Movies/TV category, Page 50
TV Talk: Vibrant lead performance, meaty script elevate filmed-in-Pittsburgh biopic ‘Rustin’Video
It seems likely the Oscars will have at least one other biopic best picture nominee alongside “Oppenheimer:” Netflix’s filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Rustin” easily earns a spot among the superior films of 2023. Streaming Nov. 17 on Netflix and playing at Waterworks Cinema Friday, Colman Domingo (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) delivers a studied,...
Movie Review: A serene debut from Raven Jackson in ‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’Video
Nature provides much of the soundtrack to “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” a poised and occasionally transcendent debut from writer-director Raven Jackson. The sounds of crickets and birds, flowing water and the wind in the long summer grass are only sporadically punctured by a song at a party, or...
TV Q&A: Why has KDKA’s Heather Abraham been off so much lately?
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 is up with KDKA-TV’s Heather Abraham missing work so often? I’ve never seen someone on a highly rated TV show disappear so often. Is...
David Fincher ‘not responsible’ for incels co-opting ‘Fight Club’: ‘We didn’t make it for them’
Director David Fincher didn’t make “Fight Club” for incels, but that hasn’t stopped them from co-opting the 1999 psychological thriller. The acclaimed director spoke with the Guardian for a profile published Friday, and the sexually frustrated radical right’s affinity for “Fight Club” came up. “I’m not responsible for how people...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry’s death; new grant for Pittsburgh Film Office, WQED-TV screws up again
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including the $200,000 grant that Citizens Bank gave to the Pittsburgh Film Office on Friday that will be allocated to Create Pa. as it trains...
Book Review: Henry Winkler grapples with the Fonz and dyslexia in his entertaining new memoir
Henry Winkler’s memoir begins on a Tuesday morning in October 1973, at his first audition for “Happy Days.” He was almost 28 — quite a bit old for a high schooler — and struggling with something he didn’t know had a name. “Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond,” released Tuesday...
Video game adaptation ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ notches $130 million global debut
It hardly mattered that “Five Nights at Freddy’s” was released simultaneously in theaters and on streaming this weekend. Fans flocked to movie theaters across the country to see the scary video game adaptation on the big screen, which made $78 million to top the North American box office, according to...
Justin Trudeau, friends, actors and fans mourn Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry was mourned on social media by friends, co-stars and some very famous fans, including his childhood classmate, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his “Friends” mom Morgan Fairchild and even Adele. Perry, who played Chandler Bing on NBC’s “Friends” for 10 seasons, was found dead at his Los Angeles...
Matthew Perry, Emmy-nominated ‘Friends’ star, dead at 54
LOS ANGELES — “Friends” star Matthew Perry, the Emmy-nominated actor whose sarcastic, but lovable Chandler Bing was among television’s most famous and most quotable characters, has died at 54. The actor was found dead of an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times...
Richard Moll, who found fame as bailiff on original sitcom ‘Night Court,’ dies at 80
NEW YORK — Richard Moll, a character actor who found lasting fame as an eccentric but gentle giant bailiff on the original “Night Court” sitcom, has died. He was 80. Moll died Thursday at his home in Big Bear Lake, Calif., according to Jeff Sanderson, a publicist at Chasen &...
TV Talk: Western Pa. native, CMU grad bring engrossing ‘Fellow Travelers’ to Showtime, Paramount+Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Equal parts political thriller and steamy, doomed romance, “Fellow Travelers” proves to be an addictive yarn that, despite its period setting, feels vital and relevant in 2023 America. Now streaming on Paramount + and making...
TV Talk: Striking Pittsburgh laborers loom over season 2 of HBO’s ‘The Gilded Age’Video
In season two of “The Gilded Age” (9 p.m. Sunday on HBO and Max), all roads lead to Pittsburgh. From writer Julian Fellowes, “The Gilded Age” (aka the American “Downton Abbey”) continues to unfurl the soapy stories of gloriously costumed upstairs/downstairs families and staff in Manhattan circa 1883. “The Gilded...
