Advertisement
Live

Today in Entertainment: Jamie Foxx announces Hurricane Harvey relief telethon; ‘Simpsons’ fires longtime composer Alf Clausen

Share

Here’s what’s new and interesting in entertainment and the arts:

‘True Detective’ season three, starring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, is officially confirmed at HBO

Mahershala Ali accepting his Oscar for "Moonlight." The actor will star in the third season of the HBO drama "True Detective"
Mahershala Ali accepting his Oscar for “Moonlight.” The actor will star in the third season of the HBO drama “True Detective”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

During the HBO executive session at the summer edition of the Television Critics Assn. press tour, programming president Casey Bloys confirmed reports that “Moonlight” Oscar winner Mahershala Ali would star in a third season of “True Detective.” Although he was mum at the time on when it might happen, he did say that he had read five scripts and thought they were “terrific.”

Thursday night, the premium pay cabler released a statement officially confirming that the series will indeed return for a third installment.

While no episode count or premiere date was included in the release, an enclosed synopsis stated that the next iteration of the show “tells the story of a macabre crime in the heart of the Ozarks, and a mystery that deepens over decades and plays out in three separate time periods.”

Ali will star as Wayne Hays, a state police detective from northwest Arkansas. (Ali follows in the footsteps of season one stars, and continuing executive producers, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, and season two’s Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn. No word yet on whether he’ll have a partner.)

The show will once again be helmed by creator Nic Pizzolatto, who penned all the episodes of the upcoming series, save the fourth, which he co-wrote with David Milch (“Deadwood,” “NYPD Blue”). He will share directing duties with fellow executive producer Jeremy Saulnier (“Blue Ruin.”)

“I’m tremendously thrilled to be working with artists at the level of Mahershala and Jeremy,” said Pizzolatto in a statement. “I hope the material can do justice to their talents, and we’re all very excited to tell this story.”

Bloys noted that “Nic has written truly remarkable scripts. With his ambitious vision and Mahershala Ali and Jeremy Saulnier aboard, we are excited to embark on the next installment of ‘True Detective.’ ”

Share

Newly reopened Angels Flight has long been a popular L.A. shooting location

It’s among the more unusual landmarks in Los Angeles, a short, steep railway that gets people up and down a single hill. So it makes sense that Angels Flight has been featured in many movies and television shows over the years.

Angels Flight resumed regular service Thursday after being closed since 2013 (it did operate for one day of shooting on “La La Land”). It remains to be seen if it starts to appear again in movies and television shows. (Not that it ever really stopped.)

Speaking to The Times at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, “La La Land” star Ryan Gosling reflected on the use of historic locations in the movie.

“This was an opportunity to show an L.A. that’s still there.... You’ve got to squint your eyes a little, but there are still places in L.A. that are still part of the golden years of Los Angeles when Hollywood was in its heyday,” Gosling said.

“I lived around the corner for a long time from Angels Flight and Grand Central Market, although I never got to ride Angels Flight because it had been shut down,” Gosling added. “Those places are still there... these gems that are there, and we were able to shoot them one by one.”

Angels Flight reopened on Thursday.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The small piece of land next to the top of Angels Flight, known as Angels Knoll, was also prominently featured in “(500) Days of Summer.”

The location has appeared in a wide variety of movies over the years, as early as 1916’s “Good Night, Nurse,” 1918’s “Up She Goes” and 1920’s “All Jazzed Up.” It has also had high-profile cameos in “Act of Violence” (1949), “M” (1951), “Kiss Me Deadly” (1955), “The Exiles” (1961), “The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies” (1963) -- all the way up to to 2011’s “The Muppets” and last year’s “La La Land.”

And on television, Angels Flight has been seen on “Perry Mason,” “Dragnet” and the recent series “Bosch.”

READ MORE: Angels Flight: How it works and what it’s been through in its 100-year history

Share
Advertisement

Jamie Foxx announces telethon for Harvey relief

(Andrew Krech / News & Record via Associated Press)

A new stream of celebrity support for victims of Hurricane Harvey opened Wednesday, as Jamie Foxx announced that a telethon fundraiser is in the works.

In an Instagram post where the actor revealed his own donation of $25,000 to GlobalGiving, Foxx also shared preliminary plans for the upcoming benefit.

“From a fellow Texan, my heart goes out. My prayers go out,” Foxx, from Terrell east of Dallas, said. “September 12 we have a telethon that we’re doing. We’ll give you more details, so we can raise as much money as we can for everybody down there.”

Scooter Braun, talent manager and mastermind of One Love Manchester, is helming the event along with rapper and Houston native Bun B.

TMZ reported that Foxx, Reese Witherspoon, Blake Shelton, Hilary Duff and Michael Strahan are all involved with the project, with commitments from the four major broadcast networks to air the special for an hour on Sept. 12.

In an interview with TMZ, Bun B said that fellow Houston natives Beyoncé and Jim Parsons are high on his wish list for the telethon. The outlet also reported that Bun B would only want President Trump’s presence if it was via a show of unity with other former presidents.

Solange also announced Wednesday that she will be holding a benefit show at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre on Sept. 28. Featuring the Sun Ra Arkestra, the performance is titled “Orion’s Rise” and all proceeds will go to Hurricane Harvey relief.

Share

Gwyneth Paltrow’s love life? Yeah, she admits she’s screwed up plenty of relationships

Gwyneth Paltrow takes full responsibility for her romantic failings.

She admitted as much in a recent interview with the podcast Girlboss Radio, during which Paltrow went deep on some of her lost loves.

“Oh, my god, I’ve [screwed] up so many relationships, so many,” Paltrow said. “I’m actually a pretty good friend and a good sister and a daughter and a mother, but I am at my potentially most vulnerable … in the romantic slice of the pie. So it’s taken me a lot of work to get to the place where I have a good romantic relationship.”

Paltrow “consciously uncoupled” from ex-husband Chris Martin in 2014 after 10 years of marriage and has been romantically linked to “American Horror Story” creator Brad Falchuk for the past three years.

On Girlboss Radio, Paltrow sent a shout-out to former beau Brad Pitt, whom she dated from 1994 through 1997, and was at one point engaged to.

“I [screwed] that up, Brad,” Paltrow said.

Paltrow also delved into her experiences as founder and CEO of her lifestyle brand Goop, sharing that once she’s in the boardroom with investors, no one cares if she’s a celebrity.

“I go into the room, and for the first 90 seconds, I’m Gwyneth Paltrow,” she said. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, my god, my wife loves you .... And then, about 90 seconds later, I’m just getting grilled like anyone else.”

But she doesn’t get offended; she relishes the challenge.

“It was such a beautiful chapter of my life when I started raising [venture capital financing], because it knocked me down so many pegs. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m, like, no one. I’m nothing. This [stuff] is real.’ I have to know the most granular aspects of my business and be able to defend it. The celebrity just completely drains out of the room. It’s irrelevant,” she said.

Paltrow’s full conversation with Sophia Amoruso can be streamed at Girlboss.

Share
Advertisement

Longtime ‘Simpsons’ composer Alf Clausen fired from the show after 27 years

When the 29th season of “The Simpsons” premieres in the fall, it will, for the first time in decades, be doing so without its longtime musical contributor, Alf Clausen.

Clausen, who composed the Fox animated show’s incidental music, was told that the show was looking for “a different kind of music” moving forward, according to Variety.

Clausen confirmed his firing via Twitter.

The composer’s orchestral scores supported the family’s foibles since the show’s primitively drawn early days. And although “The Simpsons” theme song was penned by Danny Elfman, the sonic feel of the series has been defined by Clausen’s grandiose, often epic productions.

He’s responsible for scoring Mr. Burns’ breakout “See My Vest” moment and crafted the tunes for the Springfield musical theater company’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” adaptation. Ditto “The Planet of the Apes” musical.

In short, nearly every classic music moment of “The Simpsons” has featured Clausen’s fingerprints.

On Twitter, fans thanked Clausen for his work while expressing outrage at the circumstances surrounding his departure. “Fired over the phone, yet,” wrote one user.

Clausen quickly corrected him with a one-word reply: “Email ...”

On Thursday, producers for “The Simpsons” issued a statement to Variety. It stressed that Clausen will continue to contribute to the series:

“We tremendously value Alf Clausen’s contributions to ‘The Simpsons’ and he will continue to have an ongoing role in the show. We remain committed to the finest in music for ‘The Simpsons,’ absolutely including orchestral.”

The statement concluded: “This is the part where we would make a joke but neither Alf’s work nor the music of ‘The Simpsons’ is treated as anything but seriously by us.”

Update, 1:16 p.m.: This story was updated with a statement from “The Simpsons.”

Share

Firefighter who resuscitated Princess Diana remembers her final moments on 20th anniversary of her death

The firefighter who initially resuscitated Princess Diana after her 1997 Paris car crash was certain she would live through it.

Sgt. Xavier Gourmelon, who led the response team exactly 20 years ago Thursday and administered CPR to the British royal, said in a Sun interview published Tuesday that he was convinced the Princess of Wales would make it when her heart started beating again and her breathing resumed.

Gourmelon was unaware that he was treating the so-called “People’s Princess” when he arrived at the scene of the accident in a Paris tunnel. He resuscitated her and she was conscious and her eyes were open when he pulled her from the wrecked Mercedes she was riding in with Harrods heir Dodi al Fayed and driver Henri Paul.

He said she had a slight injury to her right shoulder but saw no other significant wounds or blood on her.

“I held her hand and told her to be calm and keep still. I said I was there to help and reassured her,” Gourmelon said. “She said, ‘My God, what’s happened?’

“To be honest, I thought she would live. As far as I knew when she was in the ambulance she was alive and I expected her to live,” he added. “But I found out later she had died in hospital. It was very upsetting.”

Diana, famously eulogized as “the most hunted person of the modern age,” suffered cardiac arrest when she was placed on a stretcher. She died at the age of 36.

Prince William, left, and Prince Harry look at tributes left by members of the public outside Kensington Palace in London to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of their mother.
(Kirsty Wigglesworth / AFP/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, her sons Princes William and Harry -- second and fifth in line to the British throne, respectively -- visited a memorial garden dedicated to Diana at Kensington Palace, her former home.

The princes have worked rigorously to uphold Diana’s philanthropic legacy and spoke openly about her life and death in a series of documentaries that aired ahead of Thursday’s 20th anniversary.

In the BBC’s “Diana, 7 Days,” the princes derided the paparazzi; William called their treatment of his mother “utterly appalling” and likened the photographers constantly harassing her to a “pack of dogs.” For Harry, Diana’s final moments were made worse by the lingering photographers.

“She had quite a severe head injury but was still very much alive on the backseat,” Harry said in the documentary. “And those people that caused the accident instead of helping were taking photographs of her dying.”

ALSO

Diana 20 years later: Still rubbernecking

Princes William, Harry honor Diana’s charity work

Meeting Diana, the Princess of Wales, only made me more fascinated by her

Princes William and Harry defend Queen Elizabeth, shame paparazzi in ‘Diana, 7 Days’ doc

Share
Advertisement

Instead of statues, Trevor Noah and Roy Wood Jr. have another idea for honoring Confederate history

With the country still reeling from the harrowing impact of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Wednesday night’s “Daily Show” looked at one of the summer’s ongoing controversies: Confederate monuments.

Occasionally setting aside the show’s usual comedic tone, Trevor Noah enlisted correspondent Roy Wood Jr. to consider whether these statues honor Southern heritage, as their supporters claim, or the nation’s history and lingering problem with racism.

After showing a montage of guests on network news shows who reminded viewers that these statues were erected during the Jim Crow era, decades after the Civil War, Wood equated slavery to another tragedy.

“It’s like if a woman got out of an abusive relationship and then she had to keep pictures of her ex up in her house to remember the time,” a straight-faced Wood explained. “No, I don’t need pictures to remember pain.”

“People say, ‘We want to remember the history of the Civil War,’” Noah added. “There’s an easier way to remember what happened in the Civil War: Just walk around in the South. And if you see free black people, then you know what happened.”

Watch the segment above.

Share

‘Lord of the Flies’ all-girl reboot news gets savaged by skeptics

The Hollywood recycle, reduce and reuse strategy of content creation has reached a new level of ridiculousness. Deadline reported Wednesday that Warner Bros. is creating an all-girl film adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel “Lord of the Flies.”

Twitter is not amused.

But instead of the typical “childhood-ruining” complaints levied against gender-swapped reboots, such as last year’s “Ghostbusters,” the Internet is angry that recasting the story with women fundamentally misses the entire point of the novel.

For those with only hazy memories of their 9th-grade literature class, “Lord of the Flies” is a 1954 novel about a group of British boys trapped on an uninhabited island, forced to govern themselves, to disastrous and deadly ends.

There have already been three cinematic adaptations of the book -- in 1963, 1975 and 1990 -- all with male casts.

In most interpretations, the boys’ failure at self-governance is meant to mirror modern society’s own tendency toward toxic masculinity and harmful posturing.

Golding said as much himself about that issue in an introduction for a “Flies” audiobook, where he spoke about how the book wouldn’t work using women.

“I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men. They are far superior and always have been,” Golding said.

Twitter also had plenty to say about the fact that the Warner Bros. project, despite starring all women, will still be directed and written by two men, Scott McGehee and David Siegel.

Also, Internet denizens pointed out, if Hollywood wants to focus on the brutality and cutthroat nature of teenage girls, there are already plenty of examples.

Still, at least someone is looking at the positive potential of the project. Anyone up for a Themyscira origin story?

Share
Advertisement

Gloria Gaynor sings to Texas’ Harvey victims: ‘You will survive’

(Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images)

Gloria Gaynor wants people affected by Harvey to know they will survive, and she’s communicating that message through a new version of the song that has defined her career.

Gaynor, whose “I Will Survive” became an anthem over the years, rewrote the 1978 disco hit to reach out to victims in Texas and posted her rendition on social media Wednesday.

“Hi, my neighbors in Texas,” she said in a video shot while she sat at a piano she was about to play. “This is Gloria Gaynor with a song that hopefully will cheer you up just a little bit.”

Here are the tweaked lyrics, for those who don’t want to hit “play” with the sound on.

First we were afraid
We were petrified
Thinking Texas couldn’t live
With floodwaters this high
We know you spent plenty of time
Preparing for this hurricane
Who could’ve known that it would come
With so much devastating rain
But we will strive
And you’ll survive
With all our love and help and prayers
We will stay strongly by your side
We are your neighbors tried and true
We’ll do all we can for you
And you’ll survive
You will survive, you will survive

Similarly on Monday night, Coldplay unleashed a new original song written after the band was forced to cancel its Friday show in Houston with Hurricane Harvey bearing down.

“This is a new song, and we’ll never play it again,” frontman Chris Martin told an audience in Miami. “It’s a once-off. It’s called ‘Houston.’ We’re going to sing it in Miami for everybody here, and then we’re going to send it over there to everyone who missed the show.”

Share

Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation donates $1 million to Harvey recovery

Leonardo DiCaprio in a dark suit against a dark background
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Leonardo DiCaprio has stepped up with a $1-million donation to aid the victims of Hurricane Harvey, now a tropical storm, which has dumped historic levels of rain on the Gulf Coast over the last several days.

United Way Worldwide announced Wednesday that it has started the United Way Harvey Recovery Fund with a seven-figure donation from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

The money — 100% of it, according to the charity — will go to help victims of flooding with mid- and long-term recovery over the coming years. There are 23 United Ways that operate in the path of the storm, which made landfall Aug. 24.

“We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Leonardo DiCaprio and his foundation,” United Way Worldwide President and CEO Brian Gallagher said in a statement. “Responding to Hurricane Harvey requires the best of all of us — and that’s what this gift represents.”

DiCaprio has been urging support of the United Way and American Red Cross this week on his Twitter account and retweeting stories talking about Harvey and climate change.

Di Caprio’s foundation “has been committed to climate-related issues and environmental projects since 1998,” Terry Tamminen, president and CEO of the foundation, said in a statement. “We support efforts to build climate resilient communities and protect vulnerable wildlife and ecosystems across the planet, and have supported disaster relief and victim funds in the past. We hope others will step up and support the United Way and other organizations.”

Earlier this week, Sandra Bullock, who has a home in Texas, gave $1 million to the American Red Cross, repeating the lump-sum generosity she showed after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

Ellen DeGeneres was also in the seven-figure donation tier. The comic and talk-show host dropped $1 million in the relief bucket on Wednesday via J.J. Watt’s foundation. The effort by the Houston Texans’ star player topped $10 million on Thursday, with Watt chronicling its progress all week via videos on social media.

Update, 8:50 a.m.: This post was updated with information about DeGeneres’ donation to Watt’s fund.

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Chris Tucker turns 45 today

(Iris Schneider / Los Angeles Times)

I had a dream as a kid: I wanted to be big, big like Richard [Pryor] and Eddie [Murphy]. I imagined it. I studied it. I had a passion.

— Chris Tucker, 2001

FROM THE ARCHIVES: In a Big Rush

Share

‘Springsteen on Broadway’ was born to run, is extended through February

Bruce Springsteen's solo shows on Broadway have been extended through February, just hours after the original run sold out.
(Greg Allen / Invision/Associated Press)

Good news for Bruce Springsteen fans who were locked out of purchasing tickets Wednesday morning for his upcoming run of shows on Broadway.

Ticketmaster announced that “Springsteen on Broadway,” an intimate stage experience that launches in October and features the rock legend performing solo, will be extending for 10 additional weeks.

Originally scheduled to close in November, the show was extended through February after the original block of tickets sold out in a matter of minutes Wednesday.

“#SpringsteenBroadway has been EXTENDED!” the ticket outlet tweeted, with a follow-up tweet explaining that fans who had previously registered to purchase tickets will not have to register again.

Springsteen will be performing at New York City’s Walter Kerr Theater, which houses fewer than 1,000 seats. To curtail ticket scalping, Ticketmaster relied on its Verified Fan program.

The program forces fans to register to even have an opportunity to purchase tickets and are limited to two tickets per purchase.

For all of Ticketmaster’s efforts, resale sites already are flooded with “Springsteen on Broadway” tickets, with some reaching $10,000 apiece.

Fans interested in trying their luck for the second batch of performance dates will need to register with Ticketmaster Verified Fan by Sept. 3 (at 7 p.m. Pacific).

Tickets will be available for purchase 10 a.m. Pacific on Sept. 7.

Share
Advertisement

Olivia de Havilland is not backing down from her ‘Feud’ court battle with FX and Ryan Murphy

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland has strengthened her resolve in her court battle with FX and “Feud” showrunner Ryan Murphy.

The 101-year-old, two-time Oscar winner regarded the network’s “weak” move on Tuesday to dismiss her latest complaint as a sign of “their continuing disrespect for her and for California law,” her attorney Suzelle M. Smith said in a statement to The Times on Wednesday.

It’s the latest development in the “Gone With the Wind” star’s lawsuit against FX and Murphy, which she filed in June over her depiction in “Feud: Bette and Joan,” the miniseries about rival actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

The Paris-based De Havilland, who was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the docudrama, makes four major legal claims about violations of her common law and statutory rights of publicity, her right to privacy and unjust enrichment.

In an effort to discredit her, they attempt to throw mud on a great lady.

— Suzelle M. Smith, Olivia de Havilland’s attorney

Read More

Share

Sandra Bullock donates $1 million to Harvey relief efforts

Sandra Bullock donated $1 million to the American Red Cross for storm relief.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

With the Gulf Coast still battling the aftereffects of Tropical Storm Harvey, celebrities continue to come forward to help with relief efforts for the humanitarian crisis.

Sandra Bullock, who has a home in Texas, donated $1 million to the American Red Cross’ emergency efforts, the organization confirmed to The Times on Wednesday.

“We are so thankful for the overwhelming and generous response from those who want to help those affected by this devastating storm,” Elizabeth Penniman, vice president of communications for American Red Cross national headquarters, said in an email.

“Massive disasters like Hurricane Harvey create many critical and immediate needs, so we are heartened by donations like this – which allow us to provide immediate shelter, food and comfort to thousands in need,” Penniman continued. “The entertainment community has been so supportive to the Red Cross in response to this devastating disaster, and we are so grateful.”

Bullock is just the latest star who has donated to recovery efforts in Texas. The Kardashian family pledged $500,000 to the Salvation Army and Red Cross on Tuesday. Kevin Hart also spearheaded a celebrity-driven fundraising campaign on Crowdrise that has brought in more than $1 million for the Red Cross.

Share
Advertisement

Corinne Olympios wants DeMario Jackson to know she doesn’t blame him for anything

Corinne Olympios doesn’t have any hard feelings toward DeMario Jackson, the fellow “Bachelor in Paradise” cast member who was with her at the center of a scandal that shut down production on the reality TV series in June.

“I don’t blame DeMario. I never pointed fingers at DeMario. I never said a bad word about DeMario,” the 25-year-old told host Chris Harrison in an early-August taped interview that aired Tuesday night on ABC.

She and Jackson haven’t spoken since production was halted after allegations of misconduct were made by a producer, leading to an investigation of what happened during a period when, Olympios now says, she was blacked out.

“I was almost a little bit nervous to talk to [DeMario], because he did run to the media and I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire,” she said. Before she had a chance to collect her thoughts, he was out there and “so on the defensive,” she said.

“He was doing his thing and I didn’t want to get messed up in that. ... I can’t help but feel like maybe he felt like I thought he did something to me.”

Jackson did not do anything bad, she insisted. Seeing him start crying in a clip from his own interview with Harrison, which had aired on the show last week, Olympios welled up a bit too.

“It was hard for me to go through something like that. I know exactly how he feels. The media wants to paint you a certain way that you know you’re just not,” she said.

Olympios told Harrison the same things she had said in a Tuesday morning interview with “Good Morning America” about blacking out from drinking too much and mixing alcohol with medication.

However, she didn’t directly address her “I am a victim” statement that was released at the height of the scandal. On “GMA,” she said she meant she was a victim of the media.

Regarding “Bachelor in Paradise” with Harrison, she simply talked about how awful it was to have so many people acting like they had been there or were suddenly experts on her life.

“To even get up and go get eggs at the grocery store ... my face was all over every magazine and I had to check out and everyone’s staring,” Olympios said. “You’re looking at them and it’s like, ‘I’m not what you’re thinking right now.’”

Then, near the end of the interview, she shared one big wish.

“Obviously hindsight is 20/20,” she said, “and I wish it could have been handled differently.”

Share

Tomi Lahren finds new home at Fox News

Conservative firebrand Tomi Lahren is again gainfully employed after being fired from Glenn Beck’s The Blaze in March.

On Wednesday, Lahren announced via her Facebook page that she is joining the Fox News team as a contributor.

“This exciting new step will allow me to give voice to all the America-loving patriots who have had my back since day one,” Lahren wrote. “I will remain a solid and passionate advocate for you.”

Though 25-year-old Lahren has made television appearances before -- including a contentious appearance on “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” -- much of her career has been in digital media.

She hosted “On Point With Tomi Lahren” for One America News Network, and her “Final Thought” videos have garnered her over 4.4 million Facebook followers.

In addition to her role as a contributor, Lahren will also have a “signature role” on a Fox News digital product in development, according to a press release issued by the network.

Lahren makes her debut on Wednesday’s edition of “Hannity” at 7 p.m. PDT.

Share
Advertisement

Trevor Noah is shocked — shocked — by the latest revelations about Trump and Moscow

Even as the Earth offers humanity another taste of its weather future — and President Trump keeps Sheriff Joe Arpaio out of jail and North Korean missiles fly over Japan — late-night TV hosts have disappeared from their chairs as if it were August in France.

Trevor Noah is on the job, though, hosting “The Daily Show.” Tuesday night, he had some mirthful words about the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s Russian affairs. Specifically, he reflected on the revelation of a letter of intent, signed by POTUS himself, to build a Trump Tower skyscraper in Moscow — and make it the tallest building in the world — despite Trump’s repeated claims to have no business, no interests, no nothing in Russia.

“How can one person lie so big? HOW?” Noah asked, amazedly. “It’s like if your friend said he had never heard of Mumford and Sons and then one day you see the album cover and you’re like, wait a minute, you’re Mumford.”

Were those connections “strictly business, or were they getting out on the votey-votey action? That’s not clear yet,” he said.

What was clear is that a typically dubious character was at the center of it — namely Felix Sater, a Russian-born real estate developer once convicted of stabbing a man in the neck and face with the stem of a broken margarita glass.

“Of all the glasses to stab someone with, a margarita glass is the worst,” Noah said. “You’re literally putting salt into the wounds.”

There was also a conviction for Sater’s involvement in a $40-million stock fraud, Noah added, which came as no surprise to the host. “You never trust someone with a cat name. If a human goes by Felix or Whiskers or Mittens, you should probably just stay away.”

There were emails, of course; there are always emails.

“Buddy, our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putin’s team to buy in on this,” Sater wrote to Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen.

“This buddy boy email may not be the smoking gun for Trump,” Noah concluded, “but what it could end up being is the broken taillight — the thing that gives law enforcement the excuse they need to look into Trump’s trunk.

“And we all know,” he said, as a picture of the golfing president’s derriere appeared over his shoulder, “he’s got a lot of junk in that trunk.”

Share

Kathy Griffin retracts apology, rips backlash over gory Trump photo shoot

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Kathy Griffin said in June that she was sorry. Now she’s retracting her tearful apology for that controversial photo shoot featuring her holding a fake severed head in the likeness of President Trump and treating the backlash as a joke.

“I’m no longer sorry. The whole outrage was B.S. The whole thing got so blown out of proportion, and I lost everybody,” she said Tuesday during an appearance on the Australian morning show “Sunrise,” where she was promoting her “Laugh Your Head Off” world tour, which will head Down Under for five shows in October.

“Like, I had Chelsea Clinton tweeting against me,” she said. “I had friends, Debra Messing from ‘Will & Grace,’ tweeting against me. I mean, I lost everybody.”

At the time, the president tweeted, “Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!”

The 56-year-old, via video from L.A., told “Sunrise” that she was on a mission to warn others that this could happen to them and said she had talked to Australians who were now afraid to come to America.

“I have been through the mill ...,” she said. “I didn’t just lose one night on CNN. My entire tour was canceled within 24 hours because every single theater got all these death threats. I mean, these Trump fans, they’re hard-core. They have robo-calls, they’re annoying.”

After her emotional apology in early June, people were reluctant to forgive her. Among the friends she lost was Anderson Cooper, her bestie of 17 years, who in the aftermath of her gory photo shoot called it “disgusting and completely inappropriate.” Griffin said in an interview with the Cut that Cooper didn’t text her personally until Aug. 10. She didn’t text back.

In her apology, the comic said things like: “He picked me. Do you get it? I’m the easiest target” and “I’m not afraid of Donald Trump. He’s a bully. I’ve dealt with older white guys trying to keep me down my whole life, my whole career” and “I don’t think I will have a career after this. I’m going to be honest, he broke me.”

On “Sunrise,” when one of the anchors pressed her regarding the appropriateness of that controversial photo shoot, which critics said was reminiscent of a terrorist pose after a beheading, Griffin fought back.

“No, you’re full of crap, stop this,” Griffin said. “You know this. Stop acting like my little picture is more important than talking about the actual atrocities that the president of the United States is committing.”

No more on-camera tears for this comic. See the full interview on “Sunrise.”

Share
Advertisement

Jury president Annette Bening addresses lack of female representation at Venice Film Festival

(Claudio Onorati / Associated Press)

Though there aren’t as many women represented at this year’s Venice Film Festival as she would like, jury president Annette Bening believes “things are changing.”

The four-time Oscar nominee, whose film credits include “American Beauty,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “20th Century Women” and “Bugsy,” addressed the lack of female directors Wednesday during the 74th annual Venice Film Festival‘s opening press conference. (Only one of the 21 films in competition is directed by a woman this year.)

“As women, we have to be sharp, shrewd and creative in what we choose to make. Sexism does exist and there is no question about it. But things are changing,” the actress said at the opening press conference, according to Variety.

“The more we can make films that speak to everybody, the more we will be regarded as filmmakers,” she added.

Bening, the first woman to chair the jury in more than a decade, said she knew of both veteran and rookie filmmakers struggling to get their movies made “whether they are men or women.”

She said the industry has “a long way to go, in terms of parity” but was confident that the “direction we’re going is positive.”

Share

A Star Is Born: Lisa Ling turns 44 today

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

[People have said to me], ‘When you were in the world’s largest slum [in India], you could almost smell what it was like by your expression.’ It’s not that I’m trying to force myself on the viewer. I’m just their eyes and ears. I think our work is quite pure.

— Lisa Ling, 1997

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Taking news personally

Share
Advertisement

‘Fake news’? First Lady Melania Trump trades heels for sneakers during Harvey visit in Texas

First Lady Melania Trump boards Air Force One in heels to visit Hurricane Harvey victims.
First Lady Melania Trump boards Air Force One in heels to visit Hurricane Harvey victims.
(AFP/Getty Images)

What’s the best disaster relief outfit for a government official?

Cargo pants? Galoshes? A yellow rain jacket a la Curious George?

For Melania Trump, who wore orange Manolo Blahnik stilettos as she departed the White House for Camp David a week ago, a sleek pair of black high heels with slim trousers and an on-trend bomber jacket must have seemed like a sensible traveling ensemble this morning.

The first lady of the United States, along with President Trump, boarded Air Force One early Tuesday and headed to Texas, where Hurricane Harvey has ravaged local communities. What garnered a huge chunk of attention, however, was FLOTUS’ stiletto heels, which many on the Internet criticized even before the presidential plane touched down in Texas.

