Green Day Roadtrip Comedy Inspired By The Early Days Of The Band In Development With 2 Members Of The Office Cast

“I Found Out Last Night It Ain’t Me”: Original Scream Star Reflects On Career After Learning He Just Missed Out On Christopher Nolan’s Next Movie

A new comedy inspired by the early days of Green Day is now in development. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, Green Day is now one of the most beloved punk-rock bands of all time. They were founded in 1987 by lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt, and the trio was later joined by drummer Tré Cool in 1990. The group has won four Grammys, first winning in 1994 for Best Alternative Music performance for their album Dookie.

As per Variety, a comedy inspired by Green Day is now officially in the works. The movie, titled New Year’s Rev, will be a coming-of-age story about three friends and bandmates who travel to Los Angeles because they think their (fictional) band is opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve. The friends will be played by Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman, and Ryan Foust. Other cast members include The Office alums Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, as well as Keen Ruffalo and Ignancia Diaz-Silverado. It is produced by all three members of Green Day, along with Tim Perell and more. The film’s logline can be found below:

Their roadtrip is a rowdy and mischievous jaunt across the country filled with adventures, based on the exploits of Green Day and their years of living in a tour van.

With the announcement, Green Day frontman Armstrong also commented on the film and its subject matter:

Van days rule. You will drive all night on no sleep then play a show for 10 kids in a basement of a friend of a friend’s house 50 miles east of anywhere you’ve ever heard of. But you’ll do it again the next day, and the one after that. Because you’re doing it with your bandmates who become your family and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever known. It’s electric. Let the music and mischief ensue.

Live Nation Productions’ is producing the project, and the company’s head of film and TV, Ryan Kroft, also commented on the project:

With incredible guidance from Green Day, ‘New Years Rev’ tells the story of young artists chasing a dream — long nights, endless miles, and the electrifying rush of the stage fueling their journey. Brought to life by an incredible cast, it’s a tribute to the magic of live music.

What This Means For The Green Day Movie New Year’s Rev Will Honor Green Day’s Legacy

New Year’s Rev is, notably, not a music biopic about Green Day. Instead, it acts as both a loose adaptation of the band’s real story and a meta commentary on their legacy. The band at the core of New Year’s Rev is a fictional tribute to the kind of young artists that members of Green Day once were, but this same band exists in a universe wherein Green Day exists and opening for them would be a coveted honor. As such, the film may also honor the legacy and mystique behind Green Day themselves as a band, as the young artists look up to them.

Related 15 Highest-Grossing Music Biopics, Ranked By Box Office Success

The last two decades of music biopics have seen box office flops and Academy Award winners, with the late 2010s introducing several blockbusters.

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New Year’s Rev will not be the first movie involving a member of the Green Day team. Armstrong appeared in the 2016 film Ordinary World, wherein he played an aging punk rocker. As in the cast of New Year’s Rev, the film was not biographical, yet its plot still gave the sense that it was paying tribute to Armstrong and where he was at in his career. It will be interesting to see how New Year’s Rev honors Green Day at a much earlier point in their career.

Our Take On The Green Day Movie An Original Green Day Song Seems Likely

All three members of Green Day are entrancing personalities, so their influence on the road-trip music comedy will be welcome. The announcement did not say much about the actual music that will be in New Year’s Rev, other than the fact that the film will be a tribute to the live music scene. I would not be surprised if the film threw in an original Green Day song or two, in an attempt to get Best Original Song attention during awards season later on, or just to have something fresh for Green Day listeners.

Silent Witness and New Tricks creator Nigel McCrery dies aged 71

Former police officer had revealed last year he had been diagnosed with an unspecified terminal illness

The TV writer Nigel McCrery – creator of the series Silent Witness – has died aged 71, his agent has confirmed.

The former police officer, who also devised the cold case show New Tricks, revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with an unspecified terminal illness.

United Agents wrote on social media: “It’s with a heavy heart that we share the news of screenwriter, author and producer Nigel McCrery’s passing.

“As the creative mind behind such hits as the much loved long running BBC drama series Silent Witness and New Tricks, Nigel captivated and inspired audiences for years with his work.

“His numerous contributions to the arts will always be remembered. Nigel had an incredible career and will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.”

McCrery, who served with the Nottinghamshire constabulary, began Silent Witness in 1996 – the BBC programme about a police pathologist released its latest series, its 28th, this year.

