Just in time for the warming weather, a body-lovin’ music video titled “Thunder Thighs” has arrived with a spectacular message: chill on the summer bod thing, you already look good.

The video, which was created by the song’s artist, Miss Eaves, takes place in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. It features women of all shapes, ages and ethnicities decked out in summer attire ― and they’re all poppin’ in their own right. 

Throughout the hilarious “Thunder Thighs” video, the women are seen sashaying around the neighborhood as the song’s catchy tune plays over self-loving lyrics like “thick thighs, sundress, I’m looking good” and “mom jeans all day, why you mad though?”

Miss Eaves, whose real name is Shanthony Exum, told HuffPost on Tuesday that she created the song as a homage to herself.

“I wrote this song as an ode to my own thick thighs and the video is also an evolution of that,” she said in an email. “I wanted to take a word [thunder thighs] that is usually used to talk about bodies disparagingly and reclaim it.”

"Thighs thick. Thighs juicy. Don't be jelly when my thighs shake, ooo-wee."

Eaves, who also runs a style blog called The Every Body Project, which celebrates all body shapes, said she once struggled to attain the self-love that’s so evident in “Thunder Thighs.” 

“I have had my struggles with body image issues, and art has been a really great way for me to process and heal,” she said.

 But Eaves said the video also holds special meaning for black women. 

“This video is important for black women because it also celebrates our bodies,” she said. “For young black people, it is good to see adults who look like them living happy, genuine and fulfilled lives. We don’t have to try to be anyone else.”

Love your body for what it is and watch the video for “Thunder Thighs” above.

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Kids are so full of wonder, joy and innocence.

To celebrate the magic of childhood, ChildPhotoCompetition.com held an international photography contest called “Innocence.” The description called for photographers to submit images that capture a “child’s innocence, pureness, and emotions!”

On Friday, the organization announced the winner and shared the top competition submissions. Scroll down to see a stunning selection of finalist photos from around the world. 

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Most films take only a few months to shoot, but thanks to a string of misfortunes, Terry Gilliam was at it for 17 years to wrap filming on “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.”

The “Monty Python” writer shared the news over Facebook on Sunday. 

“Sorry for the long silence,” he began. “I’ve been busy packing the truck and am now heading home. After 17 years, we have completed the shoot of THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE.”

A documentary, “Lost in La Mancha,” was released way back in 2002 chronicling Gilliam’s attempts to make the film, which follows an advertising executive who time-travels back and forth between present-day London and 1600s La Mancha, where he meets Spanish author Migel de Cervantes’ obsessively chivalrous Don Quixote. 

The project is known for its bad luck. During the first week of filming, in August 2000, flash flooding swept away equipment and changed the color of the natural landscape, making previous footage unusable. The film also faced financial problems.

A number of actors cycled through lead roles as production dragged on, and on. While Jean Rochefort was originally cast as Quixote, the role ultimately went to Jonathan Pryce. The role of the ad exec, called Toby, was once rumored to have gone to Johnny Depp, but Adam Driver will appear in ― fingers crossed ― the finished version. 

The movie still has to go through post-production, so it’s not in the clear just yet. Gilliam also still stands accused by the Portuguese government of harming a 12th-century convent while filming in the country. Gilliam has denied the charges, writing on Facebook that he showed respect for the building and “people should begin by getting the facts before howling hysterically.”

But under the auspices of Amazon Studios, the film now has a solid release year, 2018, nearly two decades late.

In the director’s words, QUIXOTE VIVE!

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As if it’s not enough to be the first solo woman to win the Tony Award for best score for “Kinky Boots,” pop icon Cyndi Lauper will write the score for a musical based on the 1988 hit film “Working Girl,” it was announced on Tuesday.

Playwright Kim Rosenstock, who was a writer on the show “New Girl” for six seasons, will write the book for the musical.

The Oscar-nominated film tells the story of a Staten Island secretary played by Melanie Griffith who is trying to make it in the male-dominated corporate world.

“I love the film, and its story about a woman’s very unconventional road to success in the ’80s is something I know a lot about,” Lauper said in a statement to The New York Times. “Women are still fighting for fundamental rights and equal pay!”

Preach!

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Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert and girlfriend Rayya Elias are more committed to each other than ever. 

In a beautiful post shared on Facebook Tuesday, the 47-year-old writer ― who split from husband José Nunes just under a year ago ― announced that she and Elias had held a “simple and spontaneous ceremony of love” surrounded by close family and friends.

Gilbert wrote that the ceremony wasn’t “legally binding,” just a “private celebration of what we have long known to be true: We belong to each other.”

The ceremony’s timing had special significance; as Gilbert noted in the Facebook post, Elias ― a fellow writer and Gilbert’s long-time best friend ― has been battling pancreatic and liver cancer for the last few years:

“More difficult days are to come,” Gilbert wrote. “It doesn’t get easier from here. Rayya’s illness is grave. But our love is strong. We will walk together as far as we can go together. After that, it all gets turned over to God.”

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We’re seriously in love with the shape of Ed Sheeran’s “Carpool Karaoke.”

