Cinema Talk

On Saturday, Offset rang in his 27th birthday with the second “Set Gala” at the historic Wilshire Ebell of Los Angeles. Just hours before, the Migos member found himself squarely in the crossfire of social media commentators after a highly publicized attempt at reconciliation with his estranged wife, rapper Cardi B, didn’t go as planned.

Cardi, who was also in Los Angeles, appeared as the first female headliner in the history of Rolling Loud Festival on Saturday. During her inaugural set, Offset briefly crashed the stage, bringing with him an elaborate setup of cake and flowers that spelled out “Take me back, Cardi." A clearly uncomfortable Cardi briefly entertained the scenario before having him escorted away by security.

A day prior, the “Narcos” rapper also took to Instagram to deliver an apologetic video message in which he stated that his only birthday wish was for the Invasion of Privacy rapper to forgive him and allow him to spend the holidays with her and their infant daughter, Kulture.

Yet in spite of a rather eventful day, the mood at the party remained celebratory, and the “jungle drip” theme brought out the imaginative side of attendees, who poured into the venue dressed to the nines in animal prints and other wilderness-inspired looks. Upon entering, many opted to pose on the red carpet, which was set against a verdant foliage backdrop featuring QC (Quality Control) insignia. Recognizable faces such as Trippie Redd, Kodak Black, 21 Savage, Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi, Quavo and Takeoff, and QC CEO Pierre “P” Thomas all walked the carpet before entering the sprawling venue where acrobats in animal print leotards floated trapeze-like structures above the heads of revelers.

Designated tables next to the stage were reserved for special guests, who also had access to the Ebell’s three open bars -- some of which featured special Avion Tequila bottles decorated with Offset’s face. Although the festivities started around 10 p.m. PT, the man of the hour didn’t make his grand entrance until around 12:30. His arrival was announced by Takeoff, Quavo and P, who entertained guests from a gold-accented stage setup featuring an elaborate throne.

Taking the “drip” theme to heart, Offset made his way to the stage flanked by a retinue of gold-dusted, costumed women -- who remained on stage when the rapper performed songs from his solo album. Dressed in an elaborate Pharaoh-esque ensemble complete with an ornate diamond and gold encrusted mask by Laurel DeWitt -- a rather effective way to hide one’s feelings - and scores of gold and diamond jewelry, the rapper seemed in good spirits despite personal woes. Undoubtedly, the Rolls Royce he later received as a gift from Quality Control probably didn’t hurt matters, nor did the crowd’s positive reaction to the snippets of his new music.

FOX SPORTS REIGNS SUPREME IN MOST IMPORTANT METRIC IN ALL OF TELEVISION: LIVE SPORTS EVENT VIEWING

New York, NY - In the single most important metric in today's television landscape, FOX Sports delivers in live sports event viewing this fall across its NFL, postseason baseball and college football properties. Beginning with Week 1 of the college football season on FOX, the network has a total of 103 billion minutes-viewed, ranking 1st among sports networks with a staggering +68% advantage over second place.

"The numbers don't lie," said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations & Strategy. "FOX Sports owns the Fall. We're delivering on our promise to be the leaders in the most valuable content at the most valuable time of the year."

When combining college football with the NFL, football on FOX amassed a total of 80.7 billion minutes-viewed, a sizable +34% gain over the next nearest competitor in 2018.

In October, when sports fans are glued to television sets across America watching postseason baseball, college football and NFL on FOX, the network owned 60% of the top 20 most-watched events in all of television for the month. With 54.2 billion minutes of live sports event viewing, FOX came out more than double the 2nd best broadcast or cable network for the month of October.

For more information on FOX Sports, visit FOX Sports Press Pass.

About FOX Sports

FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX's wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FS1, FS2; FOX Sports Regional Networks, their affiliated regional web sites and national programming; FOX Soccer Plus; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, including FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports app. Also included in the Group are FOX's interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that established the FOX Sports Radio Network.

Now that they have completed their fall runs, let’s see how each network’s shows are stacking up thus far for the 2018-19 TV season, first turning our attention to ABC.

Listed below is the average Live+Same Day demo RATING for each ABC series. Beside that is the percent CHANGE versus each program’s previous full-season average (or its time slot predecessor’s performance, if mentioned among NOTES). Each program’s RANK refers to perhaps the most critical measure — how it is faring compared to other shows on ABC, since come springtime heads must roll to make room for shiny-and-new pilots.

THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: The “Grey’s Anatomy is still on?” people can stick some gauze in it, as the stalwart med drama tops ABC’s chart for a second straight year; moving Million Little Things to that post-Grey’s spot could prove to be the season’s smartest switch. And no, The Conners is no Roseanne, but it’s still the network’s No. 1 comedy and its most-watched series (averaging 7.6 million viewers); ergo, Season 2 talks. ABC can’t be thrilled that The Good Doctor‘s vitals have waned this much in Season 2, capping what is now a flat-lining night.

Which ranking or percent change most surprises you?

Want scoop on any of the above shows? Email [email protected] and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

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The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the Society for Research in Music Education (SRME) invite proposals for research projects that address important issues in our profession, including but not limited to the topics of particular interest (see below). Researchers must be explicit in the proposal as to why their proposed research should be funded by NAfME.