Of the criticism, the first lady’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, told Fox News via email: “It’s sad that we have an active and ongoing natural disaster in Texas, and people are worried about her shoes.”

Still, whether in response to critics or a previously planned outfit change, FLOTUS’ pumps were traded for crispy white sneakers by the time the plane landed in Corpus Christi.

The Internet didn’t exactly apologize, but Trump supporters were happy to point out the wardrobe adjustment and taunt the media.

Share

In wake of Charlottesville strife, Virginia Film Festival to host director Spike Lee as special guest

Director Spike Lee photographed in 2015.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

As the city of Charlottesville, Va., and the nation as a whole continues to grapple with the violent racial strife that erupted earlier this month, the Virginia Film Festival announced on Tuesday that it will host filmmaker Spike Lee as a special guest at the upcoming festival as part of a program around the legacy of slavery.

Lee, who has tackled thorny issues of race throughout his career, will present his Oscar-nominated documentary “4 Little Girls” about the 1963 bombing of a Baptist church in Birmingham, Ala., that claimed the lives of four African American girls, an act of white supremacist terrorism that marked a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

“We have for many years been interested in bringing Spike Lee to the Virginia Film Festival as he remains one of the most talented, innovative, and socially conscious filmmakers in our world today,” said Jody Kielbasa, director of the film festival and vice provost for the arts at the University of Virginia. “We first reached out to Mr. Lee in the spring to include him in our upcoming collaboration with Montpelier, and of course, the recent events in Charlottesville have made his participation more compelling, relevant and vital.”

The festival program will also include a short film titled “I Can’t Breathe” that combines footage of the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner during his arrest by a New York City police officer with footage of the death of Radio Raheem under similar circumstances in Lee’s 1989 film “Do the Right Thing.

The program is part of a larger collaboration with Montpelier, the Virginia plantation of President James Madison, who owned more than 100 slaves, that will explore both how the legacy of slavery continues to affect the lives of African Americans and how they are depicted in film and other media.

The 30th annual Virginia Film Festival will run from Nov. 9 to 12 in Charlottesville.

Share
Advertisement

Jerry Seinfeld recaps childhood in Netflix’s first ‘Jerry Before Seinfeld’ trailer

The first trailer for Netflix’s stand-up special “Jerry Before Seinfeld” has arrived, and it’s a madcap recap of Jerry Seinfeld’s humble beginnings, quirky family dynamics and bits of everyday observations.

The teaser opens with Johnny Carson introducing the iconic comic in 1981 during his debut on “The Tonight Show.” Then it showcases the sitcom star back at the mike at the Comic Strip, the famous New York comedy club where he launched his career. Throwback photos, videos and interviews with Seinfeld are woven throughout.

“He’s back where he began,” the title reads, “doing what he loves.”

The original comedy special is the first of two stand-up specials Seinfeld will deliver in his massive deal with the streaming giant. (The deal also includes the entirety of his “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” catalog and 24 new episodes of the Emmy-nominated talk show, which will launch later this year.)

Seinfeld and Netflix teased to the special last week with several clips posted on Instagram and a close-up look at the numerous legal pads scrawled with handwritten jokes he’s kept from the 1970s.

“Jerry Before Seinfeld” begins streaming Sept. 19.

Share

Kermit the Frog finds his new voice in Matt Vogel

The new Kermit the Frog has arrived and he’s following his dreams -- literally.

New Muppeteer Matt Vogel made his vocal debut as the iconic frog on Monday in a “Muppet Thought of the Week” video posted on YouTube.

“Dreams are how we figure out where we want to go. Life is how we get there,” he says in the brief clip. “I’m headed this way.”

The veteran voice actor has worked on “Sesame Street” and also operates the Muppets Floyd, Constantine and Sweetums. He is only the third puppeteer to take on Kermit the Frog full time since the character was created in 1955. He replaced former puppeteer Steve Whitmire, who began work on “The Muppet Show” in 1978 and inherited the role of Kermit when creator Jim Henson died in 1990.

Whitmire was dismissed over concerns about his “repeated unacceptable business conduct over a period of many years and he consistently failed to address the feedback,” the Muppets Studio said at the time.

Whitmire claimed he was fired in October 2016 and kept quiet about it until Vogel was announced as his replacement in July. It was his “opinionated communication style” that earned him his walking papers, he said.

Share
Advertisement

Kardashian family pledges $500,000 to Harvey relief efforts

The Kardashians are picking up the gauntlet thrown down by Kevin Hart.

The comedian took to Instagram Sunday night to levy a challenge to fellow celebrities to raise funds for Tropical Storm Harvey flood relief, as Houston and surrounding areas were ravaged by the historic storm.

On Tuesday, several members of the Kardashian clan took to the Internet to answer Hart’s call, collectively pledging $500,000 to the cause.

“Houston we are praying for you,” Khloé Kardashian tweeted immediately after announcing the family’s donation to the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

Soon after Khloé’s announcement, sister Kim Kardashian West and mother Kris Jenner tweeted similar sentiments, both in sending prayers to Houston and reiterating the family’s donation to the charitable organizations.

The Kardashian family is not alone in its altruism, though some parties have chosen to be more reserved in the promotion of their support.

Houston’s favorite daughter, Beyoncé, told the Houston Chronicle Monday that she was working closely with her philanthropic organization BeyGOOD to support relief efforts.

“My heart goes out to my hometown, Houston, and I remain in constant prayer for those affected and for the rescuers who have been so brave and determined to do so much to help,” she told the Chronicle.

“I am working closely with my team at BeyGOOD as well as my pastor (Rudy Rasmus at St. John’s in downtown Houston) to implement a plan to help as many as we can.”

Some areas of Houston have seen more than 40 inches of rain since Friday night, and with continued rain Tuesday morning, Addicks Dam outside the city experienced its first-ever spillway breach. It is estimated that more than 450,000 people will seek federal aid in the wake of the storm.

Share

Trevor Noah says Trump’s pardon of Sheriff Arpaio renders courts powerless

“The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah broke down former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s presidential pardon on Monday, explaining how President Trump’s decision undermines the judicial branch of government.

The controversial Maricopa County lawman, who was convicted of criminal contempt of court for violating Latinos’ rights, earned himself a thuggish reputation as a sheriff, Noah said, citing his agency’s use of tent cities, stun guns, jail overcrowding and numerous cases of inmate deaths and police brutality.

But those were “just his extracurriculars,” Noah said. “It turns out his full-time job is racism.”

The 85-year-old Arpaio was found guilty in July of defying a 2011 court order barring officers from stopping and detaining Latino motorists to check their immigration status.

“As much as Sheriff Arpaio presented himself as anti-illegal immigrants, it turned out really he was just anti being a decent human being,” Noah said.

When the president of the United States steps in and pardons someone’s contempt conviction, he’s essentially rendering the courts powerless.

— ‘Daily Show’ host Trevor Noah

His abuses hurt inmates and taxpayers, costing the state $142 million in legal fees, settlements and compliance costs, Noah said. Other things they could have spent that money on? “Schools, roads or they could have just paid Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather to just punch Arpaio in the face.”

But Noah made the point that Trump’s decision completely undercut the judiciary.

“Remember how the three branches of government are supposed to be equal? Well, convicting someone of contempt is the one and only way the judicial branch can put muscle behind its decisions. So when the president of the United States steps in and pardons someone’s contempt conviction, he’s essentially rendering the courts powerless,” he said.

Watch the full segment above.

Share
Advertisement

Watch Coldplay dedicate new song to Harvey victims -- and vow never to play it again

(Jens Meyer / Associated Press)

On Monday night in Miami, Coldplay’s Chris Martin drew attention to the victims of Tropical Storm Harvey by unveiling a new song called “Houston” -- and then vowed never to play it again.

The band, which was forced to cancel its Houston show days earlier due to the storm, wrote the song as the region was enduring historic flooding.

After acknowledging that he and the band all “grew up loving country music, and, of course, that’s kind of what we think of when we go to Texas,” Martin asked the crowd to bear with them.

“This is a new song, and we’ll never play it again,” Martin said. “It’s a once-off. It’s called ‘Houston.’ We’re going to sing it in Miami for everybody here and then we’re going to send it over there to everyone who missed the show.”

Vowing to return to Houston, Martin and band huddled and tentatively started a twangy little number.

“I’m dreaming of when I get back to Houston,” sang Martin, replete with a touch of Johnny Cash-ian twang. Describing it as “that city where they send you into space,” Martin crooned of “Corpus Christi, Harris County, Galveston,” of “a harmony that hums down there in Houston,” and urged the region to “keep on keeping on.”

Merle Haggard it wasn’t (and everyone’s a critic), but the performance drew huge applause from fans and went viral on Tuesday morning.

Coldplay’s quick-turnaround ditty is hardly the first to document such deluges. Johnny Cash’s “Three Feet High and Rising” occurred in real time as a family struggled to keep dry.

In Charley Patton’s “High Water Everywhere,” the country blues singer recalled the lives lost in the Great Flood of 1927, which consumed the Mississippi Delta and spawned dozens of songs: “Oh, Lordy, women is groaning down / Oh, Lordy, women and children sinking down,” Patton sang. “I couldn’t see nobody home, and was no one to be found.”

Below is another song about the flood of ‘27: Bessie Smith’s “Backwater Blues.”

Share

Kim Campbell eulogizes her late husband Glen Campbell: ‘He was the real deal all the time’

Glen and Kim Campbell photographed during an interview with The Times at their Malibu home on July 27, 2011.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been three weeks since the death of country music legend Glen Campbell, but the world continues to mourn the loss of the “Wichita Lineman” singer.

At an invitation-only memorial service held for the showman last Thursday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater, his widow, Kim Campbell, delivered a stirring eulogy.

Campbell’s wife told assembled family and friends that she wished she could tell them all about who her husband was when they weren’t around. But she didn’t need to.

“There were no secrets with Glen,” Kim Campbell said. “He was the real deal all the time.”

In Campbell’s eulogy she utilized visuals from the recent solar eclipse to illustrate her loss.

“A few days ago, I put on protective glasses to watch the eclipse. It was disorienting. Everything was so dark. I felt like I had suddenly gone blind. But when I gazed up at the sun, I could still feel its warmth and see its soft glow through the lenses,” Campbell wrote.

“Then I noticed a little sliver of pure darkness begin to cover the light.”

Read the rest of Campbell’s poignant eulogy at CareLiving.org.

ALSO

Glen Campbell dies at 81; country-pop singer battled Alzheimer’s

Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s battle added a heroic coda to a pop-country star’s life

Times photographer remembers a 2011 shoot with Glen Campbell

Share
Advertisement

Corinne Olympios on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ scandal: ‘I was really a victim of the media’

(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

Corinne Olympios says medication, the booze and the media were key players in June’s production-stopping “Bachelor in Paradise” scandal and its aftermath.

Calling the situation “just really unfortunate,” she said Tuesday on “Good Morning America” that she doesn’t remember anything that happened. Seeing video of what transpired on the first day of production on the looking-for-love reality show was “like watching not-me,” she said. “I’m watching someone else.”

On that day, Olympios and fellow cast member DeMario Jackson allegedly wound up in the pool or hot tub together in a situation that a producer thought went too far. Allegations of “misconduct” were made, and production shut down the next day for an investigation that ultimately determined nothing untoward had happened.

The show, sans Corinne and DeMario, premiered its fourth season Aug. 14, a week later than originally planned.

“I did drink, too much, I definitely understand that,” Olympios said. “But I was also on a medication that severely blacks you out and impairs your judgment and messes with your balance, that I didn’t know you were not supposed to not drink on, and so it really just caused a horrible, horrible blackout. It was like I went under like anesthesia and then just like woke up.”

She’s now weaning off the medication, she said, and cutting down on her drinking. But in explaining her provocative official statement that she was “a victim” living out her “worst nightmare,” Olympios revealed her specific definition of victimhood, which had little or nothing to do with consent, which was a hot topic throughout the scandal.

“I was really a victim of the media,” Olympios said. “It was just, all of a sudden people became an expert on the situation and on what happened, and it was like, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened. It was just horrible to deal with.

“It got really, really bad. ...,” she added. “The things people say are just insane.”

When the remaining “Paradise” cast met as a whole on the first episode of the season, their sympathies seemed to lie with Jackson as they worried about the long-term effects the scandal would have on him and any future career opportunities, especially given the lingering racial issues of alleged misconduct between a white woman and a black man.

However, they were quick to say they were not “slut-shaming” Olympios either.

Jackson spoke last week on “Bachelor in Paradise,” sitting down with host Chris Harrison to give his take on what happened. Here’s a taste of that, courtesy of “GMA”:

Share

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show heads to Shanghai this year

Angels will fly over the Great Wall of China in November as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show heads to Shanghai for the first time.

Supermodels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge and more will strut their stuff for the annual lingerie extravaganza, Victoria’s Secret and CBS said in a statement on Tuesday.

The iconic pre-holiday show — replete with teensy underwear and massive angel wings — is usually filmed in New York, but Miami, Los Angeles and London have also hosted the scantily clad runway walk.

The broadcast will air on CBS on Nov. 28 and will be shown in more than 190 countries.

Models Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Lais Ribeiro, Martha Hunt, Romee Strijd, Sara Sampaio, Stella Maxwell and Taylor Hill will also walk in this year’s show.

Musical performers will be announced at a later date, the statement said.

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: William Friedkin turns 82 today

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

I love the experience of making films. I love the mud. I love the dirt. I love all the inconveniences. That’s why you do it. If you do it because you’re looking to be the Great American film maker, you’re liable to experience disappointment.

— William Friedkin, 1989

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Exorcisms of William Friedkin

Share

Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ video bashes another YouTube record

Taylor Swift’s official video for her first new music in three years, “Look What You Made Me Do,” has blasted through the existing YouTube record for most views tallied during its first 24 hours of release. The clip logged 43.2 million views since the video was posted Sunday evening.

That far surpasses the record set in 2013 by Korean pop star Psy’s “Gentleman,” which racked up 36 million views in its first day.

It also hasn’t slowed interest in Swift’s previously released lyric video for the same song, which set a record for lyric video viewership by drawing 19 million views in the first 24 hours. That version has now surpassed 47 million views in less than four days.

Both videos have generated flurries of debate and analysis among Swift’s fans and her dissenters, the former seemingly outnumbering the latter by a margin of nearly 5 to 1. Likes have surpassed the 1 million mark, while dislikes stood at 232,000 at the 24-hour mark.

The song is the first single from her forthcoming album “Reputation,” due Nov. 10. It will be Swift’s sixth studio album.

Each of her last three albums sold more than 1 million copies during the first week of release. Swift is the only artist with that achievement to her credit.

Update Aug. 29, 10:30 a.m.: This post has been updated with the finalized 24-hour viewer total.

Share
Advertisement

Watch the ‘Game of Thrones’ cast and crew break down some of Season 7’s best scenes

“Game of Thrones” Season 7 may have concluded Sunday, but there is still plenty left for fans to unpack before “Thrones”-withdrawal sets in.

Along with all the burning questions left in the wake of the season finale, HBO has left us with some behind-the-scenes videos from this season’s most epic moments.

The production magic of “Game of Thrones” is undeniable and it extends to beyond special effects dragons. From Arya donning Walder Frey’s face to dole out her brand of vengeance to Daenerys walking into Dragonstone for the first time, there is plenty to explore from just the first episode alone.

The video above dives deep into what it took to craft the Season 7 premiere, including how Cersei’s fancy new giant map came to be.

Of course, plenty of fans are probably still contemplating the latest episode and what Jon and Dany’s new level of intimacy means going into the final season. Can this be how the actual prince that was promised is conceived?

And if you were a bit squicked out by the pair’s developing relationship, you’re not alone. Unlike Jon and Daenerys, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington are definitely aware that they are both Targaryens.

“For us as actors it’s just weird,” said Clarke in a video about the coupling. “The reality of what they are to each other.”

In fact, the actors had more facial expressions and sound effects to convey their feelings about this union than words. Watch in the video below.

Share

Ed Skrein leaves ‘Hellboy’ after ‘whitewashing’ furor

(Jordan Strauss / Associated Press)

Ed Skrein will not play Maj. Ben Daimio in a reboot of “Hellboy,” the English actor said Monday, noting that when he accepted the role he didn’t know that in the comics the character was of mixed Asian descent.

Just a week ago, Skrein had tweeted his excitement over taking on the role. Backlash — in the form of “whitewashing” allegations — ensued.

“It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts,” the 34-year-old “Deadpool” actor said in a statement announcing that he had changed his mind about portraying Daimio.

Calling it a “moral” decision, he said he was sad to leave the movie but hoped his action would make a difference in making equal representation in the arts a reality.

David Harbour, the “Stranger Things” actor slated to play Hellboy, tweeted, “Hey internet. Thank you for your voices. An injustice was done and will be corrected. Many thanks to @edskrein for doing what is right.”

Mike Mignola, who created the Hellboy comics, also thanked Skrein on Monday and said the move was “very nicely done.”

In addition to Harbour, the 2018 version of the story so far stars Milla Jovovich as Nimue, Ian McShane as Professor Broom and Alice Monaghan as Sasha Lane, according to IMDb. Neil Marshall, who among other things has helmed episodes of “Game of Thrones” and “Westworld,” is set to direct.

The Daimio character didn’t appear in the 2004 or 2008 Guillermo del Toro films based on the “Hellboy” comics.

Here’s Skrein’s full explanation:

Updated, 2:39 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from Harbour and Mignola.

Share
Advertisement

Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper are super-friends no more

Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin
Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin
(Rob Kim / Getty Images)

What began as a tasteless joke at the expense of President Trump continues to have real-life consequences for comedian Kathy Griffin.

In an extensive interview with The Cut, Griffin admitted that her 17-year friendship with Anderson Cooper, with whom she co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve gig for a decade, ended in the wake of the Trump controversy.

In May, Griffin publicized a photo shoot that featured her holding a bloodied imitation severed head bearing a strong resemblance to the president. The backlash was immediate and largely bipartisan, as many saw the images as glorifying violence and furthering political division.

Griffin quickly apologized for the misstep but the damage had been done, with condemnation from the White House, investigation by the Secret Service and the loss of several jobs, including her CNN gig.

On May 30, Cooper tweeted his disapproval of Griffin’s artistic expression, calling it “disgusting and completely inappropriate,” and Griffin admitted at a June 2 news conference that Cooper’s comments hurt her.

In July, Cooper appeared on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” and stated that he and Griffin were still friends.

“Yeah, we’re still friends, and look I said what I said about — I didn’t think what she said was appropriate, but I wish her the best and I hope she bounces back,” he stated.

But Griffin claimed that at that point, nearly two months after the fact, she had yet to hear from Cooper privately.

In reality, it wasn’t until Aug. 10 that Cooper finally reached out to Griffin in a series of text messages, CNN confirmed to The Cut — at which point Griffin informed him that their friendship was over.

Share

In ‘One Mississippi’ Season 2 trailer, Tig Notaro prays for the gay to stay

Tig Notaro’s “One Mississippi” is coming back for a second season, one in which her character is getting used to life back in her small Mississippi hometown.

Season 1 of the Amazon Prime Video series took viewers through a fictionalized series of events that echoed Notaro’s own life: a potentially deadly intestinal illness, breast cancer, a double mastectomy, the unexpected death of her beloved mother and a romantic breakup.

Yup, it’s a dark comedy.

In Season 2, L.A. transplant “Tig” is navigating her new environs, including strategizing about how to proceed with a crush on “Straight Kate” and dealing with some well-meaning, pray-the-gay-away critics of her radio show.

Plus, there’s her stepfather’s whole dishwasher drill to contend with, not to mention the story line that has to do with sexual assault.

The new season of “One Mississippi” starts streaming Sept. 8.

Share
Advertisement

Watch Frank Ocean’s lyric video for new song ‘Provider’

As is his wont these days, R&B superstar Frank Ocean unveiled a new song, “Provider,” his own way: during the newest installment of Blonded Radio, the Apple Music/Beats 1 radio show he hosts and curates.

The ballad’s a meditation that name-checks Aphex Twin, shoegaze, Talking Heads, “Jaws,” Patagonia sportswear and Stanley Kubrick, and moves through verses without much regard for structure.

Immediately following the Sunday premiere, Ocean dropped the lyric video on his website. Featuring a souped-up mini-boombox retrofitted with bigger speaker cones and a Velcro-attached machete, the clip suggests an owner getting ready to hunt prey while using “Provider” as the lure.

Ocean hasn’t uploaded the clip to YouTube, but you can listen and watch on his blonded.co website.

Share

‘Gone With the Wind,’ deemed ‘insensitive,’ has been pulled from a Memphis theater

“Gone With the Wind” will not be shown in the future by a Tennessee theater that decided it was “insensitive” to many in the local community.

The 1939 movie, which marked the first Oscar win by a black actor, depicts a romanticized view of slavery and life on a Southern plantation before, during and after the Civil War.

“Gone With the Wind,” which won 10 Academy Awards in 1940, including for best picture, had been shown by the Orpheum Theatre Group for years as part of an annual Summer Movie Series, according to Memphis’ Commercial-Appeal. At times, it was screened more than once a year, the paper said. This year, however, a different climate prevailed.

“The recent screening of ‘Gone With the Wind’ at the Orpheum on Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, generated numerous comments,” Brett Batterson, president of the theater group, said Friday in a statement (via the New York Times).

“The Orpheum carefully reviewed all of them. As an organization whose stated mission is to ‘entertain, educate and enlighten the communities it serves,’ the Orpheum cannot show a film that is insensitive to a large segment of its local population.”

The majority of Memphis residents are black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The screening happened, coincidentally, on the day before a rally of white nationalists that turned violent in Charlottesville, Va. — a rally that has been followed by a national conversation about whether to purge monuments to Civil War generals and soldiers from public spaces.

In an interview with the Commercial-Appeal, Batterson said the appropriateness of screening “Gone With the Wind” had been discussed “every year,” but “the social media storm this year really brought it home.”

By Monday, comments on social media, including on the Facebook post announcing the screening, had shifted in large part to defense of “Gone With the Wind” as a product of its time that, despite its romanticized portrayal of the Old South and of slavery, was still part of movie history and worth showing on a big screen.

The Orpheum did not respond Monday to The Times’ requests for comment.

Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar win for supporting actress was a significant first but was also “loaded with a lot of political and racial issues given that the film was the classic archetype of the Mammy,” said Adilifu Nama, associate professor of African American Studies at Loyola Marymount University, speaking to The Times in 2014.

McDaniel’s role of Mammy “is fundamentally a subservient role and is part of a film that is a Southern racial fantasy,” Nama said.

Share
Advertisement

Taylor Swift gets petty and Pink talks pretty in the must-see moments from MTV’s Video Music Awards

Were you too busy watching [spoiler] revealed as [spoiler] on Sunday night’s “Game of Thrones” finale to watch MTV’s Video Music Awards?

Fear not! We’ve gathered up four must-see moments from the socially conscious affair (and one lackluster video debut from Taylor Swift) to keep you in the loop.

Pink’s PowerPoint presentation

It was a banner night for singer Pink, who received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her body of work and used the occasion to share an anecdote about her daughter Willow.

Recently, Pink stated, her daughter referred to herself as “the ugliest person she knew” and complained that she looked like a boy with long hair.

At first, the “Raise Your Glass” singer was taken aback by her daughter’s words but soon swung into action, compiling an elaborate PowerPoint presentation about the history of androgynous rock stars, including Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Annie Lennox.

Pink relayed a simple sentiment that most of us could learn a lot from: “So, baby, girl, we don’t change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl.”

Logic talks emotions

Plenty of artists used the VMAs stage to speak passionately about issues they care about, but few did so as extensively as rapper Logic.

After his performance of “1-800-273-8255” with Khalid and Alessia Cara, the title of which is the phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Logic talked about mental health and equality.

Beginning at 3:50 in the above video, Logic first thanked the audience for giving him a platform to discuss the important issue of mental health. He then quickly pivoted to other pressing social issues including discrimination, sexism and domestic violence.

“I don’t give a damn if you’re black, white or any color in between,” Logic said. “I don’t care if you’re Christian, you’re Muslim, you’re gay, you’re straight, I am gonna fight for your equality because I believe that we are all born equal, but we are not treated equally and that is why we must fight.”

Jared Leto honors Chester Bennington

Logic’s performance and subsequent speech were particularly moving given the past year’s loss of two rock musicians to suicide – Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.

Jared Leto, an Academy Award winner and frontman of Thirty Seconds to Mars, spoke about both men at Sunday’s ceremony.

“MTV asked me to come here to say a few words about Chester and the late, great, Chris Cornell, two artists I had the absolute pleasure of touring with,” Leto said of the two singers who were also close friends.

“Chester said of Chris, ‘Your voice was joy and pain and anger and forgiveness, love and heartache, all wrapped up into one,” Leto recalled.

Leto also recounted his own memories of Bennington.

“I think about his heart,” Leto said. “And I remember his voice. At once ferocious and delicate, that voice will live forever.”

Fifth Harmony gets shady

Despite the pleas for equality and the heartfelt speeches, there was still plenty of time for pettiness at the VMAs, as evidenced by Fifth Harmony‘s performance.

As the group took the stage to perform its latest single, “Angel,” a mystery fifth member appeared in the lineup before being unceremoniously yanked offstage as the song began.

What appeared as an inexplicable stunt to the uninitiated was likely a shady reference to former Fifth Harmony frontwoman Camila Cabello, who exited the group in December to pursue a solo career.

It wasn’t so much that Cabello’s departure stung her former colleagues but that she reportedly failed to inform them of her decision before announcing it to the world. Oops.

Also Taylor Swift

Unless you were in a coma for the whole of last week, you probably heard that Taylor Swift announced the release date for her upcoming album, “Reputation,” as well as releasing the first single, “Look What You Made Me Do.”

It’s fine.

Sunday night, Swift debuted the video for “Look What You Made Me Do.”

It is also fine.

This has been your daily Taylor Swift update.

Share

Kevin Hart, Beyoncé and Drake lead charge for Hurricane Harvey flood relief

(Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)

As Harvey lashed southeastern Texas over the weekend, celebrities rallied for the relief effort.

Comedian Kevin Hart led the charge Sunday night, donating $25,000 and challenging his celebrity friends to donate to the Red Cross amid catastrophic flooding in the Lone Star State.

“I think we’ve participated in a lot of challenges on the Internet, some meaningful, some meaningless, but we’ve all done them. I’ve been a person that’s partaken in several of them,” Hart said in an Instagram video.

“At this point, this is a serious matter,” he continued. “I think the people are in bad shape and they need help. I’m going to lead the charge and step up in this way.”

The “Jumanji” star called on his co-star Dwayne Johnson, comics Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld, as well as musicians Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake to make donations and tag someone else to do the same.

At that point, Houston native Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child had already posted notes about their hometown on Instagram, sending thoughts and prayers to the state that launched their careers.

The deluge of support continued with country star Chris Young. “The Man I Want to Be” singer posted an emotional YouTube video about his certainty that his Texas home was destroyed and concern for his friends and family in the state. He donated $100,000 to relief efforts to a GoFundMe campaign to benefit the Red Cross.

Harvey, one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history, slammed onshore Friday as a Category 4 hurricane, then weakened to a tropical storm on Saturday, dropping up to 24 inches of rain on Houston in 24 hours.

The National Weather Service reported that at least five people had died as of Sunday evening, but that number was expected to increase as the floodwaters recede. More than 30,000 people across the Gulf Coast are likely to seek temporary shelter as the tropical storm continues to drench southeastern Texas and Louisiana with heavy rains and surging floodwaters, The Times reported.

Toronto native Drake, who has lived in Houston for the last eight years, said that he and DJ Future the Prince are working with local relief groups “to aid and assist the people of Texas in anyway we can and in the most immediate way possible.”

“I also want to thank all the men and women of service and volunteers for their courageous efforts to help people in need,” the rapper said on Instagram. “I encourage everyone to do what they can to assist the people of Texas knowing whatever effort you can make to help will go a long way.”

Also, during the MTV Video Music Awards Awards on Sunday, host Katy Perry touched upon the catastrophic event. She too urged viewers to donate to the Red Cross.

“All of us here at the VMAs are sending love to the people of southeastern Texas and everyone affected by Hurricane Harvey right now,” Perry said onstage. “We’re praying for your safety in the days to come and we stand with you as you rebuild because we’re all in this together.”

According to the Houston Chronicle, more than 15 inches of rain could fall on several more southeastern Texas cities. Corpus Christi, where Harvey first made landfall, saw upward of 20 inches of rain in two days. By Monday morning, up to 40 inches of rain had fallen on northeast Houston. Another 20 inches were expected Monday before Tropical Storm Harvey travels farther east.

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Shania Twain turns 52 today

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

I want people to be getting to know me for what I am, and the best way to do that is through my songs. When they’re coming from your head and it’s your creativity, it’s as real as it gets and it’s as true to you as an artist as it gets.

— Shania Twain, 1996

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Q & A with SHANIA TWAIN: ‘I Want People to Be Getting to Know Me for What I Am’

Share

Susan Bro, mother of slain Charlottesville protester Heather Heyer, announces anti-hate foundation at the MTV VMAs

(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

During an evening filled with defiant messages against racism, homophobia and body shaming, the mother of Heather Heyer announced some concrete actions to further the cause.

Susan Bro, whose daughter was killed two weeks ago during protests in Charlottesville, Va., has worked through her grief by speaking out against racism, and took a further step by creating the Heather Heyer Foundation.

