Saturday Night Live’s host lineup is always impressive each season. Even after over 50 years, the producers of the show manage to attract some excellent talent to Studio 8H. Season 51 saw a mixture of first-timers and veterans, including Matt Damon. The Saving Private Ryan star hosted for the third time in May, and he recently opened up about what got him to host the first time, and I can’t argue with his reasoning.

Damon made his SNL hosting debut back in October 2002 for the Season 28 premiere. Even though it’s been 24 years, the actor still remembers that week like it was yesterday. He recalled on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast what it was like getting the call about SNL all those years ago. He was initially confused about why he'd get the gig, because he had nothing coming out at the time. (The Bourne Identity had just released that summer.) However, his agent had a sure-fire way to talk him into saying yes:

I've always wondered what it's like for an SNL host to headline an episode when they're a massive fan of the night's musical guest. Bruce Springsteen is a pretty darn good reason to host Saturday Night Live, so I can’t say I blame Damon for immediately jumping on board after hearing that he’d be the musical guest. Of course, I can't help but think that Damon would have agreed to host SNL at some point even if Springsteen wasn’t the musical guest. Either way, I'd say everything worked out well for Damon (and his agent).

Even though he made his hosting debut in 2002, Damon made his SNL debut in 2001, and Springsteen was not involved. He cameoed during Gwyneth Paltrow’s episode in Season 27, so he had a taste of what to expect when he agreed to host. However, I get Damon’s initial reservations, as he didn’t have anything else coming out, meaning he couldn’t really do any self-promo, and the season premiere is a big deal.

During his most recent hosting gig in May, though, Damon did have something to promote. He is part of the star-studded ensemble cast for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, an upcoming 2026 movie that has everyone buzzing. The epic fantasy flick is releasing in theaters on Friday, and Damon is hyped as well. Due to his lead role as Odysseus, Damon was put through the wringer and talked about being cold and wet at times during the shoot. However, the leading man also seemed to relish the experience and even got to reunite with Charlize Theron, who he first worked with on The Legend of Bagger Vance.

While waiting for The Odyssey, fans take a step back in time, so to speak and watch Matt Damon’s first-ever episode of Saturday Night Live with a Peacock subscription. His subsequent episodes during Seasons 44 and 51 are also available to stream, along with his many cameos. And, of course, be sure to check out Bruce Springsteen's performance in the first of those episodes.

I’m a total sucker for great music documentaries and biopics. The 2025 movie schedule provided plenty of both. There were a few I knew I would love, like DEVO and Becoming Led Zeppelin, and I few that really surprised me, especially Song Sung Blue. There are a couple I’ve not seen yet that I am excited about, like Depeche Mode: M on the documentary side, and Blue Moon on the biopic side, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch those soon.

As a disclaimer, this isn’t an exhaustive list of music-related projects in 2025. I’m not going to talk about O’Dessa, for example (though I did like that more than I thought I would), and K-Pop Demon Hunters isn’t here. I’m also not including the recent Taylor Swift docuseries or concert film, as plenty of words have been spilled on those lately.

Here are nine I loved, and five I didn’t love so much.

Becoming Led Zeppelin

I’m starting with Becoming Led Zeppelin because it was not only my favorite music-related release of 2025, but it was one of my favorite movies overall. Like so many others, I became a fan of Zeppelin pretty early on in my life, and they have been a…presence…ever since. I loved so much about this documentary, but mostly it was that it gave over long parts of it to complete live versions of songs very early in their career.

DEVO

Devo is another band that has been a near-constant presence in my life from a very early age. They are so unique and interesting, not just as a band, but as an art collective. This documentary, which you can watch with a Netflix subscription, is a fantastic deep dive into the band, with interviews from almost all the members, even those no longer with us. It’s great for fans, but it might even be better if you don’t know much about them. Check it out.

Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?

As a Gen Xer, Counting Crows is one of those bands that you either love or hate. I’m actually in that latter category. They were never my jam in the 1990s. However, the new documentary that is available with an HBO Max subscription definitely made me appreciate the band, their fans, and everything lead singer Adam Duritz went through when they found fame so quickly.

Song Sung Blue

The first biopic on the list, Song Sung Blue, was not a movie I expected to love, but I did. I’m not, like, a huge Neil Diamond fan, so the idea of watching a biopic about a Neil Diamond tribute band didn’t exactly have me bursting with excitement. However, I really did love the movie. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson (who was nominated for a Golden Globe) are fantastic in their roles as Lightning and Thunder, and I really can enthusiastically recommend this one.

Give Me a Word: The Collective Soul Story

Another Gen X-era band that I never got into in the ‘90s was Collective Soul. I have to admit, when I read the announcement that they had made a documentary about their history and the recording of their latest album, I wasn’t all that excited. Like the Counting Crows doc, though, I was very pleasantly surprised by Give Me a Word. It’s really well made and does a great job of connecting the past with the present, along with even a hint of the supernatural.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

The next couple on this list fall somewhere in the middle. I didn’t love the Jeremy Allen White-led biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, but I certainly didn’t hate it either. White is fantastic as Bruce Springsteen, and I love the structure of the movie. Building it around the recording of my favorite Springsteen record, Nebraska, was an inspired approach. Still, didn’t hit me quite like I expected it would.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

Of course, as a music fan, This is Spinal Tap has always been one of my favorite movies. For decades, like many others, I’ve been quoting the movie incessantly and rewatching it often. When the late Rob Reiner and the cast announced Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, I was skeptical of it. After watching it, I didn’t hate it by any means, but I wasn’t surprised by it; it was… fine. It has some laughs, it has some groans, and in the end, it was… fine.

Selena y Los Dinos: A Family's Legacy

Now we’re getting to the three I thought fell flat. They weren't bad by any means, but they left me wanting more. The first one here is Selena y Los Dinos: A Family's Legacy from Netflix. It’s a pretty straightforward documentary about the life and death of the Queen of Tejano Music. The interviews are interesting, but I don’t feel like I learned much new about the tragic life of Selena, and it felt very paint-by-numbers.

Bono: Stories Of Surrender

Okay, this was a tough one to rank. I’ve spent much of my life defending Bono and U2. I’ve been a fan since I first heard The Joshua Tree at summer camp in 1987. I’ve always pushed back on the argument that Bono’s ego is out of control. But I have to be honest here, Stories of Surrender doesn’t help my argument. There are times when all those arguments about the Irish legend being insufferable are impossible to deny. This is one of them. The stories are great, but the presentation is just too pretentious for me.

One To One: John And Yoko

Another documentary I had high hopes for but walked away disappointed was One To One: John And Yoko, about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s early life after The Beatles in New York City. I did come away with a deeper understanding of Yoko, but overall, I didn’t like the style of the documentary, although the footage of Lennon’s concert at Madison Square Garden (much of which I’d seen before) did keep it at least somewhat interesting. Overall, though, I found it a little boring.

I could probably keep going with films I loved this year, I didn’t even get to Sly Lives! And Pavements, both of which were awesome. If you have the time, I highly recommend those as well. Plus, there is a lot to look forward to on the 2026 movie schedule, and at the upcoming music biopics like Michael.

A little over a decade ago, Stephen King found himself at a major crossroads in his career. While he had spent his career being best known for his work in the horror genre, he was ready to experiment with something new – namely publishing a crime novel called Mr. Mercedes – and he wasn't wholly sure that his audience would either follow him to the destination or appreciate the move. It was a true artist dilemma, and it's a moment in his life that he recently experienced being reflected back to him when he had the chance to see the new 2025 movie Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.

King is a big Springsteen fan (he has frequently talked about the singer/songwriter's influence on the character Larry Underwood from The Stand), and he can also be counted as a fan of the Scott Cooper-directed film that has been made about the New Jersey legend. The author spoke about seeing the movie this week while a participating in a virtual UMass Lowell Alumni Book Club event, and he specifically referenced the movie while discussing the special relationship that exists between an artist and their audience. Said King,

Mr. Mercedes has horror elements in it (the inciting incident in the book is a serial killer driving a luxury sedan through a line of people waiting for a job fair to open), but it was otherwise a big swing from the author, and he had a moment of doubt wondering if the work would be appreciated. He thinks of himself as an author who works to please his readers, and he wasn't sure if it was going to get the feedback he wanted.

But he also knew that he had a story that he wanted to tell, and he also had a specific way that he wanted to tell it. King continued,

Of course, this story has a happy ending. Just like how Bruce Springsteen didn't alienate his audience with the release of Nebraska (and he has released other experimental albums since then), Stephen King kept readers under his sway with Mr. Mercedes, and it ended up launching a whole new era of his career. He has continued to write novels in other genres, including horror, but detective fiction has arguably become his go-to, and he has become particularly fascinated with Holly Gibney – an investigator who came out of his experience writing is first crime book.

Should you care to take Stephen King's recommendation, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere – starring Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, and Odessa Young – is now playing in theaters everywhere, having placed fourth in the box office Top 10 this past weekend.

While biopics always have to sprinkle a bit of fiction into the mix for the sake of drama, comedy, and/or narrative cohesion, there is traditionally a strong intent to make everything in the movies as accurate as possible. When a work is based on a true story, that truth is expected to be honored, as honoring reality is a key part of what makes the subject interesting. That being said, mistakes are made occasionally, and a very funny and specific one has been discovered in the new film Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.

I don't think I'm stepping out of bounds by saying that the vast majority of people in the movie-going world don't know what kind of condiments Bruce Springsteen likes to put on his hot dogs... but there are also apparently people out there who are intimately aware of that bit of trivia, and it's leading them to point out a "mistake" in the new 2025 movie starring Jeremy Allen White as The Boss. There is a scene in the film where Springsteen expresses that he enjoys mustard when he is downing a frankfurter, but Twitter user GenZBruceFan has video evidence of that not being true:

Personally speaking, I love mustard, and I don't think anything goes better with a hot dog than a zig-zagging line of the spicy brown stuff... but that concert footage shows that there is absolutely no wiggle room on the subject for Bruce Springsteen. Addressing the audience in an unidentified stadium venue, the New Jersey legend tells a story about going to a luncheonette to order a sandwich, and it weirdly sees him going on a mini rant about how he doesn't like any variant of the yellowest condiment:

I actually appreciate how there is absolutely no wiggle room here. When he starts the story, you might think, Oh, well just because he doesn't like mustard on a ham sandwich doesn't mean that he doesn't like mustard at all. But then he makes it clear that he definitely isn't putting it on hot dogs either, and that officially renders Deliver Me From Nowhere comically incorrect.

So what does Bruce Springsteen actually like to put on his footlong? I wasn't able to find that specific information while doing research while writing this article – but I did find an article in the Asbury Park Press from last year about the rock and roll icon visiting a restaurant called Max's Bar and Grill to pick up five dozen hot dogs for an event that he was attending. Per the manager, he was provided with dogs, sauerkraut, relish and buns... but no mustard.

For those of you who can forgive the movie this tiny, humorous mistake, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere arrived in theaters this past Friday and arrived in fourth place at the box office after earning a strong response from critics – with particular praise for the turn by Jeremy Allen White.

Anime has taken a prominent role in the modern box office. It was just a little over a month ago that Haruo Sotozaki's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle utterly dominated in its opening, putting up record-setting numbers, and now, the animation medium has another big title up on a pedestal. This past weekend was loaded up with a diverse slate of new 2025 releases, including Josh Boone's Regretting You (based on the novel by Coleen Hoover) and Scott Cooper's Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, but neither ended up proving to be true competition for the arrival of Tatsuya Yoshihara's Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.

Things didn't go exactly as expected over the last three days at the box office, resulting in a very interesting Top 10 for the weekend. Check out the chart below and join me after for analysis.

Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc Is The Latest Anime Title To Rule The Box Office

To be clear upfront: the ticket sales for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc don't really compare to what Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle did in September. The latter, following up the strong debut of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train in April 2021 and Haruo Sotozaki's Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training in 2024, had what will be remembered as one of the biggest opening weekends of 2025, as it not only set a record as a domestic anime release, but it's $70.6 million earned is still in the Top 10 of three-day successes dating back to the beginning of January (Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning made just $64 million when it arrived in late May).

That being said, the results are still noteworthy.

According to The Numbers, the Chainsaw Man feature was able to easily win the box office this weekend, earning $17.3 million while playing in a little over 3,000 theaters in the United States and Canada. It's not a blow-back-your-hair result (its just the 32nd biggest debut of 2025), but it is another statement made about the popularity of anime on the big screen.

It's a cherry on top to what Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has already been able to do worldwide, as the film first had its debut in Japan last month, and it has successfully been building an impressive worldwide box office total. Adding in the $17.3 million that it has now made domestically, the film has officially joined 2025's nine-figure club, as it has globally earned $108 million.

Unfortunately, history suggests that in terms of money coming from the United States and Canada, the box office numbers are all downhill from here. In the last few years, there has been a notable pattern of anime titles being extremely frontloaded: which is to say that the biggest fans show up for opening weekend, but the movies aren't able to generate the kind of word of mouth and buzz that invites repeat success. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle had crazy debut numbers, but ticket sales fell a devastating 75 percent seven days later.

There is no evidence that suggests that Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc will be the title that breaks that pattern, even with a relatively light weekend of new releases coming up... but it will be something to pay attention to next Sunday.

Black Phone 2 Moves To Second Place With A Modest Weekend-To-Weekend Drop

Speaking of weekend-to-weekend drops, it can be said that the last three days offered some good news for Scott Derrickson's Black Phone 2. The growing popularity of anime domestically prevented the new horror movie from successfully repeating at the top of box office following its strong premiere, which obviously would have been a nice feather in its cap, but the folks at Universal Pictures can be very happy about how the title held on to second place.

Black Phone 2 added $13 million to its domestic total over the last three days, which brings its gross in the region to date up to $49.1 million. That total is a 52 percent change from the $27.3 million the film made last week, which suggests that audiences are liking what they saw and are telling their friends and/or family about it. Obviously it also helps that we are currently in the final weeks of Halloween season, and opportunities for scares from major studio releases are weirdly scarce right now (despite 2025 having been huge for the horror genre).

It could probably go without saying that next weekend will be an interesting box office environment for Black Phone 2. Halloween is on Friday, so will that result in a bump in ticket sales... or perhaps will be people be too busy trick or treating/attending costume parties?

Regretting You And Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere Settle For Places In The Top 5

Overall this past weekend can be held up as an example of the diverse storytelling that filmmaking is capable of, as the slate of titles arriving in wide release couldn't have been more different... but as you can see from the Top 10, some got more attention from audiences than others. While anime and horror got the bulk of the love from movie-goers, the aforementioned Regretting You and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere had to settle for slots in the lower half of the Top 5.

Featuring a talented cast including Allison Williams, Mckenna Grace, Dave Franco and Mason Thames, Regretting You made $12.9 million in the last three days, meaning that it was just barely beat by Black Phone 2 for the silver medal in the Top 10. The highest hopes for the film was that it would be able to match the success of director Josh Boone's previous hit romantic drama (2014's The Fault In Our Stars, which made $300 million worldwide), but it doesn't appear that's a future on the table for the new feature.

