Entertainment category, Page 165
Review: Jann Wenner’s memoir looks at his rock, rolling role
“Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir” (Little, Brown) Jann S. Wenner takes us on a long, strange trip with his accessible and entertaining rock ‘n’ roll memoir. As the founder, co-editor and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, Wenner had an unusual back stage pass to the rock ‘n’ roll revolution...
‘Barbarian’ is top film amid late-summer box office doldrums
LOS ANGELES — The horror film “Barbarian” won the weekend by bringing in $10 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, as the late-summer doldrums at the box office continued. Director Zach Cregger’s debut from Disney’s 20th Century Studios premiered at San Diego Comic-Con in July and opened Friday on 2,340...
Art Spiegelman to receive honorary National Book Award
NEW YORK — This fall, Art Spiegelman will receive an honorary National Book Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He feels honored, and a little worried. The unexpected pleasure of being cited by the National Book Foundation comes months after the jarring saga of his Pulitzer Prize-winning “Maus” being...
Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band bring Beatles hits and more to PittsburghVideo
Ringo Starr may not be everyone’s favorite Beatle, but an evening spent under the same roof with any Beatle has to be considered time well spent. And so it was for a far less than capacity, but enthusiastic, crowd at PPG Paints Arena Saturday night as the former Beatles drummer...
Marsha Hunt, ’40s star and blacklist victim, dies at 104
TORONTO — Marsha Hunt, one of the last surviving actors from Hollywood’s so-called Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s who worked with performers ranging from Laurence Olivier to Andy Griffith in a career disrupted for a time by the McCarthy-era blacklist, has died. She was 104. Hunt, who appeared...
Kirk Cameron’s anti-abortion film ‘Lifemark’ rides wave of Christian moviesVideo
When the Kendrick brothers met with their usual Hollywood movie studio contacts to distribute their latest picture, “Lifemark,” which came out Friday, the Christian filmmakers received a response they weren’t used to hearing: No thanks. The three brothers based in Albany, Georgia, are known for making religious-themed pictures that perform...
Weird Al gives himself the Weird Al treatment in new biopicVideo
TORONTO — When a young, bespectacled Al Yankovic picked up an accordion, few — especially Al, himself — would have predicted the long-running show-business career that would follow. But can you imagine if they did? That every step of Yankovic’s way — the first Hawaiian shirt, the epiphany of riffing...
Blake Shelton includes Pittsburgh stop on 2023 tour
Country music superstar Blake Shelton is returning to the road in 2023 and Pittsburgh is one of the places on his 18 city tour. Shelton will play PPG Paints Arena on March 24 as part of the “Back to the Honky Tonk Tour.” Included in the tour are CMA Female...
TV Talk: Broadcast TV goes with tried and true genres, titles for new fall seasonVideo
As broadcast television shrinks in importance to media conglomerates — see: reports of NBC dumping its 10 p.m. hour of programming, possibly next fall —ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW all play it safe with familiar titles/genres and fewer new fall series overall. Here’s what’s new on the commercial...
Vision-impaired first grader shows work with Westmoreland Photographers
Westmoreland Photographers Society members chose “Eye of the Beholder” as the title of a show opening with a reception at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Greensburg Art Center. One of those “beholders” is a 6-year-old photographer who will exhibit three images taken in the Ohiopyle area. What makes this artist...
Playing Marilyn Monroe in ‘Blonde’ was life-changing for Ana de ArmasVideo
VENICE, Italy — Andrew Dominik had been trying to make a movie about Marilyn Monroe for over a decade. The film wouldn’t be a biopic, but an experiential portrait delving into the psyche of Marilyn Monroe and Norma Jeane. It kept falling apart, but the New Zealand native couldn’t let...
Peter Straub, influential horror author and Stephen King collaborator, dies at 79
Horror writer Peter Straub, who cemented his place in the genre with works including “Ghost Story,” “The Talisman” and “A Dark Matter,” has died. He was 79. Straub’s son, Benjamin, told the Los Angeles Times he died “surrounded by love ones” in Manhattan on Sunday from complications due to a...
