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      in Music

      ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ Score, a Noisy Gem, Will Arrive at Last

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      Fifty-one years after the smash horror movie, its groundbreaking and unconventional music — long a “holy grail” — will arrive on vinyl.In 1996, years before helping to found the experimental rock institution Animal Collective, David Portner and Brian Weitz were Baltimore high school pals who diligently hunted for the soundtrack album that perfectly meshed their love of the unorthodox sound worlds of musique concrète and the thrills of horror movies: “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” “It wasn’t really till years later that I found out that it had never been released,” Portner said.“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” changed the horror business when it splattered out in 1974, turning a spartan budget into a $30 million juggernaut and laying groundwork for the blood-soaked slasher genre that dominated the 1980s. Among its many innovations was its unconventional score, an abstract suite of bone-chilling scrapes, metallic clanks, ominous drones and mysterious stingers.This symphony of discordance, recorded by the film’s director Tobe Hooper and the sound man Wayne Bell, emerged three full years before the first commercially available industrial music from Throbbing Gristle. It anticipated the tape-traded noise music underground that flourished in places like Japan in the 1990s and the American Midwest in the ’00s. But with the master tapes ostensibly lost and Hooper seemingly uninterested in an official release, the “Chain Saw” score survived mostly as a bootleg, often just the entire 83-minute film dubbed to audio cassette from a VHS or Laserdisc.That half-century of tape hiss and YouTube rips will end in March with a vinyl release on the boutique soundtrack label Waxwork Records. (Pre-orders start this week.)The movie was created on a spartan budget but turned into a $30 million juggernaut.Bryanston Distributing“It was kind of like a holy grail. Was it even possible to do it?” said the Waxwork co-founder Kevin Bergeron, who had been doggedly pursuing the release for more than a decade. “Everyone has asked. Literally every label from Sony to Waxwork. Major labels to independents to randos living with their parents. Everyone wanted to release it. What would it take to make it happen? No one had any sort of intel, like what would it cost or what would it take.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      How ‘Her Story,’ a Feminist Comedy, Came to Rule China’s Box Office

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      “Her Story” touches on sensitive topics in China, like censorship and gender inequality. But its humorous, nonconfrontational approach may have helped it pass censors.The movie calls out stigmas against female sexuality and stereotypes about single mothers. It name-drops feminist scholars, features a woman recalling domestic violence and laments Chinese censorship.This is not some indie film, streamed secretly by viewers circumventing China’s internet firewall. It is China’s biggest movie right now — and has even garnered praise from the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece.The success of “Her Story,” a comedy that topped China’s box office for the last three weeks, is in some ways unexpected, at a time when the government has cracked down on feminist activism, encouraged women to embrace marriage and childbearing and severely limited independent speech. The film’s reception reflects the unpredictable nature of censorship in the country, as well as the growing appetite for female-centered stories. Discussion of women’s issues is generally allowed so long as it does not morph into calls for rights. “Her Story,” which some have called China’s answer to “Barbie,” cushions many of its social critiques with jokes.The director of “Her Story,” Shao Yihui, has emphasized at public appearances that she is not interested in provoking “gender antagonism,” an accusation that official media has sometimes lobbed against feminists.At a time of sluggish growth and anemic ticket sales, movie producers — and perhaps government regulators — have been eager to attract female audience members, an increasingly important consumer base. Other recent hit movies have also been directed by and starred women, including the year’s top box office performer, “YOLO.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      ‘It’s Not Me’ Review: Entering the Mind of Leos Carax

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      This personal film is a dynamic, even chaotic, collage of moments that bring the director back to his beginnings.Love poem, restless dream, troubled history, alchemist’s scrapbook — Leos Carax’s “It’s Not Me” is pure cinema as it dances through its dense 42 minutes. He crafted this indelibly personal and eccentric film in response to a prompt he was given from the Pompidou Center in Paris: “Where are you at, Leos Carax?”The answer sends the filmmaker, 64, back to beginnings. That means reflections on bad dads, artistic inspirations, his piano-playing daughter, and the 20th century in all its light and darkness, its movies and mass destruction. Carax creates a dynamic, even chaotic, collage of moments — including Denis Lavant and Juliette Binoche in clips from his movies “Mauvais Sang” (1986) and “Holy Motors” (2012) — alongside quotations and songs. (Among the audiovisual references: David Bowie, Jonas Mekas, the Apollo 17 astronauts, Nina Simone, Tintin, The Fall.)“It’s Not Me” displays the “can he do that?” spark that made his features cinematic events, here on a shaggier, smaller scale. Carax’s smoky voice-over, bold title cards and patchwork style might evoke Jean-Luc Godard’s later enigmas, but the film feels more like late-night conversations with a beloved, weirdo friend. How can you not love a filmmaker who portrays his writing method as scribbling in his sleep, surrounded by pets?One idea the film nurtures is that speed is of the essence (and the definition of motion pictures). You can slow down and pore over its references, or you can let Carax’s cinematic flow glide you along. The lovely “Annette”-inspired coda should bring a twinkle to your eye.It’s Not MeNot rated. Running time: 42 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on most major platforms. More

