Warning: Minor Saltburn spoilers ahead. Emerald Fennell has a pretty simple explanation for how she generates stories, be it her Oscar-winning 2020 phenomenon Promising Young Woman or this week’s new comedic thriller, Saltburn. “They just creep into my mind,” the writer-director (and sometimes actress) told us during a recent virtual interview. “Oliver crept in and wouldn’t go away.” That’s a fitting way to describe her latest protagonist. Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is an outsider at the University of Oxford, a socially awkward student from a tough upbringing surrounded by the elite of the elite. But when he befriends the charismatic, ultra-wealthy Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) and nabs an invitation to spend the summer at Felix’s titular, sprawling English manor, Oliver develops an unhealthy obsession with his friend’s lifestyle… and is not going to go away very easily. Saltburn has drawn early comparisons to the 1999 Matt Damon- and Jude Law-starring twister The Talented Mr. Ripley, but Fennell cites other inspirations. “It’s a genre,” she says. “I love the sort of British, gothic country house [where] something happens in a summer that none of us could ever forget — The Go-Between and Atonement and all of those sorts of films. So I knew I wanted to make a film like that. … But I think also it makes a lot of sense that I was writing this film during COVID and it was a time when we couldn’t touch each other. We couldn’t do anything but look, and I think this is a film about what happens when you can’t touch the thing that you want.” And does her new movie tie in thematically to Promising Young Woman, the acclaimed #MeToo thriller starring Carrie Mulligan as a law student-turned-barista who plots revenge against those she blames for a friend’s suicide? Fennell says that’s for critics to decide. One connection is Mulligan herself, who makes a brief appearance as another parasitic friend of the aristocratic Felix family. Barry Keoghan in Saltburn. (MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection) (©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection) This time around, however, Fennell’s muse is Keoghan, the Oscar-nominated Banshees of Inisherin actor and Eternals hero who is once again drawing kudos for Saltburn. “The thing that I want to do is find the tender points and stick my fingers into them. That’s what I want to do. That’s what Barry wants to do,” Fennell says. “We have no interest in making stuff that’s not going to provoke some kind of visceral physical experience. That’s what a movie is. The thing that I always want to do is find the most interesting relationship there. And that’s kind of what Barry’s about, too. We just want to make stuff that makes you feel something. And so he’s remarkable.” What will likely be the film’s most-talked-about moment involves Keoghan’s Felix taking a long, naked frolic around the opulent Saltburn estate. The scene required nearly a dozen takes to complete, but it didn’t require any extra persuasion to get Keoghan to shed his clothes. “I never want to convince anyone of anything,” Fennell says. “For me, convincing an actor to do something is almost [like] trying to coerce someone into bed with you, or something that always feels a bit like seedy. “He’s only interested in doing the thing that feels super right. And so for him, when we were talking about that scene, he just completely understood because he understood what it should feel like for him and for the audience that it needs to feel it. … Post-coital, triumphant, gorgeous, insane, tragic, lonely, pathetic and hot. It’s got to be all of those things. And that’s what he does. And that’s why it’s exciting.” Saltburn is now playing.

