August 2017: Entertainment

Film.

• The sensational virtual-reality experience Carne y Arena (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible), the first VR entry at the Cannes Film Festival, directed by Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu, is now on view at the LA County Museum of Art and the Tiateolco Museum in Mexico City; it immerses viewers in the experience of being a migrant crossing the Mexican-American border – tickets are sold out in LA through September, but if you’ve got some pull, go see it this month
• The 70^th annual Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland is highly beloved for its ability to provide fare that appeals to both cinephiles and wider audiences; the Piazza Grande outdoor viewing area can accommodate an audience of 8,000 people; this year’s lineup is winning rave reviews – Aug 2-12
• Columbus is about two people – a resident and a visitor – taking a walk through the Indiana town, a haven for modern architecture – Aug 4
• The Dark Tower, based on the series by Stephen King, stars Idris Elba as the Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black – Aug 4
• Detroit is the latest from director Kathryn Bigelow: a historic thriller about the 1967 riots; John Boyega of Star Wars fame plays a security guard caught in the crisis – Aug 4
• Step won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance for inspirational filmmaking; it’s a documentary about an inner-city Baltimore girls’ high-school step dance team – Aug 4
• In Wind River, hot screenwriter Taylor Sheridan directs Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as a tracker and an FBI agent trying to solve a murder – Aug 4
• Fun Mom Dinner is the cotton-candy offering of the week, starring Toni Collette, Katie Aselton, Bridget Everett and Molly Shannon as parents of preschoolers on a night out; Paul Rudd plays their friendly artisanal pot dealer – Aug 4
• The Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival is in Oak Bluffs – Aug 8-12
• The Only Living Boy in New York is about a college graduate dealing with the aftermath of learning that his father is having an affair (while being in love with dad’s mistress) – Aug 11
• The documentary Whose Streets? by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis tells the story of the protests that followed the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, from the perspective of the town’s residents – Aug 11
• American crime-drama Good Time solicited raves at Cannes; directed by Ben and Josh Safdie and written by Josh and Ronald Bronstein, the film stars Robert Pattinson, Barkhad Abdi and Jennifer Jason Leigh and the trailer is awesome – August 11
• In Ingrid Goes West, Aubrey Plaza is Ingrid, an Instagram stalker of the seemingly perfect Taylor Sloane, played by Elizabeth Olsen – Aug 11
• Action-comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard pairs Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson as the world’s best bodyguard and his client – the world’s best hit man – who must travel to testify at the International Court of Justice – Aug 18
• Janicza Bravo’s Lemon is the fictional story of a forty-year-old director who’s at a crossroads in love and in art; Brett Gelman, Judy Greer and Michael Cera co-star – Aug 18
• Logan Lucky, directed by Steven Soderbergh (who’s out of retirement, apparently), stars Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Riley Keough as brothers plotting a heist during a NASCAR race; plus Daniel Craig (say no more, we’re in!) – Aug 18
• In Tulip Fever, set in 17th-century Amsterdam, a young woman (Alicia Vikander) is forcibly married to a rich merchant (Christoph Waltz); she begins an affair with a painter, and the lovers enter the frenzied tulip bulb market in the hope of making enough money to buy their freedom – Aug 25
• Leap! Is a feel-good animated film about a girl who aspires to be a dancer and a boy who wants to be an inventor – they head to Paris to pursue their dreams (‘cause why not?); voices include Elle Fanning, Kate McKinnon, Carly Rae Jepsen and Mel Brooks – Aug 30
• The Venice Film Festival brings even more glamour to town (the Biennale is still ongoing) – Aug 30-Sept 9

Television.

