There was nothing that could possibly stop actor Simon Helberg from starring in Leos Carax’s daring movie musical “Annette.” Citizenship issues? Fixable. Doesn’t know how to conduct? He can learn. Have to act alongside a puppet? Wonderful. Might get drowned by Adam Driver during a pivotal scene? Bring it on. Not entirely sure about his character’s emotional state? Just refer to a picture of Peter Lorre. Even now, nearly two years after wrapping production on the ambitious feature and four months after its divisive Cannes premiere, Helberg still slips into something of a fever when talking about the film, which sees him starring alongside Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as a lovestruck conductor simply known as “The Accompanist....

For as much as “Better Call Saul” has functioned as a prequel, one of its undeniable strengths has been looking at what happens when the smoke clears. It’s a show that rises to its most harrowing moments, as the past few weeks have shown. The latest chapter, “Fun and Games,” is a different kind of trick, the ability to embed that same kind of stomach-dropping firepower in a handful of conversations....

WarnerMedia announced on Wednesday that the special, which will air on HBO on November 21, will feature Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Angela Davis, Alicia Garza, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Jharrel Jerome, Mimi Jones, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Ledisi, Janet Mock, Jason Moran, Joe Morton, Wendell Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, Greg Alverez Reid, Mj Rodriguez, Kendrick Sampson, Yara Shahidi, Nate Smith, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, Courtney B. Vance, Olivia Washington, Pauletta Washington, Susan Kelechi Watson, Michelle Wilson, and Oprah Winfrey....

Plympton and his humorously provocative work had a receptive audience in the remote Northern California community known for its wine, weed, and art, delighting the audience with the kind of intimate programming that’s just not possible at the largest festivals. He also offered a first look at his upcoming Kickstarter-funded feature “Slide,” took a group of around 20 people — circled up on plush couches with drawing pads in hand — into his creative process during a drawing workshop, and offered anyone interested a personalized doodle of one of his most famous characters, the unnamed guard dog....

Following the death of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), the sequel film centers on his mother Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) warning against underwater King of Talokan, Namor (Tenoch Huerta), who threatens to take over the surface world. “They have lost their protector,” Queen Ramonda says of the world perceiving Wakanda as weak. Directed by Ryan Coogler, per the official synopsis, Queen Ramonda (Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje (Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death....

Sure, the cast confirmed that the tense love story between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and newcomer Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) would center on the “female gaze,” but what exactly were female viewers (any viewers) gazing at? IndieWire’s Kristen Lopez wrote that the second installment of the hit Netflix series feels “watered down” in an effort to please a wider audience — minus those in the mood for a steamy romance. “Gone is the sexiness in favor of a more chaste series that almost everyone can watch together,” Lopez wrote....

Adult film producer Noelle Perdue is challenging Hollywood’s double standard when it comes to classifying content, especially in the wake of “Bridgerton” fandom. The hit Netflix series broke streaming records after its second season was released last month. But as Perdue wrote in an opinion piece for Slate, “Bridgerton” received even more attention after the streamer issued takedown notices to porn sites that had uploading explicit scenes from Season 1. At the time, The Sun reported that the Regency era series had been tainted sitting side by side with “obscene materials” on X-rated websites....