ive years after A Star Is Born scored eight Oscar nominations, Bradley Cooper is back in the awards race with Netflix's Maestro — his sophomore effort as a director-star, as well as his second movie set in the music world. This time, the actor plays a real-life music titan, Jewish American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, whose storied career included writing the music for West Side Story and wielding the baton at the New York Philharmonic. Netflix clearly has high hopes for Maestro's Oscar chances. The movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, followed by stops at the New York Film Festival and AFI Fest, with a theatrical release planned for Nov. 22 and a streaming premiere on Dec. 20. But Maestro's trip along the awards circuit has been trailed by controversy over Cooper's choice to wear a prominent prosthetic nose as Bernstein, which has stirred a long-simmering debate in Hollywood over "Jewface" — the term used to describe non-Jews being cast as Jewish characters, particularly when negative stereotypes are involved. For months, Cooper was unable to address the controversy directly due to the Screen Actors Guild strike. But the actor recently issued his first public comments during an interview on CBS Mornings Tuesday. "I thought, 'Maybe we don’t need to do it,'" Cooper said. "But it's all about balance, and, you know, my lips are nothing like Lenny's, and my chin. And so we had that, and it just didn't look right [without the prosthetic]." Here's what you need to know about the controversy ahead of Maestro's release. Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. (Jason McDonald/Netflix) (Jason McDonald/Netflix) What is 'Jewface'? The term dates back to the age of music halls and vaudeville, but the practice of non-Jews wearing outrageous costumes to demean and insult Jews extends back centuries to medieval passion plays. Exaggerated noses — often made to look long and/or crooked — were central to those stereotypical portrayals. Vaudeville performers also layered on heavy European accents, all to emphasize and ridicule the otherness of Jews, just as blackface was used to demean African Americans. As vaudeville faded away and was replaced by Hollywood studios — many of which were created and run by Jewish executives — non-Jewish actors continued to be cast in Jewish roles. Think Charlton Heston as Moses in 1956's The Ten Commandments, Millie Perkins as Anne Frank in 1959's The Diary of Anne Frank or, more recently, Rachel Brosnahan in the Prime Video series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Cillian Murphy in the Christopher Nolan drama Oppenheimer. In 2021, comedian Sarah Silverman called that "long tradition" out on an episode of her podcast, specifically citing the casting of Kathryn Hahn in a planned Showtime series about legendary Jewish comedian Joan Rivers. (That series ended up not being made.) "One could argue, for instance, that a gentile playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called 'Jewface,'" Silverman said. "It's defined as when a non-Jew portrays a Jew with the Jewishness front and center, often with makeup or changing of features ― big fake nose, all the New York-y or Yiddish-y inflection. And in a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so front and center, why does ours constantly get breached, even today in the thick of it?" When did the Maestro controversy start? Maestro started production in May 2022, several months after Silverman's comments. Netflix released a handful of on-set photos after a few days of shooting, and Cooper's prosthetic nose was noticed by several publications. But the conversation picked up in earnest when the first trailer premiered over a year later in August, and continued in the run-up to the film's world premiere at Venice. Critics of Cooper's decision included British actress Tracy-Ann Oberman, who wrote on Instagram: "If Bradley Cooper can't do it through the power or acting alone then don't cast him — get a Jewish actor." As others noted on social media sites like X, formerly known as Twitter, Jake Gyllenhaal, who is Jewish, was hoping to play Bernstein in a competing project that didn't move forward after Maestro actively entered production. Interestingly, Silverman appears in Maestro as Bernstein's sister, Shirley, but has yet to publicly discuss the film. What have Jewish organizations and Bernstein's children said about the film? Following the initial wave of controversy that followed the release of the trailer, Bernstein's three adult children — Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein — released a statement supporting the director and star. (Bernstein died in 1990.) "Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father," the statement reads, adding: "It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose." (1/6) From Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Bernstein: Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father. pic.twitter.com/y9xZWDotJe — Leonard Bernstein (@LennyBernstein) August 16, 2023 Appearing at a press conference following a New York Film Festival screening attended by Yahoo Entertainment, Jamie Bernstein reiterated her praise for Cooper. "We felt like we were in unusually good hands," she noted, later adding: "Once we gave him permission to make the film ... he could have never consulted with us again. We saw so much being developed: He sent us pictures on his phone and showed us assemblies of footage. Seeing the final version ... was overwhelmingly thrilling and also very surreal." Meanwhile, Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League also defended Cooper. "Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses," the ADL said in its statement. "This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that." It's worth noting that Bernstein's religion plays only a small role in Maestro; in an early scene, it's suggested that the young composer would improve his career opportunities by changing his last name. And later on, he appears wearing a shirt with Hebrew letters, something he was known to do in real life. The film focuses more attention on his bisexuality and the complications that causes with his wife, Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan. Otherwise his Judaism isn't front and center — apart from Cooper's nose. Maestro premieres Nov. 22 in theaters and Dec. 20 on Netflix. Editor's note: This story was originally published on Oct. 25, 2023. It has been updated to include Cooper's comments.