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      in Movies

      Golden Globes 2025: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Leads Nominations, Plus Nods for ‘Conclave’ and ‘Wicked’

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      The movie received 10 nods, leading the field. Angelina Jolie, Timothée Chalamet, Pamela Anderson and Zendaya drew acting nominations.The point of the Golden Globes has become clearer in recent years: It’s a cash register masquerading as an awards show — an opportunity to sell advertising, promote winter movies and flog designer gowns.Celebrity attendance makes the whole thing run, of course, and so trophies are dangled as bait. On Monday, the companies behind the Globes announced the 2025 list of nominees, and — ka-ching! — there are a ton of stars on it, including Angelina Jolie, Timothée Chalamet, Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Jamie Foxx, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ariana Grande, Keira Knightley, Pamela Anderson, Zendaya, Demi Moore, Glen Powell, Selena Gomez, Daniel Craig, Kate Winslet, Miley Cyrus and Denzel Washington.Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language musical exploring trans identity, received 10 nominations, the most of any movie, including one for best comedy or musical. “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “Wicked” and “Anora” will be among the other films contending for the top prizes, with “The Bear,” “Shogun,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Baby Reindeer” among the programs vying for the TV equivalents.Notable nominations included Winslet, a surprise double nominee for “Lee,” a little-seen biopic with mediocre reviews, and “The Regime,” a poorly reviewed HBO mini-series. The best director category included Coralie Fargeat for her satirical body horror film “The Substance” and Payal Kapadia for “All We Imagine Is Light,” about a Mumbai nurse; both women will now figure more prominently in the Oscar conversation.And the notable omissions? Danielle Deadwyler (“The Piano Lesson”) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), both perceived as potential Oscar nominees, were among several Black performers who did not make the list. Similarly, the prison drama “Sing Sing” was largely passed over, although its star, Colman Domingo, received a nod.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      Golden Globes Nominees 2025: See the Complete List

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      The movies and TV series competing for the 82nd Golden Globe Awards. The ceremony will air on Jan. 5.The nominations for the 82nd Golden Globes were announced Monday, and “Emilia Pérez” and “The Brutalist” are the top nominees.The musical “Emilia Pérez” received the most nominations at 10, followed by the epic period drama “The Brutalist” with seven. On the television side, “The Bear” led with five nominations, but was in good company with “Only Murders in the Building” and “Shogun” receiving four each.The ceremony, hosted by the comedian Nikki Glaser, will air on Jan. 5 on both CBS and Paramount+. See below for the full list.Best Motion Picture, Drama“The Brutalist”“A Complete Unknown”“Conclave”“Dune: Part 2”“Nickel Boys”“September 5”Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown.”Searchlight PicturesBest Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy“Anora”“Challengers”“Emilia Pérez”“A Real Pain”“The Substance”“Wicked”Best Motion Picture, Animated“Flow”“Inside Out 2”“Memoir of a Snail”“The Wild Robot”“Wallace and Gromit: Vengence Most Fowl”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      Elaine May Makes a Rare Appearance to Talk About ‘Mikey and Nicky’

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      At a screening of the gangster tale starring Peter Falk and John Cassavetes, the director recalls her battle with Paramount to get the film released.At Metrograph theater on Friday, a crowd of around 175 people was treated to the cinephile’s equivalent of a Bigfoot sighting on the Lower East Side: A rare public appearance by the 92-year-old writer, director and actress Elaine May.May chooses her creative projects sparingly — she won a Tony in 2019 for her last major acting role, in “The Waverly Gallery” — and almost never sits for interviews. But her friend and longtime collaborator Phillip Schopper convinced her that it was a worthwhile occasion: A screening, hosted by the American Cinema Editors society, of the director’s cut of her storied 1976 gangster flick, “Mikey and Nicky,” followed by a craft-oriented discussion with Schopper and an assistant editor on the film, Jeffrey Wolf. “Ask me anything,” May said to them at the start of a lively 40-minute discussion — a tantalizing prospect coming from such an elusive figure.May’s directorial career started out with a hit: Her riotous 1971 comedy “A New Leaf,” which was released a decade after the dissolution of her era-defining professional partnership with Mike Nichols.But in 1973, as she began shooting “Mikey and Nicky” — a bleakly funny tale of wounded masculinity and betrayal, starring John Cassavetes and Peter Falk — she and the executives at Paramount started butting heads. In part because she needed to work around Falk’s busy “Columbo” schedule, production went late and over budget. When May did not deliver a cut of the film by the contractual deadline, and several reels of the film mysteriously disappeared, Paramount sued her. Litigation stretched on for nearly year, until, in May’s telling on Friday, studio executives “got really nervous that I would be jailed.” She heard one of the higher-ups reason, “Do we really want to be the only studio that has ever jailed a director for going over budget?”In the end, as May recalled, they reached a compromise: “They actually gave me the movie back because they didn’t want to promote it, because they thought it would be such a flop.” Paramount buried it with an extremely limited release over Christmas 1976. Critics largely spurned it — in The Times, Vincent Canby wrote of May that “it took guts for her to attempt a film like this, but she failed” — and audiences who associated May’s name with zany comedy were put off by the film’s dark tone.In recent years, though, “Mikey and Nicky” has been the subject of a reappraisal and has finally found an audience, thanks in part to a 4K restoration of the director’s cut that was supervised by Schopper and released by Criterion in 2019. May’s directorial reputation, too, has been on the rise over the past decade. To a younger generation of cinephiles that does not remember the press’s frenzied fascination with the Paramount lawsuit or the production travails of her fourth and final film, “Ishtar,” May is now appreciated as a maverick filmmaker who challenged the studio’s whims and worked on her own terms. The audience that had sold out the Metrograph screening in mere minutes was noticeably reverent and intergenerational.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Movies

