Movie News

PUP Rules Australia's Inaugural Vinyl Albums Chart. It's anything but a dog's life for PUP, the Canadian punk rockers whose new album Morbid Stuff (Cooking Vinyl/Sony) is the first-ever No. 1 on Australia's new weekly vinyl albums chart. Morbid Stuff bows at the summit of the inaugural ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart, leading a top ten loaded with hits sets (Queen's Greatest Hits 1 and 2), soundtracks (Bohemian Rhapsody, Guardians of the Galaxy), classics (Nirvana's Nevermind and Amy Winehouse's Back In Black) and a smattering of new releases (Billie Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Hilltop Hoods' The Great Expanse). Vinyl just keeps spinning a merry tune, and ARIA intends to reflect this with its new tally, which sits alongside the trade body's suite of charts which include the flagship singles and albums lists, its streaming singles survey and more. As previously reported, sales from vinyl albums were up by 15% in 2018, according to ARIA, marking the eighth consecutive year of growth. The ongoing revival of vinyl albums has been nothing short of "a phenomenon" in Australia over recent years, explains ARIA CEO Dan Rosen in a statement announcing the new chart. "There is a major sense of nostalgia to the experience of vinyl. The format is tangible and collectable, often with original and numbered artworks," he continues. "Artists are increasingly using physical formats such as vinyl as a way to give their fans a substantial way of showing their fandom, often working hand in hand with the digital and streaming version for the artist." The first Official ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart was unveiled on Saturday, April 13 at 5pm AEST and will be published each week online at ariacharts.com.au. To coincide with the rollout of the new list and last Saturday's Record Store Day, ARIA unveiled its 2018 ARIA End of Year Vinyl Albums Chart, with Queen's Greatest Hits (Universal) leading the way. Queen appears twice in the top 10 (Greatest Hits volume 2 is at No. 7), as do the Beatles (Abbey Road at No. 8 and The White Album at No. 9). All told, 31 homegrown albums crack the Top 100, led by Gang of Youths' 2017 ARIA album of the year winning album Go Farther In Lightness (Sony), which finished the year in sixth position. Check out the full year-end chart here. (Billboard)

Say goodbye to Madonna and hello to Madame X. The Queen of Pop is back with Madame X, her first album in four years, which she teased on Instagram, Monday, in a sultry video that has her assuming various identities. Madame X is a "secret agent traveling around the world, changing identities, fighting for freedom, bringing light to dark places," Madonna says in the clip. The singer, 60, can also be seen in a variety of different disguises, like a white dress with a cowboy hat and a black collared top with cropped black hair. A snippet of new music plays in the background, featuring lyrics like, "The thing that hurt the most is that I wasn't lost." Madonna continued to tease the long-awaited record on Instagram, first filling her entire feed with a large red "X" against a black background, and later sharing a larger version of a note featured in the clip that reads, "She is a cha cha instructor, a professor, a head of state, a housekeeper, an equestrian, a prisoner, a student, a teacher, a nun, a cabaret singer, a saint, a prostitute." The star also shared two additional, silent videos that feature her first playing guitar, and then the accordion. "What song is Madame X playing... .. .. ," she captioned the post. Madame X will be Madonna's first new album since dropping Rebel Heart in 2015. She's been teasing new music for the past several months, and in November 2018, shared a video of herself playing with an Instagram filter as she listened to "final mixes." "Final Mixes... .. .. .. ????. Everything needs to be ??!" she wrote on Instagram. She later confirmed her 14th album was in the works in January, when she shared an Instagram video of a prayer at the end of a recording session. "So lucky to have these amazing powerful women on my record," she wrote of the Portuguese Batukadeiras Orchestra. Madonna will likely re-team with producer Mirwais, who previously worked on her albums Music, American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor. He hinted at a collaboration on Instagram last week, sharing a photo of the American Life album cover with the caption, "n e X t," presumably a Madame X clue. (People)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge to Liven Up 'Bond 25' Script. The 'Fleabag' and 'Killing Eve' creator was reportedly requested by Daniel Craig himself. James Bond could be getting a touch of Fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge creator of the hit comedy series, whose second season recently concluded in the U.K. (it launches in the U.S. next month) has reportedly been brought in to liven up the script of the upcoming 007 installment, being directed by Cary Fukunaga. According to The Observer, the comedian, writer and actress was specifically requested by Bond himself, Daniel Craig, who met with Waller-Bridge in New York where she has been performing a stage version of Fleabag. Craig, whose wife Rachel Weisz is said to be a big Fleabag fan, met with the Killing Eve creator to reportedly discuss how to improve the script, which he thought was in need of some "polishing," by adding some of Waller-Bridge's unique style and humor. The script for Bond 25, which is how the film is still known (the latest rumor is that it will be entitled Eclipse), has not been without its problems. After Fukanaga replaced Danny Boyle last year, regular 007 scribes Neil Purvis and Robert were hired to rework Trainspotting writer John Hodge's screenplay, with The Bourne Ultimatum's Scott Z. Burns added to the writing team in February. The various changes have meant that the release of the film  which has already begun some pre-production work in Italy, Norway and Jamaica, and at its regular base at Pinewood in the U.K.  has been pushed back several times and is now due in April 2020. THR has reached out to Waller-Bridge's reps. (Hollywood Reporter)

