Movies/TV category, Page 33
TV Talk: WQED-TV announces new Rick Sebak series; regional Emmy nominations releasedVideo
It’s been a year since Jason Jedlinski became president and CEO of WQED-TV and at a board of directors meeting Thursday he announced a new series of Rick Sebak shorts that will be compiled into quarterly prime-time programs for linear television, a similar format used by WQED’s “Cartoon Academy,” which...
Federal judge overturns $4.7 billion jury verdict in ‘Sunday Ticket’ lawsuit and rules for NFL
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge has overturned a jury’s $4.7 billion verdict in the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL and has granted judgment to the NFL. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled Thursday that the testimony of two witnesses for the subscribers had flawed...
TV Talk: ‘Kingstown’ ends its 3rd season
Paramount+’s filmed-in-Pittsburgh drama “Mayor of Kingstown” ends its third season with guns blazing. Streaming Sunday, it’s an episode overflowing with gunfire, including a massive shootout filmed on the 16th Street Bridge in Downtown Pittsburgh in mid-May. But the bloody mayhem is not confined to that scene. Multiple characters wind up...
After an extraordinary run of political news, interest in the presidential election is perking up
After a desultory start to the campaign season, news outlets are starting to see interest in political news perk up because of an extraordinary run of stories over the past few weeks. The most obvious beneficiary is Fox News Channel, which is ending July with its highest viewership than any...
TV Q&A: Will Gibbs ever return to ‘NCIS’?
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: “NCIS” is my favorite TV program and Mark Harmon is my favorite actor. Will he ever return to “NCIS”? — Grace, via email Rob: Recall...
Norah O’Donnell leaving as anchor of CBS evening newscast after election
Norah O’Donnell is leaving as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” after the presidential election, she announced on Tuesday. O’Donnell has been top anchor of the newscast for five years and prior to that anchored the network’s morning show. She told CBS News colleagues in an email that it’s time...
Local meteorologists talk twisters at The Lindsay Theater in Sewickley
Disaster movie fans had an opportunity to hear from local meteorologists about how Hollywood highlights weather — specifically tornadoes — and their thoughts on Western Pennsylvania weather so far this year. Scott Harbaugh of WPXI and KDKA’s Ron Smiley spoke to a packed house at The Lindsay Theater & Cultural...
Olympic commentator canned for insulting Australian women’s swim team
Longtime Olympic commentator Bob Ballard was sent home following a sexist comment about Australia’s women’s swim team. The Eurosport pundit claimed after the Aussies won a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle team relay that the celebratory swim squad was slow exiting the pool area because they were milling about...
TV Talk: Netflix’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ explores Beaver County severed head caseVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Terry Dunn Meurer, who co-created and has executive produced “Unsolved Mysteries” since its first iteration on NBC in 1987, said a Beaver County-set episode that premieres this week is one of her “all-time favorite” unsolved...
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ smashes R-rated record with $205 million debut, 8th biggest opening ever
Marvel is back on top with ” Deadpool & Wolverine.” The comic-book movie made a staggering $205 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It shattered the opening record for R-rated films previously held by the first “Deadpool” ($132 million) and notched a...
Robert Downey Jr. is returning to ‘Avengers’ films as a villain in 1 of Marvel’s Comic-Con twists
SAN DIEGO — Marvel Studios returned to San Diego Comic-Con with dancing Deadpool variants and a choir for a panel that included news about the next two “Avengers” films and surprise guests, including Harrison Ford and Robert Downey Jr. Downey is returning to Marvel’s films, but not as Iron Man....
‘Twisters’ tears through Oklahoma on the big screen. Moviegoers in the state are buying up tickets
MOORE, Okla. — Grace Evans lived through one of the most powerful and deadly twisters in Oklahoma history: a roaring top-of-the-scale terror in 2013 that plowed through homes, tore through a school and killed 24 people in the small suburb of Moore. A hospital and bowling alley were also destroyed....
