Tom Hanks to Play Mr. Rogers in New Biopic

Tom Hanks

Mia Galuppo, writing for The Hollywood Reporter:

Tom Hanks wants to be your neighbor. The Oscar winner will play TV personality Fred Rogers in biopic You Are My Friend, which has been acquired by TriStar Pictures. The feature, which is set to begin production in September, is inspired by a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and award-winning journalist Tom Junod. The cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved icon and finds his perspective on life transformed.

Frank Turner Talks With NME

Frank Turner sat down with NME to talk about his upcoming album:

I always try and have a different mental approach to each record that I make. The last album that we did was sonically and stylistically a bit of a retrenchment, a bit of an attempt to restate first principles, and I liked it, I’m really proud of that record. We cut the record in nine days with a live band and it’s quite stripped back and lean, but now it’s absolutely different. And it’s my seventh album, I feel like I’ve earned the right to expand my sonic boundaries and possibly a duty to as well. There are people in this world who want me to remake ‘Love Ire & Song’ every two and a half years and they are going to be disappointed, but at the same time I’m not taking Love Ire & Song’ away from them.

Why Didn’t Lorde Perform at the Grammys?

Lorde

Jem Aswad, writing for Variety:

Sources close to the situation tell Variety that the Grammys approached Lorde about performing with other artists but not solo; one source says it was part of a tribute to the late Tom Petty involving his song “American Girl” (which would have been an odd fit for the New Zealand-born singer). Lorde declined.

That source added that the other Album of the Year contenders — all of whom are male — were offered solo spots performing songs from their respective nominated albums.