Describing it as “a nonprofit organization that will provide scholarships to help more people to join Heather’s fight against hatred,” Bro requested that viewers visit the new site “to help me make Heather’s death count.”

Added Bro: “Heather never marched alone. She was always joined by people from every race and every background in this country.”

Bro was introduced by Robert Lee IV -- a descendant of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee -- who said his ancestor has became of idol of white supremacy and hate. Lee went on to describe racism as America’s “original sin.”

He went on to ask all of those with privilege to confront white supremacy and racism “head-on.”

Watch his speech below.

Share
Advertisement

Watch Pink’s inspiring MTV VMA speech to individuality

In receiving her Video Vanguard award at the MTV VMAs on Sunday at the Forum -- the show’s equivalent of a lifetime achievement trophy -- the pop star Pink told a story about a conversation she’d recently had with her young daughter.

They were driving to school and her daughter said, “Mama, I’m the ugliest girl I know.”

Pink replied, “Huh?”

“And she was like, ‘Yeah, I look like a boy with long hair.’” Pink said that she immediately thought, “My god, you’re 6. Where is this coming from?”

The artist and mom didn’t lecture her daughter.

Instead, said Pink: “I went home and made a PowerPoint presentation for her, and in that presentation were androgynous rock stars and artists that live their truth; are probably made fun of every day of their lives and carry on and wave their flag; and inspire the rest of us.

“These are artists like Michael Jackson and David Bowie and Freddie Mercury and Annie Lennox and Prince and Janis Joplin and George Michael, Elton John, so many artists.”

Pink said that her daughter’s eyes glazed over, but Pink pressed her about why she felt that way about herself. “‘What do you think I look like?’ She said, ‘You’re beautiful.’”

The pop singer explained that she gets critiqued, too.

“They say I look like a boy or I’m too masculine or I’m too -- I have too many opinions. My body is too strong.

“I said to her, ‘Do you see me growing my hair?’ She said ‘No Mama.’ I said, ‘Do you see me changing my body?’ She said, ‘No Mama.’ Do you see me changing the way I present myself to the world? ‘No Mama.’ Do you see me selling out arenas all over the world. ‘Yes Mama.’

“OK baby girl. We don’t change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so that they can see more kinds of beauty.”

Added Pink in closing: “To all the artists here, I’m so inspired by you. Thank you for being your true selves and for lighting the way for us.”

Share

Watch Jared Leto offer touching tribute to Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington at the MTV VMAs

In a moving tribute to two fallen musicians, the actor and musician Jared Leto honored the lives of Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park at the MTV VMAs on Sunday. Cornell and Bennington committed suicide in 2017, and Leto was friends with both.

“In 1976 in Phoenix, Ariz., a child was born. He was precocious, full of life, and determined, and grew up to become the singer of one of the greatest rock bands in the history of music,” Leto said. “His name was Chester Bennington, and the band is Linkin Park.”

Leto added that MTV asked him to say a few words about Bennington and Cornell, who he described as “two artists that I had the absolute pleasure of touring with. They were close friends with one another -- Chester even singing the cover of the classic ‘Hallelujah’ at Chris’ funeral.”

Recalling Bennington’s words at Cornell’s funeral service, Leto said: “Chester said of Chris, ‘Your voice was joy and pain and anger and forgiveness, love and heartache all wrapped up into one.’ Just weeks later, Chester himself was gone. Chester was my friend. As he was to so many. Witnessing his life taught me important things -- especially about working relentlessly, pursuing dreams and being kind and caring while doing it.”

Share
Advertisement

Kodak Black, Lil Uzi Vert and more steal the MTV VMA spotlight

Kodak Black arriving at the MTV VMAs.
Kodak Black arriving at the MTV VMAs.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press)

The line near a concession stand inside the Forum minutes before the MTV VMAs kicked off on Sunday was lengthy, but no one was waiting on food or drinks.

Instead, a dozen or so folks waited patiently to get a selfie with Kodak Black, who high-fived and posed with as fans fumbled with smartphones.

The VMAs are typically rife with heavyweights (Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry, etc.) but this year’s ceremony looked to tap into the wide scene of rising acts that have been dominating streaming services and social media all summer.

Before the telecast even began Lil Uzi Vert clinched a major win, taking the trophy for song of summer for “XO Tour Llif3” and he later joined Ed Sheeran for the tune, no doubt the night’s most surprising collaboration.

Meanwhile, Khalid’s pre-show medley could have easily anchored the main show while reality star turned breakout rap sensation Cardi B was another highlight of the pre-show festivities. Her viral hit “Bodak Yellow” rattled throughout the Forum during nearly every commercial break.

Fifth Harmony later made its debut at the VMAs with an explosive main stage performance of “Down,” a song that also won the award for pop video.

Share

Jack Antonoff is living his best life at the MTV VMAs

Jack Antonoff performs onstage during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show.
(Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images)

Has anyone at MTV’s Video Music Awards had more screen time so far than Jack Antonoff?

First the A-list producer and songwriter turned up on the night’s pre-show ceremony for a performance with his band Bleachers.

Then he introduced Lorde by noting that he’d seen her eat gas-station sushi during the two years they spent together working on her album “Melodrama.”

He also accepted the award for best collaboration — for Taylor Swift and Zayn’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker),” which he helped create — because the singers couldn’t be there.

But Antonoff’s best moment?

Obviously the candid reaction shot in which he was shown “casually eating a banana,” as his girlfriend, Lena Dunham, described it on Twitter.

Share
Advertisement

Watch Taylor Swift’s bold ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ video, which premiered during the MTV VMAs

Taylor Swift’s new video for “Look What You Made Me Do,” which premiered during the 2017 MTV VMAs on Sunday night, features her dressed as a zombie, a diamond-drenched queen, a red-dressed seductress, a car-crash victim, a bird in a cage, a kitty-masked thief with a baseball bat, a biker chick wearing studded leather and a whip-snapping dominatrix.

As she poses and pretends, Swift makes a not-so-veiled reference to her ongoing feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, getting all combative behind the microphone as a feather-light melody jumps behind her.

The video premiered during a ceremony hosted by pop star and avowed Swift nemesis Katy Perry. Perry didn’t introduce the clip, a hint that the two probably still aren’t besties. Inside the Forum, the video premiered on multiple big screen TVs rose that from the stage, and Perry was nowhere in sight.

As the clip seems to be winding down, the music fades. But Swift hasn’t fully made her point. In its final moments arrive a dozen-odd versions of Swift standing in front of a black private jet with the name of her new album, “Reputation,” scrawled on it.

The many Swifts start bickering and referencing the various criticisms that have been lobbied at her over the years. “Stop making that face, it’s so annoying,” the zombie Swift says, a nod to what some believe is the exaggerated excitement the artist shows when she wins awards.

A young version of Swift interrupts with an innocent “Y’all!” but is shot down by an embittered Swift: “Oh stop acting like you’re so nice. You’re so fake!”

Standing in the center of the line is Swift seemingly dressed as she was at the 2009 VMAs, when West interrupted her victory speech to decry Beyoncé’s loss.

Holding her VMA trophy, she says, “I’d like very much to be excluded from this narrative,” both a nod to to the musical “Hamilton” and a repeat of a phrase Swift posted on social media in wake of controversy resulting from West’s song “Famous.” In that 2016 tune, he he boasted that “I made that [profanity] famous” and, therefore, that he and Swift “might still have sex.”

The other Swifts reply in unison: “Oh shut up!”

Share

Kendrick Lamar opens 2017 VMAs with fiery performances of ‘DNA’ and ‘Humble’

Wearing a red scarf on his head and a poofy winter coat onstage, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar opened the 2017 MTV VMAs needing neither.

Within a few minutes of launching with “DNA” a dancer center stage burst into flames. You could almost feel the heat simmering through the screen.

“I was born like this, since one like this,” Lamar rapped. “Immaculate conception/I transform like this, perform like this.”

Perform he did, moving into a second track, “Humble,” from his recent album “Damn.”

Shedding the coat, he stood in front of a fiery backdrop grid that burned as dancers scaled it. As they did so, Lamar rapped, “My left stroke just went viral/Right stroke put lil’ baby in a spiral.”

It was the opening shot of a VMAs in which politics and protest may end up taking center stage. Indeed, moments later presenter Paris Jackson drew a rousing applause when she denounced the racism and hatred propogated by white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

Share
Advertisement

Heidi Klum, Jack Antonoff and others stand in support of transgender military service members at VMAs

As the 2017 Video Music Awards were approaching, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was out in full force at the Forum. Its president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, walked the red carpet along with her invited guests: six transgender members of the military.

The action came in the wake of President Donald Trump’s direction to the Pentagon on Friday, as reported in The Times, “to ‘return to the long-standing policy and practice’ barring military service by transgender individuals.”

Praising MTV as a pioneering advocate for the LGBTQ community, Ellis said in a statement, “Throughout all the tweets, memos, and speculation, brave transgender Americans are still serving their country and defending the freedoms of this nation while meeting the same rigorous standards of their peers. We are proud to stand with them.”

Posing in support: musicians and celebrities including Jack Antonoff (Bleachers), supermodel Heidi Klum, actor-comedian Billy Eichner and others, who stood alongside transgender service members including Jennifer Peace, Logan Ireland, Sterling James Crutcher and Akira Wyatt, as well as trans veterans Laila Ireland and Brynn Tannehil.

Also joining them was LGBTQ philanthropist August Getty, who in his other life is a fashion designer responsible for Miley Cyrus’s red carpet dress.

Share

MTV VMAs return to Southern California with an overwhelmingly impressive setup

Cardi B performing at the pre-show for the MTV VMAs.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

After heading to the East Coast last year, the MTV VMAs have returned to Southern California. And tonight at the Forum in Inglewood, it was clear that the network decided to go big — huge really.

Upon arrival to the venue it appeared that the scale of this year’s show was unlike anything MTV had done in recent history.

A structure that looked like a space shuttle swallowed the lot in front of the venue, and stars such as Cardi B and Big Freedia could be seen pumping through the red carpet (it’s a deep shade of blue this year).

Inside the Forum, the stage took up the entirety of the venue’s ground floor.

The imprint of the stage was impressive, even overwhelming in size as a maze of catwalks and secondary stages traced the floor, all of which was outlined by hundreds of glowing triangles and projection screens.

It made for a futuristic playground of geometric glowing shapes that show opener Kendrick Lamar put to use immediately as he emerged from the center of the venue for the explosive “DNA,” strutting through half of the venue before making it to the main stage.

Share
Advertisement

A look back at the long saga of house Stark on ‘Game of Thrones’

Together again at last. Well, almost. This season of “Game of Thrones” featured a family reunion fans have been awaiting for years. But will the finale finally bring the whole gang back together?

With Arya’s (Maisie Williams) arrival at Winterfell, all of the surviving siblings of House Stark have now made their way back to their childhood home. And the journey has not been easy for any of them.

Since their separation Arya has become a trained assassin on a mission to kill all who have wronged her family, Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) is now the magical Three-Eyed Raven who can travel across time through his visions, and Sansa (Sophie Turner), the only Stark who really understands the actual game of thrones, got revenge on her abusive husband by feeding him to his dogs.

Of course their “half-brother” Jon Snow (Kit Harington), who is now the King in the North, was absent for Bran’s and Arya’s arrivals. Jon, who has died and been brought back to life, is busy bringing back evidence from “beyond the wall” but hopefully soon they will all be together again.

But until then here’s a look back at the Starks’ (and Stark-Targaryen’s) journey these past few years.

Check out the full Stark family family gallery here >>>

More “Game of Thrones” finale madness:

The very best “Game of Thrones” fan theories

Apparently all the great secrets of Westeros are just sitting there at the library

Your favorite character may have survived ‘Game of Thrones,’ but for how much longer?

Maisie Williams, Michelle Fairley and Sophie Turner in 2013.
(Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times)

PHOTOS: A photo gallery of the very best “Game of Thrones” LA Times portraits

‘Game of Thrones’’ Gendry talks birther fan theories and the big drama behind the wall

WATCH: ‘Game of Thrones’ cast reveals who they’re cheering for... and it’s anyone but Arya Stark

Share

John Carpenter, Stephen King and more horror world greats react to the death of Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper
(Ian West / Associated Press)

The horror film genre not only attracts a devoted audience, but also dedicated filmmakers and writers who make the form their specialty. So the outpouring of sympathy and reactions to the death of Tobe Hooper, director of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Poltergeist” were strong within the horror community. The likes of William Friedkin, John Carpenter, Stephen King and more took to Twitter to offer their condolences and remembrances.

Share
Advertisement

Taylor Swift breaks YouTube record with ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ video

Taylor Swift set a YouTube record with the lyric video for her new single “Look What You Made Me Do,” tallying 19 million views in just the first 24 hours.

That’s more than double the previous first-day record for a lyric video, which was set in February by the lyric video for the Chainsmokers’ “Something Just Like This” featuring Coldplay, which registered 9 million views upon its release.

It’s also the best 24-hour figure Swift has logged, besting the first-day result for her 2015 official video for “Bad Blood,” which attracted 17 million views, and has since totaled more than 1.1 billion views.

As of Sunday morning, the tally for “Look What You Made Me Do” had surpassed 35 million.

It sets the stage for the premiere tonight of Swift’s official video for the new single, which will be introduced during the MTV Video Music Awards Ceremony, taking place at the Forum in Inglewood.

The overall record for viewership in the first 24 hours for any music video belongs to Adele, who registered 27.7 million views in 2015 at the premiere of the official video for her song “Hello.”

Share

Why William Friedkin called Tobe Hooper’s ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ an Umami Burger of a movie

Director Tobe Hooper, who died in Los Angeles on Saturday at age 74, created many movies and TV shows during his long career — including stepping to helm the filming of “Poltergeist” when Steven Spielberg was contractually banned from directing other films during the production of “ET: The Extra Terrestrial.”

Hooper’s most admired film, of course, was 1974’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” In 2014, on the occasion of the film’s 40th anniversary, “The Exorcist” director William Friedkin interviewed Hooper before an overflow audience at Los Angeles’ Vista theater. During the engaging conversation, Friedkin called Hooper “one of the sweetest, nicest guys I’ve ever known.” And then added, “So I often wonder where this stuff comes from.”

Hooper talked about purposely pitting his actors against each other to keep the on-screen tension high, how an unlikely pair of albums — Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and Lou Reed’s “Berlin” — inspired him during the writing of the screenplay, and about “how damn strong women are,” referring to the resilent character played by Marilyn Burns. “She’s just not going to die.”

At one point, Friedkin provocatively asked, “Do you think this is a work of art?”

Hooper first asked, “Should I be modest?” before responding with a salty confirmation, “It’s a ... work of art.”

The Times’ Mark Olsen was there for the interview. At the end of his article, there’s this affirmation of the film from Friedkin: “No 3-D, no CGI, welcome to this Umami Burger of a movie.” Read on to find his reasoning.

Read More

Share
Advertisement

Cinefamily suspends all activities in wake of sexual misconduct allegations

The Cinefamily on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.
The Cinefamily on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Following the resignations Tuesday of two leadership figures at Cinefamily, the Los Angeles independent film venue has announced that it is temporarily suspending all activities to “allow for the investigation and necessary restructure of management and the board.”

“Recently, claims were made alleging improper behavior by one of more members of the organization,” reads a release posted on the organization’s website and social media pages. “The Board of Directors of The Cinefamily has no tolerance for any form of behavior that does not conform to the high standards demanded by our members and staff and that of common human decency.”

The letter also says that Cinefamily is bringing on “an independent third party, Giles Miller at Lynx Insights & Investigations, to conduct a thorough investigation” into the allegations.

A spokesperson for the theater could not immediately be reached for comment.

The announcement comes in the wake of two high profile exits: co-founder and executive creative director, Hadrian Belove, and vice president of its board of directors, Shadie Elnashai, resigned on Tuesday following allegations of sexual misconduct. The exits were announced in postings on Cinefamily’s social media accounts.

“In light of recent events, Shadie Elnashai has resigned from Cinefamily’s Board of Directors and Hadrian Belove has resigned as the Executive Creative Director of Cinefamily,” read the statement.

Addressing the anonymous allegations in a post to his personal Facebook account following his resignation, Belove described the email’s contents as “demonstrable lies and half-truths, and allegations without known victims.”

It is not clear whether screenings currently scheduled will still run, and there has been grumbling by monthly billed members as to whether or not automated charges will be suspended or cancelled.

Share

‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ director Tobe Hooper dies in Los Angeles at 74

Tobe Hooper, the horror-movie pioneer whose low-budget sensation “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” took a buzz saw to audiences with its brutally frightful vision, has died. He was 74.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says Hooper died Saturday in Sherman Oaks. It was reported as a natural death.

Hooper and contemporaries like George Romero crafted some of the scariest nightmares that ever haunted moviegoers. He directed 1982’s “Poltergeist” from a script by Steven Spielberg and was behind the 1979 miniseries “Salem’s Lot,” based on the Stephen King novel.

Read More

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Paul Reubens turns 65 today

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

I’ve seen a lot of sides of fame. I’ve seen the dark side and the light side, lots of the in-between stuff to it.

— Paul Reubens, 2010

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Pee-wee Herman is back at the playhouse

Share

Is Taylor Swift trying to turn off her listeners?

We can skip the rundown of Taylor Swift’s feud with Kanye West, right?

Less than 24 hours after the world’s biggest pop star unleashed her new single on a waiting commentariat, I’m already exhausted by the idea of having to read (let alone write) yet another rehash of this deeply tiresome conflict.

But you know who’s not over it?

Taylor Swift.

In “Look What You Made Me Do” — released online Thursday night as the lead single from a new album, “Reputation,” due in November — the singer sounds positively fired up as she takes whack after brutal whack at the rapper who once interrupted her at an awards show. (Swift doesn’t name West, to be clear, but with her reference to a “tilted stage,” she doesn’t need to.)

“I don’t like your perfect crime / How you laugh when you lie,” she seethes over a throbbing electronic groove, “You said the gun was mine / Isn’t cool — no, I don’t like you.”

Later in the tune, which Swift created with Jack Antonoff, she pretends to answer a phone call from someone evidently looking for “the old Taylor” — the sucker, you presume, who might’ve let bygones be bygones.

But she can’t come to the phone, Swift tells the caller.

“Why?” she adds. “Oh, ’cause she’s dead.”

What’s surprising about “Look What You Made Me Do” — beyond the harsh industrial production that makes it feel like Swift’s response to her enemy’s “Yeezus” — is that it suggests the singer no longer cares (or is no longer able to tell) what pop fans want.

Swift rose to superstardom by anticipating listeners’ desires; she knew just when to pivot from acoustic guitars to sleek synthesizers, from the fairy-tale romance of early hits like “Love Story” to the more grown-up depiction found on her last album, 2014’s smash “1989.”

On tour behind that record, she spent a good portion of her show every night telling the members of her audience how closely she’d been paying attention to them.

But dredging up Taylor v. Kanye again? I mean, I can’t be the only one who’s sick of this topic — something Swift would’ve known a few years ago without even having to think about it.

OK, so she hardly lacks for company among A-listers eager to cook expired beef. Earlier this summer Katy Perry revived her ancient tussle with Swift — I believe it had something to do with backup dancers? — for “Swish Swish.”

But Perry’s song takes delight in its own pettiness, whereas “Look What You Made Me Do” just makes me think of President Trump whining endlessly about fake news. (Crediting Right Said Fred for the song’s supposed debt to “I’m Too Sexy” is funny in writing, but the inspiration adds little humor to the dour music.)

Maybe Swift isn’t aiming for me, though. Maybe this polarizing song is meant to galvanize her base — which, sure enough, is rhapsodizing about the track on social media — even at the expense of the wider world she’s dominated for much of the last decade.

If that’s her play, it’s a wild one, especially coming after her powerful testimony during the recent trial regarding her alleged sexual assault at the hands of a Denver radio DJ.

In court, Swift appeared driven to speak with a voice loud enough for others. Now, just days later, she seems uninterested in that job.

Have we ever seen a pop star so happily give up a portion of her following?

That’s an idea I’m not tired of considering.

Maybe “Reputation” will take it up.

Share
Advertisement

Concerts by Coldplay, other acts canceled as Hurricane Harvey nears Texas

Coldplay performs at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in 2016.
(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

As the potentially devastating Hurricane Harvey approaches the Texas coast, major acts including Coldplay, Lady Antebellum and Mary J. Blige have canceled or rescheduled their Houston-area concerts.

Coldplay on Friday postponed a show scheduled for NRG Stadium in Houston.

“We really wanted to play tonight, but sitting here all together watching the news about the storm, we feel that we can’t ask anyone to put their safety at risk. So, sadly, we will have to postpone,” the band wrote.

Live Nation Houston said ticket-holders would be updated when there was further information. “We urge all fans in the area to stay safe,” it said. A makeup date has not yet been scheduled.

The country trio Lady Antebellum canceled its Sunday show at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands, citing the storm.

Blige postponed her Friday show at the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land. The venue announced that the concert had been rescheduled to Sept. 19.

The Category 3 storm, which would be the first major hurricane to hit the United States since 2005, is expected to make landfall in coastal Texas on Saturday morning, bringing 100-mph winds and up to 35 inches of rain in some areas.

Share

‘Bachelor’ couple Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi break off their engagement

(Leon Bennett / Getty Images)

Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi, who got engaged on the most recent season of “The Bachelor,” have — “with a great amount of heartbreak” — called the whole thing off.

“We gave this relationship our all and we are saddened that we did not get the fairytale ending we hoped for,” they said Friday in a statement to E! News.

The relationship lasted five months after the proposal aired on the Season 21 finale of “The Bachelor” in March.

The two said in their statement that they’re parting “with love and admiration” for one another.

The silver lining to what they called a difficult decision? This means Nick is potentially available for yet another TV stint in the “Bachelor/Bachelorette” franchise. That as-yet-imaginary gig would be his fifth ride on the looking-for-love roller coaster.

In Bachelor Nation, it’s always good to dream.

Share
Advertisement

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher settle lawsuit over website’s photos of their kids

(Michael Nelson / EPA)

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ legal battle with British website MailOnline has been settled.

The “Two and a Half Men” actor, the “Bad Moms” actress and the outlet “have reached a satisfactory resolution of their legal action” regarding the publication of photos of their children, their legal representatives said in a joint statement to The Times on Friday.

The couple, who starred in “That ‘70s Show” together years before they began dating, took the website’s publisher, Associated Newspapers, to London’s High Court in July 2015 over two articles featuring their daughter, who was 1 at the time.

The U.K.’s MailOnline.com published images of Wyatt taken during a private family outing to the beach. A paparazzo used a long-lens camera to obtain the images, and the couple said they were unaware the photos were being taken. They claimed that the photos breached the Data Protection Act and were used for the unauthorized promotion of clothing on the website.

[T]hey have reached a satisfactory resolution of their legal action, which includes an agreement to pixelate photographs of their daughter, Wyatt, their son, Dimitri, and any future children they should have together.

— Joint statement from Kutcher, Kunis and the MailOnline announcing their lawsuit settlement

Per the agreement announced Friday, the outlet will “pixelate photographs of Kutcher’s and Kunis’ daughter, Wyatt, their son, Dimitri, and any future children they should have together.”

The settlement is the latest legal blow to MailOnline and its associated newspaper, the Daily Mail. (The U.S. version of the website, DailyMail.com, is run by a separate news team.) In April, the tabloid’s parent company settled a libel suit with First Lady Melania Trump over an article it ran in the paper and online that suggested she may have once worked as an escort.

In July 2014, George Clooney lambasted the Daily Mail in a USA Today op-ed that accused it of “making up stories” in the wake of an article it published about his mother-in-law. He got an apology and an acknowledgement that the story was inaccurate.

That same month, Angelina Jolie reportedly threatened to take legal action after it published a video that claimed to show her under the influence of heroin in the 1990s.

Share

Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ lyrics: Let the analysis begin

As if there were any doubt as to the level of interest in Taylor Swift’s first new music in three years, her first single from her forthcoming album, “Reputation,” has been blowing up since it premiered Thursday night.

The lyric video for “Look What You Made Me Do” had logged more than 7 million views as of 9:30 a.m. Friday. Additionally, Swift tweeted that the official video for the song will premiere Sunday during the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony.

For those who want to dig in and attempt to decode what and to whom the “I don’t like you” references might refer, here are the full lyrics to the song:

‘Look What You Made Me Do’

FIRST VERSE

I don’t like your little games

Don’t like your tilted stage

The role you made me play

Of the fool, no, I don’t like you

I don’t like your perfect crime

How you laugh when you lie

You said the gun was mine

Isn’t cool, no, I don’t like you

PRE-CHORUS

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time

Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time

I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined

I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!

CHORUS

Ooh, look what you made me do

Look what you made me do

Look what you just made me do

Look what you just made me do

Ooh, look what you made me do

Look What you made me do

Look what you just made me do

Look what you just made me do

SECOND VERSE

I don’t like your kingdom keys

They once belonged to me

You ask for a place to sleep

Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)

The world goes on, another day, another drama, drama

But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma

And then the world moves on, but one thing’s for sure

Baby, I got mine, but you’ll all get yours

PRE CHORUS REPEATS

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time

Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time

I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined

I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!

CHORUS REPEATS

Ooh, look what you made me do

Look what you made me do

Look what you just made me do

Look what you just made me do

Ooh, look what you made me do

Look what you made me do

Look what you just made me do

Look what you just made me do

THIRD VERSE

I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me

I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

(Look what you made me do)

(Look what you made me do)

ANSWERING MACHINE INTERLUDE

“I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now.”

“Why?”

“Oh ’cause she’s dead!”

CHORUS REPEATS

Ooh, look what you made me do

Look what you made me do

Look what you just made me do

Look what you just made me do

Ooh, look what you made me do

Look what you made me do

Look what you just made me do

Look what you just made me do

Share
Advertisement

Patty Jenkins isn’t surprised James Cameron doesn’t get ‘Wonder Woman’

“Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins has some words about James Cameron’s comments on the Amazonian warrior goddess: Of course he doesn’t get it.

Following the “Avatar” director’s claims that “Wonder Woman” is a “step backwards” for women, Jenkins responded in a tweet that Cameron’s thoughts are “unsurprising” because he “is not a woman.”

In an interview with the Guardian, Cameron threw some shade on “Wonder Woman’s” success by trying to compare Diana Prince to Sarah Connor from his “Terminator” franchise.

“[Sarah Connor] was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit,” Cameron said. Nothing like the “objectified” “beauty icon” he considers Wonder Woman to be.

Jenkins points out that Cameron’s narrow qualifications for what makes a “good” female hero are restrictive and not at all progressive.

“If women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren’t free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven’t come very far have we,” Jenkins wrote.

Jenkins also insisted that there should be room for all types of female lead characters and that women themselves should be the judge of these “icons of progress.”

“There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman,” she wrote.

Read Jenkins’ full statement below.

Share

Alec Baldwin reprises his Trump impression, bids farewell to Bannon on ‘Weekend Update’

With “Saturday Night Live” on hiatus, Alec Baldwin has been able to enjoy a mostly bronzer-free summer. But on Thursday the actor dutifully pursed his lips and broke out the orange wig to reprise his impression of President Trump on “Weekend Update: Summer Edition.”

Baldwin spoofed Tuesday’s freewheeling, factually challenged rally in Phoenix, where Trump repeatedly condemned the press and defended his Charlottesville, Va., comments by pretending as if he’d never uttered the phrase “both sides.”

“People ask me, why are you doing a rally only eight months in? Folks, it’s never too early to campaign for 2020,” said Baldwin-as-Trump. “Mike Pence is already doing it.”

Describing himself as the “tragic victim” of the events in Charlottesville, the faux president complained that the media was treating him unfairly “by reporting my entire remarks — even the bad ones.”

He also boasted that he was willing to ask the hard questions about Afghanistan, such as, “Which one is Afghanistan?”

Throughout the bit, Kenan Thompson provided commentary as the guy holding the “Blacks for Trump” sign (and later a “Cash 4 Gold” sign).

Finally, Baldwin’s Trump gave a fond sendoff to the Grim Reaper, a.k.a. controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was axed last week.

“Steve is going on to Breitbart, where he’ll be fighting the good fight against globalist cucks,” said the faux president, “like my son-in-law Jared Kushner.”

Share
Advertisement

Ryan Gosling, Jay-Z to open ‘Saturday Night Live’ Season 43

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Hey, girl, Ryan Gosling is hosting “Saturday Night Live” again.

The “Blade Runner 2049” star will be joined by musical guest Jay-Z for the Season 43 opener on Sept. 30, the NBC show announced on Twitter.

The Oscar-nominated “La La Land” star last hosted the show in December 2015, when he was promoting “The Big Short.” He giggled his way through his opening monologue and an alien abduction sketch featuring Kate McKinnon. Gosling will make his return appearance before “Blade Runner 2049” opens Oct. 6.

Jay-Z, who has appeared on the show a number of times before, is expected to perform music from his dishy “4:44” album that dropped in June.

The sketch comedy show has enjoyed a surge in ratings over the past year, thanks to Alec Baldwin’s impressions of President Trump and the show’s scathing take on the political climate. “SNL” is up for 22 Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, tying with HBO’s “Westworld” for the most nominations this year.

Share

A Star Is Born: Alexander Skarsgard turns 41 today

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Being followed is weird. That people want to discuss where I ate lunch or what I wear when I go to lunch … the private life is just gone. That’s a little tough. It’s quite different in Sweden. We don’t have paparazzi following you in Sweden. You’re allowed to have a private life in Sweden in a different way.