Bernard Shaw, CNN’s 1st chief anchor, dies at 82
NEW YORK — Bernard Shaw, CNN’s chief anchor for two decades and a pioneering Black broadcast journalist best remembered for calmly reporting the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991 as missiles flew around him in Baghdad, has died. He was 82. He died of pneumonia on Wednesday at a...
Vermeer exhibit to unite Milkmaid, Girl with a Pearl Earring
AMSTERDAM — The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum will unite two iconic paintings from Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer early next year — The Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Milkmaid. In an unprecedented blockbuster exhibit starting in February, the most famous museum in the Netherlands will bring together 27 of the 35...
TV Talk: Heather Abraham leaves KDKA-TV morning anchor desk
After almost 12 years, KDKA-TV morning anchor Heather Abraham will leave the morning anchor desk. Abraham, who will continue to host KDKA’s “Pittsburgh Today Live,” said KDKA reporter Lindsay Ward, who joined the station in April 2019, will succeed her as morning anchor. The change, effective Sept. 9, will see...
U.S. Rep: Sitcom with Danny DeVito as voice of Satan is ‘evil’
NEW ORLEANS — An animated horror comedy featuring Danny DeVito as the voice of Satan is “clearly evil,” says a Republican congressman from Louisiana whose Facebook post denouncing “Little Demon” had reached millions of people by Tuesday morning. U.S. Rep Mike Johnson objected to the sitcom aired by FX Networks....
Aubrey Burchell’s ‘America’s Got Talent’ journey ends in semifinal round
It didn’t take long for Aubrey Burchell to learn her fate Wednesday night on “America’s Got Talent.” Burchell was in the first group of three called forward, when 11 semifinal round contestants learned which of them would advance to the finals. The 21-year-old singer was paired with Kristen Cruz, a...
CNN hires ex-NYPD official, intelligence expert John Miller
NEW YORK — John Miller, who has held major jobs in both justice agencies and journalism, is joining CNN as chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, the network said. Miller has worked at both ABC News and CBS News during his career. He also worked at the FBI and most...
Movie review: ‘Barbarian’ a horror triumph replete with satisfying twists and turnsVideo
Back in 2007, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez tapped an up-and-coming genre filmmaker, Edgar Wright, to make a parody trailer for a fake movie to play between their “Grindhouse” double feature. Wright came up with “Don’t,” in which a gravelly voice intones, “If you are thinking of going into this...
Lainey Wilson leads CMA Awards nominations in her 1st year
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Louisiana-native Lainey Wilson is having a breakout year as she tops the Country Music Association Awards nominations in her first year as a nominee, earning nods in six categories including album of the year, female vocalist of the year and song of the year. Wilson is only...
North Huntingdon’s Aubrey Burchell goes sophisticated, soulful on ‘America’s Got Talent’Video
The North Huntingdon Target might be hanging out a “Help Wanted” sign soon. That’s the verdict from “America’s Got Talent” judge Heidi Klum after Aubrey Burchell performed in Tuesday’s semifinal round. The North Huntingdon-based singer covered “Loved by You,” a soulful ballad by singer-songwriter Kirby, whose music has been sung...
Justin Bieber suspends remainder of Justice World Tour
Justin Bieber has suspended the rest of his world tour to focus on his health. A day after he posted photos from his Brazil performance at the Rock in Rio festival, he told TMZ he was canceling the remaining 70 shows scheduled through March 2023 in South America, Asia, Australia,...
Everyone’s on the hunt in this week’s ‘House of the Dragon’
Everyone is on the hunt in the third episode of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” a show that has already spawned a sexually-inspired acronym which is unprintable here. King Viserys is on the...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking daytime TV changes, Amazon ‘LOTR’ series, ‘Only Murders,’ Steelers ratings
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 a raft of changes to local stations’ daytime TV schedules in the coming weeks. Benz and Owen talk ratings for the final Steelers preseason...
Spidey tops box office while Cinema Day draws millions
LOS ANGELES — “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has swung back on top of the box office during a holiday weekend where American theaters aimed to lure moviegoers with discounted $3 tickets. The first “National Cinema Day” nationwide promotion became the highest-attended day of the year, drawing an estimated 8.1 million...
