Movies/TV category, Page 127
TV Talk: Holiday gift ideas for TV fans
Seeking a gift for the TV fan in your life? Here’s what to get if they’re always raving about: DVD box sets: Thousands of TV series are available on streaming services but DVD box sets give fans tangible evidence of their devotion to a program. New complete series sets include...
Ellen DeGeneres: Positive test for coronavirus but ‘feeling fine’
LOS ANGELES — Ellen DeGeneres says she has tested positive for covid-19 but is “feeling fine right now.” Production on her daytime talk show has been paused until January, producer Telepictures said in a statement that followed DeGeneres’ Thursday announcement. In an Instagram post, DeGeneres said anyone who was in...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘I’m Your Woman’ shows crime story from another angle; joyous ‘The Prom’ premieresVideo
Filmed-in-Pittsburgh movie “I’m Your Woman,” streaming Friday on Amazon’s Prime Video, tracks a seldom seen aspect of a cinematic crime story. Instead of focusing on the mobsters, the film follows the criminal’s wife, Jean (Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), and the impact of her husband’s criminal activity as she...
TV Q&A: Why isn’t ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ on TV this year?
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: Looking at the Trib’s holiday television schedule and noticed no listing of the 1947 Christmas classic “Miracle on 34th Street”!!! How come? — John, Leechburg...
Pittsburgh’s Billy Porter to join New Year’s Eve show from Times Square
Last New Year’s Eve, Billy Porter was working in New Orleans. This year he’ll still be working — but in New York City. The “Pose” star and Pittsburgh native will join Ryan Seacrest and Lucy Hale on ABC in Times Square on Dec. 31 for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’...
Christopher Nolan calls Warner’s streaming plan ‘a mess’Video
Christopher Nolan, one of Warner Bros.’ most important filmmakers, has come out strongly against the company’s decision to debut its films on HBO Max and in theaters in 2021. The “Tenet” filmmaker told The Associated Press Monday that it’s not a good business decision and criticized how the company handled...
David L. Lander, Squiggy of ‘Laverne & Shirley,’ dies at 73
LOS ANGELES — Actor David L. Lander — the unforgettable Squiggy on ABC’s “Laverne & Shirley” — has died, his family confirmed to the Los Angeles Times. Lander passed away Friday evening at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after having battled multiple sclerosis for 37 years. His wife, Kathy Fields...
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ sparks chess boom in Pittsburgh
When “The Queen’s Gambit” became a smash hit on Netflix, a chess institute in Pittsburgh with a similar name got plenty of online attention — both good and bad. “We’ve been getting so many tags on social media, and specifically Twitter,” said Ashley Lynn Priore, president of The Queen’s Gambit...
Scene from ‘Elf’ comes to life as Buddy meets dad in Boston
BOSTON — Just like a real-life movie, the story of Buddy the Elf meeting his biological father has come to life, just in time for the holidays. Doug Henning wore a costume like the one actor Will Ferrell’s character wore in “Elf” while meeting his father face to face for...
Colorado student, scientist named Time’s ‘Kid of the Year’
LONE TREE, Colo. — A 15-year-old Colorado high school student and young scientist who has used artificial intelligence and created apps to tackle contaminated drinking water, cyberbullying, opioid addiction and other social problems has been named Time Magazine’s first-ever “Kid of the Year.” Gitanjali Rao, a sophomore at STEM School...
TV Talk: ‘Your Honor’ debuts with excruciating drama
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There’s a reason Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit” became a worldwide buzz magnet: Not only is “Gambit” well-made, well-acted and impeccably produced, it also tells a story that moves consistently in a positive direction. That trajectory...
In seismic shift, Warner Bros. to stream all 2021 filmsVideo
NEW YORK — In the most seismic shift by a Hollywood studio yet during the pandemic, Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday announced that all of its 2021 film slate — including a new “Matrix” movie, “Godzilla vs. Kong” and the Lin-Manuel Miranda adaptation “In the Heights” — will stream on...
Study: Which Disney princess has the most expensive jewelry?