Cannes Film Festival Unveils Poster Featuring Agnes Varda. The poster shows an iconic shot of the late filmmaker on the set of her first film 'La Pointe Courte.' Agnes Varda will make her final appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, with the late filmmaker front and center as the subject of the poster for its 72nd edition. The shot is of Varda, then 26, making her first film La Pointe Courte in 1954. In the iconic photo, she is standing on the shoulders of a technician while looking into the camera on the beach in Sete, in the Southeast of France. The film screened in an out-of-competition Cannes slot the following year. "This photo from the set sums up everything about Agnes Varda: her passion, aplomb, and mischievousness," festival organizers said. She had the "ingredients of a free artist, forming a recipe she never stopped improving." Varda became recognized as the grandmother of French cinema, and her films appeared 13 times in Cannes' Official Selection. She served on the jury in 2005 and on the jury of the Camera d'Or, which selects the best first film from across all sections, in 2013. In 2015, Varda became the first woman to be awarded an honorary Palme d'Or. She also won the Golden Lion at Venice, a Silver Bear in Berlin and was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2018, in addition to being the oldest Oscar nominee ever. Varda died in March at the age of 90. (Hollywood Reporter)

China Box Office: 'P Storm' Surges, 'Shazam!' Fizzles. The family-friendly DC superhero movie fell 85 percent in its second weekend, losing to the Hong Kong crime thriller and a sleeper hit from Bollywood. Hong Kong crime thriller P Storm continued to make it rain at China's box office over the weekend, while DC's family-friendly superhero flick Shazam! sputtered. P Storm, the wince-inducing title exerting little deterrence, earned $18.5 million in its second frame, taking its total to a healthy $89.4 million, according to data from Artisan Gateway. The fourth film in David Lam's ongoing franchise, P Storm already has topped the total of its most recent predecessor, L Storm ($64 million in 2018), ensuring that more Storm projects are gathering over the horizon. In fact, G Storm, film number five, is already set to go into production in August with Hong Kong leading man Louis Koo returning to star. Shazam! plummeted 85 percent, meanwhile, reflecting its lukewarm local word of mouth. The film added just $4.8 million for a $40.4 million total. Still, China remains the film's second-biggest international market by far, ahead of the U.K. ($11.7 million) and Mexico ($10.1 million). The pic's 10-day North American tally was $94.9 million, for a worldwide total of $258.8 million. Shazam! was beaten by Indian black comedy Andhadhun, which continues to defy expectations in China. The film, produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, earned $10.3 million for second place this weekend. Its 13-day total is $30.1 million, which will encourage Chinese distributors to continue seeking the next Bollywood sleeper hit. Japanese import The Crimes That Bind, a live-action crime flick starring Hiroshi Abe, opened to $4.4 million. The film, directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa and based on the novel by Keigo Higashino, has been well received by Chinese filmgoers, scoring 9.1/10 on ticketing app Maoyan and 8/10 from Douban's more discerning user community. Holdover drama Songs of Youth, a heartwarming nostalgia piece from Er Dong Pictures, added $2 million in its fourth frame. The film has earned $49.2 million. Next weekend will bring the release of a slew of local titles, as the market at large revs up for the opening of Avengers: End Game on April 24. (Hollywood Reporter)

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