— Alexander Skarsgard, 2011

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Alexander Skarsgard gets some added bite from ‘True Blood’

Share
Advertisement

The Internet goes off after Taylor Swift drops her new song

She’s back and she’s different.

Taylor Swift dropped her new single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” showing us a new version of herself and giving the Internet another trending topic Thursday night.

She teased fans this week when she posted a video of a snake on her Instagram. Later, she announced that a new album, “Reputation” was coming and the new single would be unveiled tonight.

The aggressive song seems to throw some shade at Kanye West with the lyric: “I don’t like your little games / Don’t like your tilted stage.”

(Remember when Kanye West dissed her in his track “Famous,” referring to Swift, “I made that ... famous” and they “might still have sex”?)

Yep, people noticed.

The single comes three years after “1989,” which racked up awards left and right.

But not everyone was a fan of her new song, or her new attitude.

Still, the Swifties came out to praise her return — including the new promo for “Grey’s Anatomy”?

Hate it or love it, Swift’s new song is only adding to her reputation.

Share

James Cameron thinks ‘Wonder Woman’s’ success is ‘misguided’: ‘She’s an objectified icon’

(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

James Cameron isn’t here for “Wonder Woman’s” blockbuster success. In fact, the moviemaker calls the much-loved superhero flick (“Wonder Woman” is currently at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes) a step back from the female heroes he created in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

It appears that the “Titanic” and “Terminator 2” director, whose films often put tough women at the center of the action, doesn’t think that Gal Gadot’s character was complicated or groundbreaking enough to merit so much acclaim -- $800 million at the worldwide box office aside.

“All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over ‘Wonder Woman’ has been so misguided. She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!” Cameron said in an interview with the Guardian.

All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over ‘Wonder Woman’ has been so misguided. She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing!

— Filmmaker James Cameron on ‘Wonder Woman’

The director, who was cast in the article as softened and evolved from his “bone-crushing” early movie-making days, believes that “Wonder Woman” was “a step backwards.” (Don’t get him wrong, he did like Patty Jenkins’ summer blockbuster -- the first-ever feature-film incarnation of the DC Comics heroine and the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman -- just not enough to let it pass without throwing a little shade Diana Prince’s way.)

“Backwards” in comparison with Cameron’s complex Sarah Connor character from the “Terminator” franchise.

“Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!” Cameron said.

The three-time Oscar winner’s remarks ignited a firestorm on Twitter. Users found the director’s comments disappointing and cited his spotty track record with women.

It should be noted that the toughness and grit Cameron mentions isn’t exactly what Jenkins was going for in her film. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

“Just let her be Wonder Woman, protector and goddess of love,” Jenkins told The Times in May. “She’s pretty simple. She is like the parallel of Superman. She’s good, she means well, she’s kind, she’s loving.”

As for for the beauty icon snub, maybe Cameron missed the part when Jenkins explained, “It’s not the male gaze that’s made little girls buy princess dolls for all these years. They’re into it. And so we’re into it. Who’s been the fan base that’s kept Wonder Woman alive all these years? Women. So let her be every glorious thing that she is. Including hot and beautiful and sexy and loving and great and kind.”

Coincidentally, “Wonder Woman” star Gadot, a former beauty pageant queen, touched upon her character’s femininity in a Rolling Stone interview published the same day as Cameron’s Guardian story. It was crucial to her and Jenkins that the hero remain feminine and strong because of — and in spite of — her being a woman.

“I didn’t want to play the cold-hearted warrior. We didn’t want to fall into the cliches,” Gadot said. “We didn’t want to treat the misogyny in a preaching way. We wanted to surprise the audience.”

And no doubt someone is in for a surprise if they check the tweet backs on Cameron’s Twitter feed this afternoon.

Share
Advertisement

Jimmy Kimmel says he’s ‘made peace’ with Jay Leno and it’s all because of his newborn son

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Jimmy Kimmel has staunchly been Team Letterman in the storied rivalry between former “Late Show” host David Letterman and his “Tonight Show” rival Jay Leno.

For years, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host has traded barbs with Leno, who was infamously favored as Johnny Carson’s successor despite Letterman having been groomed for the post.

However, Kimmel recently said that he and Leno “have made peace” in their sub-feud.

“After my son had his operation, he called me and he was very nice,” Kimmel said in the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.

This, after years of the Letterman sympathizer grousing about and insulting Leno. Conversely, Leno has blamed Kimmel’s “mean streak” for lower ratings.

Things changed for Kimmel after he spoke about his son, Billy, in May. Billy was born with a heart defect and underwent heart surgery as a newborn to correct it. Kimmel shared the harrowing saga in a tearful opening monologue that will likely go down as one of his show’s most memorable moments (sorry, Matt Damon).

Kimmel, who’s up for two awards at the Primetime Emmys next month, received an outpouring of support for his candor and support for the Affordable Care Act, which Congress was considering replacing at the time.

It’s a moment he had no regrets about, he said.

“I felt like I had to say something about it,” Kimmel added, despite hearing from “a lot of lunatics” after that.

Make that lunatics and Leno.

Share

Trevor Noah takes on Trump’s Phoenix rally, while Andra Day strikes a nerve through song

In comedy, timing is everything. And sometimes the timing that works in your favor is still being on the job while most of your competitors are on vacation.

With Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers all on late-summer break, “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” essentially has the latest Trump news all to itself. So Wednesday night, Noah took on President Trump’s campaign-like rally in Phoenix the previous day.

“Seeing as Trump won Arizona, it’s no surprise that the rally was packed,” Noah said over footage of the rally. “There was a line around the block like somebody was releasing a racist sneaker.”

Noah then showed a montage of Trump’s animated speech, which included his blaming “one vote” for the failure of his administration’s healthcare replacement bill (a vote held by Arizona senator John McCain) and his threat to shut down the government if his long-promised border wall wasn’t built.

“What? Wait, what happened to ‘Mexico pays for the wall’?” Noah asked with mock outrage. “That’s the only reason I watch the rallies is to see the hits, you can’t just change the words to your song, Trump.”

But musical guest Andra Day arguably served up the evening’s most pointed commentary.

After speaking with Noah about the debate surrounding Confederate monuments and racial inequality alongside Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative, Day -- wearing broken handcuffs on each wrist -- offered a spare, haunting take on Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit.” She illustrated, poignantly, what America continues to grapple with after the recent violence in Charlottesville. Va.

Share
Advertisement

Linkin Park says an L.A. public memorial for Chester Bennington is in the works

Chester Bennington, shown in 2007, will be honored with a public memorial in Los Angeles, his Linkin Park bandmates announced.
(Walter Bieri / Associated Press)

Earlier this month, thousands of Linkin Park fans gathered in Los Angeles’ Grand Park for an impromptu memorial for Chester Bennington. The 41-year-old singer ended his life in July, and heartbroken admirers threw a memorial concert to honor his life and music.

Now there will be a more formal chance to say goodbye.

Linkin Park announced in a brief message Tuesday that the band is “working on a special public event in Los Angeles to honor Chester’s memory, and look forward to sharing details with you soon.” The band didn’t give any other information about a date or location.

But the outpouring of grief has reached the band members and Bennington’s family. The band also suggested they are considering how best to move forward in the wake of Bennington’s death.

Share

Katy Perry enlists Nicki Minaj, Molly Shannon and, um, Gronk for new ‘Swish Swish’ video

Just days before hosting the MTV Video Music Awards at the Forum in Inglewood, Katy Perry is out with a lively new video of her own.

The new clip for “Swish Swish” — a highlight from her new album, “Witness,” which has received mixed reviews — takes its titular onomatopoeia seriously. Perry and Nicki Minaj join up with a basketball team of super-talented weirdos (including “Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo), who then move into even wackier “Space Jam” territory.

The pop star plays Katy “Kobe” Perry, the hapless ringleader of a ragtag group of basketball players, amid cameos by actress Molly Shannon, competitive eater Joey Chestnut and New England Patriots tight end Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski.

The Times’ Mikael Wood said in his review of “Witness” that “however petty its inspiration, ‘Swish Swish’ is a delight as Perry rhymes ‘another one in the basket’ with ‘another one in the casket’ over Duke Dumont’s thrusting ’90s-house beat.”

Perry is hitting the road with Carly Rae Jepsen and Purity Ring, including three nights at Staples Center, in November.

Share
Advertisement

Lady Gaga teases to ‘Five Foot Two’ documentary: ‘They will leave, and then I’ll be alone’

Lady Gaga still knows how to bring the drama, if teasers to “Lady Gaga: Five Foot Two,” a new documentary about her life, are any indication.

“I’m known for being larger than life, but really I’m just ... #GagaFiveFootTwo,” she tweeted Thursday morning, ahead of three clips and a poster for Netflix’s doc.

One tease shows her ascending on cables toward Houston’s NRG Stadium rafters in preparation for her over-the-top Super Bowl halftime show entrance; in another, she sits in a doctor’s exam room, hearing about treatment options — including a “component of psych” — presumably for her chronic pain.

“I’m alone, Brandon, every night. And all these people will leave. Right? They will leave, and then I’ll be alone,” she sobs to designer-stylist Brandon Maxwell in the third. “And I go from everyone touching me all day, and talking at me all day, to total silence.”

“Lady Gaga: Five Foot Two” premieres Sept. 24 on Netflix.

For the record, 10:33 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl show was at the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. It was in Houston.

Share

Yes, George R.R. Martin watches ‘Game of Thrones.’ No, he’s not caught up on Season 7

In another ice-javelin throw to the heart, “Song of Ice and Fire” readers won’t be getting another Westeros fix for a while. That’s because author George R.R. Martin’s Sunday nights are dedicated to watching “Game of Thrones” -- just like the rest of us. Though the author admits he’s a bit behind on the show’s current season.

“During his trip abroad he didn’t watch any television — so he’s behind on ‘Thrones’’ current seventh season,” Martin’s team said in an e-mail to Entertainment Weekly.

Martin, whose epic books are the source material for HBO’s fantasy drama, cleared up earlier reports that said he wasn’t up on the television adaptation because he was busy writing his next book, “The Winds of Winter.” Some headlines indicated that he didn’t watch the series at all.

The Hugo- and Emmy Award-winning author suspects he was misquoted or something was lost in translation during interviews he gave at a fan convention in Russia, which touted the aforementioned headlines about his viewership.

Readers have been eagerly awaiting the sixth installment of the fantasy tomes that Martin first published in 1996. However, his writing pace has significantly slowed over the years, particularly since he began work on “Game of Thrones” back in 2011. He’s contributed to the series as a screenwriter and a co-executive producer and has remained a cheerleader of the show.

The 68-year-old has hinted that he might need to write an eighth book to wrap up his series. Meanwhile, he’s said to be heavily involved in the several spin-off projects HBO is developing after “Thrones” concludes with its eighth season. The show’s narrative has already outpaced the books and resulted in Martin deferring to “Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for questions on plot lines.

The 80-minute Season 7 finale of “Game of Thrones” airs Sunday.

Share
Advertisement

Amy Schumer says she doesn’t deserve to be paid the same as Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock

Amy Schumer admits her team didn’t settle for the first number Netflix floated for her comedy special, but she also says she didn’t “insist” or “demand” to be paid the same $20 million Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle reportedly got for theirs.

Her Instagram post explaining those nuances — the difference between asking and insisting, between “more” and “the same” — went up Wednesday after people on social media reacted badly to a Variety story about women and minorities still making less for TV work than white men do.

“She received significantly more compensation after she raised the question of fairness relative to the Rock and Chappelle deals,” the story said.

The primary complaint on social media? How dare Schumer put herself on the same level as two comedy legends.

The “Trainwreck” star, um, insisted that no, she hadn’t, despite her belief in equal pay for women.

“I don’t believe I deserve equal pay to Chris and Dave. They are legends and 2 of the greatest comics of all time,” she wrote, captioning a nearly naked photo of herself wearing only a thong and shielding her breasts with a puppy dressed as a hot dog.

In the Variety report, a source said Team Schumer went back to the negotiating table with Netflix and, in the trade paper’s words, “flatly asked for more money” to bring her paycheck for “The Leather Special” up from an initial $11-million offer.

That she had “insisted” on parity appears to have come when other outlets picked up that anecdote and ran with it. Other fodder for online comments: Schumer is a white woman; Rock and Chappelle are black men.

With more than a hint of sarcasm, the comic thanked people for “chiming in” on what they felt she deserved to be paid.

“I would like to say that I have been selling out arenas these last couple years. Something a female comic has never done. That’s a big deal to me, especially because I know I do my best every night on stage for the audience and they have a good time,” Schumer explained.

“I didn’t ask for the same as my friends. I did ask for more than the initial offer. I will continue to work my ass off and be the best performer I can be. The reports of me ‘demanding’ or ‘insisting’ on equal pay to them aren’t a true.”

Share

A Star Is Born: Dave Chappelle turns 44 today

(Tina Fineberg / For The Times)

Every black dude has a Conspiracy Brother in them. Listen to any barbershop conversation. That attitude, like, ‘I don’t know what the truth is, but I know it ain’t what they’re telling me.’

— Dave Chappelle, 2003

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A mind full of eccentrics

Share
Advertisement

Jane Goodall doc ‘Jane’ to screen at Hollywood Bowl with live Philip Glass score

Directed by Brett Morgen, the new documentary “Jane,” about the scientist Dr. Jane Goodall, will screen at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 9 with a live orchestral performance of its score composed by Philip Glass. Goodall, Morgen and Glass are all scheduled to attend.

“I wanted ‘Jane’ to be like a cinematic opera, and that idea led me to Philip Glass,” said Morgan in a statement. “There’s this almost dreamlike element to his score. The way the chimpanzees and all the other animals move in sync with the music. It’s a magical component to Jane’s romantic view of nature.”

“I’m extremely pleased that ‘Jane’ will be seen at the Hollywood Bowl with a live orchestral score,” said Glass, also in a statement. “What better way to experience this film and honor Jane Goodall’s contributions to society?”

The film draws from more than 100 hours of never-before-seen footage filmed by Hugo van Lawick, a National Geographic filmmaker who later married Goodall, the scientist known for her landmark studies of chimpanzees in the wild. The movie also includes new interviews with Goodall.

“Jane” is set to have its world premiere at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival before screening at the New York Film Festival.

Tickets for the Hollywood Bowl event go on sale on Friday at noon Pacific time through www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets, (800) 745-3000 and the Hollywood Bowl box office. One dollar from every ticket sold will be donated to the Jane Goodall Institute.

Share

Suspected terrorist plot prompts L.A. band Allah-Las to cancel Netherlands concert

A Netherlands concert featuring the L.A. rock band Allah-Las was canceled Wednesday after police uncovered a suspected terrorist plot.

Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said in a news conference that, after receiving a tip from Spanish police about a potential threat, police evacuated the concert at Maassilo, a music venue in a converted grain silo.

The mayor said that a van with Spanish license plates containing several gas canisters was stopped near the venue and that the driver was detained, but police did not offer further information about the threat. Reports out of Europe have indicated that there doesn’t appear to be any connection between this incident and a recent attack in Barcelona, Spain.

In a statement to The Times, representatives for the band said, In response to an alleged terror threat at The Maassilo in Rotterdam, Netherlands, our show yesterday was cancelled. The investigation is ongoing and full details are not yet available. However, the Dutch authorities have informed us that there is no credible future threat to the venue or the band. More than anything, we want to thank the law enforcement personnel and our fans of Rotterdam---we’re grateful everybody is safe.

We are looking for a new date to reschedule the performance and will provide updates on that as we can. For now, the organizers will ensure all ticket buyers receive a refund as quickly as possible.

The band, as always, supports, peaceful, non-violent protest in the pursuit of social and economic justice.”

Updated (4:11 p.m.) This post was updated with a new statement from the band.

Share
Advertisement

Tig Notaro dredges up sexual-misconduct rumors about Louis C.K.

Tig Notaro talked about Louis C.K. in a new interview with the Daily Beast.
(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

The sexual-misconduct rumors that have dogged Louis C.K. in recent years have resurfaced yet again.

This time the allegations come courtesy of a new interview with fellow comedian Tig Notaro.

“I think it’s important to take care of that, to handle that, because it’s serious to be assaulted,” Notaro told the Daily Beast for a story published Wednesday, referring to allegations over the years. “It’s serious to be harassed. It’s serious, it’s serious, it’s serious.”

The topic was raised because the upcoming season of Notaro’s Amazon series, “One Mississippi,” features a plotline about sexual assault, particularly a man in power who masturbates in front of a woman in the workplace.

It’s serious to be harassed. It’s serious, it’s serious, it’s serious

— Tig Notaro on sexual assault

C.K., who once championed Notaro by promoting her “masterful” 2012 set about breast cancer on Twitter and his website, has faced similar accusations several times in recent years. In 2015, Gawker published an article about the misconduct allegations leveled against him by several female comics. While some referred to him as a “known perv,” Roseanne Barr named him outright last year when asked about the embattled comedian Bill Cosby’s sexual-assault scandals.

Without going into detail, Notaro told the Daily Beast that she and C.K. had “an incident” before “One Mississippi” and they haven’t talked since then. She maintained that C.K.’s contributions to the series are in name only.

“It’s frustrating, because he has nothing to do with the show,” Notaro said. “But I don’t waste my time on him or what anyone thinks. His name is on it. But we are writing the show, the writers’ room.”

Louis C.K. is again the subject of misconduct allegations.
(Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez / AFP/Getty Images)

Notaro’s harsh words also come on the heels of her claim that C.K. plagiarized the “Saturday Night Live” sketch “Birthday Clown” last April from her short film “Clown Service.”

Reps for C.K. did not respond to The Times’ request for comment on Wednesday.

In June 2016, the Emmy-winning “Louie” star dismissed the sexual-misconduct allegations in a Vulture interview, saying the Gawker story was “nothing” to him” and “that’s not real.”

“You can’t touch stuff like that,” he said. “There’s one more thing I want to say about this, and it’s important: If you need your public profile to be all positive, you’re sick in the head.

“I do the work I do, and what happens next I can’t look after,” he added. “So my thing is that I try to speak to the work whenever I can. Just to the work and not to my life.”

Share

Comics giant Stan Lee celebrated with ‘Extraordinary’ tribute

(Chris Pizzello / Invision/Associated Press)

Stan Lee received a superhero’s welcome Tuesday night as actors, artists and filmmakers paid tribute to the Marvel comics legend.

The “Extraordinary: Stan Lee” tribute at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills paid homage to the 94-year-old mastermind who gave life to “Spider-Man,” “The Avengers,” “X-Men” and numerous other comic book heroes.

“I’m so lucky. Some people work a lifetime, and nobody celebrates their career,” Lee said, according to ABC 7. “I don’t know how this happened to me, but I’m just incredibly grateful.”

Lee got his start working as a comics writer in the 1940s and shepherded the rise of Marvel Comics into a powerhouse in the 1960s alongside artist Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Lately, he’s been a staple at comic conventions, an associate producer on numerous blockbuster hero flicks and a repeat cameo star in several Marvel productions.

I’m so lucky. Some people work a lifetime, and nobody celebrates their career. I don’t know how this happened to me, but I’m just incredibly grateful.

— Stan Lee

The two-hour tribute, hosted by “Talking Dead’s” Chris Hardwick, was broadcast into more than 150 movie theaters across the country, the Associated Press said.

Michael Uslan, who produced every “Batman” film, opened the festivities, and “Incredible Hulk” star Lou Ferrigno joined Lee onstage. Meanwhile, “The Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco, actors Aisha Tyler and J.K. Simmons and “Avengers” star Mark Ruffalo paid tribute with video messages.

The candid conversations were peppered with quips about Lee’s hearing loss and numerous technical difficulties, the Hollywood Reporter noted.

Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA delivered one of the evening’s marquee moments by reciting an excerpt from Lee’s regular Marvel Comics column, “Stan’s Soapbox.” The prescient 1968 piece, which Lee tweeted a copy of last week, denounced bigotry and racism. (Lee shared the piece he originally penned about the civil rights movement following the violence that erupted in Charlottesville.)

RZA said he was inspired as a kid by Lee’s characters, including Silver Surfer, Luke Cage, Spider-Man and Storm.

“Those characters inspired me and took me to a place where there was a world, a Marvel universe, where there wasn’t no bigotry, where there was heroes that looked like me and where I could think that justice and fun would prevail over all,” RZA said.

“Wouldn’t that be the greatest world in the world?” Lee added.

But Lee’s dramatic impact wasn’t the only topic of discussion. There was plenty of lighthearted humor amid the adulation.

For example, when Lee noticed that his shoe was untied, Hardwick jumped in to tie it.

Host Chris Hardwick ties Stan Lee's shoes onstage at the "Extraordinary: Stan Lee" tribute at the Saban Theatre.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

“You want me to get that? It would be an honor to tie your shoe,” Hardwick said before Lee quipped, “If I fall, it’ll be expensive, because I’ll sue everyone here.”

Lee also joked that he hoped the film academy would include a cameo category at the Oscars given his signature appearances in 38 Marvel productions.

Share
Advertisement

Trevor Noah tries — and fails — to make sense of President Trump’s Afghanistan military strategy

Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the eclipse — or the prospect of two Trump speeches in rapid succession, or that it’s August — but it was a slow day in late-night TV on Tuesday, with many shows airing reruns.

Trevor Noah was at his “Daily Show” desk, nevertheless, to break down the first of those Trump speeches, the one the president delivered Monday about not ending the war in Afghanistan.

“I know that he’s been president for seven months, but seeing Donald Trump making military decisions is still weird for me,” Noah said. “I mean, he must be the first human being in history who gets to command an army after starring in a Pizza Hut commercial.”

There was the usual dance of news clips and responses to them.

“I am a problem-solver,” Trump said in one of the clips.

“Trump is a problem-solver the way Godzilla is a city planner,” Noah quipped. “The only way Donald Trump could consider himself a problem-solver is if he stops creating problems. ‘You guys are so lucky, I was about to do something, but I stopped myself. Problem pre-solved.’ ”

Monday’s speech, Noah said, was “book-report Trump,” with the president largely sticking to the teleprompter. “But there were still definitely glimpses of freestyle Trump.”

Terrorists, the president said, are “nothing but thugs and criminals and predators and, that’s right, losers.”

“ ‘That’s right: losers,’ ” Noah said in Trump’s voice. “You’re in my vocabulary now. Even as he’s escalating a war, Trump has to throw in his catchphrase.”

Trump, Noah said, seemed to have flipped on his previous statements regarding Afghanistan, but “to his credit,” acknowledged the change.

“My original instinct was to pull out,” Trump was shown saying, “and historically I like following my instincts, but all my life I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office — in other words, when you’re president of the United States.”

“Oh!” said Noah with mock enlightenment. “That’s what sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office means, being president. I’m so glad he explained it to us the same way Gen. Kelly explained it to him. Who are you?”

Watch the full segment above.

Share

Netflix announces new documentaries on New Journalism pioneers Joan Didion and Gay Talese

As summer fades and fall approaches, Netflix is getting into a literary frame of mind. On Wednesday, the streaming giant announced a pair of new original documentaries centered on two celebrated chroniclers of the American experience, Joan Didion and Gay Talese.

In “Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold,” actor and director Griffin Dunne – who is the nephew of the essayist and novelist – offers an intimate look at his “Aunt Joan.” Through archival footage and interviews with the confessional yet enigmatic 82-year-old author of such books as “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” “The White Album” and “The Year of Magical Thinking,” the film traces Didion’s life and career and the ways in which they intersected with some of the most turbulent times in our country’s political and cultural history.

“It is a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to convey the life and work of my aunt, and literary icon, Joan Didion,” Dunne said in a statement. “This documentary is a true labor of love and to partner with Netflix, who will help bring this to a global audience, is more than I could have hoped for when I started on this over 5 years ago.”

“Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold” will premiere at the New York Film Festival and will launch on Netflix on Oct. 27.

“Voyeur” follows the 84-year-old Talese – who, along with Didion, was one of the pioneers of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s – as he reports a controversial story on a Colorado motel owner named Gerald Foos, who spent decades spying on his guests and recording their most private moments. Driven by his own insatiable curiosity, Talese goes down a rabbit hole with Foos, who proves to be a not entirely reliable narrator of his own strange and lurid story.

“Directors Myles Kane and Josh Koury deftly catapult us into one of the most highly complex and wily relationships between writer and subject, where the unremitting pursuit of the ultimate scoop and the ever-shifting memory of a serial voyeur collide and create an entirely new truth,” said Lisa Nishimura, vice president of Original Documentaries for Netflix.

“Voyeur” will also premiere at the New York Film Festival and be available on Netflix later this year.

Share
Advertisement

Princes William and Harry defend Queen Elizabeth, shame paparazzi in ‘Diana, 7 Days’ doc

In the latest project marking the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, her sons, Princes William and Harry, are opening up about the turbulent week following the tragedy.

In a new documentary, they praised their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for shielding them from the public, revealed that their father broke the news to them and delivered some harsh words about the paparazzi.

Filmmaker Henry Singer’s BBC One documentary, “Diana, 7 Days,” chronicles Diana’s fatal car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, and the whirlwind week leading up to her Westminster Abbey funeral. William was 15 and Harry was 12 at the time.

I think it was a very hard decision for my grandmother to make. She felt very torn between being a grandmother to William and Harry and her Queen role.

— Prince William on Queen Elizabeth II’s reaction to Princess Diana’s death

The public outpouring of grief surrounding Diana’s death thrust the British monarchy into a harsh public debate over its aloof treatment of the former member of the royal family. The palace’s attempt to conceal its reactions and handling of the news made the public increasingly hostile toward the institution. The princes touch on those topics in the documentary.

“I think it was a very hard decision for my grandmother to make. She felt very torn between being a grandmother to William and Harry and her Queen role,” William said (via the Guardian) of the queen’s decision to sequester the family at their Balmoral estate in Scotland immediately after Diana’s death.

“At the time, you know, my grandmother wanted to protect her two grandsons, and my father as well. Our grandmother deliberately removed the newspapers, and things like that, so there was nothing in the house at all. So we didn’t know what was going on,” he added.

William, second in line to the British throne, and Harry also spoke of how Diana’s death affected their father, Prince Charles, whose crumbling marriage, affair and public divorce made him and Diana regular tabloid fodder. Harry seemed to confirm that it was Charles who broke the news of their mother’s death to them.

“One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is tell your children that your other parent has died. How you deal with that, I don’t know,” Harry said (via the Daily Mail). “But he was there for us. He was the one out of two left. And he tried to do his best and to make sure that we were protected and looked after. But he was going through the same grieving process as well.”

The paparazzi was a sore subject for Harry too, who said it’s been difficult to come to terms with the fact that the photographers who chased his mother’s car into the Paris tunnel where she died were the same people who witnessed her death.

“She had quite a severe head injury but was still very much alive on the backseat, and those people that caused the accident instead of helping were taking photographs of her dying. And then those photographs made their way back to news desks in this country,” Harry said.

Separately, William likened the paparazzi hounding his mother daily to a “pack of dogs.” However, he said he wouldn’t let the traumatic event let his mother’s legacy “go to waste.”

“I wouldn’t let it break me, I wanted it to make me,” he said. “I wanted her to be proud of the person I would become.”

“Diana, 7 Days” airs on the BBC Sunday and on NBC on Sept. 1. It features additional commentary from some of the major players of the time, including the princes, other members of Diana’s family and her friends, royal aides and politicians, namely former prime minister Tony Blair, who urged the palace to appease the public outcry by urging the queen to make a statement.

ALSO:

From royal to reality: How Princess Diana changed female celebrity and paved the way for Kim Kardashian

The fashion legacy of Princess Diana is the subject of an exhibit in London

FX renews ‘Feud’ for a second season that will spotlight Prince Charles and Princess Diana

Review: ‘Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy’ offers no digging or analysis, but is moving all the same

Share

Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn get website to take down stolen nude photos

Tiger Woods, left, and Lindsey Vonn.
Tiger Woods, left, and Lindsey Vonn.
(David Cannon / Getty Images)

Legal action taken by Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods succeeded late Tuesday in getting stolen nude photos removed from a celebrity-smut website.

“[A]s of yesterday evening, in response to our legal demands, the website in question (and many others) removed the unlawfully published photographs and videos,” said Andrew Brettler — an attorney whose firm, Lavely & Singer, also represents other victims of the hack — on Wednesday.

Woods and Vonn dated for nearly three years before announcing their breakup in May 2015.

Though he declined to comment on any legal strategies his clients might pursue, Brettler said he hoped the hacker or hackers would be identified and prosecuted.

Theft and publication of the nude photos was “an outrageous violation of our clients’ privacy rights and federal copyright law,” Brettler said.

He also criticized media coverage of the situation as encouraging further bad behavior by hackers, “repugnant” websites and those who would view or download the stolen images.

One thing that might discourage would-be hackers, however, has come from the courts in previous cases involving nude photos stolen from celebrities: time behind bars.

Christopher Chaney, the source of hundreds of celebrity nudes posted online in 2011, including images of Scarlett Johansson, was sentenced in 2012 to 10 years in federal prison for wiretapping and computer hacking.

In 2016, Ryan Collins of Pennsylvania was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted in connection with the FBI investigation of “Celebgate,” the nude-photo scandal that included an outspoken Jennifer Lawrence among its victims.

Also related to that case, Edward Majerczyk of Chicago was sentenced in January to nine months in prison and ordered to pay $5,700 in restitution to one unidentified celebrity.