The British pop star’s skit on the “Late Late Show” aired Tuesday and it didn’t disappoint. Joined by host James Corden, Sheeran sang some of his biggest hits before covering songs by Justin Bieber and One Direction.

In between songs, Sheeran revealed why he doesn’t have a cell phone anymore, why he feels more comfortable while holding a guitar and why he was super nervous about doing the segment in the first place. He also recalled an unusual game of golf with Bieber before defeating Corden in a hilarious confectionary competition:

Check out the full segment above.

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This episode of “Sesame Street” has been brought to you by the letters O, I, T, N and B.

With Netflix readying the release of the fifth season of “Orange Is The New Black” on Friday, the educational show for kids has re-shared its own spoof twist on the comedy-drama ― which comes with a healthy eating message.

In “Orange Is The New Snack,” Litchfield Academy student Piper Snackman desperately tries to get her new friends to eat her favorite fruit ― despite being under constant threat of some time in “the shoe.”

Find out if she succeeds in convincing Mr. Mustache in the clip above.

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There were a lot of famous faces in the “Harry Potter” franchise, but you may not have spotted this one. 

Former “Dancing with the Stars” pro and “World of Dance” judge Derek Hough was actually an extra, alongside his sister Julianne Hough and some of their other theater school friends, in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Hough detailed the experience of playing a Ravenclaw to HuffPost during a Build Series interview on Monday, calling the whole experience “cool.”

Uh, duh!

“The scene you could actually see me in in the movie is I was walking past, like, a hallway, and Hermione [Emma Watson] was walking this way [mimics action],” Hough explained of the chess scene between Harry (Danielle Radcliffe) and Ron (Rupert Grint), during which Hough tried his best to be noticed by doing an over-the-top motion. 

(You can watch his demonstration in the video above, and the actual scene can be seen below.)

Although Hough admitted he never read the “Harry Potter” books, he knew being a part of the movies was a big deal ― which is why he decided to steal his costume after wrap. 

“I was in the Great Hall. I was a Ravenclaw. I had the tie, I had the scarf, I had the robe, my patch. And, I stole it all,” Hough laughed, saying he hopes he doesn’t get arrested for confessing. “I was like, ‘This is going to be worth something one day’ ... And I took the silverware from the Great Hall, as well. I was a little thief.”

Unfortunately for Hough, karma caught up to him and he misplaced his prized memorabilia.

“I don’t know where any of it is,” he said. “We moved and then it just got lost and I think God was like, ‘Hey, you know what? You’re a thief. You can’t have this stuff.’”

All in all, the 32-year-old dancer and actor is aware that he is now a part of pop culture history, even if he didn’t really know what “Harry Potter” was actually about. Sigh. 

“It’s funny to see how much those movies became such an iconic thing in the world, and I was in that first movie not knowing what I was doing,” Hough told HuffPost. “We saw the dark forest, we saw the way they filmed all that, and the rooftops, which were just on the ground. It’s really cool. It kind of ruined the movies for me because you saw the magic a little bit.” 

The magic lives on, though, Derek. The magic lives on.

From June 1 to 30, HuffPost is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the very first “Harry Potter” book by reminiscing about all things Hogwarts. Accio childhood memories.

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After a short hiatus, Lady Antebellum is back together and ready to release their sixth studio album, “Heart Break.” The record is one of the group’s most personal yet, as they penned 11 out of the 13 songs in the set while on writing destinations in Florida and California. 

“Carving out time is just so valuable when it comes to the creative process,” band member Dave Haywood told HuffPost. “We wanted to commit to it this time around, so this record was born in California and Florida and we finished it here in Nashville.” 

Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott have been together for over a decade, so they’re aware of the music industry’s ups and downs. After Kelley released his Grammy-nominated solo album “The Driver” and Scott debuted a record with her family, the trio was refreshed and decided to get back to it last year. They rented homes, stayed under one roof, and wrote until they couldn’t write any more alongside their producer, busbee, who helmed Maren Morris’ critically acclaimed “Hero.” 

“It was fun to work with someone different just to literally come up with different sounds and mix the process up,” Kelley said.

Lady A and their special guests Kelsea Ballerini and Brett Young are now out on the You Look Good Tour, which will make stops in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Below, read our Q&A with Haywood, Kelley and Scott and find out more about their exciting new album, “Heart Break.” 

Happy Lady A is back with some new music, but I have to say I loved “The Driver,” Charles. And Hillary, congrats on “Love Remains,” the album with your family. 

Hillary Scott: Aw, thank you so much.

Charles Kelley: That was always our plan. We were going to take the break more so as a time for us to do whatever we wanted to do regardless. But this was always the focus and its fun to kind of be back home so to speak. It’s the safety blanket for sure, Lady A.

You mention home but, for this album, you all traveled to California and Florida, right? To get out of your comfort zone and be a bit more creative.

Dave Haywood: Yeah. I think more than anything we wanted to be able to have each other’s undivided attention from a creative standpoint. Songwriting is great when you can just dig in the whole day, stay up as late as you want ― no schedule when it comes to writing music, a song is not done until you want it to be done. We needed that time to make this record and to write for it. Hillary had the idea to do a songwriter retreat in Florida, so we went down to Rosemary Beach, Florida, in the gulf and rented a house for a couple of weeks and had songwriters fly in and out from Nashville, and we just had a blast. It went so well that it was Charles’ idea to go out to Los Angeles to continue the retreat of writing and recording out there.

