New this week: Beyoncé, Shark Week, ESPYS and « The Gray Man »

Here’s a curated collection from the Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s coming to TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.

MOVIES

– Netflix is ​​placing one of its biggest bets yet on « The Gray Man, » a globe-trotting action-thriller starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. One of the streamer’s most expensive movies, « The Gray Man » is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the brothers who presided over one of the biggest box office hits of all time (« Avengers: Endgame. » ) before starting to produce blockbusters for Netflix. . Their “Extraction,” starring Chris Hemsworth, is one of the most-watched films on the service, and “The Gray Man” — a spy-vs-spy adventure with comedic flair and major franchise ambitions — is set to follow. It starts on Friday.

– Before Billy Porter was a Broadway star and red carpet dean, he was a kid in Pittsburgh. In « Anything’s Possible, » Porter returns to his hometown to make his directorial debut, a coming-of-age trans comedy. The film, which debuts Friday on Amazon Prime Video, stars Eva Reign as a black transgender girl in a relationship with a boy (Abubakr Ali) who is causing a stir throughout high school. Porter fashioned his film, written by Ximena García Lecuona, as a Gen Z teen romantic comedy and a love letter to Pittsburgh.

-AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

MUSIC

— Few details on Beyoncé’s new album « Renaissance » due out Friday are available but the lead single is doing well. His « Break My Soul » became the first song to debut in the top 10 in 26 years on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Of the 16-track album itself, Beyoncé calls it « a beautiful journey of exploration. » Creating it « allowed me to dream and find escape during a scary time for the world, » the superstar wrote on Instagram, alongside an image of herself on a see-through horse. In June, she teased on her social media accounts that « Renaissance » would be « Act I, » but it’s unclear how many acts will follow or when they’ll be released.

— It’s July so that means a second album promised for 2022 from the crazy rock teacher, Jack White. It follows the April release of « Fear of the Dawn » with the 11-track « Entering Heaven Alive. » Both albums share the same song – “Taking Me Back” – but arranged differently, one heavy, the other jazzy. Another song from the new set is titled « Queen of the Bees » and features the silly lyrics « I wanna hold you like a sloth hugs a tree ». He told EW, « I was challenging myself to kind of see what I could do! »

– ZZ Top – now without Dusty Hill – has a new 11-track live album, titled ‘Raw’, featuring many of the band’s hits like ‘Gimmie All Your Lovin’ and ‘La Grange’. Recorded at Gruene Hall — “the oldest continuously run dance hall in Texas” — in 2019, “Raw” features the band’s original lineup of electric guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and the late Hill on bass. Made as part of the 2019 ZZ Top Netflix documentary ‘That Little Ol’ Band From Texas’, the 11-track album was produced by Gibbons and is dedicated ‘in true memory of Dusty Hill’.

— Ben Harper has never really minced his words and this is clearly the case on his new album, the 11 tracks “Bloodline Maintenance. « Slavery / We gotta talk about it / Black Lives Matter / Because history says no, » he sings over funky guitar on the lead single, « We gotta talk about it. » The new record sees Harper reflect on the loss of her father, and the personal nature of the subject led Ben to perform most of the album himself – playing guitar, bass, drums and percussion, including a plastic toy. « I knew the sounds I was hearing in my head were so unorthodox that I had to do most of them myself, » he says.

– Mark Kennedy, AP Entertainment Writer

TELEVISION

– Stephen Curry hosts the ESPYS Sports Awards, and more. The NBA Championship Finals MVP is up for three honors, including Best Male Athlete at the ceremony broadcast Wednesday on ABC. Curry’s rivals for the top prize include Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, with Olympic champions Sunisa Lee and Katie Ledecky among those vying for top female athlete. ESPN previously said the ceremony would honor Vitali Klitschko, former heavyweight boxing champion and mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Retired Army Command Sgt. Major Gretchen Evans will receive the Pat Tillman Service Award.

— Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were acclaimed actors and a long-married couple. They were also « The Last Movie Stars, » according to the six-part documentary by that title that aired Thursday on HBO Max. The docuseries, helmed by actor Ethan Hawke, promises a definitive account of their « dedication to their art, to philanthropy and to each other ». Transcripts of interviews with Newman and his intimates – made for his autobiography which remained unfinished – are voiced by actors such as George Clooney and Laura Linney. Also heard from several of their children and Martin Scorsese, the film’s executive producer. Woodward, who is 92, was married to Newman from 1958 until her death in 2008 at the age of 83.

– The summertime ride known as Shark Week is back on the Discovery Channel for its 34th year, featuring headliners such as tiger sharks with a taste for pork and ‘monster’ hammerhead sharks. The Exuma Islands of the Bahamas and Papua New Guinea are among the new spots visited during the extravagant broadcast from Sunday July 24 to Saturday July 30, with Dwayne Johnson as the first host. Marine biologists and institutions are contributing insights into shark mating and migration, with discoveries about a new and undescribed species promised. Among the highlights: « The Island of the Walking Sharks », Wednesday, with a scientist’s investigation into the evolution of sharks.

— Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer

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Find AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.

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