And while putting a search engine behind bars isn’t exactly possible, Google was threatened with a $100-million lawsuit early in the Celebgate case if it didn’t promptly purge tens of thousands of pics from its search results.

It did.

Share
Advertisement

It’s official: Taylor Swift has a new album, ‘Reputation,’ on the way

Taylor Swift has confirmed she will release a new album, "Reputation," on Nov. 10.
(Matt Sayles / Invision/Associated Press)

After the mysterious video snippet of what appears to be a writhing snake she posted last week, Taylor Swift has confirmed that she has a new album coming. “Reputation” will be released on Nov. 10, her first new album in three years since her blockbuster “1989.”

The announcement was posted on Swift’s Instagram account Wednesday and also noted the album’s first single will arrive “tomorrow night,” but no title or time of release were specified.

For the first time since Swift’s self-titled debut album in 2006, the country princess turned international pop superstar broke the cycle she had established of releasing a new album every two years in the fall. According to those close to the singer and songwriter, she decided to enjoy the success of “1989” and take a bit more time to craft a successor.

The album comes on the heels of a much-publicized civil lawsuit in which a Denver radio personality sued her for losing his job after she complained to station officials that he had groped her at a 2013 backstage meet-and-greet event. She subsequently countersued, asking for a symbolic $1 award that she said would represent other women who do not have the means to seek justice in court when they are the victims of sexual harassment or assault,

The Denver jury found in Swift’s favor.

Share

A Star Is Born: Barbara Eden turns 86 today

(Clarence Williams / Los Angeles Times)

I think they tested every brunette in town for the part, I guess then they decided to go with a completely different thing. I read the script and had a meeting. Sidney [Sheldon] called me and said, ‘I understand you’re my Jeannie.’ That’s how I got the part [on the sitcom ‘I Dream of Jeannie’].

— Barbara Eden, 1991

FROM THE ARCHIVES: ‘Jeannie’ Dreams On

Share
Advertisement

Joker origin movie in development with ‘Hangover’ director Todd Phillips

The biggest, baddest and most beloved villain (for better or worse) in the DC Entertainment universe is getting his very own origin movie. The Los Angeles Times can confirm that the Joker, who has been portrayed by Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, Cesar Romero, Heath Ledger and, very recently, Jared Leto, will star in his very own spinoff feature.

Originally reported by Deadline, Todd Phillips of “The Hangover” fame is co-writing the script with “The Fighter” screenwriter Scott Silver. Phillips is also attached to direct.

Despite being a Batman spinoff, this movie will not be directly tied to the DC universe that was rebooted back in 2013 with the new Superman movie “Man of Steel.”

So those of you waiting with bated breath for a reprisal of Leto’s tattooed take on the maniacal madman from “Suicide Squad” will have to wait a little bit longer.

This new Joker movie is a standalone film under a brand-new (and not yet named) banner under DC. Which means that while it’s not directly linked to the “Batman v. Superman” universe, it will allow the movie-makers to explore the vast world of DC characters and storylines without getting tangled up in six years of on-screen comic-book canon.

Think the “Gotham by Gaslight” comic-book one-shot (by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola) that featured all the Batman characters set in 1889 Gotham, with a steampunk bent. This Joker movie could be set in any time and pull from any gallery of rogues or heroes in the DC Comics universe.

This also means that comic-book movie fans will get yet another actor to tell the Joker’s creation story. Let the fan casting begin.

Share

‘Jerry Before Seinfeld,’ Jerry Seinfeld’s first Netflix stand-up special, premieres in September

(Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Rogue socks, women’s penchant for cotton balls, left-handed people and dear old Dad are about to get the Jerry Seinfeld treatment, courtesy of Netflix.

“I’ve made my first Netflix stand up special about how I got started in comedy in the 70’s. It busts out Sept. 19. In the meantime, here’s some material and notes from my earliest sets,” the comic wrote in an Instagram post, sharing an image of the legal pads he’s used to jot down his jokes since 1975.

“Jerry Before Seinfeld” will transplant the sitcom star back to the Comic Strip, the lauded New York comedy club where he launched his career, according to the Hollywood Reporter. There, the Emmy-winning comic will deliver the first of two stand-up specials promised in his massive January deal with the streaming giant. (The production deal also included the entirety of his “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” catalog and 24 new episodes of the Emmy-nominated talk show that will launch later this year.)

The @netflixcomedy Instagram account also teased to the hour-long special by sharing clips Tuesday from Seinfeld’s well-worn routines and several glimpses of those storied legal pads. The nine posts featured Seinfeld casually sifting through a file folder in the midst of a sea of yellow, scrawled-upon legal pads.

Seinfeld, who last month was named the highest-paid comedian of 2017 by Forbes, is among the numerous veteran comics Netflix has tapped for specials as it angles to be the new go-to destination for stand-up. Louis C.K., Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Gaffigan, Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman are just a few of the other comedy heavyweights on Netflix’s menu.

Share
Advertisement

Billy Joel wears Star of David badges, mocks fired Trump advisors at Madison Square Garden

Billy Joel wears a jacket with a Star of David badge on the front — there was an identical badge on the back — at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
(Myrna M. Suarez / Getty Images)

Billy Joel, who only months ago said he chooses to keep his politics private, wore Star of David badges prominently on the front and back of his jacket Monday night during the encore of a show at Madison Square Garden.

When asked about the badges, Joel’s rep gave the Associated Press a famous quote from Irish statesman Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Joel just months ago told Rolling Stone, “I try to stay out of politics. I am a private citizen and I have a right to believe in my own political point of view, but I try not to get up on a soapbox and tell people how to think. I’ve been to shows where people start haranguing the audience about what’s going on politically and I’m thinking, ‘You know, this isn’t why I came here.’”

The gesture by Joel — who has Jewish parents, went to church growing up and has said he doesn’t believe in heaven or hell — comes after the demonstrations and fatal violence recently at a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Nazis required Jews to wear Star of David badges in many European countries before and during World War II, when 6 million were killed in concentration camps. Joel’s badges did not include anything written in the center, as many did during WWII.

Joel spoke to the Los Angeles Times in May about President Trump, making a crude gesture in the process. “He thinks I’m his friend,” the performer said. “I went to his wedding. I don’t know why I went. I’m told I sang — probably made an ass of myself.”

The show Monday night was part of a monthly residency he has at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The badges weren’t the only political commentary, either.

While performing Scandal’s “Goodbye to You” with Patty Smyth, the 68-year-old piano man had images of ousted Trump officials projected behind him, including former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, former communications director Anthony Scaramucci, former FBI Director James Comey, former national security advisor Michael Flynn, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara and former acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Sally Yates.

------------

FOR THE RECORD

4:20 p.m.: An earlier version of this article said Charlottesville is in North Carolina. It is in Virginia.

Share

Mark Wahlberg is Forbes’ top-earning actor of 2017, making way more than top-paid actress Emma Stone

Mark Wahlberg is sitting on top of the Rock on Forbes’ 2017 highest-paid actors list.

The rapper-turned-actor earned an estimated $68 million between June 2016 and June 2017, the financial mag reported Tuesday, edging out last year’s top earner, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

That figure sums up the Boston native’s paydays from the forthcoming comedy “Daddy’s Home 2” and action flick “Transformers: The Last Knight,” plus earnings from his AT&T endorsement deal and his family’s A&E reality series, “Wahlburgers.” Incidentally, his “Transformers” outing was the lowest-grossing film of the franchise to date.

Johnson dropped to the No. 2 spot this year with $65 million, thanks to earnings from his tentpole films “Baywatch” and “Jumanji.” That’s still a modest improvement from the “Fate of the Furious” star and producer’s $64.5-million payout from 2016, which saw him displace three-time list-topper Robert Downey Jr.

Speaking of Iron Man, the “Avengers” star dropped to the No. 6 spot this year with $48 million. However, his Marvel Cinematic Universe brethren — Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt and Vin Diesel — all placed in the magazine’s top 20.

Diesel, who also served as “F8’s” star and producer and voiced baby Groot in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” clinched this year’s No. 3 spot with $54.5 million.

Despite Adam Sandler’s critically maligned Netflix films, his lucrative production deal with the streaming service kept him in the top five. The comedian landed in the fourth spot on the list by earning an estimated $50.4 million.

Just behind him is Chinese action star Jackie Chan, who earned an estimated $49 million. Downey, Tom Cruise and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar rounded out the top 10.

Emma Stone tops Forbes' list of highest-paid actresses.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Perhaps not surprisingly, the actors still significantly out-earn their female counterparts. “La La Land” star and Oscar winner Emma Stone topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid actresses last week, but her earnings — $26 million, compared with Wahlberg’s $68 million — further highlight Hollywood’s wage gap.

The top 10 actors banked a cumulative $488.5 million — nearly three times as much as the $172.5 million combined total of the 10 top-earning women, Forbes noted.

The three highest-paid actresses — Stone, “Hunger Games” and “X-Men” star Jennifer Lawrence and “Friends” alum Jennifer Aniston — were the only ones to pocket more than $20 million within a year. Meanwhile, 16 actors surpassed that mark on Tuesday’s list.

Forbes tallies the estimated earnings based on data from Nielsen, ComScore, Box Office Mojo, IMDB and interviews with industry insiders. All figures are pretax and before fees for agents, managers and lawyers are deducted.

For the complete list, click here.

Share
Advertisement

Michael Kenneth Williams has been cut from upcoming Han Solo film

Michael Kenneth Williams, who played Omar on "The Wire," will not appear in the upcoming Han Solo movie.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

After filming a role in the upcoming Han Solo “Star Wars” film, Michael Kenneth Williams says his performance no longer will appear in the final product. The Times confirmed the news, which was originally reported by Deadline on Tuesday.

Best known for playing Omar Little on “The Wire,” the actor told Deadline he was unable to make reshoots for the film because of a scheduling conflict. As a result, his part, which supposedly was a human-animal hybrid, had to be cut from the movie, which is scheduled for release on May 25.

“I felt great about what I created with the directors that I worked with. It is what it is,” Williams said, referring to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who originally were hired as co-directors on the film. In June, the two were fired and replaced by Ron Howard, who is overseeing the new reshoots.

Williams is in South Africa shooting the spy drama “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” and the reshoots would have required him to return to London during the same time.

“When Ron Howard got hired to finish out the film, there were some reshoot issues that needed to be done in regards to my character, in order for it to match the new direction which the producers wanted Ron to carry the film in,” Williams told Deadline. “They wanted me now; I couldn’t go. So they had to clip-clip-clip.”

Despite the hiccup, however, the actor said he is hopeful he eventually will return to the “Star Wars” family.

“I left with a very good taste in my mouth about the whole family, and I hope that I left a good taste in their mouth,” he said. “They’re a great group of people, the Lucas family.”

Share

Morgan Freeman to receive Life Achievement honor at SAG Awards

With almost 100 film credits under his belt, Morgan Freeman is being honored for his body of work by the Screen Actors Guild.

On Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA announced that the 80-year-old is set to receive its 54th Life Achievement Award at the SAG Awards on Jan. 21.

Freeman, who was last seen in April’s “Going in Style,” has already earned recognition from nearly every other prominent organization in Hollywood. He won an Oscar in 2005 for his supporting turn in “Million Dollar Baby”; SAG also honored him for his performance in that film. He’s also been the recipient of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s Cecil B. DeMille Award, an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award and a Kennedy Center Honor.

“Some actors spend their entire careers waiting for the perfect role. Morgan showed us that true perfection is what a performer brings to the part,” SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris said in a statement.

“He is innovative, fearless and completely unbound by expectations. As a chauffeur, convicted murderer, boxing gym attendant, pimp or president, Morgan fully realized every character, baring their souls and showcasing their humanity. It has been a privilege to see his genius at work.”

Last year, actress Lily Tomlin took home SAG’s Life Achievement Award. Other recent honorees include Carol Burnett, Debbie Reynolds, Rita Moreno and Dick Van Dyke.

Share
Advertisement

Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen get shady during the eclipse

Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen took time out from shooting the 2018 movie “Book Club” on Monday to take in the eclipse, goofy glasses and all.

While Bergen was rocking Instagram, however, Fonda actually posted less-than-perfect pics on Twitter that busted on the former “Murphy Brown” star.

“Watching eclipse on set of BOOK CLUB,” the “Grace and Frankie” star wrote. “Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and I are rapt. Candice Bergen could care less#SolarEclipse2017.”

Don’t laugh, people. We all looked like this Monday. We simply didn’t look as stylish doing it.

Share

Chrissy Teigen is done boozing it up — and now she’s being hated on for talking about it

(Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

“I don’t know how to go to an awards show and not drink.”

So said Chrissy Teigen about her recent decision to cut back on alcohol consumption, especially while she’s taking medication for postpartum depression and has the IVF process looming again as she and John Legend try to have another child.

Given her celebrity lifestyle, the Sports Illustrated model told Cosmopolitan, she had simply gotten used to having alcohol available everywhere she went — something that’s not good for a person who “can’t have just one” and who has a family history of problem drinking.

She would have a glass of wine while getting her hair and makeup done before awards shows, where Legend has been quite in demand in recent years. Then she’d have another before the show, and a bunch when she got there.

The results? No bueno.

Though it helped her build her quirky, free-speaking reputation, Teigen said she didn’t like “making an ass” of herself in front of people she respected.

“I knew in my heart it wasn’t right,” she said, even though she’d be fine the next day. “It makes you very short with people. People think it’s cutesy and fun to go on these boozy brunches, but there’s more to it. I’ve never once been like, ‘I’m sure glad I had that boozy brunch!’ ”

After a wellness retreat in Bali, she said she’s feeling great, sans alcohol.

But after the article was published Monday, she tweeted screen grabs of comments from people calling her “ignorant,” “unpolished and crass” and “overly melodramatic again, about her depression.” Also, her and her husband’s decision to implant a female embryo during the IVF process was tagged “the creepiest part of the story.”

Said Teigen: “I dunno how you can be this mean.”

Share
Advertisement

Morrissey announces new album, Hollywood Bowl date

Morrissey performs at Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2013.
Morrissey performs at Staples Center in Los Angeles in 2013.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Morrissey — recent novelist, biopic subject and perpetual Coachella reunion rumor — will be back on album shelves with a new record this fall.

Moz has announced “Low in High School,” a new LP slated for a Nov. 17 release on his own new Etienne Records. The album was recorded with Joe Chiccarelli in France and Rome. It’s his first LP since 2014’s “World Peace Is None of Your Business.”

“On his 11th studio album, Morrissey’s talent for combining political statements and beautiful melodies is more prevalent than ever as he captures the zeitgeist of an ever-changing world,” a news release for the album stated Tuesday.

It’s not the only Moz-related release coming this fall. The Smiths, the beloved band he fronted in the 1980s, have a deluxe reissue of their landmark 1986 album, “The Queen Is Dead,” due Oct. 20.

Morrissey has long made Los Angeles his spiritual home base (locals recently created a stage series based around him), and he has booked a homecoming date headlining the Hollywood Bowl on Nov. 10, with more tour dates expected soon. On-sale dates were not immediately released.

The singer is likely looking for a fresh start after canceling a number of U.S. dates last year over what he claimed was mismanagement following medical issues in the band. His last album launch was rocky as well, with the label pulling it from shelves in response to Moz’s complaints about the label.

One sign of early enthusiasm? A Morrissey-loving prankster appears to have altered a freeway sign on the 101 tipping fans to the show.

Update, 1:15 p.m.: This story added information about the freeway sign.

Share

Nude photos of Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn and others remain up after legal threats

Tiger Woods has threatened to sue a celebrity smut site and the as-yet-unidentified person who stole and leaked nude photos of ex-girlfriend Lindsey Vonn and a full-frontal image of the pro golfer.

Looks as if that threat is not yet getting the job done.

As of 9:30 a.m. PDT Tuesday, photos and a video of Vonn, the photo of Woods and dozens of shots of additional victims — Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart, Katharine McPhee and Stella Maxwell — remained live on a website that was cited by TMZ in its Monday report of the breach and the legal threat.

Update: Tiger Woods, Lindsey Vonn get website to take down stolen nude photos >>

Olympic medalist Vonn’s phone was the one that was compromised, not Tiger’s, said TMZ, which also reported McPhee had sent a similar legal threat to the website, which features hardcore sex ads supporting its naked celebrity images.

“It is an outrageous and despicable invasion of privacy for anyone to steal and illegally publish private intimate photos,” a representative for Vonn told the Big Lead. “Lindsey will take all necessary and appropriate legal action to protect and enforce her rights and interests.”

The most notorious celebrity-photo compromise so far has been referred to as “Celebgate,” where Jennifer Lawrence was among the victims, along with Kaley Cuoco, Amber Heard and others. While incidents like this are commonly called “hacking,” Celebgate and others have turned out to be phishing operations, where victims are tricked into giving up usernames, passwords and other personal information via fraudulent emails.

In that case, Google itself was threatened with a $100-million lawsuit if it didn’t purge the pics from its search results.

A Pennsylvania man was convicted and sentenced in 2016 to 18 months in prison for stealing the pictures that prompted the FBI’s Celebgate investigation.

The photos of Vonn and Woods were reportedly taken several years ago, when the two were a couple. They dated for nearly three years before she announced their breakup in May 2015.

For the record, 9:34 a.m.: An earlier version of this post said the photos had been taken down. They remain live on the website in question.

Share
Advertisement

George and Amal Clooney’s justice foundation gives $1-million grant to combat hate groups

Those glamorous do-gooders are at it again.

In the wake of the race-fueled violence in Charlottesville, Va., George and Amal Clooney’s Clooney Foundation for Justice has given a $1-million grant to help topple domestic hate groups.

The actor/producer and his wife, an international human rights attorney, have partnered with the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center to “increase the capacity of the SPLC to combat hate groups in the United States,” according to a statement from the center.

“We are proud to support the Southern Poverty Law Center in its efforts to prevent violent extremism in the United States,” the couple said in a statement. “What happened in Charlottesville, and what is happening in communities across our country, demands our collective engagement to stand up to hate.”

The couple, who wed in 2014 and welcomed twins this summer, established the Clooney Foundation for Justice in 2016 to advance justice in courtrooms, classrooms and communities around the world. They also serve as its presidents.

What happened in Charlottesville, and what is happening in communities across our country, demands our collective engagement to stand up to hate.

— George and Amal Clooney

The SPLC is a nonprofit, civil rights organization that monitors the activities of domestic hate groups and other extremists. It has won court judgments against 10 major white supremacist organizations and 50 individuals who led them or participated in violent acts, according to the center. It is currently tracking more than 1,600 extremist groups operating in the U.S.

“Like George and Amal Clooney, we were shocked by the size, ugliness and ferocity of the white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville,” said SPLC President Richard Cohen. “It was a reflection of just how much Trump’s incendiary campaign and presidency has energized the radical right. We are deeply grateful to the Clooney Foundation for standing with us at this critical moment in our country’s fight against hate.”

In July, the Clooney Foundation for Justice partnered with UNICEF to open seven public schools for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. Amal Clooney also launched a scholarship program in 2015 aimed at helping girls in her native Lebanon.

Share

A Star Is Born: Kristen Wiig turns 44 today

(Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

All my characters are someone you don’t want to talk to at a party. ... It’s always that person who’s being too loud, doesn’t have any social boundaries or says the wrong thing.

— Kristen Wiig, 2011

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Kristen Wiig, so weird on ‘SNL,’ goes (somewhat) normal for ‘Bridesmaids’

Share
Advertisement

KCON was a blast of joy in ever-darkening times

Hours before America was riveted by the eclipse on Monday morning, another star passed into L.A.’s orbit on Sunday night. Or, rather, a whole bunch of them did.

The South Korean pop-culture festival KCON is the year’s most authoritative gathering of K-Pop luminaries, and the pure shimmering optimism of the festival has made the concert more welcome than ever.

The weekend-long event drew a constellation of otherwise rarely seen acts to Staples Center. Sunday night’s set had a mix of bass-rattling hip-hop from NCT 127, high gloss boy-band dance moves from Astro and GOT7, and, in a culture defined by youthful devotion, a cameo from one of K-Pop’s most veteran acclaimed singers, Kim Tae Woo.

Obviously, the mood is less than optimistic at the moment on the Korean peninsula. But if anything, K-Pop is the most reliable source for unfettered glee in pop music. It’s a world where existential threats almost never intrude. For one night at Staples Center, the K-Pop faithful could block out any bad vibes and revel in devotion.

K-Pop, once somewhat of an underground phenomenon in America, has now settled into an established, multicultural fan base in Los Angeles and across the country. KCON is its church, as the scene’s top acts only occasionally embark on their own headlining tours here. When they do, the crowds come in force.

Saturday’s set was a bit more of a showcase for K-Pop’s ascendant all-female groups -- Cosmic Girls and Girl’s Day, among them, alongside fixtures such as VIXX and members of Super Junior. On the fest-closing Sunday night, however, the boy bands took over and the mood was riotous.

The young singer-rapper Heize had an insouciant stage presence, and her old-school soul singing and ‘90s-era rap vibes connected the hyper-digital K-Pop world to a more analog era, as did the mixed-gender group Kard’s soulful, sassy modern pop.

Wanna One’s upbeat, EDM-inflected tracks meshed with Astro’s cheeky, irresistibly fun productions. One of the best aspects of K-Pop is the fan-first attitude of the groups, and they made time for fun stunts such as mocking up T-shirts onstage and shooting them into the crowd.

NCT 127 was a bit more severe and commanding; their squiggly, bass-heavy hip-hop added gravity to a generally fizzy night, and it was a welcome dose of hard knocks. Kim Tae Woo, of the classic boy band g.o.d., was the night’s semi-surprise guest, and the KCON crowd was admirably eager for a backtrack into an older, less digitally saturated era of K-Pop.

Got7 rounded out the night with a vibrant, genre-skipping culmination of the night’s ear-splitting devotionals from the Staples crowd, offering a few hours when everything seemed right.

Share

Matt Shakman, veteran of stage, movies and TV, named artistic director of Geffen Playhouse

The Geffen Playhouse has a new artistic director: Matt Shakman, a veteran director with credits on the stage, in movies and on TV.

Audiences might not know they’re already familiar with his work. He directed the fourth and fifth episodes of the current “Game of Thrones” season, “The Spoils of War” and “Eastwatch.”

Shakman will work alongside Geffen Executive Director Gil Cates Jr., the Los Angeles theater announced Monday, starting Sept. 20 and getting down to business on its 2018-19 season.

In a statement Monday, Shakman called it “a dream come true to join such a vibrant cultural institution” and praised the Geffen for building a community that includes both artists and audiences.

“His passion for extraordinary storytelling, his strong relationships with artists in theater, film and television, and his commitment to fostering community will be immensely valuable as we continue to advance the mission of the theater,” Cates Jr. said in the Geffen statement.

The theater said in February that Randall Armey, its longtime artistic director, would step down when his contract was up in August.

Shakman, who founded the Black Dahlia Theatre in 2001 and has been its artistic director, has directed plays for the Geffen in the past, including “Good People” in 2012, “Wait Until Dark” in 2013 and “Bad Jews” in 2015. His film “Cut Bank” premiered in 2015.

He’ll continue to direct for film and TV while working at the Geffen.

Share
Advertisement

What’s up with that cryptic video Taylor Swift just posted on social media?

(Nelson Barnard / Getty Images)

Taylor Swift’s social media cleanse didn’t last long.

The “Blank Space” singer, who scrubbed all her accounts on Friday, returned Monday with a cryptic post on Twitter and Instagram featuring what appears to be an animated, metallic cat tail. (Others believe it to be a snake, but given the singer’s feline fixation, we’re going with cat.)

Swift left it at that, to the delight and deliberation of fans who believed it to be a tease to new music. The post comes just a week after Swift’s victory in her groping case against former radio host David Mueller.

Swift hasn’t released an album since 2014’s “1989,” which earned her three Grammy Awards. Her last single, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” from the “50 Shades Darker” soundtrack, dropped in January.

For the record, 1:28 p.m.: A previous version of this story said “1989” was released in 2015. It was released in 2014.

Share

Gustavo Dudamel’s tour with Venezuelan youth symphony canceled by President Maduro

Gustavo Dudamel among students at a 2012 showcase performance of El Sistema students in Caracas, Venezuela.
(Mark Swed / Los Angeles Times)

The president of Venezuela has canceled the four-city American tour of that country’s National Youth Orchestra, which was to be conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

“My dream to play with these wonderful young musicians cannot come true - this time. ... We will continue to play and to fight for a better Venezuela and a better world,” the L.A. Philharmonic director, who hails from Venezuela, tweeted Monday.

The tour was to have included a Sept. 21 date at the Hollywood Bowl.

“The performance of the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, scheduled for September 17 at the Hollywood Bowl, has been cancelled. The original program of Café Tacvba, La Santa Cecilia and Mon Laferte is still confirmed,” reps for the Hollywood Bowl said in a statement Monday.

On Friday, President Nicolas Maduro went on TV to criticize Dudamel for spending time in Spain and the U.S. while the crisis in Venezuela deepens.

“I hope God forgives you,” Maduro reportedly said Friday.

“Welcome to politics, Gustavo Dudamel. But act with ethics, and don’t let yourself be deceived into attacking the architects of this beautiful movement of young boys and girls,” Maduro said, referring to Dudamel’s association with El Sistema, a prominent Venezuelan musical education program.

The Youth Orchestra of L.A. is patterned after El Sistema. The National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela is a product of El Sistema. Dudamel has been creative director of Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra since 1999.

Over the weekend, as the Venezuelan congress on Saturday rejected what it called a government takeover, a source told The Times that Dudamel had been involved in talks that resulted in the release of violinist Wuilly Arteaga last week.

Arteaga has gained notoriety and a social media following for playing violin during violent street protests against the Venezuelan government.

Dudamel in May wrote a strongly worded Facebook post criticizing his home country’s government. In July, he wrote similarly critical editorials that ran in the U.S. and in Spain.

“I urgently call on the President of the Republic and the national government to rectify and listen to the voice of the Venezuelan people. Times cannot be defined by the blood of our people. We owe our youth a hopeful world, a country where we can walk freely in dissent, in respect, in tolerance, in dialogue and in which dreams have room to build the Venezuela we all yearn for,” Dudamel wrote.

“It is time to listen to the people: Enough is enough.”

Update, 11:35 a.m.: This story was updated with a statement from the Hollywood Bowl.

Share
Advertisement

John Oliver urges conservatives to condemn Trump’s Charlottesville response: ‘Say his name’

Although some observers think Stephen K. Bannon’s Friday ouster from the White House could be a turning point, John Oliver doesn’t see it that way.

“The truly depressing thing about Steve Bannon’s departure is how unsatisfying it is,” he said Sunday on “Last Week Tonight.” “One panderer to white nationalists has left the White House, but the one he was working for is still very much there.”

In case there was any doubt, he was referring to President Trump, who on Tuesday once again suggested an equivalence between the white nationalist protesters who gathered in Charlottesville, Va. last weekend and the counter-protesters who opposed them. One of the counter-protesters, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed.

Oliver focused on the Republican politicians and conservative pundits, many of whom he claimed were eager to distance themselves from such overt displays of racism yet unwilling to condemn Trump by name.

“You can mention him; he’s not Voldemort,” Oliver said.

“The problem with not mentioning him is that it suggests that he is somehow not a key part of the problem here,” he said.

According to “Last Week Tonight,” only 54 of nearly 300 congressional Republicans specifically denounced Trump — or roughly 20%.

Commentators, such as Fox News host Melissa Francis, also got defensive about their refusal to disavow the president.

“If you’re getting emotionally overwhelmed and feeling judged for defending Trump in his Nazi-sympathizer phase, stop... doing it,” Oliver said. “It’s that simple.”

Inspired by the lyrics of Destiny’s Child, Oliver urged Republicans to “say his name, say his name, go right onto Fox News, say, ‘Donald, I condemn you, if you ain’t running game.’”

Watch the full segment here.

Share

How about a statue of Missy Elliott instead of a Confederate monument?

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

Rapper Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott has some devout fans in her hometown working to take down white supremacy.

In the wake of the Charlottesville violence following the call to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee, a change.org petition is calling for the removal of a Confederate monument in Portsmouth, Va., in hopes of replacing it with a “new statue of a true Portsmouth native hero.”

That hero would be the Grammy-winning artist who burst onto the rap scene two decades ago with her genre-bending music.

Currently, the Civil War monument at the intersection of Court and High streets memorializes figures representing the armed services mounted around a granite obelisk.

“Getting this statue put up will be a lot of work and you may ask yourself is it worth it? I say yes and ask you to join me in letting us work it. Together we can put white supremacy down, flip it and reverse it,” Nathan Coflin’s petition said, riffing on Elliott’s “Work It” lyrics.

The 46-year-old MC (née Melissa Arnette Elliott) was born in the port city known for its naval shipyard.

“She rose to become a platinum recording artist with over 30 million albums sold. All this without even once owning a slave,” Coflin said.

She rose to become a platinum recording artist with over 30-million albums sold. All this without even once owning a slave

— Petition to replace Portsmouth, Va.’s Confederate monument with statue of rapper Missy Elliott

As of Monday morning, the petition has been signed by upward of 22,000 supporters. Coflin will submit the petition to Portmouth Mayor John L. Rowe, Vice Mayor Paige Cherry and four City council members once it reaches 25,000 supporters.

“Missy is all of us,” Coflin wrote. “Missy is everything the Confederacy was not.”