CK: I think it was just a way for us to have our label pay for our vacation. [Laughs]

You guys wrote 11 of the 13 songs on the album.

CK: The most we’ve ever written for a record, I believe. Maybe our first record had close to that.

HS: I think that was 10.

CK: We really wanted a lot of our story in it and I think that was the main thing. We’re super proud of the last few records we made, but definitely felt like we have so much more to talk about now with our families and kids and the amount of love and respect that we feel for our spouses, too. Songs like “Home,” “Army” and “The Stars” came out of that, and those relationships and feelings. But we’ve still been able to pull from past experiences and heartbreak with songs like “Hurt” and “Heart Break.” There’s a lot of different conversations but we’ve said this is probably the most competent record we’ve made in a long time ― just where there was no timeline, it wasn’t going to be put out until we felt like it was right. And we’re super proud of it.

You have been together for over 10 years, so how do you make sure your sound is fresh? What’s your creative way of switching things up?

CK: I think that was one of the reasons we brought in busbee. We really loved the sounds of the Maren Morris record and busbee wrote “Our Kind of Love” with us early on. We always knew he was a true talent, but it was fun to work with someone different just to literally come up with different sounds and mix the process up so it’s always important. On the flip side of that, it’s also important for us to still feel like we’re being authentic to our sound and what brought us to the table. We want our fans to gravitate toward our sound, hopefully, because it feels authentic.

You mentioned Maren Morris and I got to shoutout to Hillary and all the country music gals killing the game right now.

HS: It’s a really exciting time. Kelsea Ballerini being on tour with us this year, we’re so excited about that and proud of her. Four really successful singles off of her debut album ― being able to go four singles into an album, ever, but especially now, that’s just such a feat in itself. I know her sophomore album is highly anticipated and I know I can’t wait to hear it. It’s just an interesting and exciting time in country music as a whole ― just to be able to even be taking this tour – we’re going to be in the U.K. and down in South Africa – how broad and wide the genre is. To be a part of it right now is just very, very exciting.

South Africa should be amazing.

DH: Country has really just continued to grow all around the world – we’ve done Australia and Europe a lot, but first time down to South Africa, so we couldn’t be more excited.

Is it cool for you guys to see the growth of a genre that was born in Nashville, spread from there and is now beloved worldwide?

DH: I think country music has always been about life, and it’s continuing to be discovered around the world because it’s so relatable. Even when “Need You Now” was really hitting for us was when we started to discover all these other places that were finding out about us. With the internet, now you can hear everybody online. There were a lot of people before us who broke down those barriers – you know, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers. A lot of these artists from country have gone around the world, so it’s a really, really exciting time for the genre and we couldn’t be more proud to wave the country music flag whenever we get to tour internationally.

Does it put more pressure on you to deliver knowing you have a huge array of fans out there?

CK: One thing we’ve learned is the fans can see through sometimes when we put out a single that didn’t really represent us. We thought it might be a hit or what we needed, but I think what we’ve learned is to just really be as true to ourselves and the music as we can be and then accept whatever road it’s going to take. And that’s hard to do because sometimes you’re going to have hits or you’re going to have misses. But if it’s something you believed in and it felt right at the time, put it out, and live with it and move on. We found that our die-hard fans will stick with us through all of it. And the international fans are really amazing about that, too, because they don’t really have country radio in a lot of these places, so they just pretty much pick up your record and invest in all of it and love all those songs that a lot of people don’t get to hear. For us, it’s just make music we believe in and that inspires us and gets us up in the morning. After being in it for 10 years, you realize you can’t control much in this business. All you really can control is the music and the rest will take whatever course it wants to take.

As a trio with different personalities and life experiences, how do you go about starting the songwriting process?

HS: It starts a bunch of different ways. For this record, in particular, we wanted to get back as close to the way that we started. The interesting thing is when we first started the band, we wrote kind of how we did for this record ― in a house with no timeframe, staying up late, recording the work tape. We would really not have any set schedule to do anything other than write. And then our first record came out and we were touring and we were inspired by the touring life, so we started writing while on the road. As our families grew, that became more and more difficult to do efficiently and [it was hard] to be able to write as much as we hoped we would. So then, it was time to mix it up again, which was this record. We got out of our comfort zone and we recorded the back-half of the album in Nashville and the first-half in Los Angeles. Writing and getting away from our normal day-to-day routine allowed us to focus solely on the creative. I wasn’t in my writing appointment thinking, “Oh my gosh, I got to go let my dogs out.” Or, “What am I going to cook for dinner?” It was all very much that vacation mindset with a purpose of being solely creative, writing songs and bonding with my bandmates.

How has it been becoming parents, having a new outlook on life and sitting down, putting pen to paper, and getting those words out there?

