Arclight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres will close down, a victim of a global pandemic that brought moviegoing to a standstill. The news comes as things were beginning to look up for the hard-hit exhibition industry and serves as a reminder of the economic devastation wrought by a public health crisis that upended cultural life. “After shutting our doors […]
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For the third year in a row, it appears, the Oscars will not have a traditional host or hosts. Instead, there will be an “ensemble cast” of presenters, according to the producers of the April 25 ceremony. “In keeping with our awards-show-as-a-movie approach, we’ve assembled a truly stellar cast of stars,” Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh said in […]
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Harvey Weinstein was indicted on 11 sexual assault charges in Los Angeles, his attorney Norman Effman revealed at an extradition hearing for the former producer in Erie County on Monday. Though still under seal, Effman said the indictment is “very similar to the original felony complaint but not identical” because one of the charges was […]
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Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch responded to the Anti Defamation League’s call for the ouster of Tucker Carlson, concluding that the Fox News host was not advocating for “white replacement theory” in a segment last week. But the ADL’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt is questioning just how much of a “full review” that the company did of the […]
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Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith will move production on their big-budget, runaway slave thriller “Emancipation” out of Georgia in protest over the state’s controversial new voting restrictions. The announcement continues the economic fallout from Gov. Brian Kemp and the state legislature’s decision to pass new regulations that critics maintain amount to voter suppression, aimed at reducing the turnout […]
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There’s been no shortage of drama leading up to this evening, with BAFTA president Prince William, who was set to appear on both nights of the awards, dropping out following the death of his grandfather, Prince Philip. Saturday’s broadcast of the craft prizes was also delayed by an hour to accommodate schedule changes from the […]
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Anti-Defamation League chief Jonathan Greenblatt slammed Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Friday for embracing the “antisemitic, racist, and toxic” theory of “replacement.” “‘Replacement theory’ is a white supremacist tenet that the white race is in danger by a rising tide of non-whites,” Greenblatt wrote, tagging Carlson. “It is antisemitic, racist and toxic. It has informed the ideology of […]
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Eager to bring Justin Timberlake back into the Apple TV + fold after the strong results of the Fisher Stevens-directed dramatic film Palmer in January, Apple won an auction and acquired the script to develop an hour-long drama series that will have Timberlake playing Gong Show host Chuck Barris. The untitled series will be based on Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a 1984 […]
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DMX, the New York rapper behind such iconic songs as “Party Up (Up in Here)” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” and the star of action movies including Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave and Romeo Must Die, died Friday. He was 50. DMX, whose real name was Earl Simmons, died at White Plains Hospital in New York after being admitted April […]
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The death of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, on Friday has set in motion a carefully orchestrated, days-long event that will culminate with his funeral. Plans for a major royal death are made years in advance, though details are kept fiercely private and the coronavirus restrictions currently in place across the United Kingdom […]
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Katey Sagal had a hilarious anecdote about when she discovered “Married… With Children” was a hit. “I think the first time we knew is when they bought me a wig,” she said with a laugh during her appearance on Wednesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”. “Because the first three years I would just do my own hair, and then […]
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Chi McBride has joined the untitled CBS multi-cam comedy pilot based on the life of pro bowler Tom Smallwood, Variety has learned. In the series, after being laid off from the assembly line at the GM factory, seemingly ordinary man Tom (Pete Holmes) makes the extraordinary decision to provide for his family by following his dream of becoming a […]
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Israeli-American actress-producer-author Noa Tishby was compiling research for what would eventually become her newly released non-fiction book “Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth” (Simon & Schuster) when she discovered that — save for Golda Meir’s 1973 autobiography and English translations of Israeli historian Anita Shapira’s work — there were no books on […]
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Attorney Howard Weitzman, who had a client list including Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, Marlon Brando, Morgan Freeman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ron Meyer and CAA, has died at the age of 81. The Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert founding partner passed away Wednesday in his hometown of Los Angeles from cancer. One of the first lawyers to withdraw from defending […]
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Tyler Perry isn’t quite ready to bid farewell to Madea. The prolific creator and producer is developing a prequel series focused on his iconic character’s origins at Showtime. ViacomCBS’ premium cable outlet has ordered multiple scripts for the project, titled Mabel. The hour-long drama comes from creators Perry and Tim Palen, with JaNeika and JaSheika James (Empire, HBO […]
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CBS TV Stations executives Peter Dunn and David Friend are out at CBS, a few months after both were accused of abusive workplace behavior. “Peter Dunn, President of the CBS Television Stations, and David Friend, Senior Vice President of News for the Stations group, will not return to their positions and will be leaving the […]
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Tyler Perry, who got his COVID-19 vaccine on TV in January in an effort to instill trust in it, is now helping his production crew get the shot. Over the weekend, the film and television mogul set up a vaccination site at his Tyler Perry Studios production facility in Atlanta, Georgia. He covered the logical costs of […]
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The Supreme Court has vacated a ruling that held that former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was a public forum, and that therefore under the First Amendment he could not block people from responding to his tweets. The court held that the dispute — involving a former president’s now-banned social media account — is moot, and ordered […]
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he Trial of the Chicago 7, The Crown and Schitt’s Creek were among the big winners at the 2021 SAG Awards, which aired Sunday as as a one-hour, pre-taped virtual ceremony on TBS and TNT. For likely the first time in SAG history, the four top individual film honors were awarded to people of color. Viola Davis’ Oscar […]
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After a year of closures, false starts and seemingly endless waiting, Warner Bros./Legendary’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” has given the box office and movie theater owners reason to cheer. Since its release on Wednesday, the MonsterVerse film has earned a five-day opening of $48.5 million, with a $32.2 million estimated Friday-to-Sunday total. While that is less […]
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Owen Simon, a public relations executive for Westinghouse and Group W Productions, passed away in Los Angeles on April 2nd. He was 93. In his career, Simon most notably worked on campaigns for series like “The Mike Douglas Show,” “The Merv Griffin Show” and other Westinghouse productions. Simon was noted for his kindness and wit […]
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Ashley Judd is set to star in the upcoming YA drama “#FBF,” a movie that takes place almost entirely on smartphones and computer screens. The format, initially seen in films like “Searching” with John Cho, allowed the actors to be filmed in their homes in Los Angeles, Nashville, Anaheim, New York and other remote locations amid […]
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The Friends reunion special, one of the most high-profile TV casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic, is set to finally start shooting. Sources have confirmed that HBO Max’s unscripted special will begin taping in Los Angeles next week. HBO Max declined to comment. It will feature the gang – Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer […]
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The return of Christopher Meloni’s Elliot Stabler to the L&O franchise boosted NBC on Thursday, with the double-shot of the Law & Order: SVU crossover and the series premiere of his Law & Order: Organized Crime finishing as primetime’s top two shows in the adults 18-49 demographic and total viewers. The anticipated crossover episode of SVU (1.6 adults 18-49, 7.63 million viewers in […]
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Major League Baseball said Friday it would move its annual All-Star Game out of Georgia, citing the state government’s recent decision to put in place more restrictive measures about who is able to vote in coming elections. “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” said Robert […]
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