Movies/TV category, Page 96
Fox News hires Caitlyn Jenner as contributor, commentator
NEW YORK — Fox News Channel says it has hired Caitlyn Jenner as a contributor, with her first appearance set for Thursday on Sean Hannity’s program. Jenner, the former Olympic decathlete, ran an unsuccessful campaign for California governor last year. The network said she’ll offer commentary and analysis across various...
Chris Rock takes to comedy mic, still processing Oscars slap
BOSTON — Chris Rock received several standing ovations before he told one joke Wednesday at his first comedy show since Will Smith slapped him in the face onstage at the Oscars. Rock only briefly addressed the slap to the sold out crowd in Boston, saying he was “still kind of...
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher directs ‘Better Nate Than Ever,’ based on his novel, for Disney+Video
Tim Federle grew up in the Pittsburgh suburbs as a theater kid, realized his dream of appearing on Broadway, became an author and now is a scriptwriter/showrunner/director with the movie “Ferdinand” and Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” among his credits. But his film directorial debut, an adaptation...
Bruce Willis, diagnosed with aphasia, steps away from acting
NEW YORK — Bruce Wills is stepping away from acting after a diagnosis of aphasia, a condition that causes loss of the ability to understand or express speech, his family announced Wednesday. In a statement posted on Willis’ Instagram page, the 67-year-old actor’s family said Willis was recently diagnosed with...
Apple TV+’s journey from Hollywood outsider to first streamer with a best picture OscarVideo
LOS ANGELES — It was only three years ago when Hollywood was looking at Apple with intense skepticism. Before launching its streaming service Apple TV+ in late 2019, the iPhone maker had confused traditional film and television industry players with a presentation that was heavy on star power — Oprah...
TV Q&A: Was Steve Harvey ever a real judge?
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: I’ve been watching ABC’s “Judge Steve Harvey.” It’s very entertaining. Is he a real judge? – Theresa, Allegheny Township Rob: Unlike the judges on daytime...
TV Talk: ‘This is Us’ gives a shout-out to Eat’n Park
NBC’s partially Pittsburgh-set “This Is Us” has its share of local references – the Steelers, the Pirates and even the late Froggy’s in Downtown Pittsburgh have received multiple references on the family drama – and in Tuesday’s episode it was local chain Eat’n Park’s turn. In the present, while at...
From Hollywood’s illusion factory, some unexpected reality
In the minutes and hours after Will Smith accosted and slapped Chris Rock before a live audience of millions, social media platforms lit up with a breathless and emphatic hot take: Surely, multitudes insisted, the whole thing was staged. They talked of the specifics of the altercation (“Rock barely moved”)....
TV ratings company Nielsen acquired in $16 billion deal
NEW YORK — Nielsen is being acquired for $16 billion, including debt, about a week after the TV ratings and marketing data company rejected a $9 billion offer. A group of private equity investors led by Brookfield Business Partners will invest approximately $2.65 billion via preferred equity, convertible into 45%...
TV Talk: Beaver County teen’s ‘Idol’ streak continuesVideo
Morgan Gruber of Franklin Township, Beaver County, made it through a second week of ABC’s “American Idol” in the season’s first Hollywood Week episode Monday night. Gruber was barely featured in the episode but she could be glimpsed briefly singing Demi Lovato’s “Anyone” as part of the pop performers genre....
Will Smith apologizes: ‘I was out of line and I was wrong’
LOS ANGELES — The day after slapping Chris Rock on the Oscars stage and upending the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith issued an apology to the comedian, to the academy and to viewers at home, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions are “not indicative of the...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Will Smith’s Oscar’s slap, ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘Halo’ and the sports announcers’ swap with a local tie
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 what everyone is talking about today: Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars over Rock’s joke at the expense of Smith’s wife. Benz...
TV Talk: Will Smith’s ego steals the spotlight from award winners
When the Academy has to say that it does not condone violence at its ceremony, you know something has gone terribly wrong. Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head at the Oscars Sunday night, saying he looked forward to seeing her in “G.I. Jane 2” (“G.I. Jane” starred...
Will Smith dances with family after Oscar win, shocking slap
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Will Smith gleefully danced with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and their family at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, waving his best actor trophy in the air like he just didn’t care as he rapped along to a mash-up of his own songs, from “Gettin’ Jiggy...
TV Talk: Oscars rebound from 2021 disaster, then derailed by a slapVideo
Back in its traditional home with legitimately funny monologues from the hosts, ABC’s telecast of the 2022 Academy Awards proved a vast improvement in entertainment value from the pared-down-for-covid 2021 show. “CODA,” directed by 1999 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Sian Heder, was the big winner, taking home...
Chris Wallace says he found Fox News’ questioning of the truth ‘unsustainable’
Veteran newsman Chris Wallace counts himself among the casualties of Fox News’ coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection and the conspiracy-mongering leading up to the attack on the Capitol. With his CNN debut slated for Tuesday, Wallace told The New York Times he ditched Fox News in December — his...
The Oscars are tonight. Here’s how to watch or stream live
The 94th Academy Awards are right around the corner with just enough time to squeeze in watches of some of the 10 best picture nominees before the lights go down in the Dolby Theatre. After last year’s scaled back ceremony at Los Angeles’ Union Station, this year the Oscars are...
Will Smith, Chris Rock confrontation shocks Oscar audience
LOS ANGELES — A 94th Academy Awards that steadily maintained a buoyant spirit was rocked by an unbelievable exchange after Will Smith took offense to a joke made by Chris Rock about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. After Rock joked to Smith that he was looking forward to a sequel...
Black News Channel shuts down days after ratings high
NEW YORK — The Black News Channel has pulled the plug after the 2-year-old venture failed to meet payroll and lost the backing of its biggest investor. Princell Hair, the company’s president and CEO, told employees Friday in a memo that the news network was ceasing live production and would...
TV Talk: Pam Surano exits KDKA-TV for job with Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
KDKA-TV freelance reporter Pam Surano has left the station and joined the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh where she’s now working as producer/assignment editor for another former KDKA mainstay: Jennifer Antkowiak, who is the diocese’s executive director of communications and community relations. Surano said Antkowiak, who Surano had met previously...
Wedding officiant: Tom Hanks said ‘I will do it’ and performs ceremony for Bellevue couple
Krisna Poznik Stahl wrote a letter to actor Tom Hanks. She told the Academy Award-winning star a story about her and her fiancé, Tyson Stahl. They live in a 102-year-old house in Bellevue they’ve been renovating — reminiscent of the home in Hanks’ 1986 movie “The Money Pit.” The couple...
TV Talk: Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ rises on Disney+Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. For its latest Marvel series, Disney+ introduces a new character from the comic books rather than spinning off someone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it has done previously (“Wanda Vision,” “The Falcon and the Winter...
Netflix cancels filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Archive 81’
This article contains spoilers for the first-season finale of Netflix’s “Archive 81,” released on Jan. 14. A Netflix publicist confirmed a Deadline.com report that the streaming service canceled filmed-in-Pittsburgh supernatural thriller “Archive 81” after just one season. No reason for the cancellation was given by Netflix which often considers the...
TV Talk: ‘Halo’ premieres, ‘Bridgerton’ returnsVideo
When adapting an existing media property, there’s an inherent conflict for a series’ writer: How much do you stick to what already exists versus going your own way? That tension is apparent in the first episode of the new Paramount+ series “Halo,” adapted from the popular video game, which in...
TV Q&A: Did a Pittsburgher have a hand in a recent ‘NCIS’ episode?
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: While watching “NCIS” a few weeks ago, I heard one character say to another … ‘he’s a jagoff.’ Then later in the show, another character...