His 1950s-set medical drama Born and Bred, co-created with the Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, aired during the 2000s.

McCrery also launched New Tricks, which follows the fictional unsolved crime and open case squad, with Roy Mitchell in 2003.

The show starring Dennis Waterman, Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam had strong ratings, before being axed in 2015 after 12 series.

McCrery also wrote non-fiction books about sport and the first and second world wars.

These included The Footballers Who Fought and Died in the Great War, Into Touch: Rugby Internationals Killed in the Great War and Season in Hell: British Footballers Killed in the Second World War.

His book The Vanished Battalion was made into the 1999 war drama All the King’s Men, starring Sir David Jason and Dame Maggie Smith.

In October 2024, he told BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live programme that he had recently been given a terminal diagnosis, which he called “quite a shock”.

“I mean people deal with their deaths in different ways, and I think it’s all very, very individual to each of us,” he said. “But I think for a little while you do go into shock – or I did, and I was in a bit of a state.”

Selena Gomez addresses ‘Emilia Pérez’ costar Karla Sofía Gascón’s controversy

Selena Gomez is proud of the work in Emilia Pérez despite all the controversy surrounding her costar Karla Sofía Gascón.

At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival over the weekend (via The Hollywood Reporter), a moderator asked Gomez how she was faring amid all the scrutiny swirling around her film, to which she said, “I’m really good.”

“Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done, and I’m just grateful and live with no regrets,” added the star. “And I would do this movie over and over again if I could.”

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Gascón, who portrays the titular Emilia Pérez in the Academy Award-nominated musical thriller, drew backlash after racially-charged social media posts from 2021 resurfaced online. The posts disparaged Islam, George Floyd, and Oscars diversity efforts.

The actress, who made history as the first openly transgender artist to be nominated for an Oscars acting category, has apologized, but the fallout has been swift. There have been calls for Gascón to withdraw from the Oscars race, which she made clear she did not intend to oblige. “I have not committed any crime nor have I harmed anyone,” Gascón told CNN. “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”

The film’s director Jacques Audiard has also distanced himself from Gascón. “She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing,” Audiard told Deadline earlier this month. “Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it.” He also accused the star of “hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film.”

Along with Gomez, costar Zoe Saldaña has also been asked to weigh in on the controversy. Saldaña, nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category, recently told Variety she was “sad” and “disappointed” by the ordeal. “I can’t speak for other people’s actions,” she said. “All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here.”

Emilia Pérez tells the story of a Mexican lawyer, Rita (Saldaña), as she’s recruited to help a notorious crime boss (Gascón) retire and fulfill a lifelong desire to transition into living life as a woman. It won the Cannes Jury Prize and, most recently, four Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It received 13 nominations at the upcoming Oscars, including Best Picture.

Kendrick Lamar puts emphatic nail in coffin of Drake beef with Super Bowl LIX halftime show

Leave it to Kendrick Lamar to turn America’s uncle, Samuel L. Jackson, into, well … Uncle Sam.

To start the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show Sunday, Jackson was elaborately dressed up as the infamous American moniker with a red, white and blue getup. He provided the opening skit, “Uncle Sam’s Game,” urging Lamar to showcase what the country is all about.

As the first rapper to solo headline the Super Bowl halftime show, Lamar not only delivered, but brought to life all the social commentary he’s become known for in his lyrics.

The stage was simple, or so it seemed, with an old school muscle car in shiny patent black behind Lamar as dancers in red, white and blue engulfed him. Lamar also made it impossible to bet on his opening song (“Bodies”) because it’s unreleased.

“The revolution is about to be televised,” he rapped. “You picked the right time but the wrong guy.”

From there, Lamar suggested it was time to “Squabble Up,” playing the hit off his newest album, GNX. The storytelling continued as Jackson reappeared throughout in his Uncle Sam top hat to transition from each act.

Lamar’s dancers created an American flag on stage as he rapped “Humble,” leading straight into “DNA” — two of his biggest hits.

SZA had been announced as a featured artist and the two have collaborated on multiple songs. After teasing “Not Like Us,” Lamar instead pivoted to “Luther” about halfway through his performance, choosing to bring out SZA then. She contrasted Lamar’s blue and white attire with an all-red leather outfit of her own. They transitioned seamlessly into their hit off the “Black Panther” soundtrack, “All the Stars” where SZA was really able to show off her incredible vocals.