Share
Advertisement

On day of solar eclipse, Bonnie Tyler is back in the spotlight with ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’

Bonnie Tyler, who’ll sing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” on a cruise ship during the total eclipse of the sun in a few hours, revealed a sort of secret about the iconic 1983 song Monday morning.

“To be honest, I do get a bit mixed up in the last verse,” the 66-year-old Welsh singer told the “Today” gang from that cruise ship.

“Unlike the eclipse, which is going to last two minutes, 40 seconds, this song was originally almost eight minutes, and Jim Steinman, who wrote the song, had to chop it about to get the single version,” Tyler confided.

“So I do two versions — I do the single version, and then when I’m doing live shows. I’ve got to remember the last verse.”

She’ll perform the full version Monday a few hundred miles off the coast of Florida. Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas set sail from Orlando on Sunday.

Tyler noted enthusiastically on “Today” and CNN that she’ll perform with DNCE, a band made up of Joe Jonas, Jack Lawless, Cole Whittle and JinJoo Lee.

The unofficial song of the 2017 eclipse is also a No. 1 karaoke song, she noted.

“‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ is an evergreen song all year through, not just on eclipse. It’s a powerful ballad and everybody loves to sing it,” she told CNN’s John Berman, who asked her for her favorite line.

“I need you more than ever / And if you only hold me tight / We’ll be holding on forever,” she sang, working it out dramatically, albeit in a not-quite-awake morning voice.

And yes, she did, with a laugh, note the morning voice herself.

Given the light subject matter on an overhyped morning, Tyler faced some silly questions — “How do you think a total eclipse of the heart differs from a total eclipse of the sun?” “Can you stare into a total eclipse of the heart without glasses?”

But the best one came from Matt Lauer.

“Since there hasn’t been a total eclipse since 1979, were you thinking ahead?” he asked. “Years ago, did you say, well, wait a minute, 2017, the phone is going to ring off the hook?”

“What do you think? No,” Tyler said with a laugh. “But it is, strangely enough.”

Share

A Star Is Born: Serj Tankian turns 50 today

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

I have hope. I’m a very hopeful, optimistic person. I smile every day, and I don’t go around going, ‘The sky is falling, the sky is falling.’ If I do, I’ll probably be thinking, ‘The sky is falling. I hope I can see it -- that’ll be such a trip.’

— Serj Tankian, 2007

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Tankian is singing while Rome burns

Share
Advertisement

Comedians and entertainers show an outpouring of love to the late Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory, the longtime civil rights activist, writer, social critic and comedian, speaks to a crowd attending the MLK Leadership Luncheon at the 16th annual Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival.
(Scott Keeler /Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Comedians, activists and entertainers took to Twitter en masse to pay their respects to the late Dick Gregory, not only for his comedic chops but also for his social activism (and seamless blending of the two).

“He was like Moses,” tweeted comedian John Fugelsang. “He called the founding fathers ‘thugs’ before segueing to a Viagra bit. Never lost the edge. God bless Dick Gregory.”

Patton Oswalt called him a “planet of a person whose gravitational effect on comedy can’t be measured.”

The Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson took to social media to laud Gregory’s activism. “He taught us how to laugh. He taught us how to fight. He taught us how to live,” Jackson said.

Comedians such as Margaret Cho and George Wallace mentioned the loss of comedy legend Jerry Lewis this morning.

“Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis were two of the funniest, most legendary and prolific entertainers of our generation and I bow to their genius,” Cho wrote on Twitter.

“Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis in a 12 hour span?” tweeted Wallace. “That happens in threes. I’m rollin’ up in bubble wrap and layin’ on the floor & whatnot.”

Share

‘That fool was no dummy’: Comedians and stars react to Jerry Lewis’ death

Some of comedy’s most well-known personalities, in addition to stars as varied as Russell Simmons and Paula Abdul, took to Twitter today to pay respects to late comedy legend Jerry Lewis.

Robert De Niro issued a statement saying: “Jerry was a pioneer in comedy and film.... Even at 91, he didn’t miss a beat ... or a punchline. You’ll be missed.”

“I am because he was,” tweeted Jim Carrey. “The Dick Van Dyke Show” star Rose Marie Mazetta said he “was an angel to me.”

And Whoopi Goldberg noted that the recent losses of Lewis and fellow comedy legend Dick Gregory were “a gain 4 heaven, but big loss for comedy.”

Share
Advertisement

‘Predator’ actor Sonny Landham dies at 76

Actor Sonny Landham, best known for his roles in the 1980s action movies “Predator,” “48 Hrs.” and “Lock Up,” died Thursday from congestive heart failure in Lexington, Ky. He was 76.

Landham’s sister Dawn Boehler confirmed his passing to the Associated Press.

Born in Canton, Ga., the 6-foot-4 actor and stuntman got his start in Hollywood in X-rated films before landing a small role in Walter Hill’s 1979 street gang cult classic “The Warriors.”

Hill cast him again two years later in “Southern Comfort,” then gave him a meatier role in his 1982 action comedy “48 Hrs.” Landham, who was part-Cherokee and part-Seminole, played Billy Bear, one of two outlaws on the run from a San Francisco detective and his reluctant convict accomplice, played respectively by Nick Nolte and “accomplice” Eddie Murphy.

Landham subsequently appeared in action films such as “Firewalker,” “Action Jackson,” and “Best of the Best 2,” and menaced Sylvester Stallone in the prison drama “Lock Up.”

Perhaps his best-known role was as the tracker Billy Sole in “Predator,” opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Frustrated by the lack of roles for Native American performers in Hollywood, Landham criticized the industry’s lack of inclusion at the height of his acting career.

“I’m an actor who happens to be an Indian,” he told United Press International in 1987. “Not an Indian trying to be an actor.”

He would later follow Schwarzenegger into politics, waging unsuccessful campaigns as a Republican for governor of Kentucky and U.S. Senate. In 2008, Landham’s anti-Arab comments lost him the Libertarian Party’s backing for U.S. Senate.

“Sonny Landham was such a joy to work with on ‘Predator,’” Schwarzenegger tweeted Friday. “So talented, so fun to be around. We’ll miss him. My thoughts are with his family.”

Share

‘Hamilton’ choreographer on finding the show’s pulse: ‘You can’t dance to the beat, you have to look like the beat’

In most cases musical theater is 95% non-music. The music comes in, says “Hamilton” choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, only when words are no longer strong enough to capture the emotion. But in “Hamilton” the beat never ends, which means the actors have a challenging job.

“I’m always talking to the cast saying you can’t dance to the beat, you have to look like the beat,” Blankenbuehler said Monday night in a conversation about the creation of “Hamilton.”

“And in that way, it takes the common lessons that we go through every day -- life, death, falling in love -- by putting that beat underneath it, it rises everything up,” he added. “So nothing is on the ground, everything is immediately heightened.”

WATCH: The full interview with the ‘Hamilton’ creative team here

MORE “HAMILTON”

The birth of ‘Hamilton,’ told by the man who was in the room where it happened

He’s your Aaron Burr, sir: ‘Hamilton’ star Joshua Henry on why kids in the audience bring him to tears

New details on the $10 ‘Hamilton’ ticket lottery: How it works and when it starts

‘Hamilton’ original cast and creatives: Where are they now?

Share
Advertisement

Randy Newman reflected on his legacy and new album at an intimate L.A. gig

Randy Newman, photographed at his home in Pacific Palisades, held court for a small audience of music industry guests Thursday in West Los Angeles
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

What did Randy Newman glean from rerecording his songs for a recent series of “Randy Newman Songbook” albums, in which he delivered his material solo with just his own accompaniment?

“One thing that struck me was the consistency,” Newman, 73, told an intimate invitation-only gathering Thursday night at the Village recording studio in West Los Angeles.

Many pop musicians, he noted as an ardent student of pop music history, deliver their best work in their 20s and 30s, and often struggle through the rest of their lives to match those youthful creative peaks.

“At least I haven’t gotten appreciably worse,” the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning film composer and songwriter said drolly, eliciting laughter from a couple dozen onlookers. “I think my stuff sounds like it’s from the same person. The things I was writing 50 years ago sound like the same person who’s writing today.”

Newman won his second Academy Award in 2011 for best original song.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Newman offered a few samples from his widely lauded “Dark Matter” album, which was released Aug. 4, which The Times’ Mikael Wood described as “a masterful collection so rich with sonic detail that you almost hope he never gets around to making ‘The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 4.’ ”

Newman opened with the album’s grandly ambitious first track, “The Great Debate,” which runs more than eight minutes, and which Newman said his label, Nonesuch, was reluctant to sequence as the new collection’s opening salvo.

“Where else are you going to put it?” he asked. “It’s like trying to hide an elephant.”

Besides, he said, “What have I got to lose? It’s not like I’m the Eagles.”

He also served up a good chunk of the much-discussed song “Putin,” which he again marveled at by saying, “Of course, he’s a terrible person, but it’s really not that critical of him.”

More laughs erupted when he reached the line referencing a widely publicized photo of Russia’s president going shirtless. “When he takes his shirt off/ He drives the ladies crazy/ When he takes his shirt off/ Makes me wanna be a lady.”

He also dipped back to reprise his 2008 song “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country,” a politically barbed number written with the George W. Bush administration in mind, which he said, “I never expected to be playing again. I thought that was the worst things would ever get.”

Taking a request from the Q&A sessions’s MC — KCRW host and music supervisor Gary Calamar — Newman concluded with “Louisiana 1927,” his song about flooding across that state in the early 20th century. It has become something of an anthem in Louisiana and has been recorded by artists including Aaron Neville, Marcia Ball, Jo-El Sonnier, Bill Wyman and John Boutte.

Newman is launching a late summer-fall tour on Aug. 24, in Jackson, Wyo., and will crisscross the U.S. through November. It will resume with a European leg starting Feb. 16 in Berlin, with additional stops in Scotland, England and Ireland. No L.A. dates have been set.

Here’s “The Great Debate,” which opens Newman’s new album.

Share

New Robert Plant album, not a Led Zeppelin reunion, coming this fall

Robert Plant is releasing a new solo album, "Carry Fire," on Oct. 13.
(Wong Maye-E / Associated Press)

The mystery of rocker Robert Plant‘s long-dark website home page has been resolved, and it has nothing to do with rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion. Rather, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer and songwriter will release a new solo album, backed by his band of recent years, the Sensational Space Shifters.

“Carry Fire,” due Oct. 13, will also feature several guests such as the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, Albanian cellist Redi Hasa and English viola-fiddle player Seth Lakeman.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of “Carry Fire,” Plant said, “I respect and relish my past works, but each time I feel the lure and incentive to create new work. I must mix old with new.

“Consequently the whole impetus of the band has moved on its axis somewhat, the new sound and different space giving way to exciting and dramatic landscapes of mood, melody and instrumentation,” he added.

The new album’s opening track, “The May Queen,” is available as an instant download if you pre-order the album.

Plant’s previous release with the Space Shifters, 2014’s “Lullaby and ... The Ceaseless Roar,” made many music critics’ year-end Top 10 lists, and also reached the Top 10 album rankings in the U.S., the United Kingdom and at least 10 other countries.

Plant has consistently distanced himself from fans clamoring for renewed activity with his former hard rock band, talk that was stimulated in recent weeks by a short message on his website: “Any time now...”

When that phrase was brought up during an interview with the BBC in June, Plant alluded to new music, but didn’t entirely quell the Zeppelin talk when he said, “What else would there be but more new, beautiful adventures?”

Share
Advertisement

Miley Cyrus goes full Elvis and Dolly in ‘Younger Now’ music video

Miley Cyrus is making good on her promise of returning to her country music roots with her latest single, “Younger Now.”

The pop star and “Voice” judge released the titular track from her forthcoming album on Friday, along with a a retro-inspired music video that features a geriatric carnival, toddler mimes, a sock-hop and puppet show.

She’s still Miley, after all.

The evolving singer teased to the release on Sunday, just after she dropped out of an appearance at the Teen Choice Awards.

While not quite as twangy as “Inspired,” the soulful “Younger Now” talks of an awakening and change, of not being afraid of who she used to be.

“No one stays the same/ You know what goes up must come down/ Change is a thing you can count on/ I feel so much younger now,” she croons.

It’s the liberal 24-year-old’s latest effort to win over (or perhaps win back?) country music fans and red-state residents, as promised in her June cover story for Billboard: “I don’t think those people are going to listen to me when I’m sitting there in nipple pasties, you know?” she told the mag.

For the cover of “Younger Now,” the former “Hannah Montana” star traded in her signature accessory for an Elvis-inspired coif and rhinestone jumpsuit. Her styling also paid tribute to her godmother Dolly Parton, who will be featured on the album’s “Rainbowland” track.

Cyrus’ full album drops on Sept. 29.

Share

Symphony leader turns a boycott by his own musicians into a joke

Just how many Santa Monica Symphony musicians boycotted the recent concert with guest conductor Dennis Prager, the conservative radio host? Enough that orchestra Music Director Guido Lamell flew in a principal violist from Texas.

Lamell turned that into a joke about L.A. traffic: “Larry Wheeler came in from Houston to join the orchestra and got here faster than I did from Santa Monica,” he said Wednesday night at the orchestra’s summer fundraiser at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

A representative for the boycotting musicians said more than a dozen refused to play, citing Prager’s past comments about gay people and Muslims, among others. The concert was a sellout, drawing Prager’s fan base to Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Read More

Share
Advertisement

Robin Thicke and girlfriend April Love Geary are expecting a baby

(Andreas Rentz / Getty Images)

Singer Robin Thicke and girlfriend April Love Geary have a baby on the way, the 22-year-old model announced on social media Thursday with a sonogram picture.

And here’s the twist: “The due date is March 1st, Alan’s birthday!” Geary said.

Alan, of course, would be Alan Thicke, Robin’s father, who died suddenly in December at 69 from a ruptured aorta after collapsing on an ice rink. The couple, who made their first public appearance together at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2015, are “very excited” about the little one, she said.

Thicke, 40, already has a 7-year-old child with ex-wife Paula Patton, who filed for divorce from him in October 2014 after their separation earlier that year. They reached a deal in that split in March 2015 but have since sparred occasionally over custody of son Julian Fuego Thicke.

Share

A Star Is Born: Robert Redford turns 81 today

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

I guess I have kind of a purist view that is no longer practical, that I would rather have my work speak for me. ... But then I’ve always separated my public self from the private so I could have one. I don’t feel I’ve owed my life to the public — a performance, yes, but my life, no.

— Robert Redford, 1990

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Down From the Mountain

Share
Advertisement

‘Hamilton’ is a love letter to American musical theater

History does not go easily onto Broadway, “Hamilton” director Thomas Kail said on Monday night during an hourlong conversation about the show’s creation.

“We had this story of this man ... what we had to be really judicious about was that it wasn’t just ‘and then, and then, and then ... ‘ -- a series of events does not a musical make,” Kail said.

But, he added, they also had an essential and archetypal story: “The thing that made him was the thing that would make him fall.”

“As much as our show might nudge the form,” Kail said, “it’s an absolute love letter to everything we are made of.”

WATCH: The full interview with the ‘Hamilton’ creative team here.

MORE “HAMILTON”:

The birth of ‘Hamilton,’ told by the man who was in the room where it happened

He’s your Aaron Burr, sir: ‘Hamilton’ star Joshua Henry on why kids in the audience bring him to tears

New details on the $10 ‘Hamilton’ ticket lottery: How it works and when it starts

Hamilton’ original cast and creatives: Where are they now?

Share

On ‘Weekend Update,’ ‘SNL’ alum Tina Fey advises staying home during far-right rallies

I really want to say, to encourage all good, sane Americans, to treat these rallies this weekend like the opening of a thoughtful movie with two female leads. Don’t show up. Let these morons scream into the empty air.

— Tina Fey on Thursday’s ‘Weekend Update’

Share
Advertisement

‘The Jetsons’ live-action sitcom pilot ordered by ABC

Looks as if we’re going to get to meet George Jetson all over again, courtesy of ABC, which is planning a live-action sitcom based the characters in Hanna-Barbera’s classic cartoon “The Jetsons.”

Robert Zemeckis, James Rapke and Gary Janetti will executive produce the multi-camera show, Warner Bros. confirmed Thursday. Janetti, whose resume includes “Will & Grace” and “Family Guy,” will write.

ABC has made a put-pilot commitment, meaning it intends to air the pilot episode or face financial consequences. That’s one degree of confidence shy of a straight-to-series order.

“The Jetsons” will follow the life of a regular family — George, wife Jane, daughter Judy and son Elroy — living 100 years from now. While the cartoon envisioned a Googie-style future with flying cars and robotic household help when it premiered in 1962, the live-action sitcom promises to look at the gang “through a modern filter.”

ABC was the animated series’ first home when it premiered in prime time. The show would move to Saturday mornings for its second season, and new episodes were produced in the mid-’80s while it was in syndication.

Share

How the ‘Hamilton’ silhouette became the musical’s iconic image

The silhouette of Alexander Hamilton with his hand in the air is almost as famous as the musical itself.

So how did it happen?

“Truth?” asked choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler during a recent conversation about the creation of “Hamilton.”

“Well, we’re here,” said director Thomas Kail, “so tell us.”

When the show was preparing to move to the Richard Rodgers Theatre, “we did this really cool photo shoot in New York,” Blankenbuehler said. “Just putting down images we could use ... and Lin [-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator] just improvised that.”

“That image of the Schuyler sisters,” Kail said, “I remember the second that happened, the lift of those chins and the promise of what was possible, and there it was — that’s how it felt that day.”

WATCH: The full interview with the ‘Hamilton’ creative team here.

MORE ‘HAMILTON’

The birth of ‘Hamilton,’ told by the man who was in the room where it happened

He’s your Aaron Burr, sir: ‘Hamilton’ star Joshua Henry on why kids in the audience bring him to tears

New details on the $10 ‘Hamilton’ ticket lottery: How it works and when it starts

WATCH: Lin-Manuel Miranda leads the #Ham4Ham ticket lottery and sings!

Share
Advertisement

Aretha Franklin says she is moving back home to Detroit

Aretha Franklin told the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday that she is planning to move back home to Detroit.
(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

The Queen of Soul is headed home.

Aretha Franklin announced plans to move back to her hometown of Detroit in a Wednesday interview with the Detroit Free Press, with the intention of opening a nightclub where she would occasionally sing.

The legendary singer currently resides in Bloomfield Hills, a northern suburb of the greater Detroit metropolitan area.

“I’m cleaning house,” Franklin said. “I’m going to be moving back into Detroit, and I’m just getting things ready for that. My granddaughter just went to college, so I’m spending time with my grandchildren, and I’m also readying the new CD.”

Franklin, 75, announced her intent to retire this year after the release of her upcoming album, though not entirely.

“This will be my last year,” she told Detroit’s WDIV in February. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.”

Share

Johnny Cash’s children denounce Charlottesville neo-Nazi wearing T-shirt with Cash’s name

The children of country music titan Johnny Cash issued a strong and unequivocal statement about their father’s legacy Wednesday after a video captured a protester wearing a T-shirt with Cash’s name on it at the violent racial clash in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.

The rally resulted in the death of one counter-protester and injured numerous others.

“We were sickened by the association,” said the note signed by Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, Tara and John Carter Cash.

“Johnny Cash was a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice,” read the note, which Rosanne Cash posted on her Facebook page and distributed to more than 99,000 Twitter followers.

“He received humanitarian awards from, among others, the Jewish National Fund, B’nai Brith, and the United Nations. He championed the rights of Native Americans, protested the war in Vietnam, was a voice for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised, and an advocate for the rights of prisoners.

“He was on the advisory board of an organization solely devoted to preventing gun violence among children,” it continued. “His pacifism and inclusive patriotism were two of his most defining characteristics. He would be horrified at even a casual use of his name or image for an idea or a cause founded in persecution and hatred.

“The white supremacists and neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville are poison in our society, and an insult to every American hero who wore a uniform to fight the Nazis in WWII,” their note added. “Several men in the extended Cash family were among those who served with honor.

“Our dad told each of us, over and over throughout our lives, ‘Children, you can choose love or hate. I choose love,’ ” they wrote.

Here’s the full post from his family:

Share
Advertisement

Baseball and punk rock unite on X night at Dodger Stadium

Forty years ago it would have been unthinkable that members of a punk rock band would be invited to perform the national anthem or toss out the ceremonial first pitch at a major league baseball game.

On Wednesday night, however, the once-improbable scenario played out in real life at Dodger Stadium as the four founding members of the long-running L.A. punk band X were saluted during the Dodgers’ game against the Chicago White Sox.

Singer-bassist John Doe wore a Western-style blue suit as he sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” accompanied by Dodgers organist Dieter Ruehle, shortly after lead singer Exene Cervenka had acquitted herself admirably tossing the first pitch across home plate.

The evening included a pregame interview with Doe, Cervenka, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer DJ Bonebrake, and was peppered with nods to the band and its music.

John Doe, left, and Exene Cervenka will bring X to L.A.'s Pershing Square for a free show Saturday.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times )

Ruehle also worked snippets of X songs into his crowd-inciting licks of “Charge!” during the game, while the band’s version of Jerry Lee Lewis’ early rock hit “Breathless” played during the between-innings “Kiss Cam” segment that highlights couples in the crowd.

The nightly baseball cap shuffle video contest was set up Wednesday on a rendering of an LP with a label featuring the band’s logo and the title of its watershed 1980 album, “Los Angeles.”

The Dodger Stadium appearance coincides with this year’s 40th-anniversary celebrations for X. On Saturday night, the band will play a free show (with Meat Puppets) at Pershing Square at 8 p.m., and in October, L.A.’s Grammy Museum will launch an exhibit exploring the band’s legacy.

Share

Emma Stone and Jennifer Aniston top list of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses

Emma Stone topped Forbes' annual list of top -arning actresses after her Oscar-winning turn in "La La Land."
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

It was a good year to be a Jennifer in Hollywood, but it was an even better year to be an Emma.

Forbes released its annual list of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses Wednesday and Oscar-winning “La La Land” star Emma Stone landed at the top of the heap, earning $26 million.

It’s a payday triumph for Stone, who didn’t make the list in 2016, with last year’s top earner, Jennifer Lawrence, dropping to No. 3, bringing in $24 million before taxes.

Landing at No. 2 with $25.5 million is former “Friends” actress Jennifer Aniston, who continues to bring in a hefty annual paycheck, thanks in large part to endorsements with companies including Smartwater and Aveeno.

Stone, Aniston and Lawrence were the only three women to top $20 million in earnings this year, compared with four last year.

Newcomers to the top 10 include “Beauty and the Beast” lead Emma Watson, tied at No. 6 with $14 million, and two-time Oscar winner and upcoming star of Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” Cate Blanchett, at No. 8 with $12 million.

The 10 highest-paid actress in Hollywood earned a combined $172.5 million this year, down from $205 million in 2016, Forbes said.

Calculated between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2017, Forbes compiles the list based on interviews with industry insiders and data collected from sources including Nielsen and ComScore.

Here’s the full list:

1. Emma Stone, $26 million, (2016 placement: N/A)

2. Jennifer Aniston, $25.5 million, (No. 4, $21 million)

3. Jennifer Lawrence, $24 million, (No. 1, $46 million)

4. Melissa McCarthy, $18 million, (No. 2, $33 million)

5. Mila Kunis, $15.5 million, (No. 9, $11 million)

6. (tie) Charlize Theron, $14 million, (No. 6, $16.5 million)

6. (tie) Emma Watson, $14 million, (N/A)

8. (tie) Cate Blanchett, $12 million, (N/A)

8. (tie) Julia Roberts, $12 million, (No. 8, $12 million)

10. Amy Adams, $11.5 million, (No. 7, $13.5 million)

Share
Advertisement

Shania Twain will mount 42-city tour of U.S., Canada in 2018

Shania Twain, shown performing in April at the Stagecoach festival in Indio, will embark on a North American tour in 2018.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Canadian country-pop star Shania Twain will hit the concert trail in 2018 with her first tour in three years, in support of her forthcoming album, “Now.”

The album, due Sept. 29, is her first new collection in 15 years, since 2002’s “Up!” The tour is scheduled to open May 3 in Tacoma, Wash., and includes stops in 42 cities in the U.S. and Canada. It will reach Los Angeles near the end, with a stop at Staples Center on Aug. 3 before wrapping up the following day in Las Vegas.

General ticket sales for most dates begin Aug. 24, with a presale for American Express cardholders beginning Aug. 22.

Next week, Twain will perform at the opening night ceremony for the 2017 U.S. Tennis Open in Flushing, N.Y., on Aug. 28. The event will be televised on ESPN2, and Twain plans to include some of her biggest hits as well as some of the new material from “Now.”

On Wednesday night, she introduced “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed,” her latest single from “Now,” on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.”

Of the new album, the first since her highly publicized divorce from Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who also was her producer and songwriting collaborator during most of her 1990s heyday, she told The Times earlier this year: “Right from the beginning, I was not going to collaborate with anybody for this one. This needed to be an independent experience.

“I hadn’t written by myself for a long time,” she said. “I was married for 14 years to my collaborator, and I really just needed to do that again. I needed to go back and do that by myself and have an uninterrupted flow of creativity that was insular, to see what I was made of, to see what I have there.”

Share

Seth Meyers calls Trump ‘a lying racist’ over his Charlottesville news conference

Late-night TV’s critiques of the president’s Tuesday news conference, in which Donald Trump said both white supremacists and counter-protesters were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Va., haven’t let up this week. That clash left a woman dead and many injured when a man drove his car into a crowd of anti-supremacists.

And while some TV hosts offered respite -- Stephen Colbert brought out Ellie Kemper and some puppies and James Corden hung out with Floyd Mayweather -- Seth Meyers remained one of the strongest voices.

The “Late Night” host took a deep dive into the fallout from the news conference, which he said exposed the president as a “a lying racist.”

Meyers noted Trump’s stiff body language Monday while reading his delayed condemnation of the rally’s bigotry and cited the build-up to Wednesday’s news conference, where Trump impatiently dismissed questions from the media, again calling them “fake news.”

“Get a new comeback,” an exasperated Meyers said, and then he dipped into Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” playbook. “Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.”

He also lampooned Trump’s behavior on Twitter, including a tweet in which he groused about executives resigning from his (since dissolved) manufacturing council advisory board and called them “grandstanders.”

“You all know what grandstands are, right?” Meyers said. “They were those empty things at his inauguration.”

Watch the full segment above.

Share
Advertisement

Taylor Swift makes ‘generous investment’ in Mariska Hargitay’s sexual assault victims’ charity

(Richard Shotwell / Associated Press)

Taylor Swift has selected Mariska Hargitay’s charity the Joyful Heart Foundation to receive a donation after the singer won her sexual assault case against a former DJ on Monday.

“@taylorswift13’s courage & generous investment in our work send a powerful message to survivors: you are not alone,” Hargitay, the “Law & Order: SVU” actress, wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

While the size of the donation was not revealed, Joyful Heart Chief Executive Maile M. Zambuto confirmed to the Huffington Post that Swift had made an “extremely generous financial investment in the movement to end sexual violence.”

It was a nice bit of resonance for Swift, who in 2014 famously named her cat Olivia Benson after the SVU detective character Hargitay has been portraying since the singer was 9 years old. (The two Olivias met in 2015, when Swift’s tour hit Philadelphia; Hargitay, who had a cameo in the “Bad Blood” video, also joined the singer and model Cara Delevingne onstage during the song “Style.”)

Swift was awarded a symbolic $1 on Monday by a civil jury that agreed former radio host David Mueller had sexually assaulted her at a 2013 meet-and-greet photo op.

“I acknowledge the privilege that I benefit from in life, in society and in my ability to shoulder the enormous cost of defending myself in a trial like this,” the 27-year-old said in a statement issued after the verdict (via E! News). “My hope is to help those whose voices should also be heard. Therefore, I will be making donations in the near future to multiple organizations that help sexual assault victims defend themselves.”

Swift also thanked the judge, jury, her supporters and her legal team.

Mueller had sued the “Shake It Off” singer, her mother and her radio liaison, accusing the three of getting him fired after a photo op in which Swift said he groped her butt. He said Tuesday on “Good Morning America” that he “didn’t do what they said,” but rather was unprepared to be part of the photo and moved into it as best he could.

“I never grabbed her. I never had my hand under her skirt and I can pass a polygraph,” Mueller said.

He told TMZ on Wednesday that he still can’t get any kind of job in radio. He even offered to work for free and said that in the future he might have to change his identity, “maybe get some plastic surgery.”

Share

A Star Is Born: Robert De Niro turns 74 today

(Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

I know practically no jokes. I like jokes. I feel like I have a good sense of humor — but I don’t like to get too serious about certain things.

— Robert De Niro, 2013

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Funny or serious, Robert De Niro always a sharp blade

Share
Advertisement

Elisabeth Moss schools fan with rare comment on Scientology

Elisabeth Moss responded to an Instagram user's question about Scientology on Tuesday.
(Richard Shotwell / Invision)

Elisabeth Moss tends to keep quiet about her involvement in Scientology, but the Emmy-nominated actress spoke out on the subject Tuesday in the most unexpected of places: Instagram.

Moss, who leads Hulu’s freshman series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” posted a photo of herself taken before the show’s final Emmy-related event, held Monday at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles.

In the caption, Moss expressed her gratitude for fans and excitement over the series’ second season, and people immediately flooded the comments section with admiration and queries. She responded to several of them, including a question about how the show has affected her relationship with Scientology.

A fan asked Moss about the perceived similarities between Gilead, the fictional fundamentalist regime in “Handmaid’s,” and Scientology. And the actress didn’t hesitate to shed light on the situation.

