The Entertainment World Continued On Despite Spring Break

For most students, spring break means a week of straying from their normal routine, whether that means going on vacation, picking up a few extra hours at work, or just taking time to veg out. So it’s understandable if you found yourself “unplugged” from it all, especially in the entertainment world, during your week off.

 

Among the biggest news you may have missed over the break was the sci-fi action flick “Divergent” performing surprisingly well at the boxoffice, hauling in nearly $57 million domestically in its opening weekend. “Divergent” stars one of Hollywood’s newest leading ladies, Shailene Woodley, who has been busy landing roles in some of this year’s most anticipated films.

 

“I went and saw it with some friends,” said student Steve Pallone. “We were kind of expecting a knock off of ‘The Hunger Games,’ but it wound up being surprisingly good.”

Meanwhile, the Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais driven movie “Muppets Most Wanted” did not meet commercial expectations, despite receiving warm reviews succeeding 2011’s hit “The Muppets.” It made only $16.5 million in its first weekend out.

 

Disney provided a wealth of big news for future projects, including news from Marvel that the third film in the “Captain America” series will be going toe-to-toe with the highly anticipated “Batman versus Superman” on May 6, 2016, as well as “The Fantastic Four” and “Wolverine” sequels.

 

Disney also revealed that the next “Star Wars” movie, to which Disney acquired the rights in 2012, will begin principal photography in May. They also released plans for a sequel to “The Incredibles” and the third installment of “Cars.”

 

Last week also brought us new albums from Skrillex, Enrique Iglesias and Foster the People.

 

“I’ve been waiting for a follow-up album from Foster the People ever since I heard their first one,” said senior Eliza Bensley. “The new one definitely has a different sound, but I’ve been enjoying it.”

 

In other news from the music world, The Rolling Stones have postponed their tour of Australia and New Zealand following the death of Mick Jagger’s long-time girlfriend and fashion model L’Wren Scott, who died last week of an apparent suicide at her home in New York City.

 

“That was really sad to hear,” said student Matthew DeBlock. “I was familiar with her because she’d been linked to Mick for so long. I would hate to imagine what he’s been going through.”

 

Other noted celebrity deaths over break include “The Tonight Show” comedian David Brenner, 78, “Homeland” actor James Rebhorn, 65, and Gwar front-man Dave Brockie, also known as Oderus Urungus, at age 50.

 

In TV news, USA canceled “White Collar” after six seasons, while NBC renewed “Parks and Recreation,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Chicago Fire” and “Grimm.”

 

“Game of Thrones” show-runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have signed on to stay with the show at least through its sixth season, and writer George R.R. Martin shared in an interview with “The Hollywood Reporter” about the possibility of the finale being a feature film.

 

“Sign me up,” said senior Mark Spivak. “Each episode feels like a movie, so it makes sense that the last chapter would belong as an epic, big-budget blockbuster.”

 

All of this added up to an eventful nine days as winter ended, spring began, and the entertainment world kept churning along.

 

 

vlia@ramapo.edu