Disney is not lying when the studio bills its latest animated adventure, Wish, as being from the makers of Frozen. The new film is a veritable reunion of the key players responsible for the 2013 pop culture phenomenon and its 2019 sequel: Frozen writer and co-director Jennifer Lee is one of the writers of Wish (she also now happens to be the head of Disney Animation); co-director Chris Buck returns in the same role (this time tag-teaming with Fawn Veerasunthorn, who worked in Frozen’s art department); and lead producer Peter Del Vecho is back (here with Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones, who worked on development of Frozen II). After the massive success of two Frozen movies — a worldwide box-office tally of more than $2.7 billion, and one, possibly two more installments on the way — why wouldn’t Disney run it back with the same team? Inevitably, Wish, which follows a 17-year-old girl named Asha (Ariana DeBose) who rebels against the tyrannical wish-suppressing ruler (Chris Pine) of the Mediterranean Kingdom of Rojas, shares more in common with Frozen than its Arendelle-powered pedigree. “I think all the things that have mattered to us with Frozen, this big epic fairytale, strong heroine character, incredible music, those are the things that are goals for us,” Lee tells Yahoo Entertainment of the film, which was also inspired by the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Studios and contains more than 100 Easter eggs and references to past Mouse House movies. “And what’s exciting about this movie though is it’s sort of a bridge, because there are a lot of folks [from] the Frozen team and in combination with a lot of new filmmakers and new songwriters [like] Julia Michaels, who is of a new generation, fresh and brilliant. ... So it’s not Frozen, it’s its own thing, but it is [similar] in the love and the playfulness of our spirit in it.” Illustration: Yahoo News; Photos: Everett Collection “I think the DNA is basically a love of Disney, a love of all the movies that we grew up on, all the great storytelling that Walt did that Walt was just a master at,” says Buck. “And I think that’s where Frozen came from. That’s where Wish comes from. So I think that’s in sort of the Disney DNA.” “They do have a similar energy,” adds DeBose, who won an Oscar in 2022 for West Side Story. “But the stories in and of themselves, I think stand in their own world, which is great. I mean, who knows if one of our songs will become the next ‘Let It Go.’ But I think the important part is that no matter how you want to deem success, this story to me, it’s just as epic as the story of Frozen, and you have every single element of Disney classics instilled in our film, and so that to me is very exciting.” Where Wish also very noticeably departs from Frozen is its characterization of the heroine, Asha. For years Disney has been grappling with how to balance the studio’s storied tradition introducing new “Disney princesses” (and all the marketing tie-ins, apparel, dolls, etc. that come with it) while simultaneously recognizing the conceit as increasingly antiquated. In recent years, Disney animators have been making females increasingly stronger and with more agency, no longer damsels in the distress but warriors willing to battle. Mulan, Merida (Brave) Moana and Raya (Raya and the Last Dragon) are not your grandmother’s Disney princess. Some, like Moana, even went out of their way to refuse the title. Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose) encounters Star in Wish. (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection) (©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection) And unlike Elsa and Anna, Asha is not royalty, the filmmakers will tell you, inherently clearing her of the princess moniker — even if she’s already being considered part of the sisterhood by fans. “What's interesting [is] if you look at the original fairy tales [many] were based on like Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, princess was a different concept,” Lee says. That was sort of the reward. And I think how we evolved is where you look at Frozen, to be the princesses put a lot of pressure on them, and to be a queen, you hold the responsibility. … That was part of why we made Anna and Elsa royal, because of the princess legacy, but because that put everything on them. With Asha, what I was really excited about was the ordinary hero’s journey, [and] still being up against extraordinary circumstances.” “She’s common and we think that makes her incredibly relatable,” says Del Vecho. “I think there’s parts of her we can all see ourselves in. Certainly our heroines have evolved over time. We’re trying to make these movies feel timely and timeless. So it both has to feel of the world that we live in, but also stand the test of time. And I think Asha does that.” Says DeBose: “I think Asha takes us into uncharted territory, which is really cool. It opens the door for a completely new chapter for Disney animation. … She starts out on what I think we would say is a traditional Disney path for princesses or heroines, and then she decidedly chooses her own path, and I think that’s what should be modeled for young people, don’t you?” Wish opens nationwide Nov. 22.

