Movies/TV category, Page 35
TV Talk: Shaler grad writes music for ‘Ariel;’ ‘The Bear’ roars again; MeTV Toons launchesVideo
For its latest animated series, “Disney Jr.’s Ariel,” inspired by “The Little Mermaid” story, animated and live-action films, producers enlisted Anthony M. “Tone” Jones, a 2000 graduate of Shaler Area High School, to help create one-to-two songs per episode. “Disney’s Jr.’s Ariel” (9 a.m. Thursday, Disney Junior; eight episodes available...
No shield required: ‘Captain America’ star Anthony Mackie’s own super power is swimming with sharks
When National Geographic approached Anthony Mackie with an opportunity to swim with sharks to kick off its SharkFest programming, it was an easy yes for the Marvel star who is the new Captain America. The water, says Mackie, is a “safe space” where he “can just tune everybody and everything...
Film company to pay $3.5K to film at shuttered prison property in Hempfield
Previously a location for crime thrillers “Mindhunter” and “Mayor of Kingstown,” the former SCI Greensburg prison property soon will grace screens once again. Hempfield supervisors approved a Brooklyn and Toronto-based film company, Visual Inclination, to film at the site this fall. The company will use the location for a 10-...
TV Q&A: How can WPXI make its ‘most-watched news station’ claim?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Channel 11, WPXI-TV says they are the “most-watched news station” in Pittsburgh. What is this based on? One show or newscasts throughout the day? —...
Hulu moves up launch time of ‘The Bear’ Season 3
The season three premiere of the Emmy Award-winning TV show “The Bear” has been moved up on Hulu. It will now be released at 9 p.m. Wednesday, three hours ahead of the original midnight Thursday air date, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At that time, all ten episodes of the...
Gena Rowlands has Alzheimer’s, her son Nick Cassavetes saysVideo
NEW YORK — The celebrated actor and honorary Academy Award recipient Gena Rowlands is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, her son, the filmmaker Nick Cassavetes, has revealed. Cassavetes, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Tuesday, said Rowlands has had Alzheimer’s for five years. In the 2004 film “The Notebook,” Cassavetes...
This week’s televised debate is crucial for Biden and Trump — and for CNN as well
NEW YORK — Joe Biden and Donald Trump won’t be alone at Thursday’s debate. Moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper of CNN will be on camera, too, and there’s a lot on the line for their network as it fights for relevance in a changing media environment. CNN has hosted...
‘Inside Out 2’ scores $100M in its 2nd weekend, setting records
NEW YORK — Weekend number two was just as joyous for “Inside Out 2.” The Pixar sequel collected $100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a new record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theaters. The previous best second...
TV Talk: ‘King Coal’ offers an elegy for connection rooted in a controversial industry
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. The critically acclaimed documentary film “King Coal” already played in Pittsburgh cinemas and its initial run was extended due to high demand. This week, “King Coal” is available for home viewing as the first film...
TV Talk: WTAE names South Hills native Ashley Liotus as sports anchor/reporter
Following Emily Giangreco’s departure in April, WTAE named Ashley Liotus the station’s newest sports anchor/reporter. Liotus has freelanced for Channel 4 since 2022, prior to Giangreco’s arrival. “We are thrilled to officially make Ashley part of our WTAE Channel 4 family,” WTAE general manager and president Charles W. Wolfertz III...
Donald Sutherland, towering actor whose career spanned ‘M.A.S.H.’ to ‘Hunger Games,’ dies at 88
NEW YORK — Donald Sutherland, the prolific film and television actor whose long career stretched from “M.A.S.H.” to “The Hunger Games,” has died. He was 88. Kiefer Sutherland, the actor’s son, confirmed his father’s death Thursday. No further details were immediately available. “I personally think one of the most important...
Judy Garland’s hometown is raising funds to purchase stolen ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — The Minnesota hometown of Judy Garland, the actress who wore a pair of ruby slippers in “The Wizard of Oz,” is raising money to purchase the prized footwear after it was stolen from a local museum and then later turned over to an auction company. Grand...