“Love this adaptation so much,” an Instagram user who goes by the name moelybanks wrote. “Question though, does it make you think twice about Scientology? Both Gilead and Scientology both believe that all outside sources (aka news) are wrong or evil… it’s just very interesting.”

“That’s actually not true at all about Scientology,” Moss responded. “Religious freedom and tolerance and understanding the truth and equal rights for every race, religion and creed are extremely important to me. The most important things to me probably. And so Gilead and THT hit me on a very personal level. Thanks for the interesting question!” (For what it’s worth, she ended her response with a kissing emoji.)

The fan seemed to take Moss’ rebuttal in stride, attributing their different understandings of Scientology to its cultural representation and acknowledging that everyone has the right to believe what they like.

“Thank you for taking the time to try and explain a little,” the Instagram user wrote. “Either way, you do you and imma do me and if that makes us happy i supposed that’s all that matters.”

The actress, who gained acclaim for her work as Peggy Olson on “Mad Men,” previously spoke about her Scientology affiliation in 2012 in an interview with the Telegraph.

“I think that for me it’s one thing that has helped me at times, and it’s kind of as simple as that,” Moss remarked.

But Moss’ involvement with the religious system founded by L. Ron Hubbard has come under criticism, with former Scientologist Leah Remini singling out Moss in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

“Elisabeth Moss believes that she can’t talk to me,” Remini said, alleging that the church wouldn’t allow Moss to speak with her because of Remini’s accusations against the faith.

“She isn’t allowed to talk to me. And me knowing that, I wouldn’t put her in the awkward position,” Remini added.

Representatives for Moss declined to comment on the actress’ Instagram remark when reached by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday afternoon.

Share

‘Bachelor in Paradise’ cast talks race, consent and how bad they all feel for DeMario Jackson

Forget the rose ceremony: “Bachelor in Paradise” on Tuesday night included a consent ceremony.

On its second episode of Season 4, the more casual incarnation of ABC’s find-love-on-TV franchise addressed the allegations of misconduct that stopped production back in June.

What it didn’t feature, however, beyond teasers and the interactions shown Monday night, were any new details about or footage of what actually went down between contestants Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson.

Basically, if you didn’t follow the scandal as it unfolded, you weren’t going to figure it out now. Cliffs Notes version: Man. Woman. Alcohol. Pool. Cameras.

Before any talk of the perils of courtship, however, there was marriage. The wedding of Carly Waddell and Evan Bass, complete with romantic shots from previous Bachelor Nation weddings, took up the first 45 minutes of the two-hour program.

After that carrot came a 25-minute stick.

Before getting, as Chris Harrison said, “back to the business of finding love,” the cast (no longer including Olympios and Jackson) gathered solemnly with the host for a serious talk that included a few shots at the media for supposedly blowing things out of proportion

The “Paradise” participants defended the show’s producers and crew and felt bad for Olympios and Jackson. Especially Jackson.

“The blame he was getting ... it broke my heart, because I thought, no matter if everything’s cleared up, people are still going to associate something bad happening with Corinne and DeMario,” said Raven Gates.

Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson.
(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images, left; Craig Sjodin / ABC)

Diggy Moreland, who like DeMario is a black man, said he empathized “a lot more” with him and worried about the “long-term effects” of Google searches that would follow Jackson through future job searches.

Prompted by Harrison, most cast members agreed that race played a part in the situation. Raven, who is white, talked about coming from the South, where “we have a stigma ... where seeing a black man with a white woman is wrong. That night, what happened wasn’t wrong.” She said she empathized especially with Jackson.

Jasmine Goode, who is black, said she thought about what if this had happened to her brother. She and Raven both said that when they defended Jackson, they were definitely not “slut shaming” Olympios.

The group blamed Olympios’ “I am a victim” statement on lawyers who they said wanted to keep it vague. Or maybe she was trying to “save face.”

As if it were a classroom, Harrison ran the cast through the consent drill. If someone is passed out, can they give consent? No. If somebody’s drunk, can they give consent? Diggy talked about morning-after regrets, but said clouded judgment didn’t preclude a person from giving the same consent they would have given while sober. (Incidentally, it turns out that during the sit-down, the cast fought back against new limits on alcohol consumption.)

Then, one by one, each cast member was asked to consent to being back in “Paradise,” with the caveat that if enough people said no, the show would not go on. Unsurprisingly, with the better part on an hour left in the broadcast, everyone said yes.

One. By. One.

“I think there’s a weird perception that exists out there that we’re not in control of ourselves while we’re here and that there’s this puppet-master thing occurring,” said Derek Peth, the guy who looks like John Krasinski in “The Office.” “We all know how realistic the friendships are ... amongst the cast and then the crew and the producers.”

“You guys aren’t mindless robots?” Harrison said.

Early in the sit-down, Taylor Nolan — who noted that she does not drink alcohol and testified that she’d never been urged to do so by anyone in production — defended reality TV as not being scripted, then spoke as if from a script: “We’re responsible for ourselves and the things we say, how much we drink, who we kiss. We’re responsible for all of it.”

Peth chimed in: “Just like in the real world.”

And so it was that “Bachelor in Paradise” got back to the business of finding love.

Share
Advertisement

Tom Cruise’s broken ankle puts the brakes on ‘Mission: Impossible 6’ production

Production of “Mission Impossible: 6” has been suspended to allow star Tom Cruise to recover from a broken ankle he suffered over the weekend while attempting a rooftop-to-rooftop jump in London.

“Tom Cruise broke his ankle while performing a stunt,” Paramount Pictures said Wednesday in a statement. “Production will go on hiatus while Tom makes a full recovery.”

The studio said that, despite the delay, “M:I 6” remains on schedule to open July 27, 2018.

Cruise is looking at six to 12 weeks of recovery, Variety reported, citing four people close to the production. Deadline Hollywood put the delay at “a minimum of nine weeks.”

Cruise was injured while attempting a stunt that had him cabled up and jumping from one rooftop to another. The actor, known for doing his own stunt work, slammed into the second building on at least two attempts, as seen in videos published online.

After failing to hit his target the second time, Cruise clambered up onto the roof and came up limping, appearing to be in significant pain with an injury to his right leg.

Share

‘Game of Thrones’ episode leaks thanks to scheduling flub

If “Game of Thrones” Season 7 was a boat, it would have gone full Titanic by now.

On Wednesday, Tom Krogsgaard Nielsen, the vice president of public relations for HBO Europe, announced that because of a mistake, Sunday’s episode had been publicly available for a short period of time, according to the Associated Press.

“We have learned that the upcoming episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ was accidentally posted for a brief time on the HBO Nordic and HBO España platforms,” Nielsen said in a statement to several media outlets. “This is not connected to the recent cyber-incident at HBO in the U.S.”

The cyber-incident in question involved a hacker demanding ransom and repeatedly leaking internal information from the network, including “Game of Thrones” plot lines and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episodes.

In good news for HBO, the fantasy drama remains an untouchable behemoth in the face of continued leaks.

Though Season 7’s fourth episode, “The Spoils of War,” was leaked online ahead of its Aug. 6 air date — in an unrelated leak — it still drew 10.2 million viewers. The episode garnered the highest ratings ever for the series until being immediately surpassed by the next episode, “Eastwatch.”

“Game of Thrones” airs the penultimate episode of Season 7 at 9 p.m. Sunday.

HBO did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Wednesday morning.

Share
Advertisement

Michael Moore leads protest on Trump Tower with star-studded Broadway audience in tow

Mark Ruffalo, left, Michael Moore, Marisa Tomei and Fisher Stevens were at Moore's New York protest Tuesday night.
(Noam Galai / Getty Images for DKC/OM)

Filmmaker Michael Moore took the audience of his Broadway show to a protest at Trump Tower on Tuesday night — and an Avenger and a few other celebrities helped lead the charge.

Following a Tuesday news conference in which President Trump placed “blame on both sides” for the violence around a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., the documentarian concluded his incendiary one-man show, “The Terms of My Surrender,” at the Belasco Theatre by having his audience walk or board a double-decker bus to the president’s namesake skyscraper.

There, they joined other protesters performing a candlelight vigil to honor paralegal Heather Heyer, who was killed when a car rammed into a crowd of people protesting the white nationalist rally.

“Time to nonviolently express our rage,” Moore wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday morning, soliciting fans to join his protest. “Join me tonight at Trump Tower. I’ll be there right after my show ends (around 9pm). I’m bringing the audience with me. After his despicable comments this afternoon, how can anyone remain silent?”

The Oscar-winning “Bowling for Columbine” director went live on Facebook for nearly an hour as the group made its way through the streets of New York — an approximately 15-block journey. Once he arrived at Trump Tower, Moore joked that they were there “to perform a citizen’s arrest.” You can watch here. Note: The video contains graphic language.

“Avengers” and “Spotlight” star Mark Ruffalo was among those audience members who boarded the bus to protest the president.

“We want him to hear us,” Ruffalo said in a video posted on his Instagram account. “We want him to know that an American killed on American soil by a Nazi is not acceptable. That there is no equivalence. There’s no ‘many sides.’ There’s two sides in this: People who fight Nazis and Nazis. And that’s it. We can’t allow Nazis to be a normal part of our society. We have to fight.”

Other celebrities in Moore’s audience who joined the chorus were Marisa Tomei, Fisher Stevens, Olivia Wilde, Tom Sturridge and Zoe Kazan.

Share

Attention, ‘Hamilton’ fans: Lin-Manuel Miranda is out on the street to greet you today

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Lin-Manuel Miranda has love for those committed “Hamilton” lottery fans.

The Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Hamilton” creator and former star took to Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday to surprise prospective theater-goers waiting in line for tickets to the opening-night show.

Miranda not only showed up to greet fans, but he will also host a live #Ham4Ham performance with special guests outside the Hollywood Pantages Theatre at 1 p.m. (The Times will have more on that when it happens.)

FULL COVERAGE: ‘Hamilton’ in Hollywood

“What started as just a fun way for the Hamilton cast to entertain the crowds of people waiting outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre to enter the Ham4Ham ticket lottery, has turned into a remarkable platform to celebrate the talent and community of Broadway with fans worldwide,” according to Manuel’s website.

The popular pre-show performance was announced on the new Hamilton mobile app on Wednesday, and Miranda took to social media to promote his appearance at the $10 ticket lottery. Here’s how that works.

“Gmorning early risers I got love for you,” he tweeted, sharing photos of the ecstatic fans who greeted him.

“Hamilton,” which began previews on Friday, will play at the Pantages through Dec. 30.

ALSO

At the first ‘Hamilton’ performances, the party is just getting started

A ‘Hamilton’ timeline: How a single song grew into a global musical juggernaut

With racial clashes rattling the country, the ‘Hamilton’ message of inclusion marches on

Share
Advertisement

Trump got you down? Jimmy Kimmel has a novel idea: ‘Let’s make America Great Britain again’

Late-night television, which not so long ago could get by on being generally topical — writing jokes off events that were still fresh a day later — has adjusted its writing schedule to keep up with the times.

“Donald Trump gave a press conference right before we starting taping, which means it’s time for ‘Breaking Crazy,’ ” Seth Meyers said on Tuesday’s “Late Night.” It was, he said, “a press conference that can only be described as clinically insane,” and it wasn’t even supposed to be a news conference.

The president was merely supposed to deliver some remarks about infrastructure. But questions from reporters about the white-supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va. — and what has been widely regarded as Trump’s failure to adequately respond to them — sent the chief executive into a fury of “fake news” rants.

“Normally,” Meyers said, “when someone is talking that level of crazy, Batman crashes through the ceiling and punches him. Trump is like a bad waitress in a crappy diner who’s trying to get fired so she can go to a concert.

“Congress, isn’t that enough? Cut bait on the president,” Meyers added. “It’s time to let this crazy ... go to the concert.”

“We had so much fun stuff planned for you tonight,” said Jimmy Kimmel on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” suggesting he wasn’t even going to talk much about Trump.

“And then he opened his mouth and all manner of stupid came out.”

It’s not exactly the case to say, as LBJ did of Walter Cronkite and Vietnam, that if you’ve lost Kimmel, you’ve lost America. But compared to some of his competition, Kimmel occupies a middle space. His natural affability and lack of any obvious agenda make him unusually convincing. He’s like a woke Jay Leno. And he was blunt.

“I feel I can say this with reasonable certainty: The president is completely unhinged; the wheels are off the wagon and hurtling towards the moon right now,” Kimmel said.

He advised his viewers not to settle for the clips he was about to show, but to go watch the interview for themselves. And then he addressed Trump voters, laying out a pretty good case for why a reasonable person might have voted for him. “You thought, you know, ‘This guy’s different. … Let’s shake this Etch-a-Sketch hard and start over.’ ”

And when Trump won, against the odds, Kimmel could understand how that might have been exciting: “You picked a horse at 35-1, and somehow it paid off.”

“By every reasonable account, and I’m using his own words here, he is a total disaster,” he went on, backing it up with a list of Trump’s actions since Inauguration Day. “And that’s just some of the list; if I went through all of it, it would be longer than the menu at the Cheesecake Factory.”

Kimmel had a novel idea.

“You can do one of two things,” Kimmel suggested. “You can dig in like Chris Christie at a hometown buffet, or you can treat this situation like you would if you’d put ‘Star Wars’ wallpaper up in the kitchen. ‘All right, I got caught up. I was excited; I made a mistake. And now it needs to go. And now he needs to go.’ ”

This all bent toward a punchline and a plan.

“I know this is going to sound nuts. … Instead of president, we make Donald Trump king. We make him the first king of America,” he offered, citing Queen Elizabeth as a good example.

“Everyone makes a big deal when she shows up — she has no power at all,” Kimmel said. “In the morning, they put a crown on her head, she stands there and waves, she goes back to bed, that’s it. … We need to set him up in a castle, maybe in Florida, lead him to the top and then lock the door to that castle. Forever.

“Let’s make America Great Britain again.”

Share

40 years after his death, Elvis Presley is still the King in the YouTube age

Today, Aug. 16, is the 40th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, who remains the most awarded artist in pop music history.

According to the Recording Industry Assn. of America, Presley’s recordings have amassed 197 gold, platinum, multi-platinum and diamond certification awards since his arrival on the national scene in 1956.

No other artist comes close: The Beatles have a total of 122, Garth Brooks has 83, Led Zeppelin has 56 and the Eagles have racked up 40 among the top sales-award earners.

But how has the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll fared in recent years?

Judging from his mighty presence on YouTube, that’s all right, Mama too.

He ranks among the top 200 artists of all time on YouTube, according to statistics released this week by the video service, outscoring hitmakers from subsequent generations, such as Kanye West, Whitney Houston and Lana Del Rey.

Presley has generated more than 2.8 billion views across YouTube and has been averaging 4.4 million views per day in the week leading up to today’s anniversary.

Last year, on the 39th anniversary, views jumped 44% compared with his daily average, and soared even more — by 74% — on his birthday (Jan. 8), when fan interest typically peaks.

YouTube also noted that Presley, who never toured outside the U.S., has tallied more than 1 million views in more than 100 countries. He is the most popular YouTube artist of all in Santiago, Chile, ranks No. 2 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and No. 3 in Mexico City.

By a wide margin, his most popular video on YouTube and Vevo is his 1961 hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which has racked up 60.9 million views. The posthumous remix of “A Little Less Conversation” by DJ Junkie XL in 2002 is safely in second place with 15.2 million views, and the posthumous studio duet with Martina McBride of “Blue Christmas” sits at No. 3 with 11.9 million views.

In conjunction with this year’s 40th-anniversary commemorations of his death, Presley’s label, RCA, and Sony Legacy have released a new box set, “Elvis Presley: A Boy From Tupelo -- The Complete 1953-1955 Recordings,” culling all the known recordings he made before signing with RCA and making the jump to a major label.

Share
Advertisement

Finally! Daniel Craig confirms he’ll return as James Bond

Though still without a title, Bond 25 finally has a star to accompany its U.S. release date on Nov. 8, 2019.

Daniel Craig has ended speculation about his future in the 007 franchise, confirming to Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night that he will be returning to the series for its 25th film.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Craig said of returning to the role a fifth time, a far cry from the tune he was humming after 2015’s “Spectre.”

Craig told Time Out London during an October 2015 interview that he’d rather “slash my wrists” than don Bond’s tux again, a quote that Colbert relished revisiting.

Abashed by his prior sentiments, Craig clarified that the interview had taken place just days after the completion of filming “Spectre,” at which point, revisiting the role seemed like the most unappealing thing ever.

“That’s like asking a woman who just gave birth and has a four-inch episiotomy, ‘Would you like to have another baby?’ ” Colbert joked, a sentiment Craig seemed to recognize, even as he dismissed it.

“No, it’s not quite like that,” Craig said. “I can’t compare it to childbirth,” and he and Colbert both acknowledged that suggesting such a thing would raise the ire of their wives.

Share

A Star Is Born: Madonna turns 59 today

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

I think my sexuality’s boldness threatens people. I’m assertive. I’m not embarrassed or shameful or inhibited. I’m not just showing a breast. There’s something defiant about what I do. I’m challenging the mores and ripping open the taboos and turning up the underbelly of our society -- all the things American culture tries to keep hidden.

— Madonna, 1991

FROM THE ARCHIVES: It’s not easy being notorious... unless you’re Madonna

Share
Advertisement

Robert Yancy, son of Natalie Cole, found dead at 39

Natalie Cole and Robert Yancy at Cole's 60th birthday party in 2010 in Beverly Hills.
(Duffy-Marie Arnoult / Getty Images)

Robert Yancy, son of the late R&B star Natalie Cole and grandson of music legend Nat King Cole, has died, law enforcement officials have confirmed to The Times. He was 39.

TMZ first reported Tuesday that Yancy was found in his San Fernando Valley apartment Monday night after a friend hadn’t heard from him for several days.

His cause of death is attributed to natural causes.

Yancy was preceded in death by his mother, who died Dec. 31, 2015, of congestive heart failure at age 65 and by his father, gospel musician and pastor Marvin Yancy, who died March 22, 1985, of a heart attack.

The elder Yancy was just 34 when he died.

UPDATES:

3:58 p.m.: This article was updated with law enforcement confirmation.

This article was originally published at 12:29 p.m.

Share

Mindy Kaling looks forward to the freedom and fun of parenthood. (Wait, what?)

Mindy Kaling says she’s stoked about the all the fun and freedom parenthood has in store for her.

“It’s so easy to criticize parenting until you’re a parent,” the star of “The Mindy Project” said Tuesday in a promo for “Sunday Today,” confirming her baby-on-board status. “So one of the nice things about becoming a parent is I’ll be able to openly criticize other parenting, because I will have a child.”

Well, that’s one way to look at it — bring on the rollercoaster.

The first report that Kaling was expecting went public about a month ago. The father’s identity has not been revealed, and the “Sunday Today” appearance is the 38-year-old’s first public acknowledgment of her status.

“I have a lot of control over a lot of aspects of my life,” Kaling said, “and this is one where I’m like, ‘OK ... it’s out of my hands.’

“Which,” she added, “is kind of a fun feeling.”

The full interview will air Sept. 10 on NBC.

For the record, 1:25 p.m.: An earlier version of this post cited the “Today” show. Kaling was in fact interviewed for “Sunday Today.”

Share
Advertisement

At 63, Oprah has ‘no damn apologies’ for how she lives

Oprah Winfrey talked marriage and wisdom in a recent interview with Vogue.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Like a fine wine, Oprah Winfrey’s wisdom only ripens as she ages.

The 63-year-old Mississippi native, whose name has become synonymous with a multimedia empire, opened up about a variety of topics, including weight and marriage, in a recent interview with Vogue.

When asked what she’s learned about society by remaining unmarried, Winfrey said, “Live life on your own terms.”

She explained that the prospect of marriage has never been an issue for her and Stedman Graham, her partner of more than 30 years.

“Nobody believes it, but it’s true,” Winfrey said. “The only time I brought it up was when I said to Stedman, ‘What would have happened if we had actually gotten married?’ And the answer is: ‘We wouldn’t be together.’ ”

Winfrey says not marrying Stedman Graham has been the key to their lasting relationship.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Winfrey contends that marriage requires a different way of existing in the world, which would have rendered their relationship untenable.

“His interpretation of what it means to be a husband and what it would mean for me to be a wife would have been pretty traditional, and I would not have been able to fit into that,” she admitted.

Winfrey also spoke about aging and how the difference between your 40s and 60s is “the knowing.”

“In your 40s, you’re coming into it, you’re intellectualizing things, and you kind of know it and you feel it,” she said, recalling how Maya Angelou used to tell her that your 50s are everything you’ve been meaning to be.

“By the time you hit 60, there are just no damn apologies. And certainly not at 63,” Winfrey said, before adding additional insight about a topic of continued conversation: her size.

“And the weight thing that was always such a physical, spiritual, emotional burden for me,” Winfrey said. “No apologies for that either.”

Winfrey’s full interview is available in the September issue of Vogue, its 125th anniversary, available on newsstands Aug. 22.

Share

Seth Meyers and his late-night cohorts condemn Trump’s delayed response to Charlottesville

After a nightmarish weekend in which speculation about nuclear war with North Korea gave way to rallies by white supremacists and violence in Charlottesville, Va., late-night hosts were ready for a fight Monday night.

On “Late Night,” Seth Meyers was solemn as he decried President Trump’s lackluster Saturday condemnation of the racist extremists, speaking at length about how Trump’s own words laid the groundwork for conflict.

“Some ignored it or played it down when Donald Trump claimed our first black president wasn’t born in this country. It was racist and insane, but he was written off as a clown, a bitter little man who didn’t know an American could have a name like Barack Obama,” Meyers intoned.

“Then he called Mexicans rapists during the speech announcing his candidacy. He called Elizabeth Warren ‘Pocahontas.’ Then he brought Steve Bannon into the White House with him, worked to take voting rights away from black people and hammered away at the idea that Chicago was a wasteland because of the violent black people living there.

“And now white supremacists and American Nazis are visible and energetic and demonstrative in a way we’ve not seen in our lifetime,” Meyer continued.

On Monday, the president delivered a more strongly worded statement specifically targeting the KKK and white supremacists.

Jimmy Fallon opened “The Tonight Show” with similar solemnity.

“Even though ‘The Tonight Show’ isn’t a political show, it’s my job to stand up against intolerance and extremism as a human being,” Fallon said in his opening monologue.

Fallon appeared visibly emotional throughout the two-minute segment, talking about setting an example for his daughters while also chiding President Trump, whom he infamously hosted on the show during the 2016 presidential campaign.

“The fact that it took the president two days to come out and condemn racists and white supremacists is shameful,” Fallon said.

Other late-night hosts, while still horrified by the events that unfolded in Virginia, fixated on how long it took Trump to come out against the extremists.

On CBS, Stephen Colbert savaged the president and mocked his slow response time, given how quickly he has historically spoken his mind over slights or displeasure.

Colbert highlighted Trump’s off-the-cuff insult of CNN at Monday’s news conference, during which he immediately dismissed a reporter as “fake news” after refusing to answer questions.

“How quickly you condemned CNN, right off the top of your head,” Colbert said, “Next time, like that — but with Nazis.”

On “The Late Late Show,” James Corden made his point about Trump’s sluggish response time by pointing out all the things the president had renounced faster than racism. The list included:

  • Meryl Streep
  • James Comey
  • Harry Styles
  • a disabled reporter
  • Nordstrom
  • Chipotle
  • bald eagles
  • “Hamilton”
  • Snoop Dogg
  • fidget spinners
  • Kristen Stewart
  • Mexico
  • Mark Cuban
  • “Despacito”
  • Samuel L. Jackson
  • Major League Baseball
  • “The View”

“Five of those are made up,” Corden told the audience, “and I guarantee you can’t figure out which five.”

Jimmy Kimmel also found himself befuddled by Trump’s handling of the weekend’s unrest, particularly the president’s ad-libbed remark that “many sides” were to blame.

“There were two sides. Not many sides. And one of those sides had Nazis on it,” Kimmel joked. “All he had to do was condemn the Nazis.”

Share
Advertisement

Pink to receive Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at 2017 MTV Video Music Awards

Pop singer Pink will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards.
(Matt Sayles / Invision/Associated Press)

Pink has been chosen as the recipient of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, which will take place Aug. 27 at the Forum in Inglewood.

The pop star joins the ranks of previous recipients Madonna, Peter Gabriel, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Guns N’ Roses, Beyoncé, the Beastie Boys and Kanye West.

In a statement, MTV officials said Pink was selected “for her trailblazing impact on music, pop culture, fashion and philanthropy.”

Katy Perry will host the show, where Pink is scheduled to perform her new single, “What About Us.” Performances are expected from Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Miley Cyrus, Shawn Mendes, Fifth Harmony and the Weeknd.

Fans can vote for nominees in eight categories on the VMAs website. Lamar leads with eight nominations, followed by five apiece for Perry and the Weeknd. And the nominees are....

Share

Anthony Scaramucci admits he expected to stay in the White House just a little longer

Given his Sunday appearance on “This Week With George Stephanopolous,” Anthony Scaramucci’s visit to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” the next night was a little less climatic than expected.

Still, the image-rehabilitation tour went on for “the Mooch,” who continued Monday to offer his insight on a divided White House even as he remained loyal to President Trump.

Introduced as the “shortest-tenured communications director in White House history,” Scaramucci got off to a bit of a rough start by opening with a joke. Not unlike his Twitter promise to arrive for Colbert’s show with a “front-stabbing knife” (a promise he kept by the time the segment ended), Scaramucci playfully said he had already added the “Late Show” writers to his “kill list.”

“Uh-huh. So you’re comedically threatening to kill people who work for me?” Colbert dryly asked.

Read More

Share
Advertisement

‘Deadpool 2’ stuntwoman Joi ‘SJ’ Harris was pioneering black motorcycle racer

The woman who died Monday during a motorcycle stunt on the set of “Deadpool 2” has been identified as Joi “SJ” Harris, a groundbreaking black road racer who, according to her website, got her Class M license in 2009 and didn’t look back.

Race-licensed in May 2013, she said she began competing in 2014 and was the first African American woman to participate in an American Motorcycle Assn.-sanctioned road-racing event.

Harris’ family confirmed the Brooklyn woman’s identity on Monday to TMZ, which reported that the “Deadpool 2” stunt was her first movie gig. She’s believed to have been a stunt double for Zazie Beetz’s character, Domino.

The stunt, which witnesses told several outlets had been rehearsed successfully a number of times, went wrong around 8 a.m. Monday in Vancouver. Harris reportedly hit a curb and went airborne into a building window. An ambulance was called, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Because her character did not wear a helmet in the movie, Harris was not wearing a helmet, a source told Deadline Hollywood.

“EVERYTHING FOR A REASON #staythecourse,” Harris had posted Friday on Facebook, listing her status as “feeling fantastic” in Vancouver.

Ryan Reynolds, director David Leitch and others expressed their condolences Monday, with the “Deadpool 2” star saying that while he was “devastated,” he knew that “nothing can come close to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel in this moment.”

Harris wrote on her blog in July about the importance of learning from every crash what not to do the next time.

“In short when it comes to crashing, I’ve learned to accept that I am not the greatest rider that exists and that there is always something to learn when on track and pushing limits,” she wrote. “Sometimes I’m going to eat it if I’m impatient. Everything takes time. Face your fears you never know what you can [be] missing out on.”

Share

A Star Is Born: Debra Messing turns 49 today

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

I’m always looking for the thing that’s going to take the edge off the perfection.

— Debra Messing, 2001

FROM THE ARCHIVES: At Play in Lucy Territory

Share
Advertisement

Taylor Swift awarded symbolic $1 in groping case against former radio host

Taylor Swift has won her civil case against David Mueller.
(Matt Sayles / Invision / Associated Press)

A jury has ruled in favor of Taylor Swift, awarding the pop star a whopping $1 in her sexual assault case against former radio DJ David Mueller.

The Grammy-winning entertainer sought the symbolic amount in her federal counter-lawsuit against Mueller as a chance to stand up for other women. She took the stand last week to testify that Mueller stayed attached to her bare backside during a photo op with him and his then-girlfriend Shannon Melcher, who also testified in the case.

“That single dollar is of immeasurable value in the scheme of things,” Swift’s lawyer Douglas Baldridge said in closing arguments on Monday (via the Denver Post). “It says no means no for all women.”

After he and Mueller’s lawyer, Gabriel McFarland, delivered their closing arguments and after nearly four hours of deliberation, the jury -- of six women and two men -- decided that Mueller assaulted the then-23-year-old singer by groping her at a 2013 pre-concert meet-and-greet at Denver’s Pepsi Center.

“I want to thank Judge William J. Martinez and the jury for their careful consideration, my attorneys Doug Baldridge, Danielle Foley, Jay Schaudies and Katie Wright for fighting for me and anyone who feels silenced by a sexual assault, and especially anyone who offered their support throughout this four-year ordeal and two-year long trial process,” Swift said in a statement reported by TV station Denver7.

That single dollar is of immeasurable value in the scheme of things. It says no means no for all women.

— Douglas Baldridge, Taylor Swift’s lawer, in closing arguments

Mueller, who filed a $3-million lawsuit against Swift and her team, accusing them of ruining his career by pressuring his KYGO-FM bosses to terminate him, denied the allegations during the weeklong trial that began last Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver.

The jury also decided that Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, and her radio liaison, Frank Bell, were within their rights to notify his radio station bosses after the incident, the Associated Press said.