      Golden Globes Snubs and Surprises: Jon M. Chu, Danielle Deadwyler, ‘The Substance’ and More

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      Female directors were well-represented, while “Dune: Part Two” and “Sing Sing” didn’t do as well as expected.The 82nd Golden Globes nominations were announced Monday morning and the unconventional musical “Emilia Pérez” had plenty to sing about: The Netflix film topped all movies with 10 nominations, followed by “The Brutalist” and “Conclave.” Here are some of the most notable takeaways from this year’s field.Ryan Reynolds rebuffedRyan Reynolds wasn’t nominated for “Deadpool & Wolverine.”20th Century Studios/MarvelBefore a series of recent scandals prompted the Golden Globes to diversify its voting membership, you could count on this show to favor celebrity over critical consensus: Every year, the list of nominees included A-list megastars who were recognized even when their projects were not up to par. The old Globes voters, for instance, would have been eager to nominate the “Deadpool & Wolverine” star Ryan Reynolds for best actor in a comedy or musical, if only to lure Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, to their red carpet. The new Globes voters proved more resistant to his charms, though they did find room for the Marvel blockbuster in their dubious box-office achievement category, added last year.A ‘Sing Sing’ setbackClarence Maclin, left, and Colman Domingo in “Sing Sing.”A24Just last week, the A24 prison drama “Sing Sing” had a strong night at the Gothams, picking up wins for lead performance (Colman Domingo) and supporting performance (Clarence Maclin). The Globes proved less enamored: Only Domingo scored a nomination, and both Maclin and the film were snubbed. After an acclaimed but quiet run in theaters earlier this summer, the “Sing Sing” awards-season relaunch just took its first notable hit.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in Television

      ‘The Creep Tapes’ Finale, Plus 6 Things to Watch on TV This Week

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      Mark Duplass reprises his serial killer role in a new series. And reality TV royalty, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, reunite.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that are broadcast live or available for streaming this week, Dec. 9 to Dec. 15. Details and times are subject to change.Christmas With the CreepsJust because Halloween has come and gone doesn’t mean you can’t keep enjoying some spooky content. (The holidays, after all, can be plenty scary.) Since I, a veritable horror nerd, am taking over the column this week, I am garnishing it with some ghouls.It may seem strange to call a serial killer character beloved, but Mark Duplass’s Josef is just that. Originally introduced in the found-footage horror movie “Creep,” from 2014, the eerie yet endearing villain returns in “The Creep Tapes,” which will air its season finale this week. “This is going to be a comfort show, weirdly, for people who love this character,” Duplass said in an interview with The New York Times. Consider me comforted. Streaming on Friday on Shudder and AMC+.In “The Creep Tapes,” Duplass reprises his role as Josef, a man who lures videographers to his home and kills them on camera.ShudderIf you’re tired of pleasant, family-friendly holiday specials, look no further: The comedian and critic Joe Bob Briggs is here to shake things up. The special “Joe Bob’s Christmas Carnage” will take his usual format of providing crude commentary alongside two gory B-movies (this time of the holiday variety). The films included will be kept secret until the show airs, but one thing’s for sure — there will be plenty of bloodshed. Friday at 9 p.m. on Shudder and AMC+.While I’m mentioning my favorite monsters, it’s worth noting that the latest season of “Dragula” (like the cooler, goth cousin of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) is now streaming in its entirety. The artists competing this season were truly formidable, and it’s thrilling to see the freaky and gorgeous looks they construct. Plus, the hosts, the Boulet Brothers, subject the talented performers to twisted, “Survivor”-esque feats of courage, like jumping out of planes and swimming with sharks. Now on Shudder and AMC+.Reality RoundupIt’s no secret that the early 2000s — its fashion, its stars and its music trends — are back in a big way. But perhaps the strongest signal of their return is the reunion of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, 20 years after their reality show “The Simple Life.” Time to don your Juicy Couture sweatsuits and warm up your vocal fry for three-part limited series “Paris and Nicole: The Encore,” in which the aughts royalty attempt to stage an opera inspired by their inside-joke phrase “sanasa.” Lifelong friendship? Now that’s hot. Streaming Thursday on Peacock.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More