movies
Katy Perry “Deeply Appalled” At White House Use Of Her Song ‘Firework’
Katy Perry says she’s “deeply appalled and angry” over the Trump Administration’s TikTok use of her song “Firework” that accompanied video footage of U.S. military strikes in Iran.
In a social media post today, Perry writes, “I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes. I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.
“I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments,” she continues. “To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for. My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”
The White House TikTok account posted the video Thursday, with the military strikes set to the “Firework” lyrics “boom boom boom.” The TikTok post carries the caption “Iran has been warned.”
See the video and Perry’s response below.
The video arrived as President Donald Trump has been threatening to continue and even increase its bombing campaign in Iran. At a press briefing Friday, a reporter asked Trump, “You’re talking about blowing up civilian power plants and bridges. Much of the civilized world would consider that a war crime. Do you?”
Trump answered by saying, “I won’t respond to that question,” and then asked where the reporter works. Told The New York Times, Trump said, ‘Figures. Failing New York Times,” repeating a much-debunked claim about the news organization’s fiscal health.
Perry, a former American Idol judge, is just the latest musician to take issue with the Trump Administration’s use of their songs. Last month, Ariana Grande slammed the White House for using her 2024 song “Bye” in a video promoting the Trump-signed Secure America Act, which would fund ICE and Border Patrol.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” wrote Grande in the comment section of the White House post.
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movies
‘Futurama’ Gets 3 Extended Special Episodes; Season 14 Trailer Debuts
There’s plenty more Futurama on the way.
Hulu has given the green light to three extended-length episodes of Futurama, which are currently in production, it was revealed during the series’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. The first of the “XXXL-sized” specials will be Christmas themed and is expected to launch in 2027.
Details about the other two specials are being kept under wraps for now. To hold fans over, the streamer also has treated audiences to a new trailer for the upcoming 14th season of Futurama.
Watch the trailer, which teases an intergalactic and perhaps inter-dimensional mission. Here’s the logline: “Brace yourselves… The future is about to get a whole lot stranger! It’s a non-stop onslaught of swaggering space pirates, lab-grown meats, sexy scams… plus the shocking return of Dr. Zoidberg’s lost love! You didn’t see that coming, prior to being told about it just now!”
Season 14 stars John DiMaggio, Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil Lamarr, and David Herman.
Futurama is created by by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen. Executive producers include Groening, Cohen, Ken Keeler and Claudia Katz. The series hails from 20th Television Animation, a part of Disney Television Studios. Animation is provided by Rough Draft Studios.
Futurama premieres Monday, August 3 with two new episodes on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers and Disney+ internationally. New episodes will stream Mondays.
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movies
‘Bob’s Burgers Sets Exclusive Holiday Short For Hulu
Bob’s Burgers is finally joining fellow 20th Television Animation comedies for Fox The Simpsons and Family Guy in releasing an original installment exclusively on its Disney streaming home.
At the Bob’s Burgers San Diego Comic-Con panel Saturday, creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard announced “On the Fort Day of Christmas“, a holiday short premiering during this year’s holiday season exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally in most markets.
In “On the Fort Day of Christmas”, a record-breaking Christmas snowstorm means one thing to the Belcher kids — a record-breaking Christmas snow fort.
The Simpsons and Family Guy started making exclusive episodes for Disney+ and Hulu, where their libraries are housed, respectively, when the series’ longtime broadcast network Fox a couple of years ago started ordering shorter seasons. The shows’ studio, 20th TV Animation, kept the annual output relatively steady, diverting the surplus episodes to its streaming platforms.
Bob’s Burgers, the third of the long-running Fox series from 20th TV Animation, had not done original streamlining specials until now.
The Simpsons in May revealed the latest episodes to stream exclusively on Disney+: double-episode “Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition,” released June 17, followed by full-length episodes “Simpsley” on July 3 and “Yellow Mirror,” a take on Black Mirror, on Aug. 26. Family Guy has been doing a Halloween and Christmas specials the last two years.
