Movies/TV category, Page 95
Why analysts say password sharing is now a bigger problem for Netflix, other streamers
LOS ANGELES — The website promised some tantalizing deals. One seller offered 10 days access to Netflix in Ultra HD for just $1 — substantially below the regular cost of $19.99 a month for a Netflix premium account. Another seller pitched access to HBO Max, home of critically acclaimed shows...
TV Talk: ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘The Flight Attendant’ back with new seasonsVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming week. Just two days shy of two years to the day AMC last premiered a new episode of “Better Call Saul,” the show returns at 9 p.m. Monday, airing two episodes on AMC and streaming on AMC+....
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher Rob Marshall drops by Food Network; ‘Outer Range,’ ‘Swimming with Sharks’ debutVideo
For former Pittsburgher Rob Marshall, director of the 2002 Oscar-winning film “Chicago,” appearing on Food Network’s “Be My Guest with Ina Garten” wasn’t a tough sell. After all, Marshall and Garten have been friends for 15 years, both living in the Hamptons 15 minutes from one another. He’s appeared on...
TV Q&A: Is there a Pittsburgh connection on ‘NCIS: Hawaii’?
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: In two recent episodes of “NCIS: Hawaii” Pittsburgh was mentioned. Both were in relation to someone’s history that was connected to the crime being solved....
TV Talk: Season 2 of ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ to film in Pittsburgh
Steeltown will become Kingstown when season two of Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown” films in Western Pennsylvania later this year. The show’s first season, set in Michigan, was shot in Hamilton, Burlington, and Kingston, Ontario. “Mayor of Kingstown” executive producer Hugh Dillon posted images of the shuttered SCI Pittsburgh (aka Western...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Better Call Saul,’ potential future WWE stars with Pittsburgh ties, ‘Ghosts,’ ‘Portals to Hell’
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 local athletes in contention to join the WWE. Benz and Owen talk about the upcoming final season of AMC’s “Better Call Saul” and the...
TV Talk: Conventional wisdom said ‘Ghosts’ was too much of an outlier; now it’s a hit
With all the attention on streaming series and viewers’ migration to Netflix, Disney+ and other direct-to-consumer services, it’s somewhat remarkable that the 2021-22 TV season produced two comedy hits — CBS’s “Ghosts” and ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” “Abbott,” already renewed for a second season, has its first-season finale at 9 p.m....
Exes Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are engaged — again
It’s official — Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are engaged — again. On Friday night, the “Let’s Get Loud” superstar shared the exciting news on her members-only fan newsletter, On the JLo. In the video message, Lopez is admiring her green engagement ring. She shared in a previous newsletter why...
Kevin Spacey asks judge to toss Anthony Rapp’s sex abuse suit
NEW YORK — Actor Kevin Spacey asked a judge Friday to throw out actor Anthony Rapp’s sex abuse lawsuit, saying through his lawyers that allegations that he abused the then-teenage Rapp at a 1980s party are false. The lawyers wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that the alleged...
Will Smith gets 10-year Oscars ban over Chris Rock slap
LOS ANGELES — The motion picture academy on Friday banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. The move comes after a meeting of the academy’s Board of Governors to discuss a response...
TV Talk: ‘Portals to Hell’ visits Western Pa.; Hugh Laurie adapts Agatha ChristieVideo
Regardless of whether you believe in ghosts, there’s no denying the popularity of ghost-hunting shows on cable. Travel Channel would be more accurately named if it were called Supernatural Channel, given its current programming. From “Destination Fear” at the Green County Almshouse to “Ghost Hunters” at Pittsburgh’s Church Brew Works,...
TV Q&A: What’s up with TV weather forecast ‘impact days’?
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: Recently KDKA-TV joined in on the latest weather gimmick: “first alert weather days.” WTAE offers the equally cringey “impact days.” Why do the local stations...
Tom Hanks visits Arnold as filming for ‘A Man Called Otto’ continues in Pittsburgh region
Most days, Robert Simpson is president of a reinforcing bar fabricator in Arnold. On Tuesday, the president of Simpson Reinforcing was filming movie scenes with Tom Hanks. “It’s pretty cool,” Simpson said at the end of a lunch break that came after filming the same scene over and over again...
