Movies/TV category, Page 62
Danny Masterson used drugging, Scientology to get away with rape, prosecutor says
LOS ANGELES — Danny Masterson drugged women’s drinks so he could rape them, then relied on his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid consequences for years, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in closing arguments at the actor’s trial. “The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. He does...
Cannes Film Festival readies a blockbuster editionVideo
The Cannes Film Festival, which will kick off Tuesday, is such a colossal extravaganza that taking measure of its ups and downs is notoriously difficult. It’s a showcase of the world’s best cinema. It’s a red-carpet spectacular. It’s a French Riviera hive of dealmaking. But by at least some metrics,...
TV Talk: W.Pa. native writers in Hollywood explain why they’re on strike; NBC, Fox unveil fall lineups
Striking writers of scripted TV/streaming dramas and comedies have to make their case in an entertainment environment that’s changed radically since the last strike 15 years ago. During that previous 100-day Writers Guild of America strike that began in November 2007 — in the heart of the 2007-08 TV season...
Peacock will exclusively carry NFL playoff game in a first for streaming service
The NFL is taking another big step into streaming by putting one of its playoff games exclusively on a digital platform for the first time. The league and NBCUniversal announced Monday that the Saturday night game on Wild Card weekend will be on Peacock. The Peacock exclusive game on Jan....
MTV News signs off, but Kurt Loder is forever Gen X’s Walter CronkiteVideo
When you grew up absolutely devouring all things MTV, you knew which programs featured regular cut-ins for MTV News and which ones didn’t. This one typically didn’t. But this day was different. It was a Friday afternoon in April 1994, yours truly was a 15-year-old who had the day off...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking TV with retired WTAE-TV anchor Sally Wiggin
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, and this week they welcome a special guest, former WTAE-TV news anchor Sally Wiggin. Wiggin offers an update on her post-WTAE life (she retired in...
Kelly Clarkson responds to report accusing her daytime talk show of being a toxic workplace
LOS ANGELES — Kelly Clarkson has responded to a Rolling Stone report accusing her daytime talk show of being a toxic workplace. Clarkson issued a statement on her Instagram page Saturday. She addressed the allegations after 11 current and former employees complained about being overworked and underpaid on “The Kelly...
Watch ‘Fast’ flicks, make some quick bucks — like $1,000
Anyone with a spare 20 hours and keen eye for car crashes can make an extra $1,000 by watching 10 movies. Personal finance website FinanceBuzz is offering the cash to someone who can help the site measure the insurance impact of reckless driving in the “Fast & Furious” movie franchise...
‘Guardians Vol. 3’ and ‘Super Mario Bros.’ top box office again
Several new movies infiltrated theaters nationwide this weekend, from a lighthearted trip to Italy with Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen to a Ben Affleck-fronted detective thriller. The two top spots were once again claimed by Marvel and Mario, however. In its second weekend, “Guardians of the...
TV Talk: TV’s most memorable moms reflect American erasVideo
TV show characterizations, like all popular culture, simultaneously reflect the times and push the envelope. It’s how “The Brady Bunch” got away with its blended family concept in the late 1960s without mentioning that Carol Brady got divorced. One can track the changes in American culture through the roles of...
TV Talk: Former President Barack Obama visited Pittsburgh to film Netflix’s ‘Working’ documentaryVideo
Inspired by the 1974 non-fiction Studs Terkel book “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do,” the four-episode Netflix docu-series “Working: What We Do All Day” not only counts former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as executive...
CNN faces backlash over chaotic Trump town hall eventVideo
NEW YORK — CNN is facing a backlash over its town hall featuring former President Donald Trump, an event that swiftly turned chaotic in a stark display of the tightrope facing journalists covering a leading 2024 Republican candidate who refuses to play by the rules. The town hall Wednesday was...
TV Talk: Broadcast networks plan summer series premieres, ‘Doc Martin’ back on WQED-TVVideo
With the writers’ strike in full effect — and the prospect of directors and actors striking when their contracts are up June 30 — networks are scrambling to balance the need for summer programming with contingencies for fall programming in the event the strike (or strikes) haven’t concluded by July...
Jacklyn Zeman, veteran ‘General Hospital’ cast member, has died
Jacklyn Zeman, who played Bobbie Spencer for 45 years on ABC’s “General Hospital” has died at 70. Zeman died after a short battle with cancer, her family confirmed Wednesday. News of her death was first announced by the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini. “I am heartbroken to announce the passing...
‘BlackBerry’ film taps into device that ruled pre-iPhone eraVideo
Almost everyone knows Steve Jobs’ uncanny vision, relentless drive and technological wizardry hatched the iPhone, a breakthrough that continues to reshape culture 16 years after the late Apple co-founder introduced the device to the world. But when Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007, another smartphone was the must-have gadget....
Trump forum a big test for CNN, moderator Kaitlan Collins
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s town hall forum on CNN on Wednesday is the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign — and a gigantic test for the chosen moderator, Kaitlan Collins. Both sides of the political divide expressed suspicion when the CNN forum at New Hampshire’s St....
Trump digs in on election lies, insults accuser during CNN town hall event
During a contentious CNN town hall Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted the woman whom a civil jury this week found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming. Trump, returning to...
TV Q&A: When will ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ end?Video
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: When will “Grey’s Anatomy” end and why hasn’t it yet? There’s been HUGE turnover recently, and I thought the end of Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) would...
Fox News will not change ‘programming strategy’ despite financial losses and plunging ratings
NEW YORK — The Fox News Channel has no plans to change its “successful” approach to programming despite a record defamation settlement and the unceremonious departure of its most prominent star. “There’s no change to our programming strategy at Fox News,” Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch reportedly told analysts Tuesday....
Tucker Carlson says he’s coming back with show on Twitter
NEW YORK — Fired Fox news host Tucker Carlson said Tuesday that he will be putting out a “new version” of his program on Twitter. Carlson made his announcement in a three-minute video posted on the social media site, as part of a denunciation of media. He called Twitter that...
Review: In ‘Still,’ Michael J. Fox tells his moving story
I’ve always liked Michael J. Fox and always will. I suspect most people feel the same way. That’s surely partly because, as Marty McFly in “Back to the Future” and Alex P. Keaton in “Family Ties,” Fox was a fixture of so many childhoods. But there’s also a way that...
‘Rust’ movie medic gets $1.15 million partial settlement
SANTA FE, N.M. — A New Mexico judge has approved a $1.15 million settlement between a medic who worked on the “Rust” film set and one of several defendants she accused of negligence in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal. Court records show...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh’s Ritual House pastry sous chef competes on ‘Summer Baking Championship’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Western Pennsylvania native Zoe Peckich, who recently moved from pastry chef at Monterey Bay Fish Grotto on Mt. Washington to pastry sous chef at Ritual House in Downtown Pittsburgh, makes her TV series competition debut...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking writers’ strike, WPCW-TV drops The CW, ‘Ted Lasso,’ ‘Dodgeball’ sequel
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 last week’s news that WPCW-TV will drop its affiliation with The CW and how that may (or may not) open up another possible home...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh’s WPCW-TV drops its CW affiliation, will go independent
Pittsburgh’s WPCW-TV will no longer be an affiliate of The CW effective sometime this fall, perhaps as soon as Sept. 1. CBS announced Friday to the staffs of its owned stations that are current CW affiliates that they will become independent TV stations on that date. “We look forward to...