• Manhunt: Unabomber on Discovery is a docudrama with an all-star cast: Sam Worthington, Chris Noth, Mark Duplass, Paul Bettany and Jane Lynch – Aug 1
• The Sinner, a limited drama series on USA, showcases Jessica Biel as a murderous mom, and Bill Pullman as the detective investigating her case – Aug 2
• What Would Diplo Do? On Viceland stars James Van Der Beek as a DJ — Aug 3
• Sharknado 5 drops from the sky on Syfy – Aug 6
• Brillo Box (3¢ off), about the journey of an Andy Warhol sculpture from the director Lisanne Skyler’s family home to a $3 million auction at Christie’s, debuts on HBO – Aug 7
• The third season of Difficult People kicks off on Hulu – Aug 8
• Mercedes on Audience comes with a strong pedigree: it’s based on the best-selling 2014 novel by Stephen King and David E. Kelley wrote and adapted the project for television – Aug 9
• NBC will run for four special primetime episodes of Weekend Update while SNL remains on summer break – Colin Jost and Michael Che will host – starts Aug 10
• Get Shorty, based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, is a new 10-episode Epix series starring Chris O’Dowd as Miles Daly, a hitman from Nevada who tries to become a movie producer in Hollywood. Ray Romano is Rick Moreweather, a washed up producer who reluctantly becomes Miles’ partner – Aug 13
• Marvel’s The Defenders launches on Netflix; Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist get their own super-group show — August 18
• The long-awaited fifth season of Episodes on Showtime (a comedy starring Matt LeBlanc as Matt LeBlanc) finally arrives – Aug 20
• Broad City returns to Comedy Central for its 4^th season – Aug 23
• South Park returns to Comedy Central for its 21^st season, and its first since the Presidential election – Aug 23
• There’s… Johnny! is new seven-episode series starring Tony Danza as Johnny Carson on Seeso; Paul Reiser created and wrote the series – Aug 24
• The new workplace comedy from Chuck Lorre, Disjointed, starring Kathy Bates drops on Netflix; Bates plays longtime legalization advocate Ruth, who finally realizes her dream of opening a cannabis dispensary – Aug 25
• The latest reboot of The Tick, this time played by Peter Serafinowicz, is on Amazon – Aug 25

Podcasts.

• NPR will release Rough Translation, featuring East Africa correspondent Gregory Warner as he takes listeners “to places where the phrasebook fails, from a Ukrainian battlefield to a Somali prison cell, an Indian yoga studio and beyond.”
• The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast will focus solely on the total solar eclipse coming on August 21, with its “Totality 2017” theme.
• Conversations with People Who Hate Me, hosted by writer and video maker Dylan Marron, is a new podcast in which he calls some of the people who send him negative messages on the internet to ask one simple question: why? — begins Aug 1
• Pod Save America, the first podcast released under the Crooked Media banner, is billed as “a political conversation for people not quite ready to give up or go insane;” you can catch it twice a week all month.
• Nancy, one of WNYC’s newest podcasts, hosted by Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, offers provocative conversations about the modern LGBTQ experience, including episodes about coming out, queer representation (or the lack thereof) in the Harry Potter series, and two generations of people living with HIV.
• Homecoming stars Catherine Keener as a case-worker at a mysterious government facility assigned to treat a soldier (Oscar Isaac) with severe PTSD; she comes to suspect that her facility’s treatment program—and the agenda of her boss, played by David Schwimmer—is not quite what it seems. Season two is coming! Here’s your chance to catch up.
• Ctrl Alt Delete, hosted by Emma Gannon, is a tech-focused interview show featuring young creative women who discuss work, feminism, and life online from a female perspective.
• WNYC Studios, the podcast production arm of New York Public Radio, and the Museum of Modern Art recently launched a ten-episode show called A Piece of Work, which is designed to explore various works of contemporary art from the latter’s extensive collection. It’s hosted by Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson (who’s an art-school graduate.)

Theater.