When Periodical director Lina Plioplyte set out to make a documentary about periods, she knew that having some star power would help. So she put together a list of the celebrities who'd ever spoken or posted about it, and she optimistically began reaching out. "No one replied to us. Absolutely no one," Piloplyte tells Yahoo Entertainment. "So we literally tried every way... 'My childhood friend who's now their stylist'... any way possible. And it took us a year and nothing was happening. They just do not get back to you. So, like, forget it." Then Megan Rapinoe came in for the save. "[She] was the first one we got," Piloplyte says, "and it was a freak, lucky accident, because someone sent me an article saying the U.S. soccer team won a World Cup and had tracked their periods… And I literally just emailed the football association out of the blue, by myself... a guy gets back to me two weeks later and says, 'It's your lucky day. Come to Dallas in two weeks.' Boom. Wow. OK." Rapinoe and her teammates had strategized to work with their cycles while training for the 2019 World Cup, which they won. They did this by, for example, "giving themselves more time to recover between workouts during the lower-energy phases," according to the New York Times. They tried to figure out if they needed more sleep or food or iron? "We try to do every single thing that we possibly can to be the best, and I think tracking our periods was a big part of that," Rapinoe says in the doc. "Any little gain that you can have puts you in a better position to win." Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Allie Long celebrate their win of the FIFA Women's World Cup on July 7, 2019 in Lyon, France. (Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images) (Getty Images) She candidly explains in Periodical that her period is something that she thinks about regularly, rather than one week out of the month. The athlete's "yes" was one of what the director considered "nods from the universe" that she received while making the movie over four years. The project began out of curiosity: the story of periods, including how they happen, how they affect our lives and, perhaps most importantly, why everyone treats it as a taboo subject. 'Who told us not to talk about it?' A uterus holds a glass of wine in the documentary. (Periodical) "Who told us not to talk about it? Where did this start?" Piloplyte says the filmmakers asked. "And so we started peeling layers in the film, and as well as in research. And, you know, once you start poking around the internet about menstruation, I started seeing that there is a movement actually. And there are women that are pushing for menstrual rights. There are women who are running marathons, free bleeding. There is a whole conversation about menstruation online. And this was 2016." She wanted recognizable faces like Rapinoe to ensure that the film was backed and, once it came out, seen. "So that really opened the doors for us to have Megan and to have the soccer team's story," she says, "which is a very important story." Celebrities including activist Gloria Steinem, Pen15 executive producer and star Anna Konkle and actress Naomi Watts eventually came on board, too. "We got the most silence, interestingly, from celebs," Piloplyte explains of the new MSNBC Films documentary. "It was literally the 11th hour that, through my wonderful journalist friend, we got a Naomi Watts contact." The timing was perfect for Watts, who was ready to share her story of early menopause — she began experiencing it at 36, though it often starts a decade or more later — as she launched Stripes, a beauty and wellness brand focused on menopausal symptoms. 'What makes it difficult is the suffering alone' "I was just sick of keeping it secret," Watts, who's now 55, says in the film. She later reveals that, early on, she had joked about having "estrogen dips" in front of her friends, in the hopes that that would prompt them to volunteer their own experiences, but they didn't. "My friends were clearly either not there in that phase of their life or they weren't willing to talk about it," Watts adds. "What makes it difficult is the suffering alone and not knowing, waking up one day and not feeling yourself. You don't know whether that self is returning. You don't know if you're losing your mind. Suddenly the way someone turns their pages. Suddenly the way someone speaks. The perfume that they're wearing. You know, all of these things, your sensory overload is [high]. And then there's no one to talk to." In addition to celebrities, Periodical features activists, like Anusha Singh, who are campaigning to have the so-called "tampon tax" removed in the 21 states where it remains, arguing that products needed during periods are a necessity and should be treated as such. Activists earned a victory on that front in November 2021, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill exempting tampons, pads, menstrual cups and more from the state's six percent sales tax. Activist Anusha Singh advocates for elimination of the tampon tax. (Bianca Cline/Periodical) Interspersed between these women's stories is information about how periods have been treated throughout history, which is, of course, dismal. In the vein of When Harry Met Sally, menstruators of all ages pop up to share their (sometimes hilarious) honest