CK: It puts life and all this stuff that you think is super important into perspective. You realize that nothing is more important than your health, your happiness and your family, you know? It’s cliché to say, but it does. We knew it was important for us to write songs kind of celebrating our kids. “The Star” is a song about that. And then “Home” and “Army” are songs that are about our spouses who are the rockstars who keep us moving. We get the glory being out here onstage, but the truth is they are the reason our home life all remains stable. We’re lucky. We have a good perspective now after being in this 10 years that you are going to be on many ups and downs throughout this career and it’s very natural. When we see an artist that almost never makes a misstep, we wonder if they’re human. [Laughs] We are very human. Dave will be the first one in rehab for sure. [All laugh]

Dave, do you want to elaborate on that comment a little bit?

DH: He’s talking about all the Claritin and Zyrtec I take. [Laughs]

CK: It was an ironic statement because he’s the healthiest.

DH: It will be a juicing rehab.

You have to be willing to take a backseat when you need to take a backseat and take charge when you need to take charge.
Charles Kelley on being in a group

What songs on the album are you proudest of?

DH: The one that kicked off the writing process was the title track “Heart Break.” I was just excited for that one for a lot of reasons. It was such a great collaborative write. And it’s such a fun play on the title, heart break being two separate words and the approach of the song is for you to take a break in relationships and not to just always jump from one relationship to the next. To have a breather in between so you can figure out a little more about yourself than jump into a relationship. Lyrically, it’s fun when you have a play on words, and some people may hear it and see it as a spin on what they’re thinking the song may be. But gosh, some of the ones that are other favorites are “Hurt” – the best vocals on Hillary in years. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful vocal and a pretty deep and sad song, but again a true and honest lyric.

Dave, you play a lot of instruments and you all blend your voices so beautifully together. What’s the process like to decide musically how the song is going to work?

CK: Very collaborative. We let each of us do what we do best. Dave, when it comes to musical decisions, knows what he’s doing, and Hillary and I can hear something but we don’t necessarily know how to execute it. Dave knows how to execute. Dave, you’re the executor! [Laughs] But it’s true. We have our roles and we fall into them. We don’t even need to say anything, it just happens. We’ve been doing this for a while now and we know what each of us does best and know when we can’t do something very well. [All laugh] You have to be willing to take a backseat when you need to take a backseat and take charge when you need to take charge.

It’s nice to know that you guys don’t fight over who’s going to get the solo! How do you keep your friendship strong, though, as well as keep the band intact?

HS: If all three of our egos worked their way in to an unhealthy degree, the band would suffer. And I think there’s just a grounding effect that happens because we’ve been in this together since the very beginning. Nobody knows me like Charles and Dave know me and it’s the same for them, as well. So we don’t let each other get away with much. [Laughs]

What’s the vibe like between the three of you? Siblings? Or more friendship?

HS: I would say friendship with a shot of sibling.

DH: Yeah, there’s definitely some sibling …

CK: We can definitely get on each other’s nerves.

DH: Even living in the houses together in Florida and California, we get along great, we’re cooking meals together, making drinks together, staying up late – I mean we sat up most nights in Hollywood listening to old demos and talking about stories from our first few years of making music. It’s a great collaboration between all three of us. Our families are so close, all of our kids –―it’s so cute when they play together on the road and on tour ― so it’s a great traveling family.

In the current political climate we’re in, there’s a lot of unrest everywhere but music tends to bring everyone together. When you guys are touring different states around the country, what’s your goal?

DH: As fans of music, we love going to shows, as well. Music is an escape to get out there and forget about what’s going on in your day-to-day life ― the pressures of a job or whatever is going on. It is that escape. There’s a new song we’re introducing on tour called “It’s a Good Time to Be Alive” and I think that sums up a lot of that content, as well. You’ve got someone you love, you got someone special in your life, and we’re all here together in this moment: it is a great time to be alive. We’ve been trying to make that our goal with our live show. It’s supposed to be an experience, a big party, and I know that’s the way I feel when I go to see shows. You’ve had a rough week, you want to have a great Friday night to kind of get away from it all and that’s what we’re out there trying to do.

What can we expect from the You Look Good Tour?

DH: Exciting music things for us as we have a new horn section coming out there with us. Musically, it will be a little different for those who have seen us in the past ― once the horns come out, it always feels like a big party. This is the highest production we’ve had with lighting, as well, so some really neat visual elements and moving screens.

How do you decide which songs to perform?

CK: This year, we kind of came up with a medley of songs and hits into one. But it actually paces out pretty good with playing the biggest songs we’ve had plus our new material. We know what people are coming here to hear ― they want to hear the songs they know really well and so obviously we’ll play four or five songs off this new record but the majority of it will be our No. 1’s and stuff. When I go to shows that’s what I want to hear ― I want to sing along! We’re going to give the fans a little taste of anything.

“Heart Break” is available June 9. 

This interview has been edited and condensed. 

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There was barely a dry eye for anyone watching Ariana Grande sing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” at the “One Love Manchester” concert in England Sunday.

And this baby girl was no different.

As Grande hit the song’s high notes while closing out the tribute to victims of the Manchester terror attack, the youngster couldn’t contain her emotions:

Tears streamed down the unidentified girl’s face as she watched Grande’s heartfelt performance of the Judy Garland classic from “The Wizard Of Oz” on a television screen. The baby then tried to sing along with the pop star herself.

