For Drake, it’s been smooth streaming
Drake’s music has more than 28 billion streams on Spotify over the past decade.
It was the decade of Drake on Spotify. The company says the Toronto rapper was its most streamed artist of the decade, both globally and in Canada. Drizzy has more than 28 billion streams to his name on the audio service.
Love-song master Ed Sheera n was the second most streamed artist of the decade on Spotify. He was followed by hiphop star Post Malone at No. 3, pop singer Ariana Grande at No. 4 and rapper Eminem at No. 5.
Of course, Drake was also Spotify’s most streamed Canadian artist of the decade, followed by the Weeknd and Justin Bieber. Drake was also Spotify’s male artist of the decade, while Grande was the top female artist. Sheeran’s hit “Shape of You” was the most streamed track of the decade. And Post Malone is the most streamed artist this year, with over 6.5 billion streams from fans around the globe in 2019. The Canadian Press
‘Marriage Story’ wins 4 Gothams
Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” was the resounding winner at the IFP Gotham Awards, taking four awards including Best Feature at the annual New York awards-season kickoff. The Gothams are the premier New York gala for independent film. “Marriage Story,” which begins streaming Friday after playing for several weeks in theatres, seems sure to continue a long march through awards season. Acclaim has been heaped on its leads and its ensemble, and it’s been celebrated as a crowning achievement for the 50-year-old Baumbach.
A handful of movies up for Best Feature — “Uncut Gems” with Adam Sandler, “Hustlers” with Jennifer Lopez — went home emptyhanded . Trey Edward Schultz’s ambitious family melodrama “Waves,” also up for Best Feature, scored an award for Vancouver-born Taylor Russell as breakthrough actor. The Associated Press
Williams embraces gender fluidity
Actor Billy Dee Williams has been the very embodiment of cool charisma for decades — in real life and as the smooth-talking smuggler Lando Calrissian in the “Star Wars” universe.
And while Williams’ brand of cool has been synonymous with masculinity, Williams straddles the gender binary, according to a recent profile in Esquire magazine. “You see, I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine,” Williams, 82, told Esquire. “I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself.” While Williams, who has been married to Teruko Nakagami since the 1970s, did not outright claim to be gender fluid or otherwise, his/her embrace of gender-fluid pronouns is part of a greater revelation in Hollywood and beyond — though among celebrities who have recently opened up about their pronouns and gender, Williams is among the oldest. The New York Times
Paquin defends role in ‘The Irishman’
Oscar winner Anna Paquin’s character remains mostly silent throughout Martin Scorsese’s buzzy crime drama “The Irishman,” and that’s just fine with her co-star Robert De Niro.
De Niro weighed in on the controversy surrounding his colleague’s lack of dialogue over the holiday weekend, contending that Paquin’s performance packs a “powerful” — albeit quiet — punch. Paquin delivers seven lines during the threeplus-hour film as Peggy Sheeran, mafia hitman Frank Sheeran’s traumatized daughter. “She was very powerful and that’s what it was,” De Niro recently told USA Today.
The internet was quick to accuse Scorsese of wasting Paquin’s talents. The veteran filmmaker addressed the criticism ahead of the movie’s theatrical release, arguing that Peggy “doesn’t have to say anything” to make an impact.
Even Paquin defended Scorsese’s choices. “Nope, nobody was doing any ‘ordering,’ ” she responded to Twitter users insinuating that Scorsese forced her to play a supporting role. “I auditioned for the privilege of joining the incredible cast of ‘The Irishman’ and I’m incredibly proud to get to be a part of this film.” Los Angeles Times
Judges tosses verdict against NBC
A Los Angeles judge has set aside a $71-million (U.S.) jury verdict against NBC Universal over the disbursement of profits from the TV drama “Columbo.” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Burdge Jr. granted the studio’s motion for a new trial, overturning a March finding in favour of creators Richard Levinson and William Link. The court ruled Monday that the jury should have been instructed on the meaning of certain provisions that determined whether NBC Universal had the right to deduct distribution fees for the 1970s series. The case is the latest win for media companies in so-called profit participation cases, where creators of shows or films claim a greater cut or rights to the spoils from a hit. It has shone a light on murky Hollywood accounting practices that often result in court battles. Los Angeles Times