Gus Van Sant

To “The Swans,” a coterie of New York high society women, Truman Capote was an amusing circus act. Known for penning Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood, these aristocratic ladies invited him to lavish dinner parties and fanciful getaways to indulge in his animated, gossip-filled stories. Author Laurence Leamer found himself captivated by Capote’s mélange of wit, joie de vivre, and callousness, and chronicled his falling-out with his one-percenter gal pals in the 2021 book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love,…

The official title of the opera making its U.S. premiere next week is Last Days. But Matt Copson, who co-directed it and also wrote its libretto, knows everyone will call it something else: the Kurt Cobain opera. “That’s fine,” Copson says, “I’m up for that. It’s not about that, of course. But that’s an interesting entryway into the whole thing.” In a somber reminder of how time flies, this April marks the 30th anniversary of Cobain’s death. It’s too soon to say how that day will be commemorated, although…

Angela Lansbury attends a special screening of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast to celebrate the 25th Anniversary Edition release on September 18, 2016 in New York City. Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (Getty Images)Wilko Johnson - A celebrated musician who favored playing “fingerstyle” rather than using a guitar pick, he makes the list of genre luminaries because of his unforgettable turn as Game of Thrones’ terrifying, tongue-less Ser Ilyn Payne—the royal executioner who lops…