As for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, it would appear that the incredible, multidecade-long popularity of Bruce Springsteen was not able to boost a biopic into being a runaway box office success. The film has been on the receiving end of a mixed reaction from critics, with write-ups praising the lead performance from Jeremy Allen White but highlighting flaws in the narrative. If it had gotten more glowing reviews, it perhaps could have done better than just $9.1 million in its first three days on the big screen.

How will the status of the current Top 10 get shaken up with Halloween on Friday and the expansion of Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia into wide release? Be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday for my latest box office column to find out.

Spoilers for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere lie ahead.

Bruce Springsteen’s story – well, at least part of it – is chronicled in the biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. Written and directed by Scott Cooper, the film sees Jeremy Allen White take on the role of “The Boss,” and it centers on a very specific time in the beloved singer and musician’s life and career. Notably, Cooper’s flick mostly highlights the making of Springsteen's 1892 album, Nebraska. As for why that record – and not Born in the U.S.A. or another big album – is featured, Cooper explained the reasoning behind that.

To say that Springsteen has a major discography would be an understatement, and many would surely argue that Born in the U.S.A. is his most iconic album. Considering that record’s popularity and subject matter, it would seem obvious to make it the crux of a biopic. Cooper even acknowledged to EW that it would be somewhat easy to produce a film centered around Springsteen’s 1984 album. However, it seems that, for his film, the director wanted to get a bit more introspective via the ‘82 record:

In Deliver Me from Nowhere, Bruce Springsteen retreats to a rental home in Asbury Park for solace, and he along with recording engineer Mike Batlan (Paul Walter Hauser) also records some songs. After creating those acoustic tracks, Springsteen records songs that sound a bit more on brand for him, but he’s still drawn to the acoustic bits he initially produced. Those softer tunes are what Springsteen truly connects with, though and, via his manager Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong), he advocates for that first set of tracks, which end up populating Nebraska. However, during those sessions at the house, an early version of “Born in the U.S.A.” is also created and that along with a few other tunes are held over.

So, as Scott Cooper points out, there is a keen connection between Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A., with the eponymous song and other tracks from the latter even having been conceived while the former album was crafted. Yet Cooper’s decision to focus on the 1982 record allowed him to tell a more intimate story. With that, this film sheds light on Springsteen’s battle with depression and his confrontation with childhood trauma. Cooper also loves the artistry Springsteen applies to the album at the center of the movie:

Critics’ reactions to Deliver Me from Nowhere cite the movie’s somewhat melancholic tone. As dour as the film may be at times, it still paints a strong portrait of one of our most iconic entertainers, even without fully highlighting the ‘84 album that turned him into a true megastar. In addition to featuring a winning performance from Jeremy Allen White (who didn’t consult Austin Butler or other stars of music biopics), there are also subtle references Bruce Springsteen fans will appreciate while getting a sense of Nebraska’s origins.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is now playing in theaters nationwide. Check out the 2025 movie schedule for information on other flicks that are playing in cinemas now as well.

Spoiler Warning: There are Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere spoilers in the article below. If you’ve yet to watch the new music biopic, please exercise some caution.

As a massive Bruce Springsteen fan, especially when it comes to his stripped-down and highly personal 1982 album, Nebraska, I was floored when Scott Cooper’s Deliver Me From Nowhere was announced. The critically acclaimed biopic, which just dropped on the 2025 movie schedule, follows Jeremy Allen White’s “The Boss” as he deals with past trauma and his own identity just as he’s about to become a massive superstar.

Considering the movie focuses so heavily on the recording of the famous Colts Neck sessions, it was no shocker that there would be references galore. There’s one subtle reference that blew me away, and I hope Bruce Springsteen’s fans didn’t miss it.

If you did, however, I’ll break it down for you now…

There's A Shot Where Jeremy Allen White Stands Just Like Springsteen On The Back Of The Nebraska LP

Partway through Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, there’s a scene where Bruce imagines walking through his parents’ old house in New Jersey, where he walks up on his dad (played by 2025 Emmy winner Stephen Graham). When his father, head down on the kitchen table with a pack of smokes and a half-finished pint, asks him what he wants, Jeremy Allen White looks exactly like the image of the real Springsteen on the back cover of the Nebraska LP.

This classic, black-and-white photo, which was taken through a doorframe, shows a young Springsteen standing in a way that makes it appear he’s anticipating a big step with a slight hesitancy and confounding look upon his face. And since the movie deals so much with Springsteen overcoming past trauma, his depression, and his place in the world, it seems like a clever reference to an all-time great image.

It's Only There For A Few Seconds, But It Has To Be Intentional

Unlike the Nebraska photo, which is forever captured in a freeze frame, the shot in Deliver Me From Nowhere is one of those “blink and you miss it” situations. That said, I am convinced this was intentional by director Scott Cooper and not some lucky shot, a number of days into filming. The composition of the shot, the way Jeremy Allen White is posed, and the way the movie references the Nebraska album throughout its two-hour runtime back this up. It makes even more sense when you consider one of the record’s best tracks is called “My Father’s House.”

It's Also Notable Because The Nebraska Album Cover Is Discussed Multiple Times In The Movie

Another thing I love about the Nebraska reference at the end of the movie is the fact that the unconventional album cover (David Michael Kennedy’s black-and-white photo of a car driving down a country road) is discussed multiple times before this scene takes place.

Up to that point in his career, every album save for his debut, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., had featured The Boss front and center, and the movie captures CBS Records executives’ skepticism of straying from that course. These conversations also lead to some funny moments when they hear of Springsteen’s wishes for no tour, no singles, and no promotion of any kind for the highly personal project.

While I can’t say for certain that Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere references the back of the Nebraska LP, it would be hard to convince me this wasn’t a fun Easter egg put in for The Boss’ fans.

Of all of the upcoming music biopics in the works right now, Deliver Me from Nowhere is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated. Jeremy Allen White is portraying “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen in an exploration of the lead-up to and creation of 1982’s Nebraska, one of the most influential rock albums of all time. Critics have seen early showings ahead of its release on the 2025 movie calendar, and they’re saying White is “remarkable,” despite falling victim to clichés.

In addition to Jeremy Allen White, the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere stars Jeremy Strong and Paul Walter Hauser in what Mark Kennedy of the AP calls a “humbling portrait of an icon.” The movie dives deep into the musician’s turmoil, and White’s portrayal is “soulful.” The critic rates it 3.5 out of 4 stars, musing:

Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com also gives it a high 3 stars out of 4, writing that while director Scott Cooper’s film is full of clichés at the start, it soon becomes “a soulful and meditative character study” of a superstar who is flawed and damaged, but in a way that is relatable and inspires hope. In Daniels’ words:

Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence gives it a B, admitting to getting distracted over physical dissimilarities between The Boss and Jeremy Allen White. Miller also notes the music biopic clichés but says overall, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is a win. The critic writes:

Ross Bonaime of Collider gives the movie 6 out of 10, saying it was smart of Scott Cooper to focus on one essential period in Bruce Springsteen’s life, but the result is a movie that’s too rote to do the musician’s life justice. However, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong’s performances make up for its weaknesses to some degree, Bonaime says, writing:

Chris Evangelista of SlashFilm also rates it 6 out of 10, echoing the sentiment that The Bear star’s “incredible, haunted” portrayal of the music icon elevates an otherwise formulaic biopic. Evangelista says:

The critics seem to be in agreement that the performances of Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, in particular, are worth the price of admission for a biopic that doesn’t quite avoid the clichés that so often accompany the genre. The movie has compiled a Rotten Tomatoes score of 62% from critics.

If you’re a fan of Nebraska or The Boss in general, you’ll likely want to give this one a go, which you can do now, as Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is in theaters now.

Each role of Jeremy Allen White’s has required him to embrace character-building challenges head-on. From the “gross” struggles of bulking up for The Iron Claw to delving into Carmy’s “challenging” mentality for Season 3 of The Bear, White has shown a fearless dedication to his characters. When it came to depicting Bruce Springsteen for his upcoming music biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere, the Emmy winner got real about diving into the role and actually asking The Boss for “a little bit of space” while he played him.

The moment that Jeremy Allen White was lined up to play Bruce Springsteen, I had a feeling the Shameless alum would bring his A-game. Austin Butler, who gave a praiseworthy early reaction to White’s Deliver Me From Nowhere performance, interviewed the actor for Interview Magazine about what he went through to fully embody the “Born in the USA” singer. White’s candid answer involved asking Springsteen himself for “a little bit of space” during filming. He explained:

I can imagine what a relief it must have been for The Bear star to not have to jump straight into shooting any intense scenes. After all, sometimes you want to dip your feet in the water before you start swimming. However, seeing as Bruce Springsteen was actively on set for the 2025 movie release, it’s understandable why White asked for space to explore the character on his own.

Embodying a living, real-life figure who can watch your performance must come with a lot of pressure. It’s only natural to want some breathing room. Fortunately, The Boss understood that, and graciously gave White the space he needed (kind of), as the Deliver Me From Nowhere star joked:

Bruce Springsteen’s respectful approach to White’s request for space is something to be admired. You could tell the E Street Band member knew where the actor was coming from, as Springsteen said he would choose to stay at home for the actors to “feel completely free” during scenes personal to him. It shows the best-selling artist trusted White to do his thing.

When Bruce Springsteen was around on set, Jeremy Allen White made sure to tell Austin Butler what an excellent source of support he was. He said the “Thunder Road” singer would always make himself available if he needed help or encouraging direction. Springsteen would even send the talented actor texts before bed about the parts of his performance that stood out to him, which White said helped him sleep at night. That’s a positive influence that can make taking on any challenging role seamless.

With all of the intense work that Jeremy Allen White went through to nail Bruce Springsteen’s voice and mannerisms, it’s clear that asking the “Born to Run” singer for “a little bit of space” was necessary to bring out a convincing portrayal of the award-winning musician. As Springsteen said that White did “a great job” with his “interpretation” of him, it proves that an actor needs to do what he's gotta do.

You can see the Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere, in theaters on October 24th.

Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson star in Die, My Love, as a couple whose relationship unravels when Lawrence’s character, Grace, develops postpartum psychosis. While the trailer had plenty of intense and disturbing moments, one widely discussed scene left out of the preview involves the two stars dancing naked with each other. When Lawrence opened up about that scene, calling it “totally humiliating,” even Bruce Springsteen was shocked by her story.

In the latest episode of The Graham Norton Show (via People), Jennifer Lawrence got real about not really knowing her co-star, Robert Pattinson, before signing onto their upcoming book-to-screen adaptation. But their director, Lynne Ramsay, had a unique way of helping the two establish an onscreen bond. As she told the host and fellow guest Bruce Springsteen:

The Die, My Love leads have certainly had their share of dance scenes in other movies they’ve starred in. But with interpretive dance being a chance to show off your energy and creative vibes, it’s definitely a distinctive way to introduce yourself. I just wish I were a fly on the wall to see this distinctive prep work.

Lawrence and Pattinson showing off their dance moves is undoubtedly one way to not only get to know each other, but to explore the energetic vibes their characters will surely bring out in their movie. However, the Hunger Games actress got real about how interpretive dancing for each other was cringeworthy, with Ramsey throwing in an unexpected twist:

Talk about a shocking request! When you think you’re going to get to know your co-star, you’d think it’d be along the lines of talking or reading lines with one another. But having to dance naked for your first encounter is a whole other ballgame!

Previously, the Oscar winner spoke candidly about dance lessons for Die, My Love, being told to “move like molasses” and “like you’re in jelly” all while in the nude, as well as “attacking each other like tigers.” The abnormal experience wasn’t so pleasant for Robert Pattinson either, who said that improvising his dance scene made him sweat so much that the inside of his trousers was wet.

I was surprised that Jennifer Lawrence felt embarrassed having to be nude for her psychological thriller. After all, she didn’t use a stunt double for her nude scene in No Hard Feelings and even treated herself to a grilled cheese in between takes. Then again, it’s a completely different story if you have to create your own naked dance with your equally naked co-star right when you meet him.

If you find this story shocking of Lawrence and Pattinson going through with their naked dance, so was Graham Norton Show guest Bruce Springsteen. Lawrence responded:

I can understand Bruce Springsteen’s surprise at hearing Die, My Love’s two leads going through their embarrassing naked dance. At the same time, Lawrence has always been an actress who’s very dedicated to her art and doesn’t hold back.

When Lawrence did her first nude scene for Red Sparrow, the talented actress said she felt “empowered” giving consent to show her body for art’s sake. The Winter’s Bone actress became so comfortable being nude in that movie that she didn’t even feel the need to put her robe back on in between takes. It may be shocking to hear stories like that at first, but that particular confidence is something to be admired for whenever you’re faced with a seemingly scary situation.

It may have been “totally humiliating” for Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson to ask to dance naked for each other during their first meeting. But other artists like Bruce Springsteen can hear the actress’s story and recognize the raw courage it takes to completely expose yourself for a role and step out of your comfort zone. Be sure to see the wild dance scene for yourself when the 2025 movie release of Die, My Love hits theaters on November 7th.

The summer movie season is here, and as usual Walt Disney Studios has some heavy-hitters to bring audiences to the movies during the warm months – and to infinity and beyond! The company just came off a huge box office slay with the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 has been breaking box office records. So, what’s next for the House of Mouse? You can take a look below and find out!

Before you continue, we should note that The Walt Disney Company also has a bunch more than you’ll see here: there’s upcoming Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday on the way this holiday season and more Star Wars movies after The Mandalorian & Grogu such as Starfighter coming next summer. Here’s a look at everything Disney has announced for the rest of this year and all the years to come.

Moana (Live-Action)

Release Date: July 10, 2026

Knowing how successful live-action remakes of Disney movies are, we probably could have guessed that a live-action Moana would happen someday, but few might have expected it to happen so fast. Just about a decade after the animated hit was released, the live-action version is set to debut from Walt Disney Studios. Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role in the flesh as Maui. Catherine Lagaʻaia will debut as the new Moana.

Super Troopers 3

Release Date: August 7, 2026

The Broken Lizard team is back with what is sure to be another incredible comedy with Super Troopers 3. Exactly what this movie will be about is unclear, but I can't imagine that anybody excited for it is going to care.

The Dog Stars

Release Date: August 28, 2026

When Ridley Scott makes a new movie, everybody should take notice. The Dog Stars is one of the upcoming book-to-screen adaptations on the way, as it is based on a bestseller from Peter Heller. The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic story that follows characters played by Josh Brolin and Jacob Elordi in the aftermath of a pandemic that has wiped out most life on the planet. The movie comes from Disney’s 20th Century Studios.

Whalefall

Release date: October 16, 2026

Another 20th Century Studios film, Whalefall is based on a novel by Daniel Kraus. It’s about a man scuba diving in search of his fathers remains, who is accidentally swallowed by a whale, and must find a way to escape. It stars Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin, and Elisabeth Shue and is written and helmed by Brian Duffield.