Marvel returns to Comic-Con with hotly anticipated panel about its post-‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ plans
SAN DIEGO — Marvel Studios is returning to San Diego Comic-Con for its iconic Saturday night panel, which is expected to feature big announcements and surprise guests. After Marvel skipped the convention last year due to the Hollywood strikes, which prevented writers and actors from speaking on panels, anticipation for...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh’s public access cable channel PCTV to shutter
PCTV, public access cable channel Pittsburgh Community Television, will cease operations by the end of August due to a dearth of funding. “The continuing decline in cable subscribers and the changing media landscape has had a devastating impact on our funding and our viability,” PCTV executive director John Patterson wrote...
U.S. viewers’ Olympics interest is down, poll finds, except for Simone Biles
PARIS—Following low ratings for the coronavirus pandemic-marred Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, Paris may not do much better among U.S. viewers, a new Gallup poll released Thursday found. Simone Biles and women’s gymnastics are poised to be a bright spot, with those surveyed selecting it as their most anticipated sport. But...
FCC pursues new rules for AI in political ads, but changes may not take effect before the election
NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has advanced a proposal that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads, though it is unclear whether new regulations may be in place before the November presidential election. The proposed rules announced Thursday...
TV Talk: Michael Keaton directs, stars in ‘Knox Goes Away’; local news stalwarts get Emmy honorsVideo
Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton’s second directorial effort, “Knox Goes Away,” is a welcome, character-driven tonic. It’s a small movie more concerned with character and relationship stories than it is with big-budget thrills or epic set pieces. And that’s OK. Streaming July 26 on Max (linear HBO debut at 8 p.m....
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is here to shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Shawn Levy is no novice when it comes to rumors around his projects. Years on “Stranger Things” taught him how to tune out the noise. Yet even he’s found himself astonished by the sheer volume of speculation around “Deadpool & Wolverine.” “The rumors around this movie are overwhelming,” Levy told...
Movie Review: In ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ the superhero movie finally accepts itself for what it is
If one thing is certain about “Deadpool,” it’s that its titular hero, for reasons never explained, understands his place in the world — well, in our world. Indeed, the irreverent and raunchy mutant is sure to belabor his awareness of the context in which he lives — namely an over-saturated,...
TV Q&A: What happened to a WPXI-TV news anchor?
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 happened to Gordon Loesch on WPXI-TV? I’ve noticed he is no longer on as the morning anchor. — Dave, via Facebook Rob: Loesch posted...
Dan Aykroyd revisits the Blues Brothers’ remarkable legacy in new Audible OriginalVideo
NEW YORK — The shades are on, the skinny tie is knotted and the fedora is perched just so — Dan Aykroyd is ready to look back. The actor-comedian is revving up the Bluesmobile to reminisce about the years he teamed up with John Belushi as the Blues Brothers, taking...
Warner Bros. Discovery informs NBA it will match Amazon Prime Video’s offer to carry games
Turner Sports intends to continue its longtime relationship with the NBA. Warner Bros. Discovery informed the league Monday that it will match the $1.8 billion per year offer by Amazon Prime Video. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984 and games have been on TNT since the network launched...
British Open ’24: How to watch, who are the favorites and more to know about golf’s oldest event
TROON, Scotland — Here’s a look at the British Open going into the weekend at Royal Troon. Golf’s oldest championship returns to this century-old links of Royal Troon for the 10th time. This is golf’s final major championship of the year. Here’s what you need to know: How to watch...
TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘American Rust’ canceled
Amazon’s Prime Video will not renew the filmed-in-Pittsburgh drama series “American Rust,” whose second season was largely set in Pittsburgh, for a third season. The show’s first two seasons were filmed in Western Pennsylvania. Jeff Daniels starred in “American Rust” as the police chief of fictional Buell, Fayette County, who...
TV Talk: ‘Snowpiercer’ chugs on a new track to AMC for final seasonVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. There’s probably been no series to live a more tortured, pushed-and-pulled existence than “Snowpiercer,” which returns for its final, fourth 10-episode season at 9 p.m. July 21 on AMC and AMC+ (seasons one through three...
