By Steven J. Horowitz
Senior Music Writer
Despite reports that she was gearing up to shoot a performance tomorrow at Los Angeles’ Hollywood sign, Taylor Swift will not appear at the famed landmark, Variety can confirm.
News reports Tuesday morning indicated production had been in full swing for a Swift performance in partnership with Disney+, much to the chagrin of the surrounding neighbors. But, according to a source, production withdrew its application and the shoot has been canceled altogether. Even before production was halted, sources say Swift was never scheduled to appear at any point.
All of this comes in the leadup to the Disney+ release of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” Swift announced in February that the concert film would exclusively air on the platform starting on March 14 at 6 p.m. PT, with a reported price tag of over $75 million. The movie, which clocks in at two hours and 45 minutes, initially cut five songs from the setlist for time, but the special is slated to include “Cardigan” and “Maroon,” as well as three other acoustic songs that were not available in the theatrical or digital versions. Based on her “Eras Tour” setlists, those songs could potentially be “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” “You Are in Love” and “I Can See You.”
Since its theatrical debut on Oct. 13, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” earned $261.7 million at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing concert film to date. The movie debuted digitally on Dec. 13 via Universal Pictures (also Swift’s birthday), featuring three bonus songs that were left out of the theatrical version: “Wildest Dreams,” “The Archer” and “Long Live.”
Swift is currently on a break from the international leg of her “Eras Tour,” with plans to pick back up at the Paris La Défense Arena on May 9. Her eleventh studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which she announced while accepting an award at the Grammys in February, is slated for release on April 19.
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