Then the beat dropped and sped up, with the opening few notes of “Not Like Us” returning, except this time, the backing track was heard saying, “You really about to do it?”

If you hadn’t before, you then immediately noticed a diamond chain Lamar had dangling around his neck with a lowercase “a” as the music dropped out, with the crowd yelling Lamar’s “A minor” lyric right along with him. Lamar also looked directly at the camera while addressing Drake in the song, shooting a mischievous grin as a nod to everyone that knows the beef there.

As if that wasn’t eventful enough, the camera panned to show fellow Compton native Serena Williams C-walking as Lamar rapped “Are you my friend?”

Williams, the greatest female tennis player of all time, was rumored to have been romantically involved with Drake several years ago.

A moment later, the infamous “MUSTARDDDDD” rang out and the show ended with “TV Off” with Mustard himself on stage to help close it out. The stadium went dark as Lamar chanted “turn his TV off” and lights illuminated in the crowd to spell out “GAME OVER” — which incidentally encapsulated the Eagles’ commanding lead over the Chiefs in an eventual 40-22 win.

Indeed, it was the final nail in the Kendrick-Drake beef coffin. The show was an intricately woven tapestry of petty from the micro level (directed at Drake) to the macro level (addressing societal issues and inequities through art and humor).

It was everything we’ve come to expect from the Pulitzer Prize winner. Lamar didn’t take his opportunity for granted, nor did he take his responsibility lightly. And we were all entertained along the way.

Carmen Vitali is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.

Prosecutor says Salman Rushdie was too stunned to react when a man started to stab him

Salman Rushdie was so stunned when a masked man started to stab him on a stage in western New York that the author didn’t even try to fight back, a prosecutor said Monday during opening statements in the suspect’s attempted murder trial.

Rushdie, 77, is expected to testify during the trial of Hadi Matar, bringing the two face-to-face for the first time since the attack that left Rushdie seriously wounded and blind in one eye.

On the day of the attack in August 2022, the Booker Prize-winning novelist was seated in an armchair on stage at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater, about to present a lecture on keeping writers safe.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt told jurors Monday that the attack was swift and sudden. He said Matar bounded up a staircase to the stage and ran about 30 feet toward Rushdie. As the stabbing began, Rushdie and fellow speaker Henry Reese were so stunned that they initially remained seated.

“Without hesitation this man holding his knife … forcefully and efficiently in its speed, plunged the knife into Mr. Rushdie over and over and over and over again,” Schmidt said, “stabbing, swinging, slicing into Mr. Rushdie’s head, his throat, his abdomen, his thigh” and a hand the author raised to protect himself.

“It all happened so fast that even the person under attack, Mr. Rushdie, and the person sitting next to him, Mr. Reese, didn’t register what was happening,” Schmidt said.

Rushdie eventually got up and ran away with Matar in pursuit and other people subdued the attacker, Schmidt said. Reese, co-founder of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, suffered a gash above his eye.

A Chautauqua Institution employee testified that he rushed from backstage to intervene when he saw a man was on stage violently swinging his arms at Rushdie.

“I ran as fast as I could, lowered my shoulder and got as much of him with as much of me as a I could to disrupt what was happening,” said Jordan Steves, who was the media relations coordinator.

Steves, one of two witnesses to testify Monday, identified Matar as the assailant.

Matar, 27, of Fairview, New Jersey, is charged with attempted murder and assault. He has pleaded not guilty. He calmly said “Free Palestine” as he was led into the court Monday. During Schmidt’s opening statement, Matar looked on from the defense table, occasionally taking notes, and smiling and laughing while speaking with his attorneys.

“This is not a case of mistaken identity,” Schmidt said. “Mr. Matar is the person who attacked Mr. Rushdie without provocation.”

Rushdie, an Indian-born British-American author, detailed the attack and his long, painful recovery in a memoir, “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” released last year.

Rushdie had worried for his safety since his 1989 novel “The Satanic Verses” was denounced as blasphemous by many Muslims and led to Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa calling for his death. Rushdie spent years in hiding, but had traveled freely over the past quarter century after Iran announced it would not enforce the edict.

The trial is taking place as the 36th anniversary of the fatwa — February 14, 1989 — approaches.