Wild Horse Nine

Release Date: November 6, 2026

Searchlight Pictures has a black comedy starring the likes of John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits and Parker Posey coming out just in time for awards season. It’s about two longtime CIA officers living in 1973 who get stationed in Easter Island. The movie is written and directed by In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin filmmaker Martin McDonagh

Hexed

Release Date: November 25, 2026

Announced during Disney’s Destination D23 event in August 2025, Hexed is an original story from Walt Disney Animation Studios that follows a teenager named Billie and his “Type-A” mother who discover she has magical abilities. This discovery leads them to a world where magic can run free. Hailee Steinfeld plays Billie and Rashida Jones voices her mom, Alice.

Ice Age: Boiling Point

Release Date: February 5, 2027

After Blue Sky Studios shut down in 2021, there was a time when more Ice Age movies seemed out of the realm of possibility. However, when it was acquired by The Walt Disney Company as part of its acquisition of 20th Century Fox that soon changed. The new movie brings back all our favorite characters from the series: Ray Romano’s Manny, John Leguizamo’s Sid, Denis Leary’s Diego, Queen Latifah’s Ellie and Simon Pegg’s “Buck” Wild.

Gatto

Release Date: March 5, 2027

The upcoming original Pixar title is set in Venice and focuses on a cat named Nero who needs to pay back a debt to a feline mob boss. This leads Nero into an unlikely partnership with a street musician. It comes from the filmmaker of Luca, Enrico Casarosa, and stars Mark Ruffalo as the leading kitty.

Bluey

Release Date: August 6, 2027

Bluey, the Australian animated kids show, has proven to be a hit for all ages and is regularly among the most-watched shows on Disney+. Disney will also distribute a feature-length Bluey movie in 2027 directed by the show’s creator Joe Brumm and giving the show’s beloved characters a big-screen debut.

The Simpsons Movie 2

Release Date: September 3, 2027

20 years after their last big screen endeavor The Simpsons will once again hit the big screen thanks to Disney’s 20th Century Studios. We don’t have many details about the plot of this one yet.

Frozen III

Release Date: November 24, 2027

Frozen is too big of a phenomenon to not receive another sequel, and it’s on the way for next fall. We know the third movie will feature Anna and Kristoff having a royal wedding and a mysterious adventure will once again have Elsa using her magical abilities to save her family and kingdom. The Frozen 3 release date for November 2027. Jennifer Lee previously confirmed that the story is so big it will require two movies, though when we’ll see the second one has yet to be officially announced.

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: February 18, 2028

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Lilo & Stitch 2

Release Date: May 26, 2028

The sequel to the live action Lilo & Stitch was announced quickly after the first film's success, and the release date has already been set, indicating this movie is on the fast track. We expect to see Maia Kealoha’s Lilo, Sydney Agudong’s Nani and the voice of Stitch, Chris Sanders back, but details about the sequel are currently under wraps.

Incredibles 3

Release Date: June 16, 2028

Officially announced as being in development at D23 2024, Incredibles 3 has a summer release date which places its release at exactly a decade since the last one came out. Life moves as fast as Dash does!

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: November 10, 2028

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: February 16, 2029

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: March 9, 2029

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: May 25, 2029

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Untitled Disney Animation

Release Date: June 15, 2029

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed animated movie.

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: August 3, 2029

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: October 5, 2029

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Untitled Disney Movie

Release Date: November 9, 2029

Disney is holding this date on the release calendar for an as yet unnamed movie.

Untitled Pixar Movie

Release Date: November 21, 2029

As of now, the movie set for this date is officially untitled, but since we know Coco 2 is in development, and the original film was also a November release, it's a safe bet that the movie is at least planned to go here.

Avatar 4

Release Date: December 21, 2029

James Cameron has said that parts of Avatar 4 were filmed alongside Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash, but another massive production will need to get underway to finish out the five-movie cycle. Cameron had hinted the last two films may not actually happen, but thus far, we still expect them.

Avatar 5

Release Date: December 19, 2031

The final Avatar movie will finally arrive in 2031, assuming there are not more delays, or plans change for James Cameron.

Recent Releases

Are you looking for a recently released Walt Disney Company movie that already came out that you may have missed? Check out how you can watch the latest movies that came out within the past year below:

Now In Theaters

Toy Story 5

Now Streaming On Disney+

Avatar: Fire And Ash
Hoppers
Zootopia 2
Tron: Ares

Now Streaming On Hulu

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Psycho Killer
Send Help

Available To Buy Only

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (On Digital Now, Coming To Disney+/Hulu on July 29)

When it comes to films about musicians, few upcoming music biopics have cinephiles quite as excited as Jeremy Allen White’s turn as Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me from Nowhere. Ahead of the film hitting the 2025 release schedule, first looks have shown White transforming himself into “The Boss,” and his performance already looks stellar. Fellow musical biopic leading man Austin Butler, of Elvis fame, recently revealed he’s already gotten to check out the movie ahead of its release.

Butler's been doing press for Darren Aronofsky's next film, Caught Stealing, which he stars in alongside Zoë Kravitz. Next up, he'll star in the A24 crime film Enemies with Jeremy Allen White, and in a new The Tonight Show clip, he admitted he's already had the privilege of checking out White’s performance as Bruce Springsteen. In fact, the actor was pretty complimentary, though he may have stepped across some boundaries saying so.

Coming from the Bikeriders star, this is pretty high praise. Not many performances have gotten quite the amount of positive attention in the last few years that Butler’s dedicated transformation into Elvis Presley for Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 film did. The actor truly became the music superstar, and I felt he was pretty unrecognizable in the role. It’s a pretty ostentatious, maximalist production, but Butler somehow is able to stand out amidst all of it, and watching the performance is truly breathtaking. For him to acknowledge another actor's prowess in taking on a similar task is a true compliment.

When it comes to starring in musical biopics, Jeremy Allen White has some big shoes to fill. Not only is he playing one of the most beloved iconic musicians of all time, but musical biopics have been a place for actors to truly shine over the last several years.

Famously, Rami Malek won the Oscar for playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody and Timothée Chalamet was recognized by SAG for his critically acclaimed turn as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown last year. Not to dismiss Taron Egerton in Rocketman, either.

Butler also revealed in his interview that a lot of these actors have discussed these endeavors with each other and offered some guidance, so I guess biopic actors have almost their own community, which is pretty sweet.

If I wasn’t already excited enough to see White as Springsteen, this Butler endorsement has me even more hyped. The film is set to cover the recording of the Nebraska album, a pivotable moment in Springsteen’s early career. White has already proven his talent in shows like Shameless and The Bear, and films like The Iron Claw truly expanded his range. Also supporting performances by acting heavy-hitters like Jeremy Strong and Paul Walter Hauser make Deliver Me From Nowhere even more of an exciting prospect. I have a feeling we will be talking about this one all throughout Oscar season.

It will be a while before fans will get to see Austin Butler and Jeremy Allen White together in Enemies considering the movie isn’t set to come out until next year. However, you will be able to see White in Deliver Me From Nowhere very soon, as the movie will be in theaters nationwide on October 24th, 2025. You can also see Butler in his latest film, Caught Stealing, when it heads to the big screen on August 29th.

While the podcasting market continues to expand, with everyone and their mom seeming to have one, there truly are some gems on the airwaves. Regardless of your familiarity and regularity in dabbling, where does one start? As someone who dabbles in a few series and loves a good pop culture injection of any form, a celebrity-hosted show can offer a lot! These stars’ pods cover plenty of ground from BTS on favorite sets to politics to emotionally forward conversations. If you’re lost, in a rut or just looking for another stellar title to add to your audio arsenal, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive in!

Oprah’s Super Soul - Oprah Winfrey

We know her, we love her, and the dynamic Oprah Winfrey continues to evolve and push interviewing bounds. Super Soul is more or less an adaptation of her inspiration and often a spiritual talk show that ran through the early 2020s. Be prepared to hear some deep conversations if you aren’t already, though we all know it tends to come with the unmistakable Hollywood giant.

Literally! With Rob Lowe - Rob Lowe

The 61-year-old Hollywood vet has wide-ranging conversations with plenty of well-known professionals. Whether it's well-established or rising stars in movies and TV, music or sports, Lowe jumps right in with them. And as a member of The Brat Pack, the pull he has with landing guests is pretty impressive and diverse.

Renegades: Born In The USA - Barak Obama, Bruce Springsteen

Though it only ran for one season and has 8 episodes to its name, the former president and The Boss’ collab rocked. Their conversations consisted of the changing dynamics of the USA through the lens of music, personal happenings, fatherhood and future revitalization. They also share their backstory on how the friendship and pod came to be.

Goop - Gwyneth Paltrow

Paltrow and Goop’s virality continues to regularly break the internet (especially those body-forward scented candles). But the Hollywood A-lister and her empire went to new heights with the addition of their own podcast, which she hosts. Naturally, it dives in holistically to grander topics with today’s ‘brightest thinkers and culture changers’ to dissect the conversation at hand.

Wiser Than Me - Julia Louis-Dreyfus

As always, when Louis-Dreyfus commits to a project, she knocks a role out of the park. One of her most recent titles as host of Wiser Than Me is no different; her interviewing women who are expert veterans in their given career is a true delight. She’s had everyone from Jane Goodall to Jane Fonda, and she’s just getting going.

Good Hang - Amy Poehler

Don’t overlook the Parks & Rec star’s Good Hang, even though it may be one of the newest entries on the list. Poehler’s sunshine bright vibes radiate through the show while she chats with A-list Hollywood names. But the most signature part shines through when she has a mini cameo from a friend of the guest who praises them ahead of the main convo. (If you haven’t seen or know where the viral clip of Rachel Dratch fumbling with headphones on a Zoom, now you do.)

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Conan O’Brien

In the comedian’s corner of the interview world, you can certainly expect his signature smart silliness he has brought to the masses over the decades. But why did he jump into the world? As the title implies, and per his summary, O’Brien realized after years of interviewing celebs, ‘the only people at his holiday party are the men and women who work for him,’ and wanted to change that.

Fly On The Wall - David Spade, Dana Carvey

While not an outright Saturday Night Live podcast, two huge alums, Spade and Carvey, lead this industry-leaning show. The pair has their fair share of guests and covers plenty of Studio 8H lore depending on who’s with them that week. Beyond the sketch show conversations, they often jump into current pop culture, current events and even fan-submitted fare.

Bill Gates And Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions - Bill Gates, Rashida Jones

Gates and Jones came together at the beginning of the pandemic in search of musing about some big questions. Though there are only five episodes, nothing seems off the table, from climate change to the psychology behind lying. But the unexpected co-hosts tackle these larger sociological and worldly topics with intentionality and ease.

The Big Podcast With Shaq - Shaquille O'Neal

The dynamic retired basketball player continues to surprise us with his plays (he just confirmed he was a Swiftie on the Kelces’ pod), and did just that when he kicked off his new podcast network by way of his own. Aptly named, Shaq and co-host Adam Lefkoe, of course, talk sports among themselves and alongside guests, but also hit a range of topics.

Minnie Questions - Minnie Driver

The Good Will Hunting actress’ offering sets up each interview through seven thoughtful questions. Though each question is relatively simple, it’s proven time and again that it unearths quite a conversation. Her therapy session meets fireside chat structure stands apart from other celebrity podcasts since its intention dives into a soulful exploration of life’s questions.

All There Is With Anderson Cooper - Anderson Cooper

While plenty of entries on the list cover an array of subjects from casual conversations, behind-the-scenes Hollywood magic and love and relationships, Cooper dives into loss (which he’s experienced multiple times over since childhood). What started as the beloved CNN news anchor processing the passing of his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, and the ins and outs that go along with it, has blossomed into something much more. He’s built a safe ground for guests and listeners alike to reflect and process the big topic.

Red Table Talk - Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris

The multi-generational, familial women-hosted show has gone viral a few times over since its inception on Facebook. Nothing, as we’ve seen, is off limits in this conversational style show and doesn’t shy away when things get nitty gritty. Though the OG got the axe in 2023, it got going again with no ties to Facebook, and its episode catalog continues to rank with some of the best Hollywood fodder out there today.

The Weekly Show With Jon Stewart - Jon Stewart

The beloved TV host has a podcast that pairs with his regularly scheduled show. The Weekly Show offers a more expansive look into our ever-developing world with notable minds in essential roles across the professional field. If you’re looking for even more Stewart material, he had a short-lived but excellent 2 season show called The Problem with Jon Stewart that dove into topics that were ‘too big for TV.’ With either, you can count on a laugh paired with some big, thought-provoking discussions.

SmartLess - Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Sean Hayes

SmartLess is like an improv dinner party you weren’t invited to, but somehow snuck into. Each episode brings a surprise guest to the table, and with it comes comedy, curiosity, and the kind of bromantic chaos that three A-listers with zero filters can deliver. It’s part talk show, part therapy session, and all charm—who would’ve guessed the vibe would be achieved by the Michael and Gob Bluth actors with a dash of the Jack McFarland actor.

Armchair Expert - Dax Shepard

Maybe one of the most recognizable and longstanding on the list, Shepard started his series in 2018. Though the premise is relatively simple in terms of chatting with well-known faces, things can go deep quickly. The CHiPs alum has had ex-costars like Lauren Graham, incidentally spill about Parenthood peer, Mae Whitman’s baby daddy, and Oscar-nominated stars like Michelle Williams reflect about her late ex-partner, Heath Ledger. Needless to say, there’s a lot to work with here (and a 300+ episode backlog to sift through).

Office Ladies - Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer

Of course, there was bound to be at least one rewatch pod in the bunch, and with The Office ranking as one of the best sitcoms ever, it’s a natural pick to include. Kinsey (who played Angela Martin/Lipton/Schrute) and Fischer (who played Pam Beesly Halpert) recount excellent tidbits and memories as they rewatch the NBC classic while hosting Dunder Mifflin cast and crew members.

Life Is Short - Justin Long

First and foremost, I’ve got to give the Jeepers Creepers actor’s name for his show is A+ play on words (specifically short and long). But, behind the small chuckle the title of the pod offers is a surprisingly poignant base for Long and his brother, who co-hosts the show. The siblings jump in the deep end with their guests and discuss all there is about life, which includes everything from emojis to their perspective on life.

LeVar Burton Reads - LeVar Burton

Fiction lovers and previous PBS Kids unite! The beloved Reading Rainbow star’s pod is a modern-day take on the classic 26-year run show, but now catered toward adults. Short form stories are the main genre he dives into each week, and the whole thing feels just like a little bit of a time machine, for those who tuned in regularly to RR.

New Heights - Jason, Travis Kelce

No, I’m not talking about their mom, Donna Kelce, landing a spot on S4 of The Traitors US, but it’s worth mentioning. The NFL family show is full of BTS looks into being brothers while also playing football professionally. They also often go out of bounds of the shared ground and discuss everything from pop culture to UFOs.

The High Life - Ricki Lake

The former television host is getting back to her roots with The High Life. And while she still has plenty of Tinseltown names as guests, the focus with her offering is health and wellness. Nothing is off the table within the larger landscape; she hits everything from menopause to energy healing.