Chris Rock adds 2nd night in Pittsburgh after 1st show sells outVideo
Chris Rock is extending his stay in Pittsburgh to two nights. The comedian made headlines on March 27 when he was slapped by actor Will Smith at the Oscars. Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, which prompted Smith to come on stage and hit Rock. Rock’s first show...
Actor Michael O’Keefe talks ‘Caddyshack,’ more serious work ahead of Steel City ConVideo
During his days as a rising star in the 1970s and ‘80s, Michael O’Keefe was the kind of performer younger actors could look up to. O’Keefe could do it all, including a guest shot in 1974 at age 19 – playing a paralyzed soldier on “M*A*S*H,” arguably the best show...
TV Talk: Beaver County teen’s ‘Idol’ journey ends; ‘Tokyo Vice’ drops on HBO MaxVideo
And then it was over: Morgan Gruber, the 17-year-old Riverside High School senior from Fombell, was eliminated on Monday’s episode of ABC’s “American Idol.” “I just want everyone to know that I did not make it to the top 24,” Gruber wrote on her Facebook page Monday night. “They will...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Grammy Awards, ‘American Idol,’ ‘Belfast’ and ‘Moon Knight’
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 Morgan Gruber, the 17-year-old Riverside High School senior from Franklin Township, Beaver County, who continues to advance on ABC’s “American Idol.” Benz and Owen...
From the archive: Ex-Tarentum resident Estelle Harris enjoys role in ‘Seinfeld’
In memory of actress Estelle Harris, who died this weekend at age 93, TribLIVE is reposting a story from 1994 where she spoke about her work on “Seinfeld” and her acting career. Story by Rex Rutkoski. Published on Feb. 17, 1994. She’s been associated with some of the best-known people...
TV Talk: Western Pa. teen continues to advance on ‘American Idol’Video
From failing to make it onto the show last season to now advancing three times this season, Morgan Gruber of Franklin Township, Beaver County, is on a roll. In Sunday’s duets-themed episode, taped in December, platinum ticketholder Jay Copeland picked Gruber to be his duet partner, and they advanced to...
Weighed down by bad reviews, ‘Morbius’ opens with $39.1M
NEW YORK — Sony Pictures’ Marvel adaptation “Morbius” landed with dismal reviews but still managed to debut with $39.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was enough to easily hand “Morbius,” starring Jared Leto as a vampire-transforming biochemist, the top spot at the box office —...
Estelle Harris, ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Toy Story’ actor who grew up in Tarentum, dies at 93
NEW YORK — Estelle Harris, who hollered her way into TV history as George Costanza’s short-fused mother on “Seinfeld” and voiced Mrs. Potato Head in the “Toy Story” franchise, has died. She was 93. As middle-class matron Estelle Costanza, Harris put a memorable stamp on her recurring role in the...
Carnegie Mellon’s 2022 International Film Festival explores what’s ‘Behind the Mask’
Carnegie Mellon University’s theme for its 2022 International Film Festival can be interpreted literally and figuratively. “Faces Behind the Mask,” the title of the festival, explores face coverings — the physical ones people have been wearing during the pandemic as well as those that aren’t seen. “What masks do we...
Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock slap
LOS ANGELES — Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed. Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon he would “accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate. I will...
Bruce Willis’ aphasia battle: Living in a country where you don’t speak the language
Living with aphasia has been compared to living in a country where you don’t speak the language. Gestures, sign language or other forms of communication may not be much help. And the people who want to help you struggle to understand. “You know what things are. You are the person...
TV Talk: Very Local highlights Pittsburgh chefs; PBS offers a biography of Benjamin Franklin
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for the coming week. The latest Pittsburgh show on Hearst’s Very Local streaming service, available via Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku devices, offers profiles of several Pittsburgh chefs in each half-hour episode. Unlike Very Local’s hosted culinary...