Author Salman Rushdie looks on as he receives the Peace Prize of the German book trade (Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels) during a ceremony at the Church of St. Paul in Frankfurt, Germany, October 22, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/Pool

Kai Pfaffenbach/Pool/Reuters

Matar’s defense faced a challenging start after his public defender, Nathaniel Barone, was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness preventing him from attending the start of the trial. Judge David Foley refused a defense request to postpone opening statements and instructed Barone’s associate to speak in his place.

Assistant public defender Lynn Schaffer told jurors that prosecutors couldn’t prove Matar’s guilt, even with videos and photos. She said the case is not as straightforward as the prosecution portrayed.

“The elements of the crime are more than ‘something really bad happened’ — they’re more defined,” Shaffer said. “Something bad did happen, something very bad did happen, but the district attorney has to prove much more than that.”

She acknowledged that nearly all the jurors admitted during jury selection that they had heard something about the case.

“No matter what you knew coming in here, none of that information ever told you why and none of that information that you get from the district attorney is going to tell you why,” she said.

The trial will last up to two weeks, the lawyers said.

The trial’s first witness was a Chautauqua Institution administrator who said she was handed the knife by an institution reverend after she rushed toward the stage.

Deborah Moore Kushmaul said she immediately gave it to a law enforcement officer.

Matar told investigators he traveled by bus to Chautauqua, about 75 miles south of Buffalo. He is believed to have slept in the grounds of the arts and academic retreat the night before the attack.

In a separate indictment, federal authorities allege Matar was motivated by a terrorist organization’s endorsement of the fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death. A later trial on the federal charges — terrorism transcending national boundaries, providing material support to terrorists and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization — will be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.

In the federal indictment, authorities allege Matar believed the edict was backed by the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and endorsed in a 2006 speech by the group’s then-leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Rushdie has been one of the world’s most celebrated authors since the 1981 publication of “Midnight’s Children,” winner of the Booker Prize. His other works include the novels “Shame” and “Victory City,” which he completed shortly before the 2022 stabbing, and the 2012 memoir “Joseph Anton,” in which he wrote about his time in hiding.

How the ‘Emilia Pérez’ cast is responding to the backlash against Karla Sofía Gascón

Selena Gomez appeared to allude to Gascón’s controversial social media posts.

A few months ago, “Emilia Pérez” seemed like an unstoppable awards season favorite. However, some recently resurfaced social media posts have cast a shadow over the Spanish-language crime drama and musical.

Star Karla Sofía Gascón has faced criticism for several past social media posts that appear to show her making racist and Islamophobic remarks.

In late January, journalist Sarah Hagi shared screenshots of the now-deleted posts, which have not been independently verified by TODAY.com.

Since the posts resurfaced, Gascón deactivated her X account and issued an apology through Netflix.

“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” she said in her statement, according to NBC News. “All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”

She also addressed the backlash in a Feb. 2 CNN Español interview.

“I believe I have been judged, I have been convicted and sacrificed and crucified and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself,” she said in Spanish.

Before her past posts resurfaced, Gascón had been front-and-center in the promotion of “Emilia Pérez,” making headlines as the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award.

She was met with applause at the Golden Globes on Jan. 6 when she tearfully accepted an award on behalf of the “Emilia Pérez” cast and crew for best motion picture in the musical or comedy category.

However, she has been absent from more recent awards ceremonies in the lead-up to the Oscars on March 2. She bowed out of the Critics Choice Awards on Feb. 7, where she was nominated for best actress (and lost to Demi Moore for “The Substance”), and she was absent from the Producers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Awards on Feb. 8.

Gascón has also been quietly removed from promotional materials for the film, with some promo emails and billboards being edited to more heavily feature her co-stars, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Zoe Saldaña was the first of Gascón’s fellow “Emilia Pérez” actors to publicly address the controversy around Gascón’s past posts.

In recent days, co-star Selena Gomez and director Jacques Audiard have also been asked to share their reactions. Here’s how Saldaña, Gomez and Audiard have responded to the backlash so far.

Gomez has not commented directly on Gascón’s recently unearthed social media posts.

However, the “Only Murders in the Building” star, 32, appeared to allude to the recent controversies surrounding “Emilia Pérez” during a Q&A at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Feb. 9.

Asked how she was doing in light of the film being under a “microscope” recently, Gomez replied that she is “good.”

“I’m really good,” she said in a clip of the Q&A shared by The Los Angeles Times. “Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done and I’m just grateful. I live with no regrets and I would do this movie over and over again if I could.”