Four priority areas of interest are:

1. Identifying optimal methods for delivering and recognizing in-service professional development for different music educator demographics (such as online vs. live; in-depth vs. survey; utility of micro-credentials), with emphasis on accessibility by audiences that might not currently be served by state or local professional development or by existing association networks. This would help NAfME and others in the field refine our delivery methods.
2. Identifying perceptions of difficulties in delivering standards-based instruction in large ensembles (with investigation of what ensemble teachers might need to feel more comfortable in attempting such instruction, particularly with regard to creating, responding, and the select part of performing). This would help NAfME address the policy goal of encouraging standards-based instruction. 
3. Identifying optimal methods (instructional, curricular, pedagogical) to reach and engage students in urban and other underserved environments. This focus area builds on the work of the 2018 Yale Symposium on Music in Schools, Declaration on Equity in Music for City Students.
4. In preparation for our 2020 joint researcher and practitioner conference, research that sheds light on issues, goals, and challenges addressed in Vision 2020 and the charges of the Housewright Declaration.

One proposal will be funded up to $10,000. The project is to be completed by November of 2020.

Budget: A stipend of up to $10,000 will be awarded to the grant recipient to be used solely in support of the project. Proposed budgets should designate funds for evaluation and dissemination of outcomes.

Submission Procedure: Submit the proposal via the OpenConf platform by October 15, 2018. Only submissions through the portal will be accepted for consideration.

Proposal Format:

1. Investigators: name, affiliation, and NAfME ID of principal and coinvestigators
2. Key words describing area of focus
3. 150-word abstract.
4. Proposal (not to exceed 2000 words): Purpose; Related Literature and References; Description of procedures; Plan for data analysis; Plan for evaluation and dissemination; Word count (entirety of the proposal)
5. Timeline
6. Budget
7. Why the proposed research should be funded by NAfME
8. Principal and coinvestigators’ curriculum vitae, not to exceed three pages each.

Decision Process: The SRME Executive Committee will select a proposal, through a peer-review process, for nomination to the NAfME National Executive Board. Applicants will be notified of the decision by December 15, 2018.

Submission of Final Report: A final report (APA style), a 150-word abstract, and a 750-word executive summary must be submitted to the SRME Chair no later than March 1, 2021. NAfME reserves the right to publish a summary of the results in NAfME journals, press releases, newsletters, on the NAfME website, and via social media platforms.

Photo by Erez Avissar/Weird Magic. For all of our SXSW 2013 coverage, head here.

Nü Sensae accomplished more in 15 minutes last night than some bands of similar raging noise-punk nature will manage all week of this fest. Tearing through "Swim" and other tracks from last year's excellent Sundowning (released by Suicide Squeeze, who co-presented the showcase), their chemistry exploded. On record, Nü Sensae's dynamic force builds upon its members equally-- Andrea Lukic's startlingly visceral howls, guitarist Brody McKnight's wall of noise. But live drummer Daniel Pitout is heavy and fierce as hell (which makes his angelic all-white bleach-blonde ensemble sort of great), raising his arms above his head to strike maximum damage with mostly every hit of the kit.

For as much anticipation as there is around the upcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, there are inescapable questions about how much the film’s behind-the-scenes drama may have affected the final product. That drama, of course, was most notably the firing of director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men). Singer was let go by Fox after he was reportedly a no-show on set and clashed with star Rami Malek, with two weeks left in principal photography. Singer was eventually replaced by Dexter Fletcher (Eddie the Eagle), an early candidate for the job, though Singer is still credited as the director on the film per DGA guidelines.

Malek (Mr. Robot), who headlines the film as Freddie Mercury, addressed Singer’s departure this week when he visited Yahoo Studios with co-stars Gwilym Lee (as Brian May), Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon), Lucy Boynton (Mary Austin), and producer Graham King. (Watch above.)

“At that point — we had all this time of rehearsal — we knew our characters so well, we knew exactly what the scenes were left to shoot, and we had just operated in a way that there was no question about how we were going to finish this. We all knew what we were doing, [we] had a handle on it,” he said.

Malek likened the filmmaker swap to his work on his Emmy-winning USA Network hit Mr. Robot: “From my perspective, I had been doing a television show where for the first season we’d go from director to director every episode. It’s just about understanding how to handle your character, knowing your character, and just a different vision for a little bit of time.”

The actor is clearly not sweating the outcome. “Having seen it now, it feels very fluid and cohesive.”

For King, the Oscar-winning producer of The Departed who with Bohemian Rhapsody oversaw a long start-and-stop production for a biopic that was once set to feature funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead, it was just one more bump in the road. “I look at it as if Freddie’s been throwing hurdles down at us for many years to get this right for perfection. And nothing was going to stop us from finishing this film.”

Bohemian Rhapsody opens Nov. 2. Watch the trailer:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

Mitski has announced new tour dates for spring 2019. The latest trek behind this year’s Be the Cowboy kicks off in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in March and currently wraps up the following month in North Adams, Massachusetts. Support at the shows will come from Jay Som. Check out Mitski’s full itinerary at her website, and find tickets here.

Check out Pitchfork’s feature “Don’t Cry for Mitski” and read about “Nobody” in our “Top 100 Best Songs of 2018.”