observances, wisdom and questions about periods. It's noted that, in just the past 20 years, we had the movie Superbad, in which Jonah Hill plays a character who's disgusted when he gets period blood on him from a girl he's dancing with, and former President Donald Trump saying derisively that journalist Megyn Kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever" when she questioned his treatment of women during a presidential debate. All of these factors — the uprising of a younger generation demanding that periods are talked about and treated differently than they have been, more women speaking out about their own experiences, a film like Periodical — seem to be leading to a world where periods are no longer a thing you dare not discuss. Take this summer, when clips of men using a period simulator — and experiencing serious pain from it — flooded the internet. Piloplyte found that fascinating. 'Our bodies have a lot to tell us' "Thank God it went viral," she says, because people saw it. They saw how badly those men were in pain, as it dropped them to their knees. "I think, for me, what was beautiful is we had this rare moment where we could put men in our shoes, right? And that does not happen very often." In her next project, she plans to examine the opposite sex. "To really apply an empathetic and curious lens on everything that's happening with men's bodies," Piloplyte says. "Also, how patriarchy is not helping men to be free... because it's telling them what kind of square box they have to be living in to be masculine enough, manly enough." But first, she wants to make sure people first lay their eyes on Periodical, so they can better understand what's going on in their bodies. "It's like, 'Oh, our bodies have a lot to tell us. We just never were told to listen to it," she says. "We've been told to bandage it, you know, just stick a Band-Aid on it. Take a pill, kind of ignore the pain. Put yourself on contraception instead of [thinking] like, 'What's really happening there? Can I understand it better? That takes a much longer time, and that takes time to be with it and listening to it and being more uncomfortable with it." After all, knowledge is power. "That's what we've been saying in the film. The more you know about yourself, the more agency you have," Piloplyte says. "And I think that's what we really need in this country today." Periodical is currently streaming on Peacock.

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60s & 70s American & British Crime Drama Movies Upload Contest Our last contest ended up in a tie for the top uploader spot, with each uploader getting to choose their own contest theme. By a technicality, Duke73 was able to go first this time around and his chosen theme is American or British Crime Drama Movies from the 1960s and 1970s. Surely lots of classics there that we are missing in our library. With a minimum rating threshold for this contest expect the quality of the available movies pool to be above average. Entries submitted will be granted Freeleech and Doubleseed like before so be sure to take advantage of it and watch the ones that catch your eye when you get some free time. With all that said, these are the rules for the contest: The contest is limited to the Movies category. The movie's release date must be from the decades of 1960 or 1970. The movie's country of origin must be either the USA or the UK. The movie's genres must include (but not limited to) Crime, and Drama in at least one popular informational website (IMDb, TMDB, Wikipedia, etc.) and the movie's page from such website must be added to the Info section in the Description in the Torrent Upload form. The movie's IMDb rating must be 6.0 or higher. The torrents must be tagged at the very least with the crime and drama tags, along the corresponding decade tag, 1960s or 1970s, depending. All other standard torrent upload rules apply. Only torrents uploaded after the publication of this announcement count for the contest. Once you have uploaded your torrent(s) reply to the forum thread associated to this announcement to submit your entries for the contest. Group the links to your torrents in a single post, editing your post as necessary. If you would like to participate anonymously send us the links to your torrents in a Staff PM before the contest ends. The rewards: Upload at least 5 staff-approved torrents to receive a badge* to commemorate your participation in the contest. Upload at least 10 staff-approved torrents to receive 20 tokens* and personal site-wide Freeleech for 1 week*. The uploader with the most torrents approved gets to decide one of the two themes of the next contest that will take place after puellapurpura's. The top uploader of puellapurpura's contest will decide the other theme. Both themes will run in parallel, with participants able to upload torrents that fit one theme or the other, non-exclusively. To avoid another tie for top uploader, the winner will be the uploader that reached the tied total first. All staff-approved torrents will receive Freeleech and Doubleseed status once approved and will keep that status for a week after the contest ends. The Freeleech only applies to torrents that wouldn't have gained Freeleech status automatically. * These rewards will be given once the contest has ended. The contest will last until the end of December 7th.