Gomez has also not commented on a viral tweet that allegedly showed Gascón calling her a “rich rat.”

Gascón denied writing this tweet in a recent interview with CNN Español.

“Of course that’s not mine,” Gascón said. “I have never said anything about my co-star. I would never refer to her that way.”

Saldaña has commented a few times on the recent controversy surrounding Gascón’s past tweets.

During a Jan. 31 Q&A for “Emilia Pérez” in London, the actor said she was “still processing” the backlash from the tweets, which had surfaced the previous day.

“It makes me really sad because I don’t support and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group,” Saldaña said in a video of the panel discussion shared by The Hollywood Reporter.

“It saddens me that we’re having to face this setback right now,” she also said. “But I’m happy that you’re all here and that you’re all still showing up for ‘Emilia’ because the message that this film has is so powerful and the change that it can bring forward to communities that are marginalized day in and day out is important.”

She addressed the controversy a week later on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast on Feb. 6.

“I’m sad. Time and time again, that’s the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened,” Saldaña said. “I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here.”

Asked whether it’s possible to separate the legacy of “Emilia Pérez” from the recent backlash to Gascón’s comments, Saldaña said she “will always be a hopeful person.”

“I was not raised to have any negative judgment towards people of any group or any community. So I am against that, I do not support that,” she said. “And, while being that person, I can still stand by a body of work that I can be proud of.”

Saldaña declined to comment on whether she had spoken to Gascón since the fallout.

“I feel like I’ve spoken enough about it and everything else that needs to be said, I’m taking my time to process,” she said. “It’s not just something we have to figure out immediately.”

“Emilia Pérez” director Jacques Audiard has shared perhaps the bluntest words of all about Gascón’s resurfaced social media posts.

“Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad. It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía,” he said in a Feb. 5 interview with Deadline.

He mourned recent developments in light of the previous “trust” and “exceptional atmosphere” he said he and Gascón shared while making the film.

“When you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected,” he said. “It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.”

He was also direct when asked if he had been in touch with Gascón since her past comments emerged.

“I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why?”

He also shared his frustration about how Gascón’s past actions are affecting her “Emilia Pérez” co-stars.

“I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe and Selena,” he said. “I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us.

“I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions,” he added.

Gascón responded to the director’s comments in an Instagram post.

“Following Jacques (sic) interview that I understand, I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference,” she wrote, sharing a cast photo from the Cannes Film Festival.

“I sincerely apologize to everyone who has been hurt along the way,” she added.

Serena Williams Surprises the Super Bowl Halftime Show in Her Tennis Staples

Serena Williams just made her Super Bowl 2025 debut — as a surprise halftime show performer, that is.

The tennis legend briefly joined Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar toward the end of his historic 15-minute set, appearing onstage in a cropped cobalt blue jacket, white crop top, and pleated skirt — all staples of her history-making tennis fashion as a Grand Slam champion. A stack of diamond necklaces, including a heart shaped pendant, glistened under the lights of the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans above her white top. And while the last time she appeared in a major stadium came with tricked-out Nike sneakers, she opted for classic blue high-tops this time around.

Williams’s cameo in the political performance lasted for the blink of an eye, but it made an impact. She crip walked to “Not Like Us,” Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss track about the rapper Drake. Fans online speculated Williams had reason to take Lamar’s side in their ongoing beef. She and Drake were rumored to have dated in the mid-2000s; late last year, Page Six reported his song “Too Good” was written about her. Lamar then referenced the song in “Not Like Us,” rapping, “From Alondra down to Central — better not speak on Serena.”

The tennis star had already made her appreciation for the track clear at another event. Hosting the ESPY Awards in 2024, she danced to “Not Like Us” several times during her opening monologue.

Of course, the duo has a connection beyond any mutual dislike of Drake. Both are proud Los Angeles natives from the neighborhood of Compton.

Cobalt blue tennis separates were part of a bigger picture on the Super Bowl halftime stage. All of the performers wore red, white, and blue — the colors of the American flag — to underscore Lamar’s lyrics critiquing American politics and culture throughout the set. (Exact credits for Williams’s look were not available at press time.) Other notable cameos included SZA (performing “All the Stars” in a lace-up red leather outfit) and Samuel L. Jackson (playing the role of Uncle Sam, narrating the show).