Las Culturistas - Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers

In case you’d like to know, this is my ride or die pick of the list. The college besties-turned-Hollywood-darling co-hosts have amassed a cult turned mainstream following thanks to culture catch-ups, regular bits they have A-list guests participate in (what sparked their interest in culture and their wry ‘I Don’t Think So Honey!’ critique of something) and their own award show. Clearly, I could go on about it, but if you need more proof, Tina Fey’s iconic advice to Yang speaks to why we, ‘readers, kayteighs, publicists, finalists and kyles,’ love it all.

WTF With Marc Maron - Marc Maron

The rough around the edges comedian and actor’s podcast is one of the most well-known celebrity series. As a blueprint of public figures' iterations to come, Maron got started in 2009 after his radio show got canned. In the decade-plus he’s been at it, he hosted writers, directors, comedians, actors and many more in the typical style that is commonplace today. But, heads up, he just announced his show will end this fall, so don’t miss out!

Podcrushed - Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin, Sophie Ansari

The Gossip Girl alum’s shared show isn’t a far cry from the hit teen series fodder. They’ve just spun the clock a little further back to schoolyard drama and middle school crushes. Badgley, alongside Kavelin and Ansari, takes on listeners' stories, reads them and explores all the ins and outs of starting to grow up (and all the turmoil that tags along).

Broad Ideas - Rachel Bilson, Olivia Allen

While you may know of Bilson’s other pod, Beyond The O.C., involving ex-castmate Melinda Clarke, Broad Ideas includes her longtime bestie, Olivia Allen. The new duo essentially cover any ground two girlfriends would in any given conversation (mental health to ghosts are promised). But hosting a new guest to join in on the fun each week brings it to the next level.

The Mess Around With Hannah And Lamorne - Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone

If you know anything about where these two co-hosts met, you can probably guess this is a New Girl rewatch series. And if you know that, you probably know they played CeCe and Winston (Bishop), respectively, and the title comes from a bit that the characters shared. Also, plenty of past cast and crew come through to reminisce about all the shenanigans that went down in 4D.

Films To Be Buried With With Brett Goldstein - Brett Goldstein

Though he’s still relatively new to the scene, the Ted Lasso star is hitting it big (and is now on Shrinking). With that success, his unique corner of the recording studio has only found more success. And while the title of Goldstein’s show is pretty straightforward and self-explanatory, it has me hooked. I think it’s safe to say he’s just getting started.

At Your Service - Dua Lipa

While I haven’t actually listened to the singer and actress’ show, it may be the hidden gem on the list. Heading into her third season, she continues to host a slew of knockout guests, and her collection of candid conversations runs the gamut of interesting fare. Everything from psychedelics to running Apple.

Getting Better With Jonathan Van Ness - Jonathan Van Ness

Ever since being introduced as the current generation’s hair & grooming lead on Queer Eye, JVN has been stealing the show as they help build up others. By natural curiosity and the drive to learn, the Getting Better podcast helps them grow and build spaces to learn even more. The weekly episodic content comes in all shapes and sizes–from finance lessons to discourse on culture, they’ve got it covered.

Why Won’t You Date Me? - Nicole Byer

The Nailed It! host is also a pro-podcaster. If you go looking for Byer’s love and relationship pod, you may find quite a slew aside from the aforementioned one (Best Friends!, 90 Day Bae and Newcomers). But this humorously titled one is the most well-known and long-standing one, where she has everyone from friends and experts to an occasional ex or two dish all about dating and love.

Lovett Or Leave It - Jon Lovett

While Jon Lovett’s beginnings aren’t traditional Hollywood standards material, the comedian was a former speech writer for Barack Obama. From there, he and fellow Obama peers (Dan Pfeiffer, Tommy Vietor and Jon Favreau–not to be confused with the A-lister) then co-hosted Pod Save America. His newest show is a hybrid of political news mixed with fun, well-known guests, and a bit of shenanigans all tied into one, always providing a laugh.

The Bald And The Beautiful - Trixie Mattel And Katya Zamolodchikova

One of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s biggest winners, Trixie and ride or die fellow queen, Katya, have taken the world by storm together. After meeting on season 7, they quickly went on their way to make creative projects together, starting with their viral cult followed series, UNHhhh, to their aptly titled pod. It’s a lot of the same banter, just funneled into discussing pop culture and Tinseltown-leaning topics.

Movie fans received some insight into the power of Bruce Springsteen’s music via the comedy-drama Blinded By the Light. Now, Springsteen’s actual formative years and the making of his album, Nebraska, will take center stage in the biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere. The American singer-songwriter was actually on set for a solid portion of time while the film’s lead, Jeremy Allen White, was in front of the cameras. However, Springsteen also revealed why there were some days he needed to “just stay at home.”

Bruce Springsteen has long been an advocate for Deliver Me From Nowhere. In the early stages of the upcoming biopic's development, Springsteen weighed in on the film, calling the script “really good.” During The Boss’ interview with Rolling Stone, Springsteen talked about the film’s lead, Jeremy Allen White, being “very, very tolerant” of him while he visited the set. Despite having a “fun” and “enjoyable” time with White, the “Thunder Road” singer revealed the specific days that he would avoid being on set:

I can respect the “Born to Run” singer for staying home on some days. Even though Deliver Me From Nowhere is about Bruce Springsteen, it appears to give the cast and crew of the 2025 movie release the space to bring the story to life, especially when it came to the biggest moments of his life. I could imagine that it might've been daunting for White and his co-stars had Springsteen been present when filming those "deeply personal" moments from his life.

It only took one photo of Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen for fans to sense he was the right man for the job. Based on the trailer for the upcoming biopic, the Emmy winner -- while wearing brown contacts -- holds that guitar like a pro and shows off some serious singing chops.

The intense work Jeremy Allen White went through to nail Springsteen’s speaking and singing voice involved a lot of YouTube footage research, “a really talented group of people” to help with vocal training, and the “Born in the U.S.A.” singer himself. It may have been invaluable for White to have the singer/songwriter working in tandem with him and being in his corner throughout production. Bruce Springsteen was certainly impressed with White’s performance and believes audiences will connect deeply with the actor's portrayal of him.

Hopefully, Springsteen's decision to remain on off set on certain days had a positive impact on Jeremy Allen White and his colleagues. Fans will finally be able to see the fruits of their labor when Deliver Me From Nowhere opens in theaters on October 24th.

While it’s still unclear where the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere is going to be slated onto the 2025 movie schedule, we do know that the picture is currently in production. Part of that knowledge comes from the fact that The Boss himself has seen star Jeremy Allen White in action, playing in an earlier era of his rise to musical stardom. The legendary son of the Garden State has some pretty exciting feedback to share after seeing this performance in its raw, on-set form.

Speaking with Sirius XM’s E-Street Radio host Jim Rotolo, Bruce Springsteen called in and discussed his recent experience on the set of his own biopic. Asked if it was strange to see The Bear star portraying him during the recording of 1982’s album Nebraska, Springsteen shared these thoughts:

This isn’t the first time that The Boss has weighted in on Deliver Me From Nowhere’s production, as Bruce Springsteen previously shared details on how he was being shown various scripts. Also admitting to being in contact with writer/director Scott Cooper, the acclaimed musician behind hits like “Hungry Heart,” “Born to Run,” and “Streets of Philadelphia” shared that while he didn’t have much input in what was going on, he was excited to see the results.

Further enhancing what we know about Deliver Me From Nowhere, Bruce Springsteen also admitted to his feelings on Jeremy Allen White’s musically performing on set. A subject that’s probably even more intimidating after Timothee Chalamet’s A Complete Unknown acclaimed singing, this is clearly another test that our Shameless vet has passed with flying colors. At least that’s what Springsteen’s further remarks below would suggest:

To see that excitement still very much powering the subject of this very biopic’s interests feels pretty close to a personal endorsement of the project itself. Though that sort of lofty goal will have to be sought after once Scott Cooper finally has a cut of the film to show off to Bruce Springsteen. While the rock legend has visited the set four times since production started, there’s no telling how different the experiences he’s witnessed will be in the final edit.

As for when we’ll see that happen, we’re still quite unsure. Deliver Me From Nowhere is currently an unknown quantity on the 2025 cinematic landscape, though one could assume the upcoming music biopic is being primed for an awards season run later in the year. Meanwhile, you can catch all three seasons of Jeremy Allen White’s work on The Bear, through access to a Hulu subscription.

Musical biopics are a tried and true genre the film world, capable of making tons of of money as well as getting Awards Season attention. One highly anticipated upcoming musical biopic is definitely Deliver Me From Nowhere, which will tell the life story of beloved rock icon Bruce Springsteen.

What we know about Deliver Me From Nowhere is limited, but the fact that Emmy-winning actor Jeremy Allen White is the star is definitely helping to buoy excitement. And for those curious about how The Boss will look in the movie, we've finally gotten our first look. Check it out below:

How cool is that? The Shameless alum really does resemble a young Springsteen, which makes for great casting. Although considering White's status as a sex symbol, things might be too steamy for a "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out."

This image came with the news that filming had officially begun for "Deliver Me From Nowhere." Directed by Scott Cooper, the movie will focus on the making of Springsteen's 1982 album "Nebraska." Along with the image, Cooper offered a quote about the project, which reads:

While Jeremy Allen White has become synonymous with his role in The Bear (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription), he's been taking on a number of unique movie roles, particularly in biopics. Prior to his role as Bruce Springsteen, he starred opposite Zac Efron in The Iron Claw, playing pro wrestlers and brothers The Von Erichs.

For his part, Bruce Springsteen responded to Jeremy Allen White's casting, and seems to think he's a good actor for the role. And the 33 year-old actor is definitely putting in the work, with White previously sharing how hard he worked at finding Springsteen's voice. And considering just how many fans the Boss has, that detail is necessary.

Deliver Me From Nowhere doesn't currently have a release date, but fans are expecting it in 2026. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.

October is almost over, but there’s still plenty more great stuff to watch. The next episode of Agatha All Along is upcoming on Disney+ but it’s not the only thing worth your time on the platform. There’s always more new on Netflix than you can possibly keep track of, but there’s one item you absolutely won’t want to miss.

There’s so much good content on the best streaming services this week that we couldn’t even include it all here. You’ve got to be especially interesting to make the cut for this list. Here’s what we’re going to be checking out this week.

New TV

Star Trek: Lower Decks - October 24 (Paramount+)

A Paramount+ subscription is an absolute necessity if you’re a Star Trek fan. While Discovery is over and the next season of Strange New World is still some time off, Star Trek fans will be able to enjoy the laughs that come with the final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, the hilarious animated series is promising even more fun cameos and wild adventures.

Simone Biles Rising (Season 2) - October 25 (Netflix)

The 2024 Summer Olympics may be over but Simone Biles is still one of the most popular athletes in the world. Earlier this year we got the first season of Simone Biles Rising, which followed her experience four years ago, and her return to competitive gymnastics. The new season will follow Biles and her incredible success during the recent Paris games.

Before October 25 (Apple TV+)

Before is the sort of creepy psychological thriller that many are probably looking for in the days before Halloween. However, one thing they probably aren’t looking for is a creepy lead performance from Billy Crystal. A rare dramatic turn for the actor isn’t just serious, it’s disturbing.

New Movies

Trap - October 25 (Max)

M. Night Shyamalan movies often make for great spooky season viewing so fans of the accomplished director will want to have their Max subscription ready to go this week. Trap, Shyamalan’s newest film, debuts on Max October 25. The film stars Josh Hartnett as a serial killer who must try to avoid capture while attending a concert with his daughter.

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - October 25 (Disney+ And Hulu)

If you’re a music fan you need a Disney+ subscription. Just last week the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was live-streamed on the platform, and now one of its members, Bruce Springsteen, has a new documentary film, that will arrive this week on both Disney+ and Hulu. It will follow Bruce and his band and give fans a look behind the scenes of the most recent world tour.

Next week includes Halloween itself and several streaming platforms are saving some special content for the holiday. Then November will get started, which means there’ll be plenty to watch as most streaming platforms see an influx of new content.

As we reach the end of the 2024 movie schedule, some may be wondering what lies beyond it. That’s understandable, as there’s plenty to look forward to, including a biopic about one of the greatest musicians of all time – Bruce Springsteen. The Boss is set to take center stage in Deliver Me from Nowhere, which will see Jeremy Allen White play the famed rock star. Development on the feature film is ongoing at this point and, amid all of that, Springsteen himself shared what he knows of the project and weighed in with some honest thoughts.

The 75-year-old singer/songwriter recently took part in a conversation with fellow entertainer Zach Bryan, which was held by Rolling Stone. During the chat, an excited Bryan mentioned the upcoming biopic, which is written and directed by Scott Cooper. Bryan specifically asked the “Dancing in the Dark” performer about just how much involvement he has with the forthcoming film. Those who may have been expecting the veteran guitarist to have a major hand in the work might want to pump the brakes, based on the comments he shared:

To be honest, it’s not all that surprising that Bruce Springsteen isn’t that heavily involved in production. Quite a few biographical movies don’t enlist the services of the people being portrayed and, in some cases, the creative teams don’t have that luxury due to subjects being uninterested, deceased or unavailable for other reasons. There are situations, however, in which the people being depicted are heavily involved, as Queen and former N.W.A. members were involved with Bohemian Rhapsody and Straight Outta Compton, respectively.

Deliver Me from Nowhere chronicles a specific period of time in Mr. Springsteen’s life. The film tracks the musician during the early ‘80s, at which point he recorded his sixth album, Nebraska. The album received considerable acclaim when it was released in 1982, but its conception coincided with a rough time in Springsteen’s professional and personal lives. Because he’s not completely in the know, the rocker can’t say too much about the flick, though he still had some kind words to share about it during the RS discussion:

Scott Cooper’s resume – which includes Crazy Heart and Black Mass – is reason alone to be hopeful about the quality of the film. There’s also the fact that Jeremy Allen White has truly been committing to his work on the film, as he recently spoke about doing intense vocal training to nail Bruce Springsteen’s voice. Like the “Born to Run” singer himself, I’m confident that the film will be worth the wait and hope it serves as a fitting tribute to one of music history’s greatest contributors.

20th Century Studios has yet to announce an official release date for Deliver Me from Nowhere. Be sure to keep an eye on the 2025 movie schedule, though, in case it crops up there.

Jeremy Allen White has gained increased popularity in recent years for leading The Bear's cast, and for good reason. But, now, the actor is about to star in his highest-profile movie role yet -- a film in which he'll play Bruce Springsteen. Since White was cast to play the rockstar earlier this year, he has started the prep process. He's now shed some light on what that entails, and it sounds like he’s doing a lot of homework to nail Springsteen's speaking and singing voices.

The actor is no stranger to pressure-associated roles, given the intensity associated with Chef Carmy from The Bear or pro wrestler Kerry Von Erich of last year’s The Iron Claw. It’s safe to say Jeremy Allen White is pulling all the stops to do justice to the “Born In The U.S.A.” singer in the biopic, Deliver Me from Nowhere, given his recent comments on the role. Here’s what he said about the research he's done while preparing for the role:

So, while speaking to GQ, Jeremy Allen White revealed that he has a whole team of people who are going to help transform him into the American rocker, who rose to prominence in the early '70s. The actor has been going down YouTube rabbit holes to take in classic footage of Bruce Springsteen. That includes the Grammy winner's performances and interviews from over the years. It's cool to hear White's going all in to nail the artist’s speaking voice and singing voice. Oh, and he has the access and support of the man himself as well!