Grande shared the adorable clip to Instagram on Tuesday. It’s since garnered more than 4.9 million views. 

Singers including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry joined Grande for the tribute event at the Emirates Old Trafford stadium in Greater Manchester.

It raised more than £10 million (about $12.9 million) for the “We Love Manchester Emergency Fund” fund, supporting families of the 22 people killed and dozens injured in the suicide bombing at Grande’s Manchester Arena concert on May 22.

Grande has now released her live version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” as a charity single, which will also benefit the fund.

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Thanks to Cher, we’re ready to leave this soggy, half-eaten sandwich of a year behind and fast forward to the bright (and likely beaded) future of 2018.

In a tweet heard ‘round the divasphere on Tuesday night, the Goddess of Pop announced that a musical based on her life is set to arrive on Broadway next year. It will have actors. It will have dancers. It will have singers. And, according to our best guesses, it will have the greatest costumes and wigs to ever grace the Great White Way.

The show will feature hits from throughout Cher’s decadeslong career. So far, we know that Jason Moore (”Avenue Q,” “Pitch Perfect”) is set to direct the musical, Rick Elice (”Jersey Boys”) is set to write the book, and Jeffrey Seller (”Hamilton”) and Flody Suarez (”Rise”) are set to produce. 

The Hollywood Reporter noted that Cher previously tweeted approval of the musical back in January ― after an “an ultra-secretive reading of the show” featuring Jillian Mueller, Lena Hall and Lesli Margherita as different Chers ― exclaiming, “I sobbed & laughed, & I was prepared not 2like it. Audience clapped after songs, & gave it standing ovation.”

A November 2016 casting notice revealed that characters dubbed Babe, Lady and Star will represent Cher at various times in her life. A few other figures we can expect to see cast in the musical: Sonny Bono, Cher’s parents, Bob Mackie, David Geffen, Gregg Allman, Robert Altman, Rob Camilletti and, yes, Sigmund Freud.

Cher has yet to reveal more details since her Tuesday evening tweet. In fact, shortly after her all-caps announcement, she resumed her usual social media duties: calling out President Donald Trump.

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James Corden’s stint in London for “The Late Late Show” continued Tuesday with a spoonful of sugar ― and it went down superbly.

The host adapted “Mary Poppins” for the street in one of his Crosswalk musicals. He played Mary Poppins, and made quite an entrance as Julie Andrews’ iconic nanny character from the 1964 film musical.

Yes, that is Oscar winner Ben Kingsley as Bert, the character made famous by Dick Van Dyke.

The two, plus a cast of many, briskly performed some numbers in front of traffic, using some timely props:

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was wonderfully atrocious:

Corden took a few liberties with dialogue, of course. “Let’s go and fly a f**king kite,” his Mary blurts out.

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In January 1999, the girl group TLC dropped a hit to end all hits: “No Scrubs.” The song became an anthem against men who don’t treat women well, aka “scrubs,” who can most closely be compared to present-day “fuccbois.”

On Monday night, comedian and actor Paul F. Tompkins tweeted an inquiry into TLC’s current anti-scrubs sentiment:

A response from the official TLC Twitter account appeared mid-afternoon on Tuesday:

So, to clarify, no, these ladies still don’t want no scrubs, and there are still guys who can’t get no love from them.

A rep for TLC also emphasized that the lyrics’ definition of “scrubs,” referring to them as “busters,” still stands:

In case you need a full refresher, please enjoy below:

In the years since the song exploded onto the scene, the trio has become a duo. Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes was killed in a car accident in 2002, leaving Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas to continue the TLC legacy together. Watkins and Thomas recently released their first music video in 14 years, titled “Way Back.”

Oh, and if you were wondering whether the group still does not endorse “chasing waterfalls,” a rep for the group clarified their current stance on that, too:

Bless you, TLC. 

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Here’s the trouble with Hollywood’s franchise machine, in a nutshell: Studios are so dependent on big-budget adaptations that they will greenlight several years’ worth of movies before a series’ first installment has even hit theaters.

This weekend, “The Mummy” inaugurates Universal Pictures’ Dark Universe, a streak of films centered on famous monsters that first appeared onscreen in the 1920s and ‘30s. But the studio didn’t even wait for the Tom Cruise spectacle to find success before moving forward with its Dark Universe initiative.

Gunning for a Marvel-esque connected universe, Universal had already announced “Bride of Frankenstein” (starring Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster) and “The Invisible Man” (starring Johnny Depp as Dr. Griffin). “The Mummy” director Alex Kurtzman has said a “Van Helsing” script is in the works from Jon Spaihts (”Passengers”) and Eric Heisserer (”Arrival”). Kurtzman also revealed last year that the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Wolf Man could be incorporated, as well. Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekyll will link these films.

In a new interview with Fandom, Kurtzman casually added a few additional titles to the Dark Universe queue: “Dracula,” “Frankenstein,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Especially notable: “Phantom of the Opera” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” had not yet been mentioned among chatter about the Dark Universe’s development. Meanwhile, “Dracula Untold,” the 2014 fantasy starring Luke Evans, was originally intended to kick off the Dark Universe, but Universal has since sidelined that film as a standalone, opting to launch the sequence with “The Mummy” instead.

