'Tis the season for spirited and winless debates about what the best Christmas movie is. No one needs us to remind you about the obvious holiday movies playing on repeat on cable, whether it's "It's a Wonderful Life", "Home Alone" or "Love, Actually," or even those holiday adjacent classics like "Eyes Wide Shut" and "The Godfather." But perhaps you are looking to go beyond the obvious this year (sorry, "Christmas Story," "White Christmas" etc, etc).
Associated Press Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr have you covered with the best Christmas films for every mood.
Full StoryAmy Allen might not yet be a household name, but her work lives in your brain rent-free. And it's grabbed the attention of the Grammys.
The 32-year-old songwriter has composed enduring hits with Halsey ("Without Me"), Selena Gomez ("Back to You") and Tate McRae ("Greedy"). Her contributions to Harry Styles' "Harry's House" earned her a Grammy for album of the year in 2023. Other credits include songs from Olivia Rodrigo, Charli XCX, Rosé, Reneé Rapp, Shawn Mendes, Leon Bridges and Justin Timberlake.
Full StoryIt was after one particularly emotional premiere of the new biopic about his life that Robbie Williams resolved he couldn't be "the crying guy" at every screening.
"Better Man," which chronicles the life of Williams, the British pop star and former Take That singer, can hit him differently at different times. Jet lag is a factor. So is who's in the building. One screening with his band, he says, was "healing." But he's self-conscious enough about all the emotion that he can be defensive about it.
Full StoryElon Musk, clad in tuxedo and black tie, took the stage at President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort shortly after the election with all the swagger of the winning candidate himself.
"The public has given us a mandate that could not be more clear, the clearest mandate. The people have spoken. The people want change," Musk told the audience of Trump's biggest donors, campaign leaders and appointment seekers. "We are going to shake things up. It's going to be a revolution."
Full StoryPersonal photos of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad have surfaced from his abandoned residences, sparking ridicule among Syrians who until days ago were persecuted for criticizing his carefully crafted public image.
The intimate and candid photos, reportedly discovered in albums from Assad's mansions in the hills of Damascus and Aleppo, offer a stark contrast to the polished, glamorous image that Assad and his father projected as they led Syria for half a century.
Full StoryThe Dutch city of Deventer transformed Saturday into a pocket of 19th-century England, with 950 people in costumes bringing characters from Charles Dickens' books to life.
Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge and Miss Havisham were among the characters at hand, mingling with chimney sweepers, livestock and Christmas carol singers in Deventer's historic center. Onlookers bowed when Queen Victoria passed through.
Full StoryTaylor Swift has made a surprise stop at a Kansas City children's hospital, shocking parents and patients alike as she laughed with them, posed for photos and exchanged gifts.
All parent Cassie Thomas was told beforehand was that she might want to brush her hair and teeth because there was going to be a special visitor. But she was stunned when Swift, fresh off her Eras Tour and one day before her 35th birthday, walked into her son's room on Thursday at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.
Full StoryPresident-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East adviser, the Lebanese-American Massad Boulos, has enjoyed a reputation as a billionaire mogul at the helm of a business that bears his family name.
Boulos has been profiled as a tycoon by the world’s media, telling a reporter in October that his company is worth billions. Trump called him a “highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the international scene.”
Full StoryVeteran documentarian Alex Gibney, who in a decades-long career has tackled many a thorny issue, wasn't planning a film about Israel — until one day last year, when a stunning leak fell into his hands.
The leak turned out to be more like a deluge.
Full StorySelena Gomez is having quite a year, and it's being capped with an engagement to music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco.
The Grammy- and Emmy-nominated performer announced she was off the market in an Instagram post Wednesday of her ring and an embrace with her fiancé, with the caption "Forever begins now."
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