Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for Star Wars Day movie culture:

Thank You of the Day:

Daisy Ridley (Rey) is joined by BB-8, Vober Dand, Admiral Ackbar and a resurrected Ello Asty to wish you a happy Star Wars Day and thank you for contributing to the Force for Change charity in this official video teasing a set from Episode VIII:

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Tease of the Day:

Christopher Miller, co-director of the upcoming solo Han Solo movie, tweeted this image and statement making us excited for the prequel spinoff:

Can’t wait to get “shooting”!#MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/HlteYut6m0

— Chris Miller (@chrizmillr) May 4, 2016

Band Reunion of the Day:

Watch a short documentary on the Cantina Band and fake concert footage from their reunion at Coachella in this Nerdist video:

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Poster Tribute of the Day:

The poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens inspired this one for Sharkado: The 4th Awakens, which had already parodied its title (via Twitter):

Movie Legacy of the Day:

On Twitter, Pixar shared this video of all the Star Wars references in the Toy Story movies:

Truly wonderful, the mind of a filmmaker is. #MayThe4thBeWithYouhttps://t.co/zUPnpN14CY

— Disney•Pixar (@DisneyPixar) May 4, 2016

Fan Art of the Day:

BB-8 is cute, but wouldn’t he be cooler if he could take part in more of the action? He needs this fan-designed mech suit (via Twitter):

Behind the Scenes Fight of the Day:

Three 1980s hand models, employed for a Return of the Jedi toy commercial, get into a squirmish with real lightsabers in this new Nerdist sketch (via Live for Films):

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Cosplay of the Day:

Elizabeth Banks tweeted this photo of herself in Leia’s slave bikini:

Happy @starwars day! Finally got my hands on a gold bikini. #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/56S7JWmdES

— Elizabeth Banks (@ElizabethBanks) May 4, 2016

Alternate Endings of the Day:

The Frost Bros changed the ending of The Force Awakens just a bit to make it really weird:

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And here’s another weird one from Twitter:

LMAO Who Did This?! @HamillHimself #DaisyRidley #StarWarsDayhttps://t.co/c6R10RTqG1

— yourENTERTAINMENT (@yourENTnews) May 4, 2016

Classic Trailer of the Day:

20 years ago, the following trailer advertised the return of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi to theaters, with some modifications:

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Musical Movie Tribute of the Day:

Radiohead have a new stop-motion-animated music video, for the song “Burn the Witch,” and it’s heavily inspired by The Wicker Man:

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Movie Character Karaoke of the Day:

Speaking of mashups of movies and music, here’s a video where the characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy sing the Village People’s “YMCA”:

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Rap Battle of the Day:

Speaking of music and Lord of the Rings, here’s a NSFW rap battle between J.R.R. Tolkien and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin:

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Cosplay of the Day:

With Ant-Man returning this week in Captain America: Civil War, here’s a cosplayer with an incredibly detailed suit (via Fashionably Geek):

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Movie Takedown of the Day:

With Civil War coming out this week, Honest Trailers easily beats up the 1990 Captain America:

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Alternate Endings of the Day:

Also taking a beating today is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which gets a nice, long, hilarious episode of How It Should Have Ended:

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Fan Build of the Day:

A crafty owner of a tortoise built a miniature replica of Jurassic Park to house his little pet (via Geek Tyrant):

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Filmmaker in Focus:

Enough Paul Thomas Anderson appreciations, here’s a tribute to Paul W.S. Anderson and his “cinema of simulation and the ineffable” (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Film Appreciation of the Day:

Mr. Nerdista highlights Akira Kurosawa‘s framing in Rashomon in this brief film analysis:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

In honor of today being National Teacher Appreciation Day, watch the exceptional original trailer for one of the greatest teacher movies, To Sir, With Love, starring Sidney Poitier:

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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Recapped Movie of the Day:

Watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens redone with emojis in this official video from Disney (via Devour):

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Fan Build of the Day:

A high school welding class constructed this amazing Star Wars-inspired Death Star fire pit (via Geek Tyrant):

Actor in the Spotlight:

Game of Thrones and Star Wars: The Force Awakens actress Gwendoline Christie is the focus of this episode of the character actor showcase No Small Parts:

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Filmmaker in Focus:

This supercut tribute to Jim Jarmusch pieces together common motifs in his films for the perfect mashup (via One Perfect Shot):