While Williams has made history on several world stages, her Super Bowl cameo offered an opportunity the pro tennis circuit never could. During her competition days, as X (formerly Twitter) user @notdanilu noted, the GOAT was lambasted in the media for crip-walking after a win at Wimbledon. Her performance was her way of reclaiming it boldly (and in a look similar to what she wore back then.)

Attempted murder trial begins for accused Salman Rushdie attacker | CBC News

Salman Rushdie was so stunned when a masked man started to stab him on a stage in western New York that the acclaimed author didn’t even try to fight back, a prosecutor said Monday during opening statements in the suspected attacker’s attempted murder trial.

Rushdie, 77, is expected to testify during the trial of Hadi Matar in a Chautauqua County court in Mayville, N.Y., bringing the two face-to-face for the first time since the attack that left Rushdie seriously wounded and blind in one eye.

On the day of the attack in August 2022, the Booker Prize-winning author was seated in an armchair on stage at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater, about to present a lecture on keeping writers safe.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt told jurors the attack was swift and sudden. He said Matar bounded up a staircase to the stage and ran about 30 feet toward Rushdie. As the stabbing began, Rushdie and fellow speaker Henry Reese were so stunned that they initially remained seated.

“Without hesitation this man holding his knife forcefully and efficiently in its speed, plunged the knife into Mr. Rushdie over and over and over again,” Schmidt said, “stabbing, swinging, slicing into Mr. Rushdie’s head, his throat, his abdomen, his thigh” and a hand the author raised to protect himself.

“It all happened so fast that even the person under attack, Mr. Rushdie, and the person sitting next to him, Mr. Reese, didn’t register what was happening,” Schmidt said.

Rushdie eventually got up and ran away with Matar in pursuit and other people subdued the attacker, Schmidt said. Reese, co-founder of City of Asylum, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization that helps writers exiled from their countries for their controversial writing, suffered a gash above his eye.

Matar, wearing a blue dress shirt, looked on from the defence table during the opening statements, occasionally taking notes. The 27-year-old, a resident of Fairview, N.J., has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault.

“This is not a case of mistaken identity,” Schmidt said. “Mr. Matar is the person who attacked Mr. Rushdie without provocation.”

The Indian-born British-American author detailed the attack and his long, painful recovery in a memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, released last year.

Rushdie had worried for his safety since his 1989 novel The Satanic Verses, a novel inspired by the life of the prophet Muhammad, which utilized magical realism and received praise from literary critics, was denounced as blasphemous by many Muslims and led to Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa calling for his death.

Rushdie spent years in hiding, but had travelled freely over the past quarter century after Iran announced it would not enforce the decree.

The trial is taking place as the 36th anniversary of the fatwa — Feb. 14, 1989 — approaches.

Matar’s defence faced a challenging start after it was announced that his lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness and would not attend the start of the trial.

Judge David Foley refused a defence request to postpone opening statements, instead instructing one of Barone’s associates to deliver the defence’s opening statement in his place.

Assistant public defender Lynn Schaffer told jurors that prosecutors would be unable to prove Matar’s guilt, even using video recordings and photos. She said the case is not as straightforward as the prosecution portrayed.

“The elements of the crime are more than ‘something really bad happened’ — they’re more defined,” Shaffer said. “Something bad did happen, something very bad did happen, but the district attorney has to prove much more than that.”

She acknowledged that nearly all the jurors admitted during jury selection that they had heard something about the case.

“No matter what you knew coming in here, none of that information ever told you why and none of that information that you get from the district attorney is going to tell you why,” she said.

The trial will last up to two weeks, the lawyers said.

Matar told investigators he travelled by bus to Chautauqua, about 120 kilometres south of Buffalo. He is believed to have slept on the grounds of the arts and academic retreat the night before the attack.

In a separate indictment, federal authorities allege Matar was motivated by a terrorist organization’s endorsement of a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death. A later trial on the federal charges — terrorism transcending national boundaries, providing material support to terrorists and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization — will be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.

Rushdie has been one of the world’s most celebrated authors since the 1981 publication of Midnight’s Children, winner of the Booker Prize. His other works include the novels Shame and Victory City, which he had completed shortly before the 2022 stabbing, and the 2012 memoir Joseph Anton, in which he wrote about his time in hiding.