Bob’s Burgers centers on the working-class Belcher family — parents Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) and Linda (John Roberts) and their three children, Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman), and Louise (Kristen Schaal) — who run a seaside New Jersey hamburger restaurant and their adventures interacting with the eccentric members of their community.
Bouchard was joined on the Comic-Con panel by stars Benjamin, Roberts, Schaal, Mirman as well as Supervising Director Bernard Derriman.
Season 17 of Bob’s Burgers debuts on Fox in midseason 2027, and will stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S.
Bouchard executive produces alongside Nora Smith, Dan Fybel, Rich Rinaldi, Jon Schroeder, Steven Davis, Scott Jacobson, Holly Schlesinger, Wendy Molyneux, Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin and Janelle Momary-Neely. The series was co-developed by Jim Dauterive.
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movies
‘Game Of Thrones: The Mad King’ UK Cancellations Spark Ticket Buyer Ire
Ticket holders for the UK stage production Game of Thrones: The Mad King are furious over the last-minute cancellation of a week’s worth of preview performances at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
“Having booked hotels and paid for travel this is absolutely unacceptable,” writes a Reddit user on the subreddit “Absolutely Fuming at the RSC” devoted to the latest development. “They are now offering us the chance to rebook, with 0 availability for the remaining run. What a fucking joke.”
The new play, officially titled George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones: The Mad King, was to have begun preview performances July 20, with an opening date of August 8 and a closing on September 5. Stratford-upon-Avon is a two-hour drive from London.
But after the Royal Shakespeare Company canceled the first week of previews with no specific explanation given as to the cause, RSC sources told Variety Friday that the performance for tonight, July 25, remained on track.
But that was yesterday.
This morning, the RSC posted an Instagram announcement stating that tonight’s performance has been canceled as well.
The announcement reads:
“We have made the difficult decision to cancel the preview performance of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones: The Mad King this evening (Saturday 25 July at 7:15 pm).
“The decision to cancel performances is always challenging and is only taken after careful consideration of all the options available. We recognise how disappointing this will be for audiences and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.
“All audience members affected will be provided with a full and automatic refund including any fees paid.”
Ticket buyers holding tickets for the canceled performances and hoping to re-book are apparently out of luck: The show’s ticket page indicates that all performances through the September 5 closing date are sold out.
On the subreddit, commenters saying they have preview tickets were furious. “When we booked the tickets originally, they did not say Preview Performances!,” writes Reddit user MikeyButch17 today. “That’s the most egregious thing. Also, they allowed us to rebook for tonight, after the person on the phone promised us the performance would go ahead regardless. What a joke!”
“In exactly the same position!,” responded el_palmo42. “Just checked into our hotel in Stratford and then received the email.”
No official word yet on whether other performances will be canceled.
The Mad King is a stage prequel that, according to its official synopsis, is set in Harrenhal as a long winter begins to thaw. “At a lavish banquet on the eve of a jousting tournament,” the synopsis reads, “lovers meet and revelers speculate about who will contend. But in the shadows, amid growing unease at the bloodthirsty actions of the realm’s merciless Mad King, dissenters from his inner circle anxiously advance a treasonous plot. Far away, the drums of battle sound. Family bonds, ancient prophecies, and the sacred line of succession will be tested in a dangerous campaign for power. Who will survive? Who will rise?”
The play is inspired by the “Robert’s Rebellion” lore of Martin’s sprawling book series, in which the married Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, son of the Mad King Aerys, falls in love with, and runs off with, Lyanna Stark. This leads to a rebellion led by Robert Baratheon, who is engaged to Lyanna. Successfully deposing the Mad King, The Rebellion leads to the downfall of House Targaryen.
When the production was announced, RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey described the staging as “a theatrical spectacle” that is “an ambitious and exhilarating collaboration.” The creative team members are puppetry and movement designers Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell (of Lume), set designer Chloe Lamford, costume designer Georgia McGuinness, lighting designer Jon Clark, composer Will Stuart and sound designer Tom Gibbons. Duncan Macmillan (Every Brilliant Thing) is the writer, and Dominic Cooke is directing.
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