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Marvel Superhero Prank of the Day:

Thor is apparently jealous of Spider-Man getting so much attention leading up to Captain America: Civil War, so he used his unmovable hammer Mjolnir to prank the wallcrawler (via Fashionably Geek):

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Cosplay of the Day:

It may be Marvel’s week, but we can still acknowledge some DC excitement with this great Deadshot cosplay from the upcoming Suicide Squad (via Fashionably Geek):

Musical Supercut of the Day:

Watch 200 movie characters from 207 movies cover Ricky Martin‘s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” in this epic supercut (via Geek Tyrant):

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Dwayne Johnson, who turns 44 today, with Oded Fehr on the set of his first big movie, The Mummy Returns, in 2000:

Movie Comparison of the Day:

In honor of Prince, here’s a new comparison video showing the similarities between the 1984 releases Purple Rain and Amadeus, which won Best Picture for that year (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 70th anniversary of the release of The Postman Always Rings Twice. Watch the original trailer for the film noir, which stars Lana Turner and John Garfield, below.

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The Important News

Marvel Madness: Nathan Fillion will play Wonder Man in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Richard E. Grant will play a villain in Wolverine 3. Robert Downey Jr. might be down for Iron Man 4. The Punisher is officially getting his own Netflix series.

Star Wars Mania: Rian Johnson shared new Star Wars Episode VIII photos. Daisy Ridley shared her martial arts training for Star Wars Episode VIII

Remake Report: Daisy Ridley is the new Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. Disney laid out plans for all their upcoming live-action remakes of animated classics.

Casting Net: Daisy Ridley will star in The Lost Wife. Joaquin Phoenix might play Jesus Christ. Four actresses are up for Alita: Battle Angel.

Sequelitis: Daddy’s Home is getting a sequel. Goosebumps is also getting a sequel.

Prequelitis: The Omen is getting a prequel.

Box Office: The Huntsman: Winter’s War is a flop.

Ways of Seeing: Criterion and Turner Classic Movies teamed up for a new streaming service.

Celebrating the Classics: Universal will present an Exorcist experience at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights.

The Videos and Geek Stuff

New Movie Trailers: X-Men: Apocalypse, Snowden, Kubo and the Two Strings, Southside With You, Florence Foster Jenkins, Here Alone, The Duel, The Ring vs. The Grudge, Weiner and Cell.

TV Spots: Captain America: Civil War.

Clips: Captain America: Civil War and Money Monster.

VFX Reels: The Jungle Book and Deadpool.

Behind the Scenes: X-Men: Apocalypse.

Watch: Keanu trailer redone with cats. And trailers mashing up Alien and Star Wars movies.

See: What Nathan Fillion might look like as Wonder Man.

Watch: Captain America watches a clip reel of all his kills. And Iron Man stars in Gladiator.

See: Captain America: Civil War 1940s version. And The Nice Guys 1970s version.

Watch: Fake Kylo Ren bloopers from The Force Awakens. Lando Calrissian returns in Force Awakens prequel shorts.

See: Concept art of a grown-up Newt in Alien 5.

Watch: Krampus blooper reel.

See: My Cousin Vinny reimagined as a courtroom drama. And Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as a thriller. And The Revenant as an animated feature.

Watch: Deleted scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

See: This week’s best new posters.

Watch: Beyonce’s Lemonade is compared to Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life.

Our Features

Comic Book Movie Guide: Why we’re getting Spider-Man: Homecoming instead of The Amazing Spider-Man 3.

Movie-Related Comic Book Guide: Comics to get on Free Comic Book Day.

Movie Celebration Guide: Alien Day shopping guide.

Grown-Up Movie Guide: The rise of the unexpected R-rated movie.

Horror Movie Guide: All the latest horror news and trailers.

Home Viewing: Here’s our guide to everything hitting Netflix next month.

and

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Every month, I bring together some of the music from around the world that I’ve enjoyed most in recent weeks. April, however, has been completely overshadowed by Prince‘s death. Few contemporary artists have meant so much, for so long, to so very many people working in wildly disparate corners of the globe.

In the midst of putting together this month’s picks, I realized that I could hear individual facets of Prince’s polymathic, polymorphous talents in each of the tunes I’ve selected for this edition of Latitudes.

Hot guitar licks. I know I’m not the only one who’s been watching Prince’s incendiary solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. And anyone who has seen that (or his own set, which is online, at least for the time being) knows, that Prince was a consummate rock guitarist — if he had only been a guitarist, he would still be a legend.