(l to r) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ludwig Göransson and Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer. Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Everett Collective, Getty Images It might seem odd to do a career retrospective for a 39-year-old composer. But Ludwig Göransson has already achieved a career’s worth of milestones in under four decades in existence — and less than 15 years in Hollywood. He’s become a go-to composer for highest-echelon filmmakers like Ryan Coogler and Christopher Nolan. He won an Oscar and a Grammy for his work on Black Panther. He entered the Star Wars universe with The Mandalorian and promptly won two Emmys. He’s followed in the enormous footsteps of Bill Conti (evolving the composer’s famed Rocky score for Creed), Hans Zimmer (stepping in for Nolan’s longtime collaborator on Tenet when Zimmer was committed to Dune) and John Williams (performing some of the most innovative work this side of a galaxy far, far away since the 53-time Oscar nominee’s original themes). Yet the Swedish composer, songwriter and record producer represents an entirely new school of composers. He can conduct the hell out of an orchestra, but he’s also a hip-hop and pop savant who helped introduce Donald Glover’s Childish Gambino to the world and has produced for the likes of Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Kendrick Lamar. He can’t even tell you how many instruments he can play, but it’s probably pretty much all of them beyond the string section (though his wife, violinist Serena McKinney, has those covered). And Göransson is very, very likely to bring home his second Academy Award in three tries for his brooding, overpowering (in a good way) work on Nolan’s nuclear weapon opus Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy as the eponymous, tortured creator of the atom bomb. With Oppenheimer releasing this week on 4K Ultra HD, Göransson conducts us through some of the highlights of his still-young career, with many clearly still to come.

Your decor may still say "fall" but the Hallmark Channel says "It's Christmas time!" (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos (from left): Steven Ackerman/Hallmark, Robert Clark/Hallmark) Christmas in … November? The Hallmark Channel has already bid farewell to Thanksgiving and is officially leaning into the holiday season with its Countdown to Christmas movie series in full swing. This year, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 17, Hallmark is giving us three new holiday movies. Plus, in addition to Countdown to Christmas weekends, fans will also be getting holiday movies every Thursday with Hallmark Movies and Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas series and Hallmark Movies Now's Movies & Mistletoe series. All together, we’re getting 40 new Christmas movies from Hallmark in 2023. This week in Hallmark holiday movies, in honor of Thanksgiving, Hallmark is hitting us with three days of double features and kicking off the festivities early, starting on Thursday with Catch Me If You Claus, starring Italia Ricci and Luke Macfarlane. Friday brings the first double feature of the weekend with Letters to Santa with Katie Leclerc and Rafael de la Fuente at 6 p.m. ET, followed by Holiday Road starring Sara Canning and Warren Christie at 8 p.m. On Saturday you can see Christmas in Notting Hill starring Sarah Ramos and William Moseley at 6 p.m. ET, followed by Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up at 8 p.m. Sunday closes out the celebration with Our Christmas Mural starring Alex Paxton-Beesley and Dan Jeannotte at 6 p.m. ET and A Biltmore Christmas with Bethany Joy Lenz, Kristoffer Polaha, Jonathan Frakes and Robert Picardo. It’s like the 12 Days of Christmas, but so much longer! Keep reading to check out the full Hallmark Christmas movie schedule, find out where to watch Hallmark movies without cable and more. How to watch Hallmark Christmas movies in 2023 If you’re already a cable subscriber and are looking for more ways to watch the Hallmark Channel, you should be able to login with your cable credentials on WatchHallmarkTV.com and tune into a free livestream of the new Christmas movies as they premiere. Don’t have cable? Here’s what we recommend subscribing to if you want the Hallmark Channel:

Taylor Swift accepts her 2023 Billboard Music Award for Top Artist during one of the awkward night's pre-taped speeches. (YouTube) There was a great deal of hype surrounding the long-running Billboard Music Awards’ bold shift this year from a traditional network television event to an experimental digital format — which was billed as a “reimagined award show concept” that would “entertain fans with music and exclusive content” from several unique locations worldwide. But when the 2023 BBMAs actually took place Sunday via Billboard’s website and social media handles, fans who’d excitedly logged on to watch performances by K-pop groups NewJeans and Stray Kids, Colombian superstar Karol G, and Christmas queen Mariah Carey were dismayed that the host-free “ceremony” was not a full-scale awards show production or even an actual live-stream.