Rather than covering Bruce Springsteen's entire life, Scott Cooper's Deliver Me From Nowhere covers the time at which the musician was making his sixth studio album, Nebraska, which hit shelves in 1982. While the album is considered one of his best, it was also made at a particularly rough time for Springsteen both on professional and personal levels.

Nebraska came out between two of the artist’s other most influential albums, The River and Born in the U.S.A. What caused that middle album to stand apart from the others was the stripped-down and downbeat nature of the songs. "The Boss" himself has even called the album a “happy accident.”

As for his upcoming biopic, it's being written and directed by Scott Cooper, who previously helmed Crazy Heart, Black Mass and The Pale Blue Eye. It's based on Warren Zanes’ book Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and will surely employ some of the singer’s own memories. In addition to Jeremy Allen White, Succesion’s Jeremy Strong may be joining the cast as Springsteen’s longtime manager, Jon Landau.

It’s exciting to hear Jeremy Allen White is getting ready to play Bruce Springsteen, in between The Bear Season 4 and breaking the internet with his Calvin Klein ad, of course! White certainly has the acting chops for the role, but the fact that he's apparently putting in so much preparation is still encouraging. I'm eager to see how he performs in Deliver Me from Nowhere -- one of many upcoming music biopics.

Following the series finale of Succession last May, we’ve been looking forward to what’s next for the HBO show’s cast. Jeremy Strong is crafting an exciting future for himself as a new report has now come out regarding the man behind Kendall Roy joining an exciting musical biopic. 

The new development for Strong follows the actor turning heads at the Met Gala on Monday alongside big fashion moments from other stars, such as Zendaya’s viral peacock dress. All this is to say, the Succession star seems to be thriving. 

Jeremy Strong Could Be Joining The Bruce Springsteen Movie

Per a report from Variety, Jeremy Strong is currently in talks to join The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White in a Bruce Springsteen biopic. 

Strong would play longtime manager to the New Jersey-bred rockstar, Jon Landau. The Springsteen movie in the works is called Deliver Me From Nowhere, and it is being produced with the help of both the “Born In The U.S.A.” singer and Landau. It will be written and directed by Crazy Heart filmmaker Scott Cooper for A24. 

Jeremy Allen White was cast as Springsteen back in March and the movie is said to start shooting this fall. 

Deliver Me From Nowhere will be based on the 2023 book of the same title, which is about the making of Bruce Springsteen’s sixth studio album, Nebraska. The album, which was released in 1982, is thought to be one of the best albums of all time. 

In addition to this exciting role for Jeremy Strong, he’s also set to star as Roy Cohn in another biopic, The Apprentice, which will be about a young Donald Trump, played by Sebastian Stan. 

The Casting News Comes Days After The Succession Star's Met Gala Look 

Jeremy Strong’s next role comes just a few days after the actor stepped out amidst a sea of celebrities in viral looks for the Met Gala on Monday. The actor debuted a sweet mustache to match his decadent floral white suit which was accessorised with a diamond earring in one ear. Check it: 

The Met Gala theme this year was “The Garden Of Time” which inspired quite a few botanical looks from other celebrities. Strong’s suit was from Loro Piana, and he walked the red carpet alongside his wife, Emma Wall. 

Kendall Roy may be history following last year’s ending of Succession, but between these two news items, we’re nowhere close to saying goodbye to Jeremy Strong! 

You can watch Jeremy Strong in all four seasons of Succession now with a Max subscription. The actor won an Emmy in 2020 for the role of Kendall Roy, and we can already smell more awards recognition for him in the coming years for upcoming roles like this one. 

In 1982, Bruce Springsteen released one of his most beloved yet unorthodox albums in the form of Nebraska. This highly influential album, unlike many that came before and after it from “The Boss,” was a stripped-down and more melancholy record that didn’t have the customary upbeat and bombastic sound of his E. Street Band, and instead consisted of nothing more than guitar, harmonica, and Springsteen’s iconic voice. Now the album is about to be the inspiration for a new biopic about New Jersey’s favored son.

At some point in the future, audiences will get to go back in time and see how Springsteen came up with Nebraska and how the musician known for his working-class anthems about bad times and glory days came out of the experience a changed man. Here is everything we know about Deliver Me From Nowhere, one of the biggest upcoming music biopics. 

What Is The Deliver Me From Nowhere Release Date

Though we would love to know when Deliver Me From Nowhere will dive into one of the greatest albums of all time, we haven't heard anything about the film’s release date. Considering that production hasn’t even started at the time of this writing, it’s doubtful we’ll see the Bruce Springsteen biopic on the 2024 movie schedule. However, don’t be too surprised if the movie hits the big screen sometime in early 2025.

Jeremy Allen White Is Reportedly In Talks To Play Bruce Springsteen

Details about the film’s release are a little murky at this point, but we do know that Jeremy Allen White, the in-demand star of The Bear, is reportedly in talks to portray Bruce Springsteen during one of the musician’s most pivotal eras. In March 2024, Deadline reported that the Shameless alum, who bulked up to play the late Kerry Von Erich in Sean Larkin’s The Iron Claw, was being circled for what could possibly be his biggest film role yet.

White, who was still in the middle of production of The Bear Season 3 at the time news broke about his potential role in Deliver Me From Nowhere, hadn’t entered negotiations at the time of this writing, but we can expect some official word in the coming weeks and months, especially as we work our way towards the start principal photography. 

Deliver Me From Nowhere Will Follow Bruce Springsteen As He Attempts To Make His 1982 Album, Nebraska

When Deadline revealed the upcoming Springsteen movie, the outlet described the music biopic as one that will follow “The Boss” as he attempts to make his sixth studio album, Nebraska, which was released in 1982. Though plot details are slim to none at this point in time, fans of Springsteen’s work, and this album in general, are fully aware of how its conception came during one of the musician’s toughest stretches, both professionally and personally.

It will be interesting to see how Deliver Me From Nowhere tells the story of how Springsteen created not only one of his best albums, but also one of the most celebrated and influential albums of all time. 

Released Between The River And Born In The USA, Nebraska Is Springsteen’s Most Stripped Down Album And One Of His Best

Nebraska was released between The River and Born in the U.S.A., two of Springsteen’s most popular and influential albums. But, unlike those two records, which were filled with massive songs like “Hungry Heart,” “I’m on Fire,” “The River,” and “Born in the U.S.A.” that saw each member of the E. Street Band getting time to shine, Nebraska consisted of 10 stripped-down and somber tracks with Springsteen, and only Springsteen being recorded.

Tracks like “Atlantic City,” “State Trooper,” “Highway Patrolman,” and the title track, “Nebraska,” which chronicled the life and crimes of spree killer Charles Starkweather, initially started out as demos for the E. Street Band, but they ultimately ended up remaining the stripped-down songs fans know today, with the electric tracks becoming the stuff of rock and roll legend. Despite the more raw sound and presentation, Nebraska remains one of Springsteen’s best albums and has ended up on lists by RollingStone, NME, and other music publications over the years.

Bruce Springsteen Considers Nebraska A 'Happy Accident'

Bruce Springsteen put Nebraska on a four-track cassette recorder in January 1982 and changed the course of his career and rock music as a whole. But as The Boss told CBS Sunday Morning in April 2023, the whole album was one big “happy accident,” stating:

Springsteen left the demos as they were and created a masterpiece in the process. And, as CBS correspondent Jim Axelrod said at the end of the nine-minute segment, if fans want to enjoy Springsteen’s work, listen to anything, but if they want to understand The Boss, listen to Nebraska. 

The Upcoming Biopic Is Based On Warren Zanes’ Book, ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making Of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska’

You can add Deliver Me From Nowhere to the list of upcoming book-to-screen adaptations as the music biopic is based on Warren Zanes’ non-fiction book of the same. Published by Crown Publishing Group in 2023 (with a paperback version by Penguin Random House set for a May 2024 release), Zanes’ book chronicles not only Nebraska but also everything that Springsteen brought with him when he composed and recorded some of his most iconic tracks. 

Deliver Me From Nowhere was a hit with readers and was even named one of the best books of the year by NPR, in addition to other publications and outlets throughout the country.

Scott Cooper Is Writing And Directing Deliver Me From Nowhere

When production eventually begins, Scott Cooper will be sitting in the director’s chair, according to Variety. Cooper, whose previous work includes the country music movie, Crazy Heart, Black Mass, and most recently, The Pale Blue Eye, also adapted the film’s script.

Also heavily involved with the project is Scott Stuber, a former Universal Pictures and Netflix producer who has helped get movies like Patriots Day, Love & Other Drugs, and various others off the ground over the past few decades.

Expect to hear much more about Deliver Me From Nowhere in the coming weeks and months. But, in the meantime, take a look at our rundown of 32 amazing biopics everyone should see.

Although Jeremy Allen White has been professionally acting for nearly two decades, with him being especially known when he was younger from Shameless, the last several years have seen him blow up in a big way. This has chiefly stemmed from his Emmy and Golden Globe-winning performance as Carmy Berzatto on The Bear, one of the best Hulu TV shows, but he also collected attention for his performance as Kerry Von Erich in The Iron Claw, which came out in December and earned a lot of positive reception. Amidst this success, word’s come in that White is being lined up to play rock star Bruce Springsteen.

This piece of casting news comes to us from Deadline, which is reporting that White is a top-list choice to star as Springsteen in an upcoming movie titled Deliver Me From Nowhere. White isn't currently in the negotations phase yet, as it has yet to get an official greenlight, but it's clear there's big interest in the actor's rising star.

The project follows Springsteen working on his 1982 album “Nebraska,” and it’s being adapted from the 2023 book Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska by Warren Zanes. Nebraska is one of Springsteen’s most popular albums, and he recorded the songs as demos on a 4-track cassette recorder. The track list includes “Nebraska” (duh), “Atlantic City,” Johnny 99” and “Highway Patrolman.”

In addition to Jeremy Allen White’s potential involvement in Deliver Me From Nowhere, Scott Cooper of Antlers and The Pale Blue Eye fame is “circling” to write and direct, and he has prior experience helming a music-driven movie thanks to 2009’s Crazy Heart. The Gotham Group’s Eric Robinson and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein are the driving force behind the project, which A24 is in talks to distribute, and Scott Stuber, Netflix’s former head of film, is already on board as a producer.

Although White certainly doesn’t boast a small film resume, if he signs on to Deliver Me From Nowhere, this has the potential to boost his big screen profile even further following The Iron Claw. This is assuming, of course, that filming doesn’t conflict with his schedule, as the actor is currently in the middle of shooting The Bear Seasons 3 and 4 back-to-back. So if Deliver Me From Nowhere is looking to roll cameras soon, it may be necessary to find another actor to play Bruce Springsteen.

And for those wondering, yes, The Boss and his manager Jon Landau are “actively involved” with Deliver Me From Nowhere, with Deadline saying “more details” on that front “will be forthcoming.” Bruce Springsteen previously won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Streets of Philadelphia” from 1993’s Philadelphia, and he was nominated in the same category for “Dead Man Walking” from the same-named 1996 movie. Springsteen’s songs were also featured extensively in the 2019 movie Blinded by the Light.

We’ll let you know if Jeremy Allen White ends up being cast as Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me From Nowhere. In the meantime, stream The Bear with your Hulu subscription, and if you have a Max subscription, keep an eye out for The Iron Claw’s arrival on that platform sometime in the coming months.

We tend to treat fame as something you either have or you don’t. Some people are famous, others are not. But there are also degrees of fame. Most people who are famous are not as famous as Tom Cruise or The Rock. But then just how famous somebody is often depends on the individual’s perception. Some of us would probably say that Bruce Springsteen is a bigger star than Stephen King, except for the time that he’s not.

A video is currently going viral on Twitter, and not for the first time, that shows Bruce Springsteen on The Graham Norton Show talking about a time he happened to meet a young fan at a movie theater, and ended up spending the evening with him and his family. Stephen King is now going viral himself after responding to the tweet telling a story about a time the two were together, and a fan thought the author was the bigger celebrity. King said… 

The Nebraska album is one of Bruce Springsteen’s most highly regarded works, and it went a long way to making him the star he is today, but it was his sixth album. It’s not like he wasn’t already really famous at that point. But for some of us discovering Bruce Springsteen's music was a life-altering experience, and for others, we had the same experience with Stephen King books. 

It’s probably pretty unusual for Bruce Springsteen to be anywhere and not get asked for autographs. The viral video that spawned King’s comment is about a fan asking if Springsteen wanted to sit with him at a movie theater, which is a pretty bold request from a fan. That might be on the extreme side of things the singer is asked for, but it shows how far fans are willing to go. Having somebody not even see him was likely a novel experience. No wonder he was laughing. 

To be fair both men are probably used to signing a lot of autographs, but Bruce Springsteen almost certainly gets more requests. He’s just a more visible celebrity so people know what he looks like. While Stephen King has a unique look, and if you’ve seen him, you’d recognize him in a bistro, there are probably a lot of people who just don’t know what King looks like. Many Stephen King movies have seen the author's cameo, but you have to already know it's him for that to work. 

At the same time, I totally get where this teen girl is coming from. I mean, if I saw Stephen King and Bruce Springsteen together in the same place I would I would probably have a heart attack, and I would want both of their autographs, but if I had to choose, it’s King for me too. I’m just a much bigger fan of his work.

Decades later, both Bruce Springsteen and Stephen King are still massive stars. Springsteen is about to embark on a new world tour. There are several upcoming Stephen King movies and series based on his work, including Salem's Lot, which is currently without a release date but may still find itself on the 2024 release schedule before the year is out. 

An issue that’s been seemingly bubbling under the surface since live music returned is fans dealing with dynamic ticket pricing on Ticketmaster. For example, fans of Bruce Springsteen have been subject to intense price hikes at any given moment, in some cases tickets skyrocketed all the way to $5,000. Now, The Boss has spoken up about the issue of surging ticket prices in the midst of the Ticketmaster fiasco over one of Taylor Swift’s upcoming projects: The Eras Tour.

Fans of Springsteen faced a similar issue as Swifties when they tried to buy tickets for his first tour with the entire E Street Band since 2017 earlier this summer. He recently addressed the Ticketmaster debacle with Rolling Stone (via Insider) saying it was “confusing” for fans. He also noted that the majority of his “tickets are affordable,” and for the majority of his career tickets for his shows have been under market value. He then went on to talk about his upcoming tour, and why they used dynamic pricing, saying he wanted to do “what everybody else is doing.” He elaborated on this choice, saying:

While Springsteen's tickets may have been under market value in years past, they were not this time, and fans were not happy about it, just like Swifties.

While the demand for Eras Tour tickets and the cancellation of the general sale were the big points of contention among Swift's fans, the cost of attendance was another major issue. And even though the ticket company has apologized for the brouhaha, Swift’s fans are still livid because they can't buy a ticket without paying an absurd amount of money. To contextualize the prices a bit, to buy resale tickets on StubHub for Swift's show at MetLife Stadium a fan would have to pay more than $700 to sit in the nosebleeds, and over $3,000 for floor seats. 