And that legacy hasn’t lost on young Tuareg musicians, for whom rock-inflected guitar has become an intrinsic part of their own idiom. (See: Tinariwen, Bombino, et al.) Seizing upon that idea, an American filmmaker, music archivist and label head Christopher Kirkley (who collaborated with us at NPR Music and the show Afropop Worldwide a few years back to create a stream of 100 must-hear songs from Mali) directed a Tuareg remake of Prince’s film Purple Rain. He cast Mdou Moctar, a guitarist from Agadez, Niger, in the lead role.

Afro-funk. As my colleague Jason King wrote in his his marvelous remembrance, Prince was an uncategorizeable, “überfunky, hyper-synaptic, wildly eccentric, crazy-magical boho black genius.” Yet he was funk — and rock, and pop, and so much more.

This collaboration between Angolan/Portuguese producer Batida (a.k.a. Pedro Coquenão) and Congolese band Konono Nº1 just hits so many sweet spots, thanks in part to their shared love of funked-out beats and metallic textures. This song, “Nlele Kalusimbiko,” is the opening track on their new joint album, Konono Nº1 Meets Batida.

Smoky, sultry, sexy. The Turkish band Model, fronted by singer Fatma Turgut, is all about those vibes on their single “Mey” (Wine). The song boasts a catchy chorus — and it really highlights the allure of Turgut’s voice, which references old-fashioned melismatic acrobatics and yet sounds refreshingly up-to-date.

Courting controversy. As my colleague Ann Powers noted after Prince’s death, he was a transgressive force on so many fronts — sexual, spiritual, political and certainly musical. (As he wrote in a 1999 statement explaining his name change to his famous glyph, “It’s all about thinking in new ways, tuning in 2 a new free-quency.”) And certainly that involved playing with gender identity and roles, too.

I can’t help but hear — and see — some of that same sense of new possibilities when I hear a band like Lebanon’s Mashrou’ Leila. They’ve attracted worldwide attention this week for a show scheduled in a Roman amphitheater in Amman, Jordan; governmental permission was rescinded because of a furor over their “political and religious beliefs and endorsement of gender equality and sexual freedom.” The concert was granted approval at the last minute by Jordan’s ministry of the interior, but according to the band, it was much too late to re-coordinate the show.

Mashrou’ Leila has been playing with tropes of all kinds for years now. In one of their early hits, “Fasateen” (Dresses), the band members destroy all kinds of traditional wedding symbols — and toy with the idea of who would wear white tulle in any case.

Finally, I can’t let April run out without paying another tribute to Congolese singer Papa Wemba, who died last week doing what he clearly loved so much. He collapsed while performing a joyful set for a big crowd in Ivory Coast. The song “Yolele” comes from his 1995 album Emotion. Made for Peter Gabriel’s Real World records, it marked a watershed moment in Wemba’s career, in which he made an overt overture to an “international” — that is, primarily (white) European and North American — audience.

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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Backwards Remake of the Day:

Here’s what Captain America: Civil War looks like remade by someone who went back in time to the 1940s:

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Character History of the Day:

Speaking of past depictions of Captain America, here’s a video chronicling the evolution of the superhero’s appearances in TV and movies:

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Cosplay of the Day:

Another new still from Captain America: Civil War or great cosplay? The latter, but the funny thing is that this cosplayer thinks his Black Panther costume isn’t even good (via Fashionably Geek):

For some reason I still haven’t even finished the mask, or started the body, for my new Black Panther so I’m still stuck with this poo. Thanks to @allhailhobbes for this bomb pic though. #civilwar #blackpanther #wearewakanda #marvel #comics #cosplay #menofcosplay

A photo posted by Chase Calloway (@theultimatechaser) on Apr 18, 2016 at 11:07am PDT

Movie Takedown of the Day:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t a perfect movie, but did you know there are 135 problems with it? CinemaSins counts them up here:

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VFX Reel of the Day:

See how the visual effects were done for The Jungle Book in this featurette from Mashable (via Geek Tyrant):

Movie Science of the Day:

Kyle Hill explains why every movie depicting death by lava is completely wrong:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Lionel Barrymore, who was born on this day in 1878, has some cake accompanied by James Stewart and director Frank Capra on the set of It’s a Wonderful Life in 1946:

Movie Comparison of the Day:

Couch Tomato shows us 24 reasons Prometheus and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are the same movie:

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Film Studies of the Day:

For Fandor Keyframe, Joost Broeren shows the difference between men and women’s reactions to mirrors in movies, how the former mostly smash and the latter mostly cry (via One Perfect Shot):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 45th anniversary of the theatrical release of Woody Allen‘s Bananas. Watch the original trailer for the comedy below.