The specifics almost don’t matter. It’s long been suggested that Universal would crank out mythology-expanding spinoffs as this updated franchise continues, and continue it will. (HuffPost asked Universal reps to clarify the studio’s plans, but we didn’t not receive an immediate reply.) 

Universal has no idea how 'The Mummy' will perform, yet it’s already staking hundreds of millions of dollars on a franchise that will stretch well into the 2020s.

Here’s the rub: Universal has no idea how “The Mummy” will perform, yet it’s already staking hundreds of millions of dollars on a franchise that will stretch well into the 2020s. (The next installment, “Bride of Frankenstein,” is slated for 2019.) In other words, there is no verifiable proof that audiences are interested in these monster flicks, beyond the blanket notion that the characters are already household names. To boot, early box-office tracking for “The Mummy” has been tame. Costing a reported $135 million, the movie is forecasted to lose the No. 1 slot to “Wonder Woman” after earning a lukewarm $35 million domestically this weekend. Like many contemporary franchises with established marketability, that puts the onus on foreign grosses, making patrons in these movies’ home country an afterthought. Even if “The Mummy” were to bomb outright with American audiences, the Dark Universe will continue, with a little Parisian pizzazz tossed in, thanks to “Phantom” and “Hunchback.” 

Of course, we should all hope these movies are excellent and worthy of sequels. Most of the originals are classics, and there is ample creature fear to be had in rejiggering the stories with modern filmmaking tactics. But it would be nice to confirm their profitability and quality before we reach the point of no return. How many original stories died so this endless derby of reboots and spinoffs could live? Despite Universal finding wild domestic success with “Get Out” earlier this year, the company (like most Hollywood studios) remains knee-jerkingly reliant on pre-established properties that draw international masses, even though many sequels’ American grosses don’t match their predecessors’ success (“Fifty Shades Darker,” “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” “Independence Day: Resurgence,” “X-Men: Apocalypse,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” “Zoolander 2,” the list goes on). 

Alas, this is the Hollywood culture that’s taken hold. In the major-studio world, quantity tops quality at every turn. At least we can see some more gravity-defying Tom Cruise stunts along the way?

If you’d like to know more about the inevitable Dark Universe, here’s Universal’s overarching plot description:

At its organizing principle, Dark Universe films are connected by a mysterious multi-national organization known as Prodigium. Led by the enigmatic and brilliant Dr. Henry Jekyll, Prodigium’s mission is to track, study and—when necessary—destroy evil embodied in the form of monsters in our world. Working outside the aegis of any government, and with practices concealed by millennia of secrecy, Prodigium protects the public from knowledge of the evil that exists just beyond the thin membrane of civilized society…and will go to any length to contain it.

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ZURICH ― An overnight stay in a double bed “suite” in a field costs $306, but you do get a drink on arrival, breakfast and the services of a “modern butler” ― typically a local farmer in rubber boots.

He or she escorts guests to the site, provides weather reports and delivers local jokes through a broken-down TV set.

Welcome to the “zero star” hotel, a conceptual art project that lets guests bed down in the wide open spaces with unobstructed views of Switzerland’s majestic landscape.

Created by twin brothers Frank and Patrik Riklin and partner Daniel Charbonnier, the project aims to explode traditional approaches to hospitality in the wealthy country known for its luxurious top-star mountain and lakeside resorts.

“Our artistic perspective is to go in the other direction. There is freedom in the zero to define luxury anew,” Frank Riklin said of the minimalist project that opens on Friday in the rolling hills of the Appenzell region near Sankt Gallen.

An outhouse bathroom is a three-minute walk away at a nearby Alpine hut that serves as a backup in case of bad weather, which wiped out 37 of the 60 available nights outdoors last year.

Previous versions of the installation have featured beds in a nuclear bunker and at an elevation of 5,250 feet in the mountainous Grisons region.

This year’s offering is nearly sold out after more than 1,300 requests for reservations from people as far afield as the United States, Australia, Iraq and Africa.

While art lovers vie for a night under the stars, Riklin said traditional Swiss hoteliers are not great fans of the project that stands normal customs on their head.

“We are very consciously mixing up the system to create a new reality,” he said.

 Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt

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Now playing at New York’s June Havoc Theater, “The Boy Who Danced on Air” tells the story of two young men who find love in a hopeless place. But star Troy Iwata says he’s surprised when people define the new Off-Broadway musical as being patently “gay” or “queer.” 

“We never use the word ‘gay’ at any point. There’s not a lot of representation of ‘gay’ versus ‘straight’ in our show,” Iwata told HuffPost. “To me, it’s just a story about two people who happen to fall in love in a dire situation.”

Written by Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne, “The Boy Who Danced on Air” could very well be one of the most daring offerings of the 2017 Off-Broadway theater season thus far ― and if viewers feel uncomfortable watching it, that’s exactly what its composers intended. 