The issue with the surging ticket prices comes down to resale and Ticketmaster's “dynamic pricing” model, which makes it so the prices of tickets can fluctuate based on the demand for a show. So, if a show is in high demand, like tours for Springsteen and Swift, the prices skyrocket, whereas prices for lesser-known artists will decrease if there’s not a massive demand. 

The Boss elaborated on his thoughts about the surging prices, saying:

According to the article, Springsteen’s tour tickets jumped from $400 to $5,000 for floor tickets because of this model. 

The “Born to Run” singer noted that he understands the decision was not one fans appreciated, and he said he does not “like to be the poster boy for high ticket prices.”  He also said he’d reconsider using dynamic pricing in the future, because of how angry the fans were.

Like Springsteen, Swift also addressed the issues with Ticketmaster. She wrote in an Instagram story that the situation really “pisses [her] off” because many of her fans couldn’t get tickets and those who did felt “like they went through several bear attacks” to secure them. The “Anti-Hero” singer also said she is working to “provide more opportunities” for her fans to see her. 

Ever since live music returned, it seems like tickets have been more in demand than ever -- I mean Swift’s tour announcement alone wreaked havoc on brides' plans for Pete’s sake -- and prices have surged to incredibly expensive (and unaffordable) heights.

While fans have not calmed down about Swift’s tickets, Springsteen’s tour is another example of the issues concertgoers have had with Ticketmaster and dynamic pricing while trying to secure tickets to live out their "Glory Days." 

Candace Cameron Bure has found herself in the center of some TikTok drama over the past week, as first JoJo Siwa called her the “rudest celebrity” she’d met, and then Hilary Duff’s husband Matthew Koma schooled Bure on the actual meaning of Bruce Springsteen’s song “Born in the U.S.A.” The How I Met Your Father star was indirectly pulled into the situation via her husband, and judging from the family pics Duff shared on social media, “indirectly” is how she’s choosing to respond as well. 

Hilary Duff posted a series of photos to her Instagram Stories, showing her, Matthew Koma, and their kids enjoying some family time. There were some bowling pics that definitely didn't seem to be in response to any drama involving the Fuller House star and The Boss, but one photo in particular showed that if she did take sides, she’s got Koma’s back. Check out that starry-eyed smile:

There’s no questioning where the Lizzie McGuire actress’ loyalties lie, as her photo boasts that she "Got the best one." 

It’s unknown why Matthew Koma picked this week to call out Candace Cameron Bure for not knowing that the 1984 hit was not a patriotic anthem, but rather a commentary on the terrible treatment of Vietnam War vets upon their return to the United States. While Koma is definitely not wrong, Bure’s post was from the 4th of July — posted nearly a month before his response — and the GAC Family actress is hardly the first person to make such a mistake.

Either way, Candace Cameron Bure found her name making the rounds on another news cycle, which is likely not anybody’s preferred way to start the week. That being the case, it’s hard to say if Hilary Duff’s Instagram post was in response to all the media attention, or simply a cute post of her young daughter having a case of the Mondays. Check it out:

Little Mae certainly does look like she’d rather just stay out of all of it, but it’s possible there's no deeper meaning to this than Hilary Duff simply wanting to share the super relatable snap of her adorable little girl. 

Candace Cameron Bure, for her part, did not respond directly to Matthew Koma, posting a video to her Instagram Stories reciting the Bible verse Isaiah 12:2:

There was obviously no reference in her reading to the continued TikTok hullabaloo (Bruce Springsteen makes zero appearances in Scripture), but responding via Bible verse does seem to be par for the course with the Full House alum. Candace Cameron Bure initially posted a different verse from Isaiah after JoJo Siwa’s accusations that she was the “rudest celebrity” the So You Think You Can Dance judge had ever met.

We’ll have to see if this leg of the feud ends here, or if the Aurora Teagarden actress will go on the defensive again. After Candace Cameron Bure spilled the tea about what happened between her and JoJo Siwa, a number of celebrities came to Bure’s defense. Her daughter Natasha Bure — one of many celebrity relatives who have competed on The Voice — even posted and deleted a message telling the Dance Moms veteran to “grow up.” While we wait to see if more shots will be fired, take a look at our 2022 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming up soon.

It’s been a bit of a rough time for Candace Cameron Bure lately. While she did gleefully celebrate her 26th wedding anniversary with Valeri Bure back in June, the Fuller House actress has also admitted recently to dealing with being in the midst of a mental “dip” right now where she’s having trouble getting motivated to do things. And, in the past week, she’s had to confront reports from So You Think You Can Dance judge JoJo Siwa that she didn’t treat the phenom very well when meeting her on a red carpet many years earlier. Now, Cameron Bure is getting roasted on TikTok again, but this time it’s by Hilary Duff’s husband.

Why Is Hilary Duff’s Husband Roasting Candace Cameron Bure?

With what’s happened in the past week, one would think that TikTok is just bad news for Candace Cameron Bure. Word about JoJo Siwa revealing that the former Hallmark star was the “rudest celebrity” she’d ever met spread because of a TikTok challenge, and now Hilary Duff’s husband, singer / songwriter Matthew Koma has come for Cameron Bure on the social media platform, and it’s all because of her use of the Bruce Spingsteen hit, “Born in the U.S.A.” Take a look at his TikTok post, and we can discuss it, below:

Well, now. I’m not sure what prompted Koma to go looking for Cameron Bure’s TikTok video, since it was posted nearly a month ago, but he makes a solid point. Despite the celebratory sound of Bruce Springsteen’s incredibly recognizable 1984 tune, which was released on the mega-hit album of the same name, the song is not a simple praising of the United States, but about Vietnam veterans returning from war and realizing that they were not being treated well here after their service. So, it’s not really the kind of song that Cameron Bure or anyone else should want to use as a “Let’s get pumped!” July 4th hit, seeing as how it’s about America acting like a big ol’ butthole.

It is possible that Koma didn’t seek out Cameron Bure’s video and it just popped up for him or someone sent it to him, but it makes a lot of sense that he’d be annoyed by her use of the song, as he cites Springsteen as one of his musical influences, and even produced a remix of his song “Rocky Ground,” that the Boss released as a single in 2012.

The past week has seen a number of people come out to support Cameron Bure after Siwa’s reports of her being somewhat dismissive of the star when she was an 11-year-old fan looking to take a photo with her at a Fuller House event. These have included several of those from Cameron Bure’s GAC / Hallmark family like Jen Lilley and Alexa PenaVega, and her daughter, Natasha Bure, who posted and then deleted a rebuttal that slammed Siwa.

To be somewhat fair to Candace Cameron Bure (who’s also been dealing with the loss of her good friend, Bob Saget, this year), there are loads of people who have mistaken Bruce Springsteen’s Top Ten hit as pure patriotism in the many decades since its release, including major political figures who’ve heard that triumphant-sounding chorus and not paid attention to the rest of the lyrics. 

The hitmaker himself noted in a Fresh Air interview that the song was written like many of his others, with “hope” and “pride” in the chorus and “the blues” in the verses, and now that Matthew Koma has called Cameron Bure out for her very common misunderstanding, maybe more people will recognize what “Born in the U.S.A." is really about.

For many of us, there is nothing that compares to a great music video. There's a special art to being able to tell a story or evoke emotions by brining visuals to a popular song, an art that requires someone with a great deal of skill and an eye for the dramatic. Much like David Fincher's 1990 music video for the Madonna song "Vogue." But Fincher isn't alone.

There are dozens of directors who have either gotten their start in the music video industry or jumped over to the medium after finding success on the big screen or television. Names like Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Spike Jonze have all made some of the most culturally significant and eye-catching videos of all time. But some of us may forget, or don't know, that some of our favorite videos were directed by the biggest names in Hollywood. But fear not, as I have you covered…

David Fincher - Vogue, Madonna (1990)

Before creating some of the most important films of the last 25 years with the likes of Seven, Fight Club, and The Social Network, David Fincher got his start in the music video business by creating groundbreaking videos like the 1990 black-and-white masterpiece that is Madonna's "Vogue." This iconic and the visionary video is filled with the technical precision and artistry that the English director would bring to his movies just a few years later and showed what he was capable of pulling off. It also didn't hurt that this was the third time Fincher and Madonna had teamed up after collaborating on "Express Yourself" and "Oh Father," a year earlier.

Spike Jonze - Weapon Of Choice, Fatboy Slim (2001)

Younger audiences may know Spike Jonze for his 2013 science fiction romance drama Her, but the Academy Award-winning filmmaker made quite a name for himself with his cinematic and revolutionary music videos in the 1990s. Collaborating with artists like Beastie Boys, Weezer, and R.E.M. for some of most memorable music videos of the decade, Jonze's most notable work arguably comes from his pairing with Fatboy Slim for the Grammy Award-winning "Weapon of Choice" video starring Christopher Walken dancing in a deserted hotel lobby. You can see elements of Jonze's signature style peppered throughout the dreamlike nearly four-minute video.

Martin Scorsese - Bad, Michael Jackson (1987)

There are music videos directed by legendary filmmakers and there is the Michael Jackson's "Bad." Directed by Martin Scorsese, this 18-minute music video plays more like any one of the acclaimed directors feature films. By combining elements from West Side Story with flash and style of in-his-prime King of Pop, Scorsese created one of the most groundbreaking videos of the 1980s. Remarkably, this is one of only two music videos the director of Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and The Irishman directed throughout his career. Oh, it also features a young Wesley Snipes, who only had a few acting credits at this point in his career.

Spike Lee - Fight The Power, Public Enemy (1988)

The Public Enemy track "Fight the Power" was originally created to serve as the anthem of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, so it was only fitting that the director created the empowering music video in 1989. Made to look like a political rally, the "Fight the Power" video is a seven-minute affair showing thousands of extras in the streets of New York walking behind the revolutionary and politically-charged rap group. You can see the director's style throughout the video, which came out a few years before Denzel Washington gave a career-defining performance in the Spike Lee joint Malcolm X.

Gus Van Sant - Under The Bridge, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)

Anyone who was alive and conscious in the early '90s will never forget the groundbreaking and breathtaking video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Under the Bridge," but until recently, I didn't know that auteur Gus Van Sant was responsible for this MTV mainstay. Having just finished work on My Own Private Idaho, in which RHCP bassist Flea had a role, Van Sant was asked by the band to provide his talents and signature style to create a music video. By combining elements of realism and fantasy, the video has a distinct feel to it, which is probably why it's still held in such high regard nearly 30 years after it was first released.

Brian De Palma - Dancing In The Dark, Bruce Springsteen (1984)

Mostly known for one of the first appearances from future Friends star Courteney Cox, Bruce Springsteen's 1984 video for "Dancing in the Dark" remains one of the most popular MTV mainstays from the 1980s. The video, shot over the course of two nights at the beginning of The Boss' "Born in the USA" tour, is the only one shot by director Brian De Palma over the course of his 50-plus-year career. Known for his action and attention to detail in films like Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible, De Palma's video has a laser-focus on Springsteen and Cox throughout this well-lit and masterfully directed spectacle.

Ava DuVernay - Family Feud - Jay-Z Ft. Beyoncé (2018)

Ava DuVernay is responsible for one of the most star-studded and visionary music videos in quite some time with her video for the Jay-Z and Beyoncé song "Family Feud" from the rapper's 4:44 2018 album. At nearly eight minutes in length, the video jumps through time dissecting a number of issues affecting society before ending in a massive cathedral where the power-couple provide and intimate and powerful performance to an empty room. The director of Selma, A Wrinkle in Time, and the Netflix series When They See Us brings a breath of fresh air to the format in her first and only music video.

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris - 1979, Smashing Pumpkins (1996)

Trying to decide which Smashing Pumpkins video from Jonathan Dayton and Varlie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks) to include on this list was no easy task, but it had to be the music video for the band's 1996 song "1979." Sure, "Tonight, Tonight," is probably the more iconic collaboration, but the vague lyrics and close-up camera angles of the cast of characters featured in the "1979" video creates an atmosphere and feeling that is unmatched 22 years later. I remember being a kid and being transfixed by the imagery of a group of friends holding onto their fleeting innocence before adulthood stripped it away.

Paul Thomas Anderson - Across The Universe, Fiona Apple (1998)

Paul Thomas Anderson is mostly associated with actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Daniel Day-Lewis, but the American filmmaker also had a fruitful professional (and intimate) relationship with singer-songwriter Fiona Apple from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. This resulted in a series of striking music videos, including Apple's 1998 cover of The Beatles song "Across the Universe." Much like many of PTA's movies throughout his career, the music video plays with the contrast of beauty and madness as the singer softly recites the famous lyrics while complete chaos unfolds behind her.

Mark Romanek - Shake It Off, Taylor Swift (2014)

Unlike pretty much everyone else on this list, Mark Romanek is a music video director that just so happened to make a few movies along the way. On the movie side, Romanek is mostly known for the chilling thriller starring the late Robin Williams One Hour Photo, but his music video work is unmatched by probably anyone not named Hype Williams. Winning over 20 MTV Video Music Awards for his long list of contributions to the medium, Romanek has worked with artists like Nine Inch Nails and Taylor Swift for her "Shake it Off" video. That may sound like a crazy jump from NIN to T. Swift, but you can see elements of the director's previous entries in the 2014 music video, especially the off-putting look of the symmetrical ballerinas and cuts to figures moving in slow motion.

I hope you have had just as much fun watching this old videos and looking back on their legacy as I have had putting this together. There is something about a great music video that makes me all nostalgic and think about those lazy afternoons watching the best videos MTV (and VH1) had to offer. If you think I missed a video or have one you'd like for people to see, drop it in the comments below.

The universe wanted me to meet Bruce Springsteen this year. 

That sounds crazy, I know. But there were three separate opportunities for me to meet and potentially speak with The Boss in 2019 – which shouldn’t happen because his talents keep him in the “music industry” field, and not in the corners of entertainment journalism occupied by film geeks.

Only, this year, Bruce Springsteen side-stepped genre boundaries. Twice. Earlier this year, his music served as the emotional centerpiece for Gurinder Chadha’s delightful coming-of-age story Blinded By the Light (and that movie’s New Jersey premiere was my first unfulfilled invitation to potentially meet Bruce). Next, Springsteen co-directed a compelling documentary titled Western Stars, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival… days after I was scheduled to leave this year’s fest.

The third time, however? That one finally was the charm.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros. invited a small group of movie journalists (and die-hard Springsteen fans) to Northern New Jersey for an intimate conversation with The Boss about Western Stars, a combination concert documentary and personal diary that Bruce co-directs with Thom Zimny.

Nothing about the day was normal – a sentiment shared between myself and the four other giddy film journalists who regularly interview Hollywood celebrities but never dreamed of holding court with The Boss. The fact that the intimate interview was taking place in Springsteen’s private home studio, where he’s been recording tracks since 2006-07, made an already unusual day feel downright surreal.

Any tension or apprehension was immediately exorcized the moment Bruce Springsteen entered the room – with a broken-in denim jacket over his loose-fitting white t-shirt – and graciously declared “Free bagels!” as he pointed to a table of breakfast options his staff had set up.