TV Talk: ‘Orphan Black’ rebootedVideo
In the 2013-17 BBC America sci-fi serial “Orphan Black,” actress Tatiana Maslany played multiple clones of her primary character, ultimately creating one of the better recent genre series, albeit one that grew overly convoluted as the series’ mythology expanded season-by-season. The new sequel series, “Orphan Black: Echoes” (10 p.m. Sunday,...
TV Q&A: How many sportscasters are on KDKA-TV?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: How many sportscasters are there on KDKA-TV? — Bill via email Rob: Bob Pompeani and Richie Walsh are the full-time KDKA sports reporters/anchors, and freelancer...
Actor Ian McKellen, 85, is looking forward to returning to work after his fall off a London stage
LONDON — Actor Ian McKellen said Tuesday he is looking forward to returning to work after he toppled off a London stage mid-performance and was hospitalized. McKellen, 85, said he was “hugely indebted” to medics who treated him after the tumble on Monday night during a performance of “Player Kings”...
French actress Anouk Aimée, a Golden Globe winner, dies at 92
PARIS — French actress Anouk Aimée, winner of a Golden Globe for her starring role in “A Man and a Woman” by legendary French director Claude Lelouch, has died, her agent said Tuesday. She was 92. Agent Sébastien Perrolat said in an text message to The Associated Press that Aimée...
Meet some real-life storm chasers this summer at Evergreen Drive-In
Ever wondered what storm chasers do and how they do it? Find out in July, by attending the Evergreen Drive-In Theater in East Huntingdon. Hosted by PA Storm Trackerz, the drive-in will present “Meet The Storm Chasers Night” on Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20 — at the opening...
Carnegie Mellon alumni bring home 4 awards at 2024 Tonys
On Sunday night, the theater community gathered to celebrate the 77th Tony Awards, which honor the best of the best from the past year’s Broadway season. Included among the nominees for competitive awards were six Carnegie Mellon University alumni, with a total of 11 nominations. In addition, Pittsburgh native and...
An emotional win for theaters, Hollywood: ‘Inside Out 2’ scores massive $155 million openingVideo
Hollywood’s summer movie anxieties gave way to joy this weekend with the massive debut of Disney and Pixar’s ” Inside Out 2.” The animated sequel earned $155 million in ticket sales from 4,440 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Not only is it the second-highest...
Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Michael Fimognari conducts weeklong master class in Mt. Lebanon
This week, a group of students had the opportunity to peek into the process of filmmaking from a professional who’s worked on big-name projects like “Doctor Sleep” (2019) and Netflix’s “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” film trilogy. Michael Fimognari, who has made his between-projects home in Pittsburgh for...
TV Talk: ‘House of the Dragon’ successfully toggles between heartbreak and dark humor in 2nd seasonVideo
The first season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” was a mixed bag: So many — too many, really — characters with similar-sounding names and blond wigs, a time jump that resulted in the recasting of roles just as viewers started to get to know...
IndyCar moves to Fox Sports in 2025 after 16 seasons with NBC; Fox now has Daytona 500, Indy 500
Fox Sports said Thursday it has acquired the rights to broadcast IndyCar starting in 2025, a move that gives the network two of the biggest races in the world: the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Daytona 500. Fox Sports already broadcasts the first half of the NASCAR schedule. NASCAR in November...
TV Talk: Pittsburgher competes on PBS’s ‘Great American Recipe’
Western Pennsylvania native Doug Heilman wasn’t familiar with PBS’s “Great American Recipe” (9 p.m. Monday, WQED-TV), now in its third season, so when a casting producer reached out over his social media encouraging the home cook Heilman to apply, Heilman ignored that direct message for two weeks. “It seemed spammy....
TV Talk: ‘Watson’ filming locally, ‘The Deliverance’ dated
CBS’s upcoming Pittsburgh-set medical/investigative procedural “Watson,” slated to air Sunday nights in spring 2025, will film predominantly in Vancouver, British Columbia. But star Morris Chestnut and some other cast members are in Pittsburgh this week to film exterior scenes over several days that will be inserted into episodes of the...
TV Q&A: Did Alby Oxenreiter retire from WPXI?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: What’s the story with Alby Oxenreiter? He hasn’t been seen for about a year on WPXI-TV. I’m wondering if he decided to retire early because...