Set in rural Afghanistan, the Abingdon Theater Company-produced musical depicts the underground tradition of bacha bazi, in which wealthy Afghan men “buy” young boys from poor families, dress them in women’s clothing, teach them to dance and ― in many cases ― sexually abuse them. The illegal practice and others like it are underreported, but nonetheless common: a 2014 survey conducted by the human rights advocacy organization Hagar International and cited by Newsweek in 2015 found that one in 10 Afghan boys had experienced some form of human trafficking. 

Iwata, whose television credits include “Orange Is the New Black” and “Quantico,” stars as Paiman, a 14-year-old boy who has been sold to Janandar (Jonathan Raviv), an American power plant employee. At one of his performances, Paiman is introduced to Feda (Nikhil Saboo), a boy owned by Janandar’s cousin, Zemar (Osh Ghanimah). At first, the boys treat one another with contempt, but before long, Paiman finds himself falling in love with Feda. However, Janandar has other plans for the rapidly maturing Paiman – namely, an arranged marriage to a woman – as their country is engulfed in war.

Sohne told HuffPost he got the idea for the musical after viewing the PBS Frontline documentary, “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan.” That 2010 film helped Sohne to realize he’d mentally “painted Afghanistan with a very broad brush” because of the media’s emphasis on the nation’s ties to the War on Terror. A musical take on bacha bazi, or “boy play,” had the potential to “emotionally hit home in a way that didn’t feel like an intellectual exercise,” he said. “One of the most powerful things about musical theater is its ability to bring you close to people,” he explained. “If someone is singing a song, I think you can emotionally understand them in a deeper way.”  

Rosser, meanwhile, needed more convincing that the subject matter would lend itself well to a theatrical interpretation. “I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to interact with this, and I wouldn’t know how to write music for a story like this,” he said, citing “Carousel” and “South Pacific” as two of his favorite musicals. As Rosser reassessed the politically-tinged components of those classics, however, he realized such a treatment of bacha bazi didn’t seem so far-fetched after all. “I don’t think I understood how subversive some of those shows were for their time,” he said.

“The Boy Who Danced on Air” received solid reviews after its 2016 premiere at the Diversionary Theater in San Diego, California. “Bacha bazi is a repellent practice, but it’s approached in ‘The Boy Who Danced on Air’ with nuance and sensitivity,” The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Pam Kragen wrote, noting that the the musical “touchingly, thoughtfully and surprisingly explores this ugly, centuries-old Afghan tradition.”

The New York production, which opened May 23, received similar acclaim. “Despite the violence and troubling subject matter, the show has moments that are quite beautiful,” USA Today’s Bill Canacci wrote, while Time Out New York called the show “profoundly affecting.” 

In spite of the reviews, the show’s five-member ensemble are aware that pedophilia, homophobia and Islamophobia are tricky to dramatize, and say they are determined to present those subjects in as sensitive of a light as possible. 

“It’s difficult to lift that Western lens and see these characters as humans, because by our definition, what they’re doing is monstrous,” Iwata, who is making his Off-Broadway debut, told HuffPost. Though the actor has to remind himself to approach the piece with “as little judgment and as much understanding” as possible, the show’s controversial elements are a welcome challenge, too. “As an actor and an artist, it’s really exciting to be a part of something that’s new and progressive,” he said. 

Though the New York run of “The Boy Who Danced on Air” wraps June 11, Rosser and Sohne are currently in talks to record a cast album of the show, and are hopeful their creation will live on beyond its current incarnation.

Above all, however, Sohne said he and Rosser are thrilled their work is allowing audiences of all political and religious affiliations to “find common humanity with characters who, for one reason, they might want to hold at a distance.”

“That part of our piece has become more important now than ever,” he said.

“The Boy Who Danced on Air” plays New York’s June Havoc Theater through June 11. Head here for details. 

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Elisabeth Moss, the powerhouse star and co-producer of Hulu’s hit adaptation of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” has no small list of challenges in portraying Offred, a woman conscripted as a reproductive slave in a dystopian theocracy called Gilead.

Not least: Filming scenes in which her character is routinely, clinically raped by her commander (Joseph Fiennes) in order to conceive a child. In a roundtable discussion for The Hollywood Reporter, Moss opened up about her process and the undeniable horror of her character’s victimization. 

Speaking with five other actresses, including Oprah Winfrey and Nicole Kidman, she elaborated on previous thoughts she’s offered about depicting Offred’s rape on screen. “It was really important for us to have it be extremely clinical, mechanical; there’s nothing remotely sexual about it,” she said.  

Moss also explained how she prepared to portray her character during these harrowing scenes:

I just thought, “What would one do in this situation?” Which sounds so oversimple, perhaps, but I was just like, “If you were being sexually assaulted on a regular basis and you knew there was nothing you could do about it, what would you do?” There’s no escape and you can’t fight back. And so I thought, “Well, she would probably try not to be there — try to go somewhere else.”

The trauma Offred suffered would have been so extreme, Moss suggested during the THR roundtable, that allowing herself to experience it would be impossible. “You can’t experience it,” she said. “You wouldn’t make it. Which happens to women in that world; they don’t make it.”