• The National Black Theater Festival is in Winston-Salem, NC, and will feature performances of Anne & Emmett: An Imaginary Conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till by Janet Langhart Cohen – Aug 1-3
• At the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival in England, King Lear will be performed in the magnificent setting of St. John’s College gardens; Romeo & Juliet in the exquisite setting of King’s College Fellows’ Garden; and in the lovely gardens of Trinity College, catch a magical performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Aug 1-19
• Prince of Broadway is a show about Harold Prince’s 21-Tony, six-decade career, staged by the man himself: it’ll include excerpts from “West Side Story,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cabaret,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Company,” “Little Night Music” and “Sweeney Todd.” Susan Stroman will choreograph a cast that includes Chuck Cooper and Emily Skinner at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Friedman Theatre – previews begin Aug 3, opens Aug 24
• The Williamstown Theater Festival in the Berkshires debuts A Legendary Romance, a new musical directed by Emmy Award winner Lonny Price. It’s the story of film producer Joseph Lindy; in the 1950s he was on top of the world, making hit after hit with the love of his life and leading lady – but nearly four decades later, retired and forgotten, he must approve for release a version of his abandoned, cinematic masterpiece, an autobiographical film now altered irrevocably by a young producer – Aug 3-20
• Also in Williamstown, Actually by Anna Ziegler, produced in partnership with the Manhattan Theater Company, features two freshmen at Princeton University whose moral mettle is put to the test at a campus party – Aug 3-20
• Hollywood and Broadway icon Stockard Channing returns to the London stage this summer to star in a new production of Olivier Award-winner Alexi Kaye Campbell’s acclaimed drama Apologia, directed by the multi-award winning Jamie Lloyd – Aug 3-Nov 18
• The Globe Theatre in London will be putting on a production of King Lear – Aug 10 – Oct 14
• L. A. finally gets its shot at Broadway’s hottest ticket, Hamilton – it runs at the Pantages Theater from Aug 11- Dec 29
• In The Red Letter Plays, Pulitzer winner Suzan-Lori Parks revisits her theatrical collision between an abortionist and “The Scarlet Letter” at the Pershing Square Signature Center – previews begin Aug 22
• Simon Stephens’ Olivier Award-winning play On the Shore of the Wide World makes its New York premiere at the Atlantic Theatre Company/Linda Gross Theater – Aug 23 – Oct 8

Popular Music.

• Lady Gaga begins her next world tour, Joanne, in Vancouver, BC (Aug 1) – among other stops, she touches down at the Forum in Inglewood, CA (Aug 8-9) and at Citi Field in Queens (Aug 28)
• Dave Chappelle takes up residence for 10 shows at Radio City Music Hall, along with The Roots, Erykah Badu, Chris Rock, Trevor Noah, Donald Glover and Ali Wong – Aug 1-15
• Meg Mac debuts with a soul-pop album, Low Blows – Aug 1
• ColdPlay performs at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – Aug 1
• Lollapalooza in Grant Park, Chicago, headliners include Muse, Lorde, Arcade Fire and Chance the Rapper – Aug 3-6
• Briana Marela drops her third album, Call it Love – Aug 4
• The Monte-Carlo Sporting Summer Festival continues, with performances by Kool & the Gang (Aug 5) and Michael Bolton (Aug 14)
• It’s gonna be a boogie wonderland when Earth, Wind & Fire and Chic Featuring Nile Rodgers touch down with their 2054 Tour; they’ll be on the East Coast from Aug 1-9 then head through the Midwest and the South, concluding with a performance in Detroit – Aug 22
• Ed Sheeran’s Divide Tour rolls on through North America – he’s on the West Coast at the beginning of the month (Aug 1-15) and then heading south (Aug 17-31)
• Kendrick Lamar’s The Damn Tour continues, with stops including the Staples Center in LA (Aug 6-9) and the Prudential Center in Newark (Aug 25)
• At the Outside Lands music festival, Northern California’s version of Coachella, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco transforms into a celebration of music, food, wine, beer, art and comedy – Aug 11-13
• Kesha’s new album, Rainbow, is set to be released on Aug 11
• Shawn Mendes & Charlie Puth are at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn – Aug 16
• Summer Sonic, Japan’s leading music festival, takes place in Tokyo and Osaka; this year’s line-up includes Calvin Harris, Foo Fighters and Liam Gallagher – Aug 18 – 20
• Lionel Richie & Mariah Carey perform the hits that earned them Grammy Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ (Aug 18) and Madison Square Garden (Aug 19)
• Billy Joel performs his 44^th show at Madison Square Garden – Aug 21
• The annual Afropunk Festival at Brooklyn’s Commodore Perry Park includes music, fashion and visual arts; performers include Kaytranada, Princess Nokia, Sampha, Little Simz and Kevin Abstract – Aug 26-27
• Grammy award-winning artist Drake is at Miami’s American Airlines Arena as part of his Summer Sixteen tour – Aug 30-31

Books.

