Entertainment Roundup: Faith, Film and Randy Travis
From faith-driven fantasy and an unusual film festival to a the long-awaited album from Randy Travis, here are six stories making news in entertainment.
Anti-communist film festival announces October lineup
A new film festival in Washington, D.C., will use the big screen to examine communist oppression and the struggle for freedom.
Journalist Mark Judge’s inaugural Anti-Communist Film Festival will run October 1-4 at the Victims of Communism Museum, two blocks from the White House.
The festival opens with “Pilecki’s Report,” a 2023 Polish film about resistance fighter Witold Pilecki, who voluntarily entered Auschwitz to document Nazi atrocities and later was imprisoned by the Soviets.
Other selections include “The Killing Fields,” “Night Crossing,” “Red Dawn,” “The Lives of Others” and the Coen brothers comedy “Hail, Caesar!”
Judge said the gathering is intended to remind audiences about communism’s human cost while bringing “freedom-loving people” together for movies, conversation, beer and popcorn.
‘Pendragon Cycle’ finds success on Prime Video
A Christian fantasy series that began behind the DailyWire+ paywall is reaching a much larger audience.
“The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin” began streaming on Prime Video in the United States on September 1. The seven-part series climbed as high as second place among all shows on the platform, according to Hollywood in Toto.
Adapted from Stephen R. Lawhead’s novels, the series revisits the Arthurian legends against the backdrop of Christianity’s rise in Britain. Daily Wire cofounder Jeremy Boreing co-created, co-directed, and executive produced the project.
The series also has performed well in Canada, Ireland, Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom. Colin Cunningham, who portrays King Vortigern, won a Leo Award for best lead performance in a dramatic series.
Boreing said its success demonstrates an audience for stories involving “inheritance, memory” and “fidelity.”
Food Network star recommends the Old Testament
Food Network personality and cookbook author Aarti Sequeira is encouraging Christians not to neglect the first three-quarters of their Bibles.
In a recent social media video, Sequeira offered three reasons to read the Old Testament: Jesus loved and quoted it, its message points to Jesus and it reveals the character of God.
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“The Old Testament has helped me understand the character of God,” she said, explaining that it demonstrates the depth of God’s love for humanity.
Sequeira, who calls herself a “Jesus Geek,” also helped create “The Chosen Presents: Taste and See.” The cookbook combines recipes, devotionals and history to explore how Jesus and other first-century Jews gathered, prayed and shared meals.
She said the project makes the biblical world more tangible and brings another dimension to the practice of breaking bread together.
Former Muslim turns Christian testimony into music
Christian rapper Adam Brandao once rejected Christianity and viewed its followers with contempt. Today, the 24-year-old musician uses rap and social media to tell others about Jesus.
Brandao grew up in a Muslim household in Leicester, England, where he attended a mosque, studied the Quran and learned Islam’s five daily prayers.
As a teenager, he began using drugs and spending time with a troubled crowd. An unexpected friendship with a drug dealer who professed faith in Christ led to months of conversations about Islam, the Bible and knowing God personally.
Brandao said he eventually prayed to Jesus and experienced an immediate sense of peace. His decision cost him friendships and strained family relationships, but he credits his mother with refusing demands that he be forced from their home.
Brandao released his first Christian rap song in January 2025 and now pursues music full time.
Dylan Sprouse calls child acting ‘child labor’
Former Disney Channel star Dylan Sprouse is speaking candidly about the psychological effects of growing up on television.
Sprouse, 34, described child acting as “child labor” during a September 1 episode of his “Wildmen” podcast. He said years of reporting to sets and working long production days connected his self-esteem to staying employed.
Sprouse began acting as an infant alongside his twin brother, Cole. The brothers later starred in Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” and “The Suite Life on Deck.”
Although Sprouse acknowledged that acting was different from the dangerous work children performed in earlier eras, he said it remained structured labor with emotional consequences.
After leaving regular television work, Sprouse studied video game design at New York University. He credited that break with helping him develop an identity and friendships beyond the entertainment industry.
Randy Travis prepares first album in 18 years
Randy Travis will release his first album of previously unheard material in more than 18 years this fall.
“Same Old Way” arrives November 13 through Warner Records Nashville. Its 12 songs were recorded between 1986 and 2013, allowing listeners to hear Travis’ original voice before the devastating stroke that left him with aphasia.
The project differs from his 2024 song “Where That Came From,” which used artificial intelligence to recreate his voice. Longtime producer Kyle Lehning selected, remixed and remastered the archival recordings with Travis’ involvement.
Travis’ wife, Mary, said the collection includes love songs, breakup songs and gospel selections. The title song is the only composition Travis and Lehning wrote together.
Travis already has released “Same Old Way,” “Fish On” and “I Don’t Care.” He also continues appearing on the More Life Tour, where James Dupré performs the lead vocals with Travis’ longtime band.
–Metro Voice
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This story was produced with our online research assistant and then edited.
