Entertainment category, Page 147
How ‘The Last of Us’ changed gaming, strained relationships and spawned an empire
Sony’s landmark 2013 game “The Last of Us” didn’t make it easy on players. But the difficulty curve was more emotional than technical, for the game delivered the zombie genre at its most heady, grief-stricken and intimate. How it started: Grim. Joel, a down-on-his-luck single dad, can’t catch a break....
Billie Eilish seeks restraining order against man who ‘professed his love’ for her
LOS ANGELES — Pop singer Billie Eilish has filed a request for a restraining order against the 39-year-old man accused of breaking into her parents’ Los Angeles home this month, court documents show. The order would protect herself, her parents and her brother, musician Finneas Baird O’Connell. Eilish, 21, said...
Review: Hacking, not shoe-leather, solves thriller ‘Missing’Video
June Allen’s mother has vanished during a romantic vacation with her boyfriend to Colombia when “Missing” starts gaining steam. The FBI are supposedly on it, with one special agent telling June: “The best thing you can do is wait by the phone.” Wait by the phone? You don’t know June...
Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Sade make it to Songwriters Hall
NEW YORK — Snoop Dogg, Gloria Estefan, Sade, Jeff Lynne, Glen Ballard, Teddy Riley and Liz Rose have been chosen to join the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a class that includes the writers of such varied hits as “Man In the Mirror,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Rhythm Is...
Madonna’s global ‘Celebration’ tour announces Pittsburgh dateVideo
Madonna will bring 40 years of her greatest hits to Pittsburgh as part of her “Madonna: The Celebration Tour.” The best-selling female solo touring artist of all time comes to PPG Paints Arena on Aug. 7. It will be her third stop in Pittsburgh, having performed at the Civic Arena...
Pittsburgh Opera debuts Handel’s ‘Ariodante’ in all-new production
Pittsburgh Opera will present the first-ever local performances of Handel’s Baroque opera, “Ariodante,” in an all-new production running Jan. 21-29 at Pittsburgh CAPA Theater. “Ariodante” also will be the debut with the company of costume designer Grace Kang and set designer Ningning Yang, both students at Carnegie Mellon University. “Almost...
TV Talk at TCA: How ‘Justified: City Primeval’ ended up back in Western Pa.Video
PASADENA, Calif. – FX’s “Justified” (2010-15) filmed its pilot episode in Western Pennsylvania back in 2009 before production on the subsequent episodes shifted to Southern California. For the sequel series, “Justified: City Primeval,” premiering on FX this summer, the show is set in Detroit and primarily filmed in Chicago with...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Mayor of Kingstown,’ Steelers local ratings, ‘The Last of Us’
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 filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Mayor of Kingstown” and star Jeremy Renner’s recovery and NFL local market ratings, including the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Owen discusses what it was...
Boris Johnson signs deal for memoir of turbulent premiership
LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signed a deal to write a memoir of his tumultuous time in office, which began with a vow to “get Brexit done” and ended in scandal and resignation. Publisher HarperCollins said Monday that the as-yet untitled book will be a prime...
Embattled actor Kevin Spacey in Italy to receive award
TURIN, Italy — Actor Kevin Spacey was in the northern Italian city of Turin on Monday to receive a lifetime achievement award, teach a master class and introduce a screening of the 1999 film “American Beauty.” The sold-out events were billed as Spacey’s first speaking engagements since #MeToo-era allegations derailed...
‘American Idol’ star CJ Harris dead at 31 of apparent heart attackVideo
CJ Harris, a singer who competed on “American Idol” during the reality competition’s 13th season, has died. The Alabama native was 31 years old. A family member told TMZ that Harris was taken to a hospital via ambulance but died following a suspected heart attack on Sunday in Jasper, Ala....
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida dies at age 95
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. She was 95. The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. Lollobrigida had...