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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Movie Studio Showcase of the Day:

Get pumped for Captain America: Civil War with this great supercut of the best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (via Live for Films):

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Casting Depiction of the Day:

Speaking of the MCU, Nathan Fillion was revealed this week to be playing Wonder Man in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, so here’s BossLogic’s depiction of what he could look like:

Reworked Movie of the Day:

What if The Revenant was a Disney animated feature? It might look like this redone trailer using footage from Brother Bear (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Location Vacation of the Day:

Relax to the sights and sounds of Dagobah in this 94-minute loop of a bit from The Empire Strikes Back that turns Yoda‘s backyard into a soothing retreat:

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Fake Outtakes of the Day:

Speaking of Star Wars, watch a reel of funny fake Kylo Ren bloopers that re-dub the masked villain’s dialogue from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (via Geek Tyrant):

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Vintage Image of the Day:

In honor of their latest collaboration, Mother’s Day, opening this weekend, here’s Julia Roberts and director Garry Marshall on the set of Pretty Woman in 1989:

Movie Poetry of the Day:

This supercut collects movie clips that rhyme with each for a video that gives new meaning to the term poetic cinema (via Live for Films):

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Character in the Spotlight:

See many different ways actors have played Macbeth in this Shakespearean supercut starring Michael Fassbender, Orson Welles and more (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Film Analysis of the Day:

In the spirit of Room 237, another Stanley Kubrick movie gets overanalyzed with this NSFW spotlight on the hidden jokes and cryptic metaphors in A Clockwork Orange (via One Perfect Shot):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 60th anniversary of the U.S. release of the Americanized version of Godzilla, reworked with Raymond Burr starring. Watch the original trailer for what was retitled Godzilla: King of the Monsters below.

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A popular and groundbreaking alt-rock band from Lebanon called Mashrou’ Leila was scheduled to play a big show in Amman, Jordan Friday.

Instead, their show was cancelled by the government — and the band says they have been told they can never perform again in the country, because of the group’s politics, religious beliefs and “endorsement of gender equality and sexual freedom.”

Mashrou’ Leila had been slated to play at the famous Roman amphitheater in Amman, where they have previously performed three times, as well as elsewhere across the country.

In a lengthy note posted on Facebook in both Arabic and English, the band alleges that the actual reason for the permission to be withdrawn is different:

“We have been unofficially informed that the reason behind this sudden change of heart, few days before the concert day, is the intervention of some authorities. Our understanding is that said authorities have pressured certain political figures and triggered a chain of events that ultimately ended with our authorization being withdrawn.

“We also have been unofficially informed that we will never be allowed to play again anywhere in Jordan due to our political and religious beliefs and endorsement of gender equality and sexual freedom.”

The lead singer of Mashrou’ Leila, Hamed Sinno, is openly gay, and the band has addressed gay rights as well as politics and corruption in both its songs and many of its interviews. In an interview last year with the CBC show Q, Sinno said that a show they did in a predominantly Christian town in Lebanon called Zouk Mikael was protested by people who believed that “homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed to set foot on Christian soil.” Sinno attributed that attitude to “broader fundamentalisms in the region.”

According to a report on the Jordanian news site jo24.net published Tuesday, at least one public supporter of the ban is a member of parliament named Bassam al-Batoush, who has called for the group to be banned due to their “controversial” material that references sex, homosexuality, “calls for revolution” and promotes “Satanic” ideas.

The governor of Amman district, Khalid Abu Zeid, told the Associated Press Wednesday that the band’s songs “contradict” Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Initially, the AP reports, officials from Jordan’s Antiquities Department rescinded permission because such a show would “contradict the ‘authenticity’ of the ancient venue.”

Mashrou’ Leila violinist Haig Papazian has posted pictures of one of their previous three shows at the amphitheater on Twitter.

As the band also noted on Facebook, Sanno’s mother is from Jordan, and the members say that the country is “a formative part of his identity and writing, and a place we have always considered our second home.”