When you wish upon a star, hopefully you’ll get jewels as lavish as these. In a new study called “Kingdom of Jewels,” U.K.-based financial advisory company Money.co.uk worked in collaboration with David Allen of Purely Diamonds to conclude how much the jewelry of each Disney princess would cost in real-life...
MTV Entertainment commits $250 million to diversify reality
MTV Entertainment Group says it’s making a $250 million commitment to spur reality production over the next three years by companies owned and operated by women and people of color. ViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment, which includes MTV and VH1, will provide funding, staff and other support to foster new ideas that...
TV Talk: MeTV turns 10, adds original programs
Break out the birthday candles: Digital subchannel MeTV, the over-the-air equivalent of cable’s TV Land in its heyday, turns 10 on Dec. 15. Digital subchannels came online after the 2009 conversion from analog to digital TV signals, offering local stations the opportunity to broadcast not just one channel but multiple...
WWE’s Pat Patterson dies at 79
WWE legend and Hall of Famer Pat Patterson has died, according to the wrestling company. Patterson was 79. Born Pierre Clermont, he was the first WWE Intercontinental Champion and thought to be the first openly gay wrestling star, which he detailed in his 2016 book, “Accepted: How the First Gay...
All Mariah Carey wants is you to enjoy her Christmas special
Christmas is still a few weeks away, but Mariah Carey is already orchestrating her dinner menu. “I do my father’s linguini with white clam sauce every Christmas Eve,” says the legendary songstress. “Then we do that traditional, more of a Southern-style Christmas dinner.” But is the woman known for her...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh’s Nielsen market rank drops; local news ratings remain competitive
For the past 20 years, Pittsburgh’s Nielsen market rank has averaged around No. 22 or 23 (out of 210 TV markets nationally) even as growing cities surpassed Pittsburgh, including Portland, Ore., and Charlotte, N.C. In 2018 Pittsburgh fell to No. 24 and for 2021, Pittsburgh drops to No. 26 as...
Rick Dayton named permanent KDKA Radio afternoon host
Whether it’s television or radio, Rick Dayton loves telling a good story. Now he’ll have another chance to do it on a daily basis. Entercom Pittsburgh, parent company of KDKA Radio, has announced that Dayton will take over the news and talk station’s coveted afternoon drive slot. “KDKA Radio Afternoon...
Petri Hawkins Byrd deliberates on life after ‘Judge Judy’
Judith Sheindlin has been the sole judge, jury and verbal executioner for the last quarter century on her behemoth TV court show, “Judge Judy.” Her trusted bailiff, Petri Hawkins Byrd, has stood by her side during approximately 12,500 cases, and remembers an instance when he thought she got it wrong....
TV Q&A: Where has WTAE’s Janelle Hall been?
Q: We have noticed Janelle Hall missing from the evening news for a few weeks. Is she OK? — Diane via email Rob: She is now. Hall posted to her Facebook page on Monday that she and her husband were diagnosed with covid-19 four weeks ago. She described the first...
TV Talk: AT&T SportsNet returns to Verizon’s FiOS TV
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and Verizon have reached a deal to return the regional sports network to the FiOS TV lineup, effective immediately. AT&T SportsNet, home to Penguins and Pirates games, went dark on Verizon systems on Sept. 30 following a retransmission spat over a new contract. A joint release issued...
TV Talk: McCandless native takes off in ‘The Flight Attendant’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. McCandless native Griffin Matthews didn’t know a career in the arts was a possibility until one day during 11th grade at North Allegheny Senior High School. “I was sitting next to a guy in jazz...
Dave Prowse, actor who played Darth Vader, dies at 85
LONDON — Dave Prowse, the British weightlifter-turned-actor who was the body, though not the voice, of arch-villain Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died. He was 85. Prowse died Saturday after a short illness, his agent Thomas Bowington said Sunday. Born in Bristol, southwest England, in 1935,...
Champion Ken Jennings will be first interim ‘Jeopardy!’ host
NEW YORK — “Jeopardy!” record-holder Ken Jennings will be the first in a series of interim hosts replacing Alex Trebek when the show resumes production next Monday. Producers announced Monday that Jennings, who won 74 games in a row and claimed the show’s “Greatest of All Time” title in a...
