Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 10 May 2017
ABC announces revival of ‘

American Idol’ next season

DAVID BAUDER sion’s No. 1 series for nine the air. The show’s iconic
AP Television Writer years, peaking with 30 mil- judges were the first: villain
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC an- lion viewers an episode in Simon Cowell, his sparring
nounced a deal Tuesday 2006. By its last season the partner Paula Abdul and
to revive “American Idol,” average audience had Randy Jackson.
only a year after the pow- dipped to 11 million and ABC recently hired
erhouse music competition skewed older, and NBC’s Seacrest to be co-host with
aired its 15th and last sea- “The Voice” surpassed it in Kelly Ripa on the daytime
son on Fox. popularity. Still, in today’s talk show “Live,” so he’s al-
In this Thursday, April 7, 2016, file photo, Carrie Underwood ar-
rives at the “American Idol” farewell season finale at the Dolby The show that dominated television world, an audi- ready in the corporate fam-
Theatre in Los Angeles. television in the 2000s and ence of 11 million would ily — although “Live” is shot
Associated Press minted stars like Carrie Un- rank it among TV’s top 20 in New York and “Idol” is
derwood, Jennifer Hudson shows. California-based. Seacrest,
and Kelly Clarkson will be “’American Idol’ is a pop- on the talk show Monday,
back sometime during the culture staple that left the said he had only learned of
next TV season. That sea- air too soon,” said Chan- the revival last week when
son starts in September, but ning Dungey, ABC enter- he read a news story about
the return of “Idol” will likely tainment president. “ABC is it and made a call.
come later. Fox generally the right home to re-ignite “I said at the end of the
premiered each new sea- the fan base.” series, ‘goodbye for now,’
son in January. In “Dancing With the Stars,” hoping that somewhere
ABC, which agreed with ABC already has a com- it would come back,”
producers FremantleMedia petition show that has Seacrest said.
North America and 19 En- remained popular while He played coy when Ripa
tertainment on the reboot, primarily attracting older encourage him to return as
released few details, in- viewers. host.
cluding whether longtime Harry Connick Jr., Jenni- “Whatever you want,” he
host Ryan Seacrest will re- fer Lopez and Keith Urban joked. “You’re my work
turn. were the judges when wife. I say ‘yes’ and bow to
“American Idol” was televi- “American Idol” went off you.”q
Steve McQueen to direct authorized

Tupac Shakur documentary

LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Acad-
emy Award-winner Steve
McQueen is set to direct
a documentary about Tu-
pac Shakur. Shakur Estate
trustee Tom Whalley and
Amaru Entertainment said
Tuesday that the film is fully
sanctioned by the late hip-
hop artist’s estate.
McQueen is best known
for directing “12 Years a
Slave,” which won the best
picture Oscar in 2014 and
earned him a best director In this combination photo, filmmaker Steve McQueen, left, ap-
nomination. pears at The London Critics Circle Awards, in London, on Feb. 2,
2014 and rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event
The director said in a state- in South Central Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 1996.
ment that he looks forward Associated Press
to working with Shakur’s
family to bring his unvar- Whalley hopes that the and was something that his
nished story to life. Shakur’s documentary will help take mother Afeni Shakur con-
aunt and late mother’s sis- Shakur’s legacy beyond tinued pursuing until her
ter Gloria Cox will serve as “the refraction of the head- death last year.
an executive producer. lines, the controversy, and “Our goal has always been
“Few, if any shined brighter the tragic way his life end- to tell the true story, which
than Tupac Shakur,” said ed.” Shakur died in a still- has never been done be-
McQueen, who hinted unsolved drive-by shooting fore in such a complete
there was some over- in Las Vegas in 1996, at age way. My sister always said
lap between himself and 25. Cox said that the gen- to me, ‘We are not in the
Shakur during his time at esis of the project started business of defending Tu-
NYU film school in 1993. with Shakur himself in 1996 pac. q