New this week: 'The Sea Beast,' early Elton John, 'Maggie'
This week’s new entertainment releases include two lost albums from rock superstars Neil Young and Elton John, more than two dozen contestants of reality shows like “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “Big Brother” facing off in the contest “The Challenge: USA,” and Netflix’s “The Sea Beast” brings a “Moby Dick”-like tale down to kid size.
It's Elton John's birthday and he's got rare music for fans
FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Elton John appears after performing his nominated song, "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again," at the Oscars in Los Angeles. Attending Elton Johns long-running Oscar-night party has always been one of the hardest tickets to get. The Elton John AIDS Foundation is inviting everyone to a hour-long, virtual pre-show Oscar party special hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and with a performance by Dua Lipa. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)NEW YORK – Elton John is celebrating his 74th birthday on Thursday — and he's sending fans a very rare present. The six songs will be added to the digital version of the collection “Elton: Jewel Box,” which was first released in November and contains more than 100 rare songs spanning 1965 to 2019.
New box set has trove of rare, unreleased Elton John songs
LOS ANGELES – Elton John is opening up his vault and releasing an expansive collection of rarely heard and unreleased tracks. John announced Thursday that the eight-CD collection, “Elton: Jewel Box," will be released on Nov. 13. The collection includes “Sing Me No Sad Songs,” an unreleased studio demo from 1969. The “Jewel Box” collection includes 148 songs, 60 of them unreleased, that span recordings from 1965 to 2019 and his early collaborations with songwriter Bernie Taupin. The songs just poured out of us, and the bands were just unbelievable in the studio,” John said in a statement.
Awkwafina, Zendaya among 819 invited to join film academy
Cynthia Erivo, John David Washington, Eva Longoria, Zendaya and Awkwafina are among the 819 people who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. If they accept, which most do, those in the new class will have voting privileges at this years Oscars. A handful of actors from this years best picture winner Parasite, including Jang Hye-Jin, Jo Yeo-Jeong, Park So-Dam and Lee Jung-Eun, were also invited to join. The Academy said that 49% of the new invitees are international and represent some 68 countries. It has since surpassed those goals and continues to infuse membership classes with both women and people from underrepresented communities.