TV Talk: Behind the scenes at Critics Choice Awards
CENTURY CITY, Calif. — Sure, on TV the stars look glamorous in their bespoke wardrobes, but what’s it like to attend a televised awards show? As a journalist who covers TV/streaming, I’ve not yet made it into the room where it happens, but I have made it into the next...
‘Jagged Little Pill’ crafts Alanis Morissette songs into jukebox musical
Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album, “Jagged Little Pill,” marked an alt-rock, grunge swerve from the Canadian singer-songwriter’s two previous dance-pop albums. Songs like “You Oughta Know” explored hot-button themes like sexuality, sexual harassment, self-help and societal apathy. The songs and themes are incorporated in “Jagged Little Pill,” a jukebox musical that...
Prime Stage Theatre awarded National Endowment for the Arts Grant
Pittsburgh’s Prime Stage Theatre has received a significant financial boost for its plan to produce the world premiere stage adaptation of “Perseverance,” the story of a Holocaust survivor’s life in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Prime Stage has been awarded a $10,000 Grant for Arts Projects from the National Endowment for...
‘Avatar 2,’ ‘M3GAN’ hold onto top spots at the box office
New movies like “Plane” and “House Party” were no match for “Avatar: The Way of Water” and the killer doll horror “M3GAN” at the box office this weekend. The two holdovers topped the charts again according to studio estimates Sunday. In first place for the fifth weekend in a row...
Prime Stage Theatre set to open Harriet Tubman play
Most Americans know about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, but there are many more details that aren’t as well known about this fascinating and exceedingly brave woman. A good many of those details are woven into an upcoming Prime Stage Theatre production opening this week at the New Hazlett...
Lisa Marie carved her musical path as she bore Elvis’ legacy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — She was dubbed a “rock princess,” but Lisa Marie Presley staked her own musical claim as a singer-songwriter, allowing her to express herself apart from — but sometimes alongside — her megastar father. Presley, who died Thursday at 54, bore a heavy weight: The daughter of musical...
Former WDVE, WXDX radio host ‘Max’ talks addiction on his ‘Recovery Cast’ podcast
When WDVE radio hired Oxford, Ohio, native Pawley Bornstein to be a nighttime disc jockey in the mid-1990s, it was a dream come true. But, that dream contributed to the nightmare of addiction Bornstein was dealing with at the time. Bornstein, 52, has been clean and sober for 16 years...
Hundreds of Salem Witch Trials documents get new home
BOSTON — Hundreds of court documents from the 1692 Salem Witch Trials are being transferred from the Salem museum where they have been stored for more than four decades to the newly expanded Judicial Archives facility in Boston. The 527 documents — which include transcripts of testimony and examinations, depositions,...
Lisa Marie Presley dies at 54 after hospitalization
WEST HILLS, Calif. — Lisa Marie Presley — the only child of Elvis Presley — died Thursday after being hospitalized earlier that day, her mother said in a statement. The singer was 54. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter...
U.K. royals appear for first time after Harry’s book published
LONDON — Members of the U.K. royal family appeared in public Thursday for the first time since the publication of Prince Harry’s explosive memoir, touring charities and a hospital as they got on with the task of being working royals. Prince William and Kate seemed relaxed as they arrived at...
Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart, others pay tribute after death of Jeff Beck
Reactions to the death of Jeff Beck, rock innovator and guitar virtuoso who died Tuesday. “The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless....
David Byrne’s next Broadway show will be ‘Here Lies Love’
NEW YORK — David Byrne’s “American Utopia” may have left Broadway but the Talking Heads leader is plotting a return — with disco. Byrne and Fatboy Slim plan to put their musical “Here Lies Love,” a show that charts the rise and fall of Philippine ex-first lady Imelda Marcos, on...
New, taller Barbie doll is aimed at kids as young as 3
NEW YORK — Love her or loathe her, Barbie has been transformed again, this time into a version for children as young as 3. Gone is the contentious hourglass figure for My First Barbie, which launched Thursday ahead of July’s live-action film about the icon starring Margot Robbie and Ryan...