Shows that frequently depict sexual violence against women, such as “Game of Thrones,” have been critiqued in recent years for mingling the overt brutality with titillating touches and, some argue, glamorizing the crime of rape. By removing any sexualized excitement from Offred’s character and the framing of the scenes, “The Handmaid’s Tale” aims to focus viewers on the inhumanity of the act.

“It was really important to show it exactly for what it should be,” Moss said. “That no one is enjoying this. That all three parties are in a terrible place.”

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

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Since she was 15 years old, Victoria D’Ariano has struggled with a dimple on her backside. 

The Ontario, Canada-based trainer and fitness competitor recently shared her thoughts in an Instagram post, explaining just how and why the dimple bothered her so much. The now-viral Instagram post has garnered more than 27,000 likes and 1,000 comments. 

“Dear Butt Dimple, I remember the first day you appeared. I was 15 years old,” D’Ariano wrote. “Since then you have had a hugely negative impact on my life. Since then you have made me feel less about myself. You not only made me feel fat, but also unworthy. You have always had an impact on what I chose to wear.” 

The now 24-year-old said she had avoided wearing bikinis and certain leggings, in an effort to lessen her worries about the dimple. She spoke about the stress her dimple caused her, the amount of exercising she did in the hopes of making it go away and the treatments she contemplated buying for it. 

“You took a lot of joy away from me, you caused a lot of stress for me, you made me insecure and took away my confidence. I could never feel in shape as you were always there,” D’Ariano said. 

But after many years of letting the dimple bother her, D’Ariano said she has finally made peace with that part of her body. 

“I am writing you today to tell you I have finally stopped letting you win. You will no longer make me feel unworthy, not good enough or not in shape because of you,” D’Ariano said. “I will no longer be afraid to wear certain bathing suits or leggings because of you. I will no longer hide you. You are what you are and I have finally come to peace with that. I have finally accepted you,” 

#FreeTheBooty is right! 

In an interview with HuffPost, D’Ariano said the photo is a part of a series she started called “Courage To Be You.” 

“As someone who has dealt with and been medicated for depression and anxiety along with having body image issues I am finally opening up about all of this in hopes to shed light on these topics,” she said. “I want to be a part of the movement that helps fight against stigma towards mental health.”

In the days since D’Ariano posted the inspiring photo, she said she’s received both positive and negative reactions. 

“For those who have ever had body image issues they can relate and this sheds light on the topic and makes them feel like aren’t alone. These people react positively as this photo helps them,” she told HuffPost. “For those who don’t understand the severity of mental health and the implications it can have on things, they see this as stupid, and thus react negatively.”

“[Some people] view women like myself, who have insecurities, body image issues and other mental health problems as ‘privileged.’ People want to compare struggles, they don’t think that if you look a certain way or live a certain life you should be able to have struggles.” 

She added, “Unfortunately for a lot of people, myself included mental health issues don’t discriminate. You can have the best of everything in the world but if you have these problems it won’t matter and this is what people fail to understand.” 

Hopefully, more people will come to understand that through D’Ariano’s powerful pictures and messaging.  

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With the seemingly relentless barrage of leaks and scandals during President Donald Trump’s relatively short time in office, it might seem a wonder to some how he hasn’t been impeached already.

While it’s a sentiment you might hear thrown around water-cooler conversations or happy hours, the actual process of impeachment is, in so few words, more complicated than you might think. As HuffPost’s Jonathan Cohn explains, impeachment isn’t about punishing an individual for a crime, but rather, is a means of protecting any threats to democracy.

Still, if you want to probe further and brush up on your U.S. governmental knowledge, podcasts have proven to be an excellent resource for covering the basics of relevant political issues and beyond. When the news feels overwhelming or difficult to parse through, political podcasts can serve as a guidepost through the swamp that we keep hearing will be drained one day.

Acast compiled a list of 10 shows that help to explain politics for the layperson, the news junkie, and the individual just trying to get the lowdown on what’s actually happening in Congress.

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Elisabeth Moss knows that women have more power when they work together.

The star and executive producer of Hulu’s new show “The Handmaid’s Tale” recently sat down with ELLE to discuss what it was like shooting the series and how the narrative compares to the current political climate in America. The 34-year-old also discussed how the handmaids in the dystopian future series come together in times of struggle. 

When ELLE’s Emily Gould asked Moss if she’s ever felt “pitted against” other actresses in the industry, the actress responded poignantly. 

“I think it’s up to women themselves not to pit themselves against each other,” Moss told Gould. “That’s one of the major themes of this season ― the power of women when they unite. When you turn women against each other, it can wreak havoc, because women are very powerful forces, and you can use that power for good or evil. When women support each other, rather than stoning each other to death, it’s a game-changer.” 

Both “The Handmaid’s Tale” series and the book it’s based on share the reoccurring theme of women being pitted against one another to uphold a patriarchal society. Unfortunately, many viewers have pointed out how what we're seeing on screen might have begun to mirror real life, as the GOP rolls back access to women’s healthcare.

Moss’ words are becoming more and more relevant as time passes: Women are much more powerful when we work together. 

Head over to ELLE to read the magazine’s full feature on Moss. 

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