Talk about a dream. Try to make it real.

As we settled into our conversation, Springsteen explained the genesis behind Western Stars, clarifying:

That, in a nutshell, is what Western Stars delivers. It’s Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, performing the 13 tracks off the new album of the same name with a spectacular symphony accompaniment. It’s the next best thing to seeing Bruce live – a front-row seat to a captivating performance of soulful new material that showcases the artist’s storytelling abilities through song.

Don’t look for the E Street band members in the film, or on the album. Western Stars is a departure from the traditional for The Boss, and when I asked why, he explained:

Instead of the band, Western Stars delivers insightful, often philosophical, ruminations from Bruce Springsteen about his music, his songwriting process, lessons from his decades of life experiences, and sentimental home videos pulled from his personal archives. Paired with some original footage shot at Joshua Tree and beyond, that makes up the rest of Western Stars and creates a narrative bridge between the songs that shines a light back on Bruce, as an artist.

Some of the old footage used in the movie ended up being new to Springsteen after all of these years.

A little moment that contributes to a larger experience. That sums up the message of Western Stars, which largely follows the fictional character of a fading Hollywood film star as he reflects on his accomplishments, and his regrets. Songs on the album like “The Wayferer,” “Drive Fast” and the title track tells interludes about show business, touring, and the connections we make through entertainment.

Bruce Springsteen has been pulling inspirations from pop culture, and especially cinema, for decades. So the fact that he’d try his hand at co-directing – and trading trade secrets with film journalists – shouldn’t surprise his closest fans. He recounted to us:

He opened up about the Western director John Ford, who seemed to be exploring similar themes in all of his pictures, from Stagecoach and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon to his seminal film, The Searchers. The kinship Springsteen found in filmmakers extended through the decades, as he rattled off the works of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese – specifically Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Irishman – as films released this year that he really adored.

Now his own film will be in theaters alongside the latest features by Tarantino and Scorsese, a point that definitely wasn’t lost on this New Jersey legend. But after decades of dominating the music charts, he was ready for a transition to a new medium, one that he hopes extends the reach and impact of Western Stars while also reflecting the lessons of the songs and the lyrics. Springsteen summarizes:

See for yourself starting this weekend. Western Stars open up in theaters on Friday, October 25, and is a must-see for Bruce Springsteen fanatics, and those of you who appreciate seeing an iconic artist at the top of his game.

We have been enjoying a solid run of music-based dramas at the movie theater lately. The music of The Beatles powered Danny Boyle’s Yesterday, while Rami Malek found Oscar success playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

This week, it’s The Boss – aka Bruce Springsteen – who is getting the big screen treatment courtesy of the musical fantasy Blinded By the Light, a true story about a British teen who discovers the music and lyrics of Springsteen, and finds an unlikely muse. The movie’s a winner, an uplifting crowdpleaser directed by Bend it Like Beckham filmmaker Gurinder Chadha – who we are lucky enough to have as a guest on this week’s show.

Chadha joined the show shortly after Bruce Springsteen himself showed up at her film’s premiere in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She had amazing stories to tell about that evening, and the film’s production, so press play on this week’s ReelBlend episode and enjoy.

Before they got into the conversation with Gurinder Chadha, Jake, Kevin and Sean discussed the new trailer that dropped for Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, which you can see below.

Then Kevin told a really funny story about an old couple who mistakenly watched Good Boys. That did not end well.

As for this week’s Blend Game, the guys got into the films of Richard Linklater, and Jake did NOT pick a Texas movie. We were all shocked.

ReelBlend is a weekly podcast that we do on CinemaBlend. You can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us.

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media! We have an official Twitter feed for the show, so follow @ReelBlend. In addition, follow the guys at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV.

The ongoing trend of music movies continues this week with the release of Blinded by the Light, a film based on a true story of a British teen of Pakistani descent whose difficult life is changed when he discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen. Naturally The Boss is heavily featured on the film’s soundtrack with some rare tracks including a rejected Harry Potter song titled “I’ll Stand By You.” Take a listen in the video below:

As you can hear, “I’ll Stand By You” is only loosely inspired by Harry Potter and contains no direct references to that story or its characters. In this manner, like in a lot of great music, “I’ll Stand By You” isn’t specifically about one thing and can mean different things to different people. That said, you can definitely see how the lyrics and sentiment of the song would apply to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the film it was written for.

The lyric “I wish I could tell a story/Chase away all those ghosts/You got inside of you” feels very appropriate for the story of Sorcerer’s Stone. In that film, Harry is just beginning his Wizarding World journey, discovering his origins and what truly happened to his parents. He is haunted by the memory of the parents he never knew as he stares longingly into the Mirror of Erised, so chasing away the ghosts feels right.

The lyric “We'll fight here together/'til victory is won” also matches up with the idea of never giving up inherent to the series and exemplified in Dumbledore’s words in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince “It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated.”

The chorus of “I'll stand by you always, always, always” especially really hits at the themes of love, friendship and being there for one another central to the Harry Potter series. Although it wouldn’t have worked in the film, its earnest sentiment feels like it could have been written for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 or the iconic book chapter "The Forest Again," when Harry marches into the Forbidden Forest to meet his fate, surrounded and protected by the ghosts of his loved ones.

In a 2016 interview, Bruce Springsteen said he wasn’t sure why the song wasn’t used in Harry Potter, but expressed a hope that it would one day make its way into a children’s movie. The Harry Potter films relied on scores from composers like the legendary John Williams as opposed to vocal tracks like this, a decision that makes sense and I think is preferable for that kind of material.

The Boss wrote the lovely contemporary ballad for his eldest son, and while Blinded by the Light isn’t a children’s movie, at least this studio version of “I’ll Stand By You” is being made available for people to hear it.

Blinded by the Light opens in theaters on August 14. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the other movies on the way the rest of this year.

Queen, Mötley Crüe, Elton John, David Bowie, Hollywood is churning out biopics to capitalize on popular music that audiences have been listening to for decades. It was only a matter of time before Bruce Springsteen got his due. And although he isn’t getting a traditional biopic (yet), his music will be celebrated on the big screen in a movie that speaks to the power music has to change people’s lives. Check out the trailer for Blinded by the Light below:

Based on Safraz Manzoor’s memoir Greetings From Bury Park, Gurinder Chadha’s film Blinded by the Light stars newcomer Viveik Kalra as Javed, a teenager of Pakistani descent growing up in the town of Luton, England. Adolescence is a challenge regardless of your circumstances, but in addition to girl problems, Javed has to deal with being pulled between two different and seemingly incompatible cultures.

Javed is trying to reconcile his identity, desiring to make his family proud, follow their wishes and stay true to his Pakistani roots in an intolerant town. But he's also pursuing his own passions, being a teenager, and trying to fit in. It’s only when he is introduced to Bruce Springsteen’s music, music that really speaks to him, that he is able to find the confidence to be who he is.

It’s a coming of age story that is incredibly relatable and illustrates the power that music has to literally change our lives, especially when we’re young and our parents don’t approve of what we’re listening to. Music not only speaks to how we feel, but puts words to feelings we didn’t know we had, helping us understand and work through them.

Blinded by the Light looks like a pretty straightforward take on this type of coming of age story, but that is not a knock because this trailer makes it look positively delightful. Viveik Kalra looks great in the role and his unbridled enthusiasm for The Boss, even in the face of criticism and misunderstanding from his family and friends, is quite winning.

This feel-good movie sounds to be jam-packed with Bruce Springsteen classics, guaranteeing it will have a great soundtrack and be a fun theatrical experience for audiences, just like last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody. And while this isn’t a biopic of The Boss, he did give the film his blessing according to Deadline.

This trailer also has some really funny lines that paint this film as both heartwarming and hilarious. When Javed’s friend’s girlfriend lets him know that her friend would be perfect for him because she isn’t picky, you feel bad, but can’t help but laugh at the absolutely brutal backhanded compliment.

Blinded by the Light actually premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival and the early reviews were quite positive and the film currently boasts a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Viveik Kalra is joined in the film by Rob Brydon, Kulvinder Ghir, Nell Williams, Dean-Charles Chapman and Peggy Carter herself, Hayley Atwell.

Blinded by the Light arrives in theaters on August 14. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see this and all the movies headed your way in a crowded summer season.

Through his generation-sweeping music and his gifts for storytelling and ballads, Bruce Springsteen touches deeply on his own life, his own plight and struggles, as well as the hardships of the everyman living and rooted in America. Despite his fame, wealth, and immense success over the years, Springsteen still connects to his adoring crowd of fans as he puts on one amazing show after the other -- even as he nears his seventies. It is remarkable that he never lost his touch; he has proven himself to be nimble and accessible to audiences of all ages and demographics over the years.

But in a brand new interview to promote his forthcoming Netflix special, Springsteen on Broadway, based on the best-selling stage hit performed at the Walter Kerr Theatre, Bruce Springsteen opened up a little more. Specifically, the renowned musician discussed his personal history with mental illness.

The admission came during Bruce Springsteen's profile with Esquire, where he discussed his late father, Doug Springsteen, and the complicated relationship he shared with him. Upon reflection, Bruce Springsteen later learned his troubled father, who "sat alone, brooding, silent, in the dark of that kitchen" late at night, would be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. This revelation gave the singer-songwriter an equal mix of "context" and "fear."

Doug Springsteen passed away twenty years ago earlier this year. He was 73, only four years older than Bruce Springsteen right now. When asked if he'll be buried in his family plot in St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Bruce admitted that its a big question, admitting he isn't sure. The artist claims he might spread himself all over the place, including "a little in the ocean" and, jokingly, "a little in town." He currently plans for his remains to be in a variety of locations.

And when asked if there was anything his father never said to him when he was alive, Bruce Springsteen claims his father "never said, 'I love you.'" In The Boss' own words, his father "never got around to it," but it didn't hurt him because he knew he did, and that it was merely a communication issue.

While Bruce Springsteen has rarely been shy about discussing his past and his own daily troubles, notably in his music, this interview is among the first times Springsteen has opened up so honestly about his own family history of mental illness, and how he feels about it in relation to his own children. To see hear and learn more about Springsteen's life and music, watch Springsteen on Broadway on Netflix. It premieres December 16th.

The music from the Harry Potter films has become utterly iconic in the years since the first film debuted on the silver screen. John Williams' legendary score is burned into the memories of kids and adults all over the world, and pretty much anybody can identify the tune. However, despite the iconography of the Harry Potter score, it now sounds like The Sorcerer's Stone almost included some more contemporary sounding songs on its soundtrack -- including a track from Bruce Springsteen. The unused track from the first Harry Potter movie (titled "I'll Stand By You Always") has officially debuted online for all of us to listen to, and it is utterly enchanting. Check it out below.

If there's one thing that I can definitively say about that newly released track (h/t Rolling Stone), it's that it is really unlike anything that I have ever heard from John Williams' Harry Potter score. There's admittedly a somewhat old-fashioned sensibility to "I'll Stand By You Always," as it harkens back to a time during the 1990s when it was common to see pop or rock songs (complete with lyrics) composed specifically to accompany the release of a film. However, that does not change the fact that it is still a great song that captures Bruce Springsteen's talent, as well as the basic emotional throughline of the Harry Potter series.

That said, while the song never officially made it into a Harry Potter film, Bruce Springsteen still appears to have a sincere interest in having it used by a children's movie at some point. The lyrics of the song are relatively nondescript (he mostly wrote it for his son), and it is easy to imagine that another film aimed at a younger audience could easily find a use for the somber tune. We have seen notable shifts in Hollywood towards nostalgia and "throwbacks" in recent years, so I would not be remotely astonished to see more movies revert to this style of theme song.

It is not terribly surprising to learn that Bruce Springsteen produced a song for a Harry Potter movie. In addition to his own independent career, The Boss has developed a strong resume for music on film that includes Jerry Maguire, The Wrestler, and Philadelphia. The guy has not really slowed down in recent years, so we fully expect to see more of his music appear on the silver screen at some point in the near future.

Who knows? Maybe Springsteen will even get the chance to contribute to the Fantastic Beasts franchise at some point.

What do you think? Do you think Bruce Springsteen's song should've made the cut for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, or do you think the Harry Potter series was better off sticking to John Williams' score?

After more than forty years in the music business, Bruce Springsteen has decided to branch out. The Boss has plans in the works to write a children’s book, and this week sources revealed he is headed to Netflix to take his first scripted acting gig on the streaming service’s original series Lilyhammer. Lilyhammer’s third season should actually be filled with reunions for lead Steven Van Zandt. Not only will he be reuniting on the small screen with his E Street Band Partner Springsteen, he’ll also be teaming up with his Sopranos co-star Tony Sirico.

No offense to Tony Sirico, but the Springsteen casting is what really has us jazzed. I’m not sure what might make a 64 year-old man suddenly want to jump into acting, but I like it. According to Deadline, the new season will feature Van Zandt heading back to the United States, where he comes into contact with Springsteen, who will play the owner of a mortuary in the guest role. The mortuary will be located in New York, which means we won’t have to see Springsteen attempt any sort of Norwegian accent.

Technically, Springsteen has been on a set, before. Back in 2000, he appeared as himself in the movie High Fidelity. Regardless, this time around, he’ll have a character and a costume, and we can’t wait to see how the gig goes.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Tony Sirico will be joining Lilyhammer in a recurring role. In The Sopranos, the two played Tony buddies, but in Lilyhammer, Sirico has popped up as Frank’s brother, a priest in New York City (fun side note—Sirico’s brother is a real-life priest). He only appeared briefly during Season 2, but since his status is now recurring, I’m guessing he should pop up more during the show’s third season.

Lilyhammer is Netflix’s first original series, and while it’s not as popular as House of Cards or Orange is the New Black, it apparently gets enough buzz that the streaming site wants to continue to move forward with the series. Lilyhammer is a play on the American pronunciation of Lillehammer and follows Van Zandt as a member of the American mafia who is sent to Norway as a member of the Witness Protection Program. Through the first two seasons, Van Zandt’s character, Frank, has fallen back into various criminal enterprises and behaviors, which seem all too likely to continue during Season 3.

Lilyhammer is expected to be available for streaming on Netflix before the end of the year. However, Netflix hasn’t been forthcoming about a premiere date at this point. We do know that the show is already shooting, so hopefully, we’ll get to see an E Street Band and Sopranos reunion sooner rather than later.

Well, something tells us the governor is not going to be happy about this. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s favorite singer of all time and the most Jersey man to ever live, Bruce Springsteen, has made fun of him alongside NBC funnyman Jimmy Fallon in a song tribute to the ongoing Bridgegate saga that’s all the media rage. Not even the perma-affable host is willing to let this one slide. Looks like you and the Boss aren’t going to be besties any time soon, Christie.

The clip, featured on Tuesday night’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, was a humorous take on the Boss’ most iconic of songs, “Born To Run,” no doubt adding salt to the wound in Christie’s side that is the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal. Considering Governor Christie has admitted to seeing the man in concert over 80 times and has numerously stated he reveres him more than anyone on the planet, this one’s gotta hurt.

