Project Hail Mary,” “Disclosure Day” and “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.” That's according to the picks of AP Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr. Other favorites of the critics at the year's halfway point include the time-traveling indie “Rose of Nevada,” the mythic revenge thriller “Is God Is” and the antic animated feature “Minions & Monsters.” Coyle and Bahr also single out the directorial debut “Blue Heron” and Pixar's “Hoppers.”

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