The Facebook note concludes, “We urge the Kingdom to choose fighting alongside us, not against us, during this ongoing battle for a culture of freedom against the regressive powers of thought control and cultural coercion.”

The U.S. State Department’s 2015 human rights report on Jordan includes this assessment: “While consensual same-sex sexual conduct is not illegal, societal discrimination against LGBTI persons was prevalent, and LGBTI persons were targets of abuse. Activists reported discrimination in housing, employment, education, and access to public services. Some LGBTI individuals reported reluctance to engage the legal system due to fear their sexual orientation or gender identity would either provoke hostile reactions from police or disadvantage them in court. Activists reported that most LGBTI individuals were closeted and fearful of their sexual identity being disclosed.”

The five-member band was founded at the American University of Beirut in 2008 and has released three albums. Their name translates as both Leila Project and Night Project; Leila is a Juliet-like figure in Arabic literature. A rapturous review from London’s Guardian last November said that they “charge the stage with electricity, sensuality and a dazzling aura of resistance.”

Mashrou’ Leila’s latest video, for the song “AOEDE,” which was released earlier this month, opens with a young woman recounting a story of police brutality.

The band is heading to the U.S. and Canada on tour this May and June, with dates scheduled in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Washington, D.C. and Vancouver.

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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Trailer Crossover of the Day Part 1:

It’s Alien Day, so here’s a recut of the trailer for Aliens done in the style of the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (via Reddit):

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Trailer Crossover of the Day Part II:

And here’s a trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens done in the style of the original Alien trailer:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Ridley Scott applies condensed milk to Ian Holm as he waits for his big decapitated android moment on the set of Alien in 1978:

VFX Breakdown of the Day:

See how the Merc with a Mouth’s mask effects were practically achieved in this new Deadpool featurette:

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Movie Promotion of the Day:

Deadpool is now on iTunes, and the character has taken over the ads for other movies available on the digital movie service. Below are the day-appropriate Alien 3 and a funny one for 127 Hours. See the rest on iTunes or in a gallery at Comic Book Resources.

Mashup of the Day:

In the new animated series Hero Swap, Iron Man is inserted into the movie Gladiator:

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Custom Action Figure of the Day:

Speaking of Iron Man, Sam Kwok Workshop has done it again with another custom figure, this time mashing the superhero with Tron. See more images at Geek Tyrant.

Reworked Movie of the Day:

What if Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was a thriller? That’s the idea in this reimagined trailer for “Ferris Bueller Must Die”:

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Filmmaking Tip of the Day:

Now You See It explores what makes for a good movie ending by looking at Psycho, its remake, The Silence of the Lambs, 12 Angry Men and more:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

In honor of Alien Day, of course here is that terrific original trailer for the 1979 horror sci-fi film:

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and

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Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Movie Promo of the Day:

For the German release of Captain America: Civil War, Daniel Bruhl (Baron Zemo) villainously feeds Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man) ping pong balls and a laxative:

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Supercut of the Day:

For a guy who didn’t want to kill anyone, Captain America has been reponsible for a lot of deaths throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Watch him watch his own kill count below.

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Trailer Parody of the Day:

The new trailer for Jason Bourne got a recut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! so that it reflects a funny new title: Bourne Loser:

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Reworked Movie of the Day:

Mashable turns My Cousin Vinny into a serious courtroom drama in this trailer re-imagining the classic comedy:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Al Pacino, who turns 76 today, and Talia Shire, who turns 69 today, in a scene from The Godfather Part III:

Cosplay of the Day:

See the best cosplay of the Emerald City ComiCon, including a Deadpool and Say Anything mashup, a sexy Boba Fett and dogs dressed as Wolverine in the following two-part Beat Down Boogie showcase:

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Visual List of the Day:

For Fandor Keyframe, Zach Prewitt counts down the 20 best sci-fi films of the century so far, including Primer, Inception, Moon, Ex Machina and Children of Men:

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Bad Film Analysis of the Day:

Speaking of this century’s sci-fi movies, here’s a bad reading of Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar by aliens from the future:

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Video Essay of the Day:

The world building in Wes Anderson‘s stop-motion film The Fantastic Mr. Fox is celebrated in this video from Jack’s Movie Reviews (via One Perfect Shot):

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 15th anniversary of the original French release of Amelie (aka Le fabuleaux destin d’Amelie Poulain). Watch Miramax’s trailer for the American release, which followed many months later:

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