• The Seventh Function of Language, by Laurent Binet, is a deconstructed fictional police procedural about the death of Roland Barthes, with suspects including Foucault– Aug 1
• New People by Danzy Senna is a novel of race, class and manners: Maria is a doctoral student in Manhattan who strays from her perfect fiancé for a poet — Aug 1
• The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh is a novel set in a Texas town where former criminals (or witnesses to crimes) go to live after the memories of their pasts are erased – Aug 1
• The Address is the latest from Fiona Davis, the author of The Dollhouse (about life at the Barbizon Hotel)—this one is a novel about two women, a century apart, whose both find their lives forever changed by the Dakota, Manhattan’s most famous apartment building – Aug 1
• Brooklyn Beckham: What I See is a collection of about 300 of the author’s personal photographs, offering a glimpse of the world through his eyes; he’s the eldest child of David and Victoria Beckham, a model and a fashion photog – Aug 1
• In Fletcher, Tom Perrotta returns to an angst-filled suburban milieu; Eve Fletcher is a divorcée, empty nester and MILF to a secret admirer — August 1
• The Hot One by Carolyn Murnick is a true-crime story involving female friends – Aug 1
• The short story collection Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang is from Lena Dunham’s new publishing imprint, Lenny; it features second-generation Chinese immigrants in ‘90s New York – Aug 1
• The Half-Drowned King is the debut novel from Linnea Hartsuyker, who claims to be descended from Norway’s first king; it’s a Viking saga – Aug 1
• The Book of Barb: A Celebration of Stranger Things’ Iconic Wing Woman is “a guidebook for the kind and tragically uncool;” take the “Which Hawkins High student are you?” quiz to determine if you are a Barb – Aug 1
• Lucy Ives’ Impossible Views of the World is a debut novel set in a hallowed New York museum, in which a co-worker’s disappearance and a mysterious map change a life forever – Aug 1
• In See What I Have Done, Sarah Schmidt recasts the true-life murder case of Lizzy Borden into an intimate story of a volatile household and a family devoid of love – Aug 1
• Eat Only When You’re Hungry by Lindsay Hunter is the odyssey of Greg, an overweight dad who’s searching the seediest corners of Florida for his missing addict son – Aug 8
• The Kelloggs by medical historian Howard Markel chronicles the long-running animosity between Michigan brothers John and Will Kellogg, one of whom founded the Battle Creek Sanitarium and the other who became an industrial titan by launching a cereal company using recipes developed there – Aug 8
• In The Bettencourt Affair, former Time Paris bureau chief Tom Sancton recounts the story of how the world’s richest woman, cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt, became the center of a scandal that captivated Europe – Aug 8
• The Locals by Jonathan Dee is the tale of a working class town in the Berkshires with a new resident, Philip Hadi, a billionaire who moved from New York after September 11 – Aug 8
• The Party by Elizabeth Day is the story of two old friends – one self-made and the other the scion of a wealthy family – who reunite when one throws himself a 40th birthday party at his country spread, and the other attends – Aug 15
• How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas is a dark comic novel about a French family of geniuses, and the interior life of a boy puzzled by adulthood – Aug 15
• Things that Happened Before the Earthquake is a coming-of-age novel about a teenaged girl from Sicily, set in 1990s Southern California – Aug 15
• In Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin, a political intern named Aviva Grossman has an affair with a congressman – this is the story about what happens when the scandal dies down; Kirkus Reviews calls it “the most immaculate takedown of slut-shaming in literature or anywhere else” – Aug 22
• Karl Ove Knausgaard’s Autumn is the first in a series of four books (there will be one per season) in which he writes to his unborn daughter about the world; his writing is paired with illustrations by Vanessa Baird – Aug 22
• Claire Messud (author of The Emperor’s Children) is back with The Burning Girl, a coming-of-age novel that follows two young women in a small Massachusetts town as their unusually close friendship first brings them together, and then drives them apart – Aug 29
• My Absolute Darling, the debut novel from Gabriel Tallent, is a “masterpiece” according to Stephen King – it’s about a 14-year old girl in the thrall of her troubled widowed father – Aug 29

See other August 2017 events:
Travel
Food & Drink
Planes, Yachts & Autos
Fitness & Sports
Fashion & Design
The Arts

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