In the federal indictment, authorities allege Matar believed the edict was backed by the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and endorsed in a 2006 speech by the group’s then-leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Green Day-Inspired Comedy Movie in the Works From Live Nation Productions (EXCLUSIVE)

Green Day-Inspired Comedy Movie in the Works From Live Nation Productions (EXCLUSIVE)

Ethan Shanfeld

February 10, 2025 at 8:00 PM

A comedy movie inspired by (and developed with) Green Day is being produced by Live Nation Productions.

Titled “New Years Rev,” the film is a coming-of-age story of three friends — played by Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust — who journey to Los Angeles, mistakenly believing that their band is opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve.

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Per the logline, “Their roadtrip is a rowdy and mischievous jaunt across the country filled with adventures, based on the exploits of Green Day and their years of living in a tour van.”

The film, written and directed by Lee Kirk, also stars “The Office” favorites Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, alongside Ignacio Diaz-Silverio and Keen Ruffalo. Production is underway in Oklahoma.

“Van days rule. You will drive all night on no sleep then play a show for 10 kids in a basement of a friend of a friend’s house 50 miles east of anywhere you’ve ever heard of,” said Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong in a statement. “But you’ll do it again the next day, and the one after that. Because you’re doing it with your bandmates who become your family and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever known. It’s electric. Let the music and mischief ensue.”

“New Years Rev” is produced by Tim Perell for Process; Green Day’s Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool; and Stella Bulochnikov for Pat Solitano Productions. Ryan Kroft and Michael Rapino for Live Nation Productions and Jonathan Daniel are executive producers.

Green Day, the rock trio behind alternative classics like “Basket Case,” “American Idiot” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” released its latest album, “Saviors” in 2024. The California rockers are set to headline Coachella in April.

Live Nation Productions is the film and TV arm of Live Nation Entertainment. Its music-inspired projects include the Oscar-winning “A Star Is Born,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Love, Lizzo” and Anderson .Paak’s upcoming scripted feature “K-Pops.”

Thames is represented by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Coffman is repped by MAG Talent Agency and Luber Roklin Management. Foust is repped by Paradigm.

“With incredible guidance from Green Day, ‘New Years Rev’ tells the story of young artists chasing a dream — long nights, endless miles, and the electrifying rush of the stage fueling their journey,” said Kroft, Live Nation Productions’ head of film and TV. “Brought to life by an incredible cast, it’s a tribute to the magic of live music.”

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Lil Wayne reveals if he will attend the Super Bowl after controversy

Back in September, it was revealed that Kendrick Lamar would be taking center stage at Super Bowl 59’s halftime show, which will be held at the Caesar Superdome in New Orleans. Wayne was very open about his disappointment of not being chosen for the halftime show in his home city.

“That hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot,” he said at the time. “I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”

Wayne revealed on his Instagram story Wednesday leading up to the Super Bowl that he would not be attending.

“Y’all know I’m not going to be there this week,” the rapper said. “Shoutout to New Orleans, but I’ve been working on something very special. I’ve got something exciting coming for you.”

“Until then? I’m just chillin,’” he said later, revealing that he would have a big surprise for fans this week.

The rapper surprised fans in a Cetaphil commercial that referenced Wayne’s reaction to not being chosen for the Super Bowl.

“Sometimes, we all get a Lil Sensitive… and hey, who hasn’t been there? Right, @Cetaphil? Because if you can’t solve your sensitive situation, you can at least soothe your sensitive skin,” the rapper captioned a post on Instagram with the ad.

At the end of the ad, it was revealed that Wayne would be releasing his highly anticipated Tha Carter VI in June.

Kendrick Lamar To Headline Super Bowl Halftime Show

Kendrick will be performing tonight at the Super Bowl and actually referenced Lil Wayne’s reaction to not being chosen on his latest project GNX.

“I used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down,” Dot raps on “wacced murals.”

In anticipation for the Super Bowl, Kendrick spoke to the halftime show sponsor, Apple Music, in a press conference about what fans are to expect.

“I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music, and I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on,” Lamar said in the press conference on Thursday. “I like to always carry on that sense of mak[ing] people listen, but also [to] see and think a little.”

“I think a lot of people was putting rap to the back — you didn’t get that grit, you didn’t see that bite anymore,” he explained. “My intent, I think from day one, was to always keep the nature of it as a sport… I love when artists grit [their] teeth. I still watch battle raps … This has always been the core definition of who I am.”

The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl, which will take place at 6:30 ET on FOX.