Springsteen — who was the only guest on the show, taking up the full hour — stepped out as a surprise following Fallon, who was dressed in matching sleeveless vest and red bandanna, calling to mind the iconic look from Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” video. Standing in tandem, the duo took turns musically lambasting Christie over the political retribution ploy’s traffic snarl, declaring: "You got Wall Street masters stuck cheek to cheek / With blue collar truckers and, man / I really gotta take a leak, / But I can't. I'm stuck in Governor Chris Christie's / Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam.” There were a multitude of references to the regular working man — no doubt a tip of the hat to the delusional doings’ true victims: the people of New Jersey. It harkened back to Fallon's days as the de-facto musical funny-maker on Saturday Night Live.

The Huffington Post did us all a solid and transcribed the lyrics, which are in full, below — in case you wanted to head over to the Governors’ Mansion and serenade Christie with them.

Jimmy:

In the day we sweat it out on the streets stuck in traffic on the GWB

They shut down the tollbooths of glory because we didn't endorse Christie

Sprung from cages on Highway 9

We got three lanes closed, So Jersey get your ass in line

Ooohhh, baby this Bridgegate was just pay back

It's a bitch slap to the state Democrats

We gotta get out but we can't,

We're stuck in Governor Chris Christie's Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam.

Bruce:

Governor, let me in, I wanna be your friend

They'll be no partisan divisions

Let me wrap my legs 'round your mighty rims

And relieve your stressful conditions

We've got Wall Street masters stuck cheek to cheek

With blue-collar truckers, and man I really gotta take a leak

But I can't

I'm stuck in Governor Chris Christie's Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam

1, 2, 3, 4!

Jimmy:

Highways jammed with pissed off drivers with no place left to go

And the press conference went on and on

Bruce:

It was longer than one of my own damn shows

Jimmy:

Some day Governor, I don't know when

This will all end, but 'til then

Together:

You're killin' the workin' man.

Who's stuck in Governor Chris Christie's Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam.

Whoa whoa whoa!

Whoa whoa whoa!

Bruce:

I gotta take a leak! I really gotta take a leak!

Together:

Down in Jersey land!

There is nothing new or different about a TV series taking advantage of a musician or song’s popularity in order to boost ratings or allow for cross-promotions, but CBS and Bruce Springsteen are taking the concept to its logical overblown conclusion. For the upcoming January 12 episode of its award-winning drama The Good Wife, CBS will be incorporating three tracks off of Springsteen’s latest album High Hopes, which hits stores on January 14. Additionally, CBS will also be hosting a full stream of the album on their website starting January 5. I suppose the only thing we have to wait for now is CBS to begin a reality show called The Boss, where Springsteen works as people’s bosses for a day and comments on how tough it is.

For this ratings grab, via Rolling Stone, The Good Wife will feature the leading single “High Hopes,” “Hunter of Invisible Game” and a new version of his classic “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” The album is a mixture of new recordings of old songs and tunes that were cut from Springsteen’s last few albums, so this isn’t as high-profile a release as one might expect. And that’s probably why CBS is getting exclusivity out of it.

“We love using music in The Good Wife,” said show creators Robert and Michelle King in a press release. “So when the Bruce Springsteen songs became available, we couldn’t believe our luck. We wished we could use the whole album.”

The fact that CBS will be streaming the album a week before the episode airs seems like it’s undercutting the draw of getting people to watch the episode to hear new music. Granted, I’m not sure that anyone who isn’t already a fan of The Good Wife – our own Mack is a superfan – would tune in solely to hear snippets of songs, but it’s still a strange ploy. And who knows how well it will work anyway, since Amazon accidentally put the album’s songs up for sale as mp3s last week, making them easily attainable through piracy websites once the retail giant realized their error and took the songs down.

In any case, the hit series will be returning from its holiday hiatus on January 5 with “Goliath and David,” which you can watch a preview for below. Once that episode ends, you’ll be able to see the Springsteen-laden clip for the following week’s episode “We the Juries.”

This isn’t the first time a TV program has aired new music from The Boss, as the NFL premiered a track on Sunday Night Football a few months before Springsteen performed the Super Bowl halftime show. Check out the video for the rollicking “High Hopes” below.

Madonna may be past her prime, but anyone who believes the singer is past her moneymaking prime would be dead wrong. The 2012 concert numbers are in, and Madonna's "MDNA" tour is at #1, beating out the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Roger Waters, Kenny Chesney, and the Michael Jackson tribute tour created by Cirque Du Soleil—a show I feel is suspect on this list to be marked as a “concert,” but that’s an argument for another story.

Billboard announced the numbers, compiled via Billboard Boxscores, which shows Madonna made $228,406,085 via touring during her 2012 run. A not-so-close second was Bruce Springsteen, who made $199,371,791 from touring this year. Interestingly, Springsteen actually performed to a larger audience than Madonna, but apparently people are willing to shell out more for the “Give Me All Your Luvin’” singer than they will per ticket for The Boss.

Interestingly, Madonna also sold out all 72 of her concert stops in 2012. This was a feat that the number 2 through 4 slots—Springsteen, Roger Waters, and Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour—did not manage. However, Lady Gaga capably sold out 65 shows and was #6 on this year’s list, Barbara Streisand easily sold out 12 shows and was #12 on the list, Jason Aldean sold out an impressive 59 shows, but only made it to #13 on the list, and Taylor Swift sold out a short 21-show schedule, hitting 24th on the list.

Overall, it was a good year for some country, pop, and rock singers and bands, and Pop Blend would like to wish those acts, as well as others, the best of luck in the new year.

It’s raining outside. Noah’s Ark day thirty-eight level rain too, not some whimpy droplets of condensation. I’d even call it a deluge. The wind is punish-fucking my bushes, maybe even crying Mary, and the thunder and lightening are more boisterous than twenty world class drag queens gyrating and belting out the lyrics to Amii Stewart’s “Knock On Wood.” Fierce.

My second grade teacher would probably have long advised me to seek cover in a basement or retro bomb shelter, but I’m riding this bitch out in the name of scientific discovery. You see: the weather alters our moods, which in turn alters the type of music we find most satisfying. On board with the crux of this thesis? Alright, then let me explain a little further. Let’s say it was hot outside, not wet and miserable. Well, I’d be at the bars praying for disposable pop music to more easily facilitate my desire to rub my middle against the lady lumps of some nameless alcoholic Jezebel. I might also feel like grabbing a beer and awkwardly, white person grooving to a little classic rock, maybe Free’s “All Right Now.” Yeah, that’d be sweet.

But it’s not a breezy summer evening. It’s raining. And what musical choice does a little precipitation normally spur into action? Sad bastard music. A little Joni Mitchell. Maybe Counting Crows, or REO Speedwagon my girlfriend just dumped me so I’ll belt out my melodramatic angst toward the heavens arena rock. But I’ve always contended those teary-eyed treasures are more suited for a drizzly day, a chilly atypical trickle of water throughout the evening. Actual storms are too chaotic and unpredictable for the steady, oh-God-why tambour of Adam Duritz’s voice.

So, what the fuck am I supposed to listen to? I honestly have no idea. It seems like every single weather formation has its own songs: hot and humid (“Mustang Sally”), dreary and ominous (“Mamma’s Little Helper”), cold and frigid (“I Wanna Ride The Zamboni”), and tornado-ey (Anything by Girl Talk)–but in the name of all things right and decent in this vicious world prone to climate changes, what’s the proper soundtrack to an electrical storm?

I’m a goddamn music editor, and I have no idea. So, I decided to try a little experiment. For the next hour and a half, I’m cranking my iPod–to eleven–on random. As I go, I’ll list each track, write a few notes, and give it an overall rating as to how well it plays along with the background of thunder and lightning. Ready? Then like Doug Benson in Super High Me, let’s roll...

1) Avril Lavigne’s Complicated: What? Why? Someone tell me where the wheel of iTunes fate was headed when it selected everyone’s favorite little faux-punk? Okay, I got it. Maybe Steve Jobs was trying to tell me that regardless of whatever storms (or genres) alter the musical climate, pop music will always return to pre-packaged and disposable teen stars. Ahhh. Life makes sense again. Also, this song is god-awful, but I’m still strangely attracted to it–kinda like the riblets at Applebee’s.

Overall Song Rating: 4 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 3 out of 10.

2) Tegan And Sara’s Where Does The Good Go?: Ahhh, one of those sad bastard gems I was referring to earlier. I’m actually finding this pretty comforting. It reminds me of Grey’s Anatomy, which, in turn, reminds me that even the world’s nicest day wouldn’t wipe that bitch glare off Meredith’s face. Some things never change. Quick side note: my roommate and I once turned this on at full blast to wake up our other hung-over, trainwreck of a roommate at six twenty in the morning. He ran out of his room naked and stole the batteries out of my speakers.

Overall Song Rating: 8 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 8 out of 10.

3) Dee-Lite’s Groove Is In The Heart: I totally forgot this song even existed. I wonder what ever happened to that redhead with the funky prints on her dress. Someone call VH1's Bands Reunited now. What the hell is that noise in the background? How much X was needed to think this far out of the box? I guess its unpredictability is sorta reminiscent of an electrical storm, but mostly, it’s just making me want to smoke pot. I’ve got a hookah, if anyone has some green.

Overall Song Rating: 5 out of 10? I guess.

During A Storm Rating: 5 out of 10.

4) Green Day’s Basket Case: God, Green Day was awesome back when they were three punk kids looking to hump MILFs, destroy mailboxes, and drink cheap beer. Screw taking an active interest in current affairs. “Sometimes I give myself the creeps.” What a great line. I’m not sure how this fits into the non-typhoon going on outside my house, but I’m digging the white, middle-American rebellion vibe permeating past my foosball table and nestling into the fake trees I bought at IKEA.

Overall Song Rating: 7 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 7 out of 10.

5) The Guess Who’s No Time: Give me the Guess Who. They have the courage to be drunken buffoons, which makes it all poetic. -Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing Lester Bangs in Almost Famous. I’m not sure what else to say about this song, other than that it’s the fucking buzz, which is also from Almost Famous. Jesus, anymore blatant thievery from that film, and I might have to pay Cameron Crowe. And you can tell Rolling Stone Magazine, my last words were.....I’m on drugs!

Overall Song Rating: 8 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 8 out of 10.

6) Canned Heat’s Going Up The Country: Wow, the first song which not only doesn’t fit with the rain storm but makes it all laughable. Why do all Canned Heat songs sound the same? And keep in mind, I’m speaking from the well-informed prospective of only having “Going Up The Country” and “On The Road Again” on my iPod. Did they have any other songs? Does it even matter? I sort of like ignorantly assuming the band’s only objective was getting people to drive toward the country–like a modern day Pastoral movement–except with less shepherds.

Overall Song Rating: 9 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 7 out of 10.

7) Backstreet Boys’ Larger Than Life: I know I’m going to catch some shit for this, but “Larger Than Life” is the best space-themed, gaudy, over-the-top adrenaline-fueled pop song ever sung by a group of effeminate males (Bowie didn’t have other lead singers) ever. I hope my friends play “Larger Than Life” as my casket’s being lowered into the ground when I die a premature death from lung cancer, eating hotdogs everyday, and car surfing.

Overall Song Rating: 8 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 8 out of 10.

8) Jeff Buckley’s Lilac Wine: Something about Jeff Buckley crooning to Nina Simone while Satan throws bolts of electricity at my house is bizarrely reassuring. This whole thing feels dangerously close to jumping the shark, but right now, it’s poorly balancing on the threshold of comforting and ridiculous. And my screen door just slammed. I can’t do Jeff Buckley anymore. His sensual voice is mocking the colossal predicament my poorly-constructed house currently finds itself in.

Overall Song Rating: 7 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 2 out of 10.

9) The Monkees’ Cheer Up Sleepy Jean: Why do the Monkees get ridiculed so much? They’re good clean fun. Yeah, they didn’t play their own instruments or really do anything creatively, but neither do half the popular musicians today. I’d never insinuate they were The Beatles light, but there’s a place for feel-good dreamers in the world. Maybe not during this hurricane, though.

Overall Song Rating: 7 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 5 out of 10.

10) Sheryl Crow’s The First Cut Is The Deepest: The first lightning bolt to a house is probably the deepest too. Anyone remember when Taylor Hicks covered this song on American Idol? It was fucking awesome. Soul Patrol, baby! I don’t even know how to feel about this song right now, except that I’m glad it’s not “Soak Up The Sun.” Also, who the fuck hurt this poor girl so badly? She’ll try to love again? Kind of makes Alanis Morrissette seem like a silly little girl.

Overall Song Rating: 6 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 5 out of 10.

11) Styx’s Come Sail Away: Styx only caught a bad rap because most critics are cynical assholes.- that kid in Big Daddy. I’m a critic and a cynical asshole, but I love me some Styx. If you don’t like Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw and what’s his face, watch the first episode of Judd Apatow’s Freaks And Geeks. Best television usage of “Come Sail Away” ever. I’m kind of digging this song right now, but that may have something to do with a daydream I just had where my little cottage lifted off its foundations—and I sailed away to Vegas.

Overall Song Rating: 8 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 9 out of 10.

12) Bruce Springsteen’s Merry Christmas Baby: This is a little early to start blaring festive music–even for me. Great song, though.

Overall Song Rating: 7 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 2 out of 10.

13) Steven Curtis Chapman’s Dive: It’s a little early in the game to come crawling back to Jesus, but if a tidal wave engulfs my house, I’ll scream out a cover-my-ass forgiveness prayer. This song is actually pretty sweet. I know it has that icky Christian tag associated with it, but if I can listen to George Michael croon about dudes, I can get on board with a lovesong about a carpenter. I guess.

Overall Song Rating: 7 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 6 out of 10.

14) Great White’s Once Bitten, Twice Shy: This is a bad omen. It has to be. The last time I willingly played this song, well, it was to mock ninety-some people who perished by act of God (or act of not planning out pyrotechnics). Nice little five and a half minute ode to banging groupies, if I do say so myself, though.

Overall Song Rating: 6 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 6 out of 10.

15) Oasis’ Champagne Supernova: Where was I while you were getting high? Oh yeah, listening to “Groove Is In The Heart” like an hour ago. This monsoon is a real downer, then again I don’t think anyone has ever optimistically discussed a monsoon (unless it wiped out a lot of wiggers). As much as people obsess over early Oasis, I still think (What’s The Story) Morning Glory is underrated. The whole thing just flows into each other like a great piece of fiction or New Orleans. Too far?

Overall Song Rating: 8 out of 10.

During A Storm Rating: 8 out of 10.

I’ve just spent the last hour plus listening to random songs, and I honestly think I know less than when I embarked on this little journey. None of the music worked particularly well, and I basically just continued existing in my depressive, when is this lightning going to kill me trance. If you read all of this looking for answers, I’m afraid you wasted your time. I’m just confused, bitter, and still looking for weed.

I guess there’s not any good thunderstorm music because you’re not supposed to be thinking about music during thunderstorms. Maybe my second grade teacher was right. I should have sought shelter. Fuck it. As long as I’m here, I might as well listen to some more music. OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again.” This could work....