NBA gets help from ‘Sopranos’ actor to promote in-season tournamentVideo
LAS VEGAS — The NBA enlisted an actor from “The Sopranos” and borrowed the central theme of the film “Ocean’s Eleven” — a Las Vegas heist — to hype the inaugural In-Season Tournament that begins Nov. 3. The latest marketing move, released Wednesday, is a nearly 2-minute spot featuring actor...
‘Shaft’ star Richard Roundtree, considered the first Black action movie hero, has died at 81
LOS ANGELES — Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor who starred as the ultra-smooth private detective in several “Shaft” films beginning in the early 1970s, has died. He was 81. Roundtree’s longtime manager, Patrick McMinn, said the actor had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at his home in Los...
TV Q&A: Why do TV news anchors hold tablets during newscasts?
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: I noticed years ago that the anchors on WTAE-TV were holding computer tablets in their hands. I remember one of the anchors dropped it on...
TV Talk: Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher on ‘NFL Icons’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. An NFL Hall of Famer, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher is the subject of this week’s episode of “NFL Icons” (10 p.m. Oct. 28, MGM+). The hourlong episode explores Cowher’s youth in Crafton, his stint...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Pittsburgh’s market rank drops again, Zachary Quinto’s new NBC series
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment including Pittsburgh’s Nielsen market rank, which fell yet again. Previously the No. 26 largest TV market nationally, Pittsburgh has fallen to No. 28 for the...
Comedy duo bring ‘Law & Order: SVU’ podcast live show to Pittsburgh
“In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous…” That is the opening line to every episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” a show whose serious subject matter might not seem like the ideal topic for a podcast featuring two comedians. Don’t tell that to...
New Netflix thriller tackling theme of justice in Nigeria is a global hit and a boon for Nollywood
ABUJA, Nigeria — A Nigerian action thriller that tells a gripping story of corruption and police brutality in Africa’s most populous country has reached record viewership numbers on Netflix charts globally. It’s a reminder of the power and potential of Nigeria’s rapidly growing film industry. “The Black Book” has taken...
Martin Scorsese is still curious — and still awed by the possibilities of cinema
NEW YORK — A moment from years ago keeps replaying in Martin Scorsese’s mind. When Akira Kurosawa was given an honorary Academy Award in 1990, the then 80-year-old Japanese filmmaker of “Seven Samurai” and “Ikiru,” in his brief, humble speech, said he hadn’t yet grasped the full essence of cinema....
TV Talk: ‘Repairing the World’ tells stories from aftermath of Tree of Life attack
Oakland, Calif.,-based filmmaker Patrice O’Neill began chronicling community responses to hate more than 25 years ago. When she heard about the 2018 assault on Squirrel Hill’s Tree of Life synagogue, she realized her Not in Our Town team had more work to do. “Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree...
Hollywood’s actors strike is nearing its 100th day. Why hasn’t a deal been reached and what’s next?
LOS ANGELES — While screenwriters are busy back at work, film and TV actors remain on picket lines, with the longest strike in their history set to hit 100 days on Saturday after talks broke off with studios. Here’s a look at where things stand, how their stretched-out standoff compares...
TV Talk: New ‘Rustin’ trailer released; ‘Reel Money’ on building Pittsburgh’s TV/film economyVideo
Netflix confirmed filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Rustin” will play in at least one Pittsburgh theater beginning Nov. 3 before it streams on Netflix on Nov. 17. Netflix has not confirmed which Pittsburgh theater (or theaters) will show the movie. Netflix also released a new second trailer for the PG-13-rated bio-pic on gay Civil...
Burt Young, Oscar-nominated actor who played Paulie in ‘Rocky’ films, dies at 83
LOS ANGELES — Burt Young, the Oscar-nominated actor who played Paulie, the rough-hewn, mumbling-and-grumbling best friend, corner-man and brother-in-law to Sylvester Stallone in the “Rocky” franchise, has died. Young died Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, told the New York Times on Wednesday. No cause was...
Phyllis Coates, actor who first portrayed ‘Superman’ reporter Lois Lane on TV, dies at 96Video
LOS ANGELES — Phyllis Coates, who portrayed “Superman” Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, has died. She was 96. Coates, who was the first actor to play the iconic role on the 1950s “Adventures of Superman” television series, died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s retirement...