On Friday, following a week of testimony from the opposing parties, Federal Judge William J. Martinez dismissed Swift from the case, saying that the singer was not personally liable for Mueller’s termination. He also reduced the amount Mueller could be awarded from $3 million to $300,000 should the jury have ruled in his favor.

ALSO

Taylor Swift cries during closing arguments in groping trial; jury in deliberation

Taylor Swift’s former bodyguard testifies in groping trial

Judge throws out part of DJ’s lawsuit against Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift testifies in groping trial: ‘It was a definite grab. A very long grab’

Jury selection continues through second day in Taylor Swift groping trial

Share

Taylor Swift cries during closing arguments in groping trial; jury in deliberation

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Taylor Swift cried in court on Monday during closing arguments in her civil trial with former radio host David Mueller when Mueller’s lawyer questioned her disposition during the photo op at the center of the two parties’ opposing lawsuits.

Mueller’s lawyer, Gabriel McFarland, questioned whether Swift’s smile in a photo taken during a June 2013 pre-concert meet-and-greet indicated that she was upset, considering that’s when she alleges is the instant that Mueller grabbed her bare buttocks.

The singer’s mother, Andrea Swift, and her attorney comforted her during Monday’s proceedings in U.S. District Court, which was handed over to the jury about noon in Denver, the Associated Press reported.

Denver workers put up a sign of support on Monday using Taylor Swift's lyrics.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

The photograph, taken by meet-and-greet photographer Stephanie Simbeck, was shown several times to jurors but has been sealed by the court. It is key evidence in the case and features Swift flanked by Mueller and his then-girlfriend Shannon Melcher. Swift testified that Mueller groped her from behind during the photo op.

“He stayed attached to my bare ... cheek as I lurched away from him,” the 27-year-old said in her incendiary testimony last Wednesday. “It was a definite grab. A very long grab,” she added.

In his $3-million civil lawsuit, Mueller, who denies that he groped Swift, accused the singer, her mother and her radio communications manager, Frank Bell, of setting out to ruin his career following the alleged incident. He sued the trio for using their influence to pressure KYGO-FM to terminate him after Swift’s team reported the encounter to his bosses.

Mueller’s lawyer, who made his case to the jury first, insisted that Mueller “is not the guy” who groped the pop star, the AP said. McFarland argued that Swift’s account is inconsistent with the accounts given by other members of her team who also testified last week. He also said it is inconsistent with the photo taken during incident.

“Look at Ms. Swift’s face. Is that the face of someone who’s in shock, who is upset?” McFarland said while showing the photograph of Mueller and Swift at the backstage event.

Taylor Swift's brother Austin, center, and her publicist, Tree Paine, second from right, walk to the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse in Denver on Monday.
(Theo Stroomer / Getty Images)

However, Swift’s lawyer asked the jury to look at the bigger picture.

“Will aggressors like David Mueller be allowed to victimize their victims?” Douglas Baldridge asked during his closing arguments.

Baldridge asserted that Swift, who counter-sued Mueller for assault and battery and is seeking $1 in damages, is standing up for women who may have encountered a similar situation.

He asked the eight-person jury to “return a verdict for a single dollar, a single symbolic dollar, the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation,” according to AP.

Look at Ms. Swift’s face. Is that the face of someone who’s in shock, who is upset?

— Gabriel McFarland, David Mueller’s lawyer, showing a photo of Mueller and Swift

Federal Judge William J. Martinez allotted 50 minutes for each attorney to make closing statements on Monday and 10 minutes for rebuttal, the Denver Post reported. In deliberations, the jury must come to unanimous decisions regarding whether Mueller is liable for damages to Swift and whether Bell and Andrea Swift are liable for damages to Mueller.

Martinez ruled Friday that the singer could not be held liable because the ousted KYGO-FM host failed to prove that she personally set out to have him fired after the alleged incident. He removed her from Mueller’s federal lawsuit.

Since these are opposing civil cases, the verdicts must be based on a preponderance of evidence, the Post said. That is, the more convincing evidence and its probable truth or accuracy, rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, as is the standard in criminal trials.

The high-profile trial began Aug. 7 and included testimony from Mueller, Melcher, Swift, her mother, Simbeck and former former Swift bodyguard Greg Dent, among others.

Share
Advertisement

‘Deadpool 2’ stuntwoman killed in motorcycle accident on set; Ryan Reynolds offers condolences

A stuntwoman was killed while riding a motorcycle on the set of the Ryan Reynolds movie “Deadpool 2” in Vancouver, Canada, police confirmed Monday.

WorkSafeBC, British Columbia’s OSHA equivalent, was on the scene along with law enforcement, the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement that promised further information as it became available.

The woman, whose name was not released by police, was treated by an ambulance crew after the 8 a.m. crash but was pronounced dead on the scene, the Vancouver Sun reported. Witnesses told the newspaper she lost control, jumped a curb and slammed through the glass windows of an office building.

“We’re heartbroken, shocked and devastated ... but recognize nothing can come close to the grief and inexplicable pain her family and loved ones must feel in this moment,” Reynolds said Monday afternoon on Twitter. “My heart pours out to them -- along with each and every person she touched in this world.”

The woman successfully performed the stunt four times, but had a problem with the throttle on her fifth practice run and lost control when the engine engaged, according to Canada’s Global News, which had a crew on the scene gathering information about a fatal bus crash that happened nearby on Sunday.

Because her character did not wear a helmet in the movie, the stuntwoman, an experienced road racer who reportedly was doing her first movie, was not wearing a helmet, a source told Deadline Hollywood.

The character Domino, played by actress Zazie Beetz, had previously been spotted on the same street riding a black Ducati motorcycle, the type involved in the crash, the Sun said. The movie has been filming in the downtown area since June 26.

According to TMZ, which first reported the accident, the victim never hit the brakes.

“We are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred on the set of ‘Deadpool 2’ this morning,” a 20th Century Fox representative said Monday afternoon. “Our hearts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of our crew member during this difficult time.”

Director David Leitch, who also helmed the action-heavy movies “John Wick” and “Atomic Blonde,” is a longtime stunt professional, with scores of credits listed on his IMDb page.

“I’m deeply saddened by the loss of one of our stunt performers today,” Leitch said in a statement. “No words can express how I and the rest of the ‘Deadpool 2’ crew feel about this tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and loved ones in this difficult time.”

Last week, “Deadpool 2” star Reynolds joked around on Twitter, thanking the Vancouver Police Department and the people of Vancouver, his hometown, “for putting up with road closures and traffic delays as we film Spider-Man downtown.”

The movie is slated for release in June.

In July, a stuntman performing a high fall died on the set of “The Walking Dead” in Atlanta after missing a safety cushion by inches. Over the weekend in London, Tom Cruise was apparently injured while performing a roof-to-roof jump stunt for “Mission: Impossible 6.”

Update, 2:10 p.m.: This post was updated to include a statement from 20th Century Fox.

Update, 2:28 p.m.: This post was updated to include a statement from Ryan Reynolds and additional information about the stuntwoman from Deadline Hollywood.

Update, 6:33 p.m.: This post was updated with a statement from director David Leitch.

Share

Cannes hit ‘The Florida Project’ eyes Oscar season with first trailer

The first trailer for A24’s “The Florida Project” has arrived, launching a potential awards campaign for what industry watchers are already calling this year’s “Moonlight,” an American indie and Cannes darling that marks the latest film from Sean Baker (“Prince of Broadway,” “Starlet”).

Two years ago, Baker’s iPhone-shot “Tangerine” made a splash with its vérité odyssey across Los Angeles, as seen through the eyes of a transgender woman named Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez). Like “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project” takes an intimate tour through a marginalized existence rarely seen in film, even if its subjects might more closely resemble the characters of Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” than Barry Jenkins’ best-picture winner “Moonlight” (both also released by distributor A24).

The story is set in Florida in the shadows of Disney World, where 6-year-old Moonee (Baker discovery Brooklynn Prince) lives with her young mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite), in a brightly painted budget motel run by Bobby (Willem Dafoe).

“The Florida Project” emerged from this year’s Cannes lineup as a major entry to watch come Oscar season and solidified Baker’s reputation as one of the most exciting new American auteurs on the rise. The Times’ critic Justin Chang named it “the most thrillingly alive” film of the festival. (Read his review here and meet the film’s precocious young stars here.)

Shot on 35 millimeter by cinematographer Alexis Zabe (“Silent Light,” “Post Tenebras Lux”), the ode to childhood and finding magic where you make it opens in theaters Oct. 6. Watch the trailer here:

Share
Advertisement

Miley Cyrus explains absence from Teen Choice Awards with plug for new single

Miley Cyrus is blaming her “unrealistic schedule” for bailing on Sunday’s Teen Choice Awards, and she spun her truancy into an announcement about her upcoming single, “Younger Now.”

Because that’s what pros do.

The “Malibu” singer was the recipient of the show’s top honor, the Ultimate Choice Award, but failed to appear at the Galen Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night to accept it.

PHOTOS: The 2017 Teen Choice Awards

The reformed enfant terrible, an 18-time Teen Choice Award winner, was announced as a last-minute cancellation early in the ceremony, the Associated Press said.

“I know,” presenter Victoria Justice said. “It’s a bummer.”

Cyrus later took to Instagram to thank her “dearest fans” and all those watching for voting for her.

“I am beyond bummed I couldn’t make it to the show as I had every intention of being there to accept and celebrate this honor!” the 24-year-old wrote, adding, “I created an unrealistic schedule for myself which leads me to this announcement!”

Then Cyrus divulged her secret (and what appears to be throwback cover art for the eponymous album): Her new single and its accompanying music video are set to drop on Friday. It’s the latest in the lead-up to the release of her sixth studio album, due Sept. 29.

“I hope to always make people smile and shine light thru my work! I look forward to making music for the rest of my life and I’m thankful everyday for those who listen!” she added. “I am sending so much love and peace into the world right now because THATS what we need most! Love Love & more LOVE!”

Hours earlier, the Disney Channel alum and “Voice” judge shared a post of solidarity with the people of Charlottesville, Va., amid the rioting between counter-protesters and those participating in a white supremacist rally that erupted into violence over the weekend.

In her acceptance speech after winning the award for summer movie actress, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” star (and new Bruno Mars video cameo) Zendaya pleaded with the audience to get educated, listen and pay attention in order “to make this world better.”

Share

John Oliver trashes President Trump’s initial Charlottesville response as weak

On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver harshly condemned President Trump for his response to the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., this weekend.

“It’s the kind of tragedy that calls for true leadership from whoever is in the Oval Office,” Oliver said.

And as far as Oliver is concerned, that’s not what happened.

In brief remarks Saturday, Trump claimed there was bigotry and hatred “on many sides” -- a statement that immediately drew criticism across the political spectrum. (Trump delivered another statement Monday morning, directly condemning hate groups and vowing that “justice will be delivered.”)

“There honestly aren’t that many instances in modern American politics where you can honestly think, ‘That guy really should have mentioned the Nazis,’ but this is emphatically one of them,” Oliver said, arguing that Trump had made “a wild false equivalence between Nazis and people who oppose Nazis.”

The comedian said there is a reason Trump enjoys vocal support among white nationalists such as David Duke, who said on Saturday that “we’re going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.”

“Nazis are a lot like cats. If they like you, it’s probably because you’re feeding them,” said Oliver, also noting that Trump dodged repeated questions about his support among the racist groups at the rally.

“It simply doesn’t get easier than disavowing Nazis,” Oliver said, describing it as a “presidential gimme” like pardoning a turkey. “It is almost impossible to screw up.”

“Incredibly, in a country where previous presidents have actually had to defeat Nazis,” he concluded, “we now have one who cannot even be bothered to... condemn them.”

Elsewhere in the episode, Oliver took a closer look (warning: the episode contains explicit language) at another one of this week’s ominous headlines, escalating tensions with North Korea. Bonus? He tapped “Weird Al” Yankovic for a new ode to the escalating threat of a nuclear attack.

Share
Advertisement

Zendaya steals the show in new Bruno Mars video for ‘Versace on the Floor’

It’s 2017 and Zendaya is here to slay all day.

The Disney kid turned Internet darling turned leading lady has already left her mark on the summer with her low-key turn as Michelle in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” And she has stayed in the spotlight thanks to her social activism and red-carpet looks.

Zendaya’s latest head-turning effort is in Bruno Mars’ new video for “Versace on the Floor,” in which she plays the sultry 20-year-old pseudo-love interest of 31-year-old Mars.

Zendaya and Mars portray two strangers in adjoining hotel rooms (or, judging by the decor, adjoining hotel ballrooms) who exchange a look in the hallway before entering their respective rooms.

Mars then sits down at what appears to be a Lucite piano that Liberace would have deemed tacky and croons about how they should get naked, i.e., leaving that expensive Versace dress on the floor.

Zendaya kills it in the role of the sexy counterpart, easily the highlight of the five-minute, curiously unsexy video.

For real entertainment, however, check out Zendaya as Bruno Mars on “Lip Sync Battle” earlier this summer:

Share

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has a poignant new message for North Korea: ‘Please don’t nuke us’

"Weird Al" Yankovic debuted a new ode to North Korea on last night's "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver."
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The United States’ secret weapon in the rising war of rhetoric with North Korea? “Weird Al” Yankovic.

The veteran pop parodist-humorist introduced his latest song Sunday night on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight.” Host John Oliver introduced Yankovic by saying, “I would like to give you, the North Korean people, a sense of how we are feeling right now in a way you might understand and enjoy, and that is through the international language of the accordion.”

Armed with his trusty squeeze box and flanked by a fully locked and loaded polka band, Yankovic unleashed his message directed at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un: “Would you annihilate us if you had the chance?/ It’s such an antisocial thing to do/ You’ve got us crapping our collective pants/ I suggest you take it down a notch or two.”

In the jaunty song’s chorus, which subtly invokes Buffy Saint-Marie’s ‘60s antiwar anthem “Universal Soldier,” Yankovic continues: “My point is, please don’t nuke us, North Korea/ Right now we’re all a little tense/ Believe me, we don’t hate you/ Frankly we don’t think that much about you, no offense.”

He references the North Korean leader’s description of Americans as “bloodthirsty dogs” but suggests “that metaphor’s not very apt. We’re just a bunch of simple fidget-spinning goofy dorks, who probably couldn’t find your country on a map.” (True enough.)

You can listen to Yankovic’s new song here. (Heads-up: There’s some coarse language.)

Share
Advertisement

Tom Cruise hurt filming ‘Mission: Impossible 6’ roof-jumping stunt

It’s all fun and games until someone slams into a building, as Tom Cruise appears to have learned Sunday in London.

The movie star, known for doing his own stunts, was attempting to jump from one building to another while filming “Mission: Impossible 6.” In a couple of videos obtained by TMZ, Cruise misses the mark at least twice, and comes up limping hard.

In what appears to be the more painful miss, the cabled-up 55-year-old runs off one roof, comes up short and slams into the target building. He then clambers up onto the second roof, favors his right leg as he limps awkwardly toward crew members, limps gingerly around on the roof and gives a wave to crew before he’s hauled back to the starting point by people TMZ describes as members of the “MI: 6” safety team.

Another video, shot from the ground, showed a different attempt in which Cruise misses the second roof, hits the side of the target building and is immediately hauled back to the first building.

The extent of Cruise’s injury was unknown Monday morning.

Director Christopher McQuarrie (who also helmed “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,” which saw the actor hanging off of an Airbus A400), told The Times in 2015, “Tom is very bold, but he’s acutely aware what any single injury would do to the production. Besides, no one wants to be killed by a sea gull.”

Cruise’s rep did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.

Share

A Star Is Born: Halle Berry turns 51 today

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

People think that if you look this way, you can’t be downtrodden. They have this stereotyped image -- and it’s nice to challenge stereotypes. I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs.

— Halle Berry, 2002

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A New Level of Comfort

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: John Slattery turns 55 today

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

The external part of it — the clothes, the furniture, the smoking and drinking and haircuts and all that stuff — changes everything, changes the way a character sits and stands and what you’re doing with your hands, and then it kind of takes on a life of its own. But I didn’t really need to do any specific research because it’s smoking and drinking, and basically I’ve been doing that my whole life.

— John Slattery, 2008

FROM THE ARCHIVES: It pays to advertise

Share

A tweet from ‘Large Adult Goat’ about white privilege and Charlottesville goes viral

During a day when protests in Charlottesville, Va., unfolded not just on the ground but on live TV and via social media, a Twitter thread by the user @juliusgoat, who goes by “Large Adult Goat,” has gone viral.

Posted in response to Friday night’s torch-bearing white-nationalist march in advance of Saturday’s “Unite the Right” protest, the tweet contained a photo of white male marchers and a single statement:

The writer expanded the post with a string of follow-ups that compared the struggles of white men with those of minority populations in America.

The thread continues as the writer expands his argument, and in doing so started earning retweets. Within hours, the original post had earned nearly 150,000 retweets and twice as many likes.

As events unfolded -- and a car plowed through a mass of counter-demonstrators, killing at least one and injuring dozens -- his thread gained traction. Still, “Large Adult Goat,” who blogs as A.R. Moxon, kept at it. At one point, realizing his tweet had gone viral, he offered an assessment of his work.

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Casey Affleck turns 42 today

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The more you engage with [planning a career/image], trying to figure it out and cut just the perfect path through it all, then the more time you’ve wasted thinking about something that isn’t really what you care about.

— Casey Affleck, 2007

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Make way for a leading man

Share

Judge throws out part of DJ’s lawsuit against Taylor Swift

A courtroom sketch of Taylor Swift during her testimony in Denver.
(Jeff Kandyba / Associated Press)

A portion of former Denver DJ David Mueller’s case against pop star Taylor Swift has been thrown out.

A judge ruled Friday that the ousted KYGO-FM host, who Swift accuses of groping her in June 2013, couldn’t prove that Swift herself got him fired after the alleged incident, according to the Associated Press.

Mueller named the “Blank Space” singer as well as her mother, Andrea Swift (who served on her management team at the time), and their radio liaison Frank Bell in his $3-million civil suit that is being tried in U.S. District Court in Denver this week. Mueller accused the trio of ruining his career and pressuring his employer to release him after the incident.

His identical allegations against Swift’s mother and Bell will still go to the jury.

The 27-year-old singer, who filed an opposing lawsuit accusing the DJ of sexual assault during a pre-concert meet-and-greet at the Pepsi Center in Denver, is seeking a symbolic $1 judgment and a chance to stand up for other women.

Mueller denied claims that he inappropriately touched Swift, and the disparate stories were heard in front of an eight-person jury this week. Swift took the stand Wednesday, defiantly telling the judge and jury that during a photo op with the DJ, “[he] stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him.” She insisted it was “a definite grab. A very long grab.”

Swift’s attorney Douglas Baldridge filed a motion after the Friday lunch break to throw out the case entirely because Mueller’s legal team had not proven its claims, the Denver Post reported, and there was not enough evidence for the case to reach the jury.

“I would ask you right now, please, after this ordeal, please remove Ms. Taylor Swift from this case,” Baldridge said. However, Mueller’s lawyer Gabe McFarland disagreed.

According to AP, U.S. District Judge William Martinez determined Friday that Swift could not be held liable because Mueller failed to prove that she personally set out to have him fired. He made the decision after sending jurors home for the day following testimony from Swift’s former bodyguard Greg Dent and Mueller’s ex-girlfriend Shannon Melcher, who was photographed with him and Swift during the meet-and-greet.

The trial, which began Monday with jury selection, was scheduled to last through this coming Thursday. The jurors are scheduled to return Monday when they’ll consider Swift’s counterclaims.

Share
Advertisement

Taylor Swift’s former bodyguard testifies in groping trial

A courtroom sketch of Taylor Swift during her testimony in Denver.
(Jeff Kandyba / Associated Press)

Following Taylor Swift’s testimony that former radio host David Mueller grabbed her bare behind during a pre-concert meet-and-greet, Swift’s then-bodyguard took the stand on Friday to back up her story.

Greg Dent said he saw former KYGO-FM DJ David Mueller reach under the singer’s skirt during a June 2013 meet-and-greet session, according to the Associated Press.

Mueller, who names Swift, her mother and their radio liaison in a lawsuit, denies that he groped Swift. He is seeking $3 million from the singer as compensation for getting fired and for what he calls the ruining of his career. Swift countersued seeking a symbolic $1 to set an example for other women.

The trial, which began with jury selection on Monday, was scheduled to last through Aug. 17; by Friday it appeared to be moving quickly toward closing arguments, the AP said.

In U.S. District Court in Denver, Dent said that when Mueller put his arm around Swift during their photo op, his hand went under her skirt and the singer jumped to push her skirt down. She then moved closer to Mueller’s girlfriend, who also was in the photo. (The photographer, Stephanie Simbeck, testified Thursday that she saw Swift “fall into the female” with a shocked look on her face; the photographer said she heard Swift say that Mueller had grabbed her behind.)

Dent didn’t intervene, the AP said, which Mueller lawyer Gabe McFarland emphasized. Dent said he took cues from Swift, and, though he stepped up and looked at the singer, her continuation of the meet-and-greet made him let it go.

“I didn’t do anything because sometimes [Swift] said I was a little too mean,” he said when McFarland continued to press.

He added that Swift seemed off after the incident and spoke up when the meet-and-greet was over.

Workers in a nearby office building tape a message to pop singer Taylor Swift, borrowing a title from one of her albums, before the start of her trial in Denver.
Workers in a nearby office building tape a message to pop singer Taylor Swift, borrowing a title from one of her albums, before the start of her trial in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Mueller’s then-girlfriend, Shannon Melcher, was the last witness to testify on Friday. Melcher recounted the “surreal” events of the night, essentially backing up Mueller’s testimony that he jumped into the photo at the last second.

“I wasn’t paying attention directly to what he was doing to get into the photo,” Melcher said on the stand, according to the Denver Post. “It happened very quickly, to be honest. I was aware that he was trying to get into the frame.”

Melcher said Mueller was devastated when Swift’s security detail ousted the couple from the concert after the incident.

“Being escorted out of a show, in our position, it was a very serious thing,” she said.

Melcher asked Mueller if he did it, and he was shocked by the question.

Earlier this week, Mueller said another station employee boasted of groping Swift, though Swift insisted that the man who groped her was Mueller.

“He stayed attached to my bare ... cheek as I lurched away from him,” Swift testified, adding: “It was a definite grab. A very long grab.”

Share

Queen Elizabeth II faces humiliation and scandal in ‘The Crown’ Season 2 trailer

Young Queen Elizabeth II endures crises at home and abroad in Season 2 of Netflix’s historical drama “The Crown.”

“I’ve learned more about humiliation in the past few weeks than I hoped I would in a lifetime,” says Elizabeth, played by Emmy-nominated actress Claire Foy, in the series’ new trailer.

“I’ve been queen barely 10 years. And in that time, I’ve had three prime ministers. Not one has lasted the course,” she says, referring to the retirement of Winston Churchill (John Lithgow) at the end of Season 1 and the calamitous resignation of prime ministers Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan that will unfold in Season 2.

Taking place between 1955 and 1964, the British monarch must contend with her crumbling empire and escalating political crises, as well as her tenuous marriage to Prince Philip (Matt Smith), whose “wild spirit” remains untamed. She also gives birth to her third and fourth children, princes Andrew and Edward, in that time period.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Foy described the royal couple as facing down the tumultuous decade with little to no success.

“It’s a torrent coming at them and they don’t know how to cope,” Foy said. “They judge it wrongly every single time.”

Meanwhile, her free-wheeling sister, Princess Margaret, (Vanessa Kirby) and her blooming romance with her future ex-husband — commoner and photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones (Matthew Goode) — takes off with its own set of scandals.

Foy also teased to her favorite episode, which features President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy visiting Buckingham Palace in 1961. A glimpse of that meeting (with “Dexter” alum Michael C. Hall as JFK and Jodi Balfour as Jackie O.) appears in the trailer.

“I loved the episode because it’s about these two disparate women, women who are so very observed, coming to know each other,” Foy said. “It was such fun to play.”

The first season of Peter Morgan’s expensive biographical drama has already earned two Golden Globe Awards and is up for 10 Emmys in September.

Season 2 of “The Crown” begins streaming on Dec. 8.

Share
Advertisement

Chelsea Manning is ready to make a splash in Vogue’s September issue

As far as Vogue is concerned, Chelsea Manning is the woman in red.

The 29-year-old former intelligence analyst for the U.S. Army, who came out as transgender in 2013, appears in the magazine’s fabled September issue (featuring Jennifer Lawrence as the cover girl) wearing an electric red Norma Kamali swimsuit.

She posted the photo — shot by the crème de la crème of celebrity photographers, Annie Leibovitz — to her Twitter account Thursday with the caption: “Guess this is what freedom looks like.”

In 2013, Manning was convicted — and later granted clemency — for leaking an arsenal of classified military reports to WikiLeaks. Barack Obama commuted her sentence just days before the end of his presidency, and Manning was released from military prison in May, despite her initial 35-year sentence.

Manning had publicly acknowledged her transgender identity the day after the initial sentencing, but remained in an all-male prison for the duration of her stay.

“I was honestly a bit surprised by the outpouring of love and support that I got,” Manning told Vogue of her highly publicized coming-out experience. Maybe we’ll hear more about it in her memoir.

Share

‘Saturday Night Live’ remains mum on Sean Spicer appearance rumors

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Sean Spicer could give Melissa McCarthy a lectern-riding run for her money on “Saturday Night Live.”

The former White House press secretary, whose colorful press briefings were frequently parodied on the sketch-comedy show before he resigned six months into his post, is rumored to be eyeing a stint on the long-running series.

An Us Weekly report out Wednesday said that Spicer was “angling” to appear on the show and is asking people about getting on. (It comes on the heels of reports that Spicer declined to appear on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”)

“He asked someone he knows that is close to a cast member to help him,” an insider told the magazine. “Yes, he criticized ‘SNL’ before, but he’s changed his tune. He wants to make a cameo!”

However, the NBC series has declined to address the rumors. “We are not commenting,” a rep told the Los Angeles Times in an e-mail on Friday.

McCarthy’s scathing lampoon of the former Trump aide’s morning briefings — particularly her take on Spicer’s swipes at reporters, use of props and disseminating misinformation — earned the actress an Emmy Award nomination last month.

We’re still crossing our fingers that Emmy host Stephen Colbert will incorporate McCarthy’s lectern-Segway bit into the show.

Share
Advertisement

Jimmy Kimmel offers the latest on his son’s health: ‘He is very interested in ceiling fans’

It’s been more than three months since Jimmy Kimmel made an impassioned plea concerning healthcare legislation, via a 13-minute monologue sharing the intimate details of his newborn son’s cardiac crisis that led to emergency heart surgery for the then-3-day-old child.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter published Friday, Kimmel gave the world an update on little Billy.

“He’s doing great,” Kimmel said, before admitting that, like most nearly 4-month-olds, Billy’s range of interests and abilities is limited.

“He smiles. That’s pretty much it,” Kimmel said. “He is very interested in ceiling fans. He likes those a lot. I could get him to pay the same amount for Netflix just to watch ceiling fans.”

Jokes aside, Kimmel still had plenty to say about the ongoing healthcare debate in this country.

“I don’t see what the difference between healthcare and education is,” he said. “Every kid should have a right to an education. We don’t seem to have a problem with paying for that.”

Kimmel said it was while he was sitting in the hospital that he first realized that by speaking openly about the issue, he could create something good from a deeply frightening situation.

While plenty of Americans heard his message — the monologue has been viewed more than 11 million times on YouTube — Kimmel’s words also touched the hearts of some politicians, including former presidents Obama, Clinton and George W. Bush, all of whom sent notes of support.

“My goal always is to not make this a red or blue issue, because I don’t think it is,” Kimmel said. “If the opinion polls are to be believed, more than 80 percent of Americans support some kind of health insurance plan that works.”

Billy Kimmel’s rare heart defect means that he can expect two more open-heart surgeries in his future, so this seems like an issue that his father will be passionate about for some time.

An issue, in fact, that he’d love to discuss with President Trump.

“I would love to talk to him about this. I would like to see, as a father and a person who prides himself on speaking the truth, what he thinks,” Kimmel said, regarding whether he’d have Trump on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“If I were his next-door neighbor and I didn’t have health insurance for my child, I find it hard to believe he would ignore that.”

Share

Chris Pratt and Anna Faris’ breakup has a silver lining, says Kristen Bell

Kristen Bell — whose charming marriage to Dax Shepard went on social media’s protect-this-couple-at-all-costs list Monday after Chris Pratt and Anna Faris announced their own breakup late Sunday — has offered some sound advice to help heartbroken fans get a flippin’ grip.

At least they tried. And, she said, they had “lovely years” together.

“If there are two people that decide not to be together, it shouldn’t really be a heartbreak for everyone,” the “Veronica Mars” actress told E! News at an event Wednesday.

“If I ever get divorced, I’m still going to be like, ‘Wow, I loved being married to that man,’” Bell said.

That collective shudder you just felt may have been the protect-Dax-and-Kristen crowd freaking out just a little bit as she tempted fate. But never fear: The Shepard-Bells are doing what they can to make it work in Hollywood.

“We go to couple’s therapy,” she said. “We make sure that we’re talking with respect to each other. When we sit down to have a disagreement, it’s a disagreement, not an argument.”

As for the breakup heard ‘round the Western world, Bell said Pratt and Faris’ situation was likely more “nuanced” than reports this week blaming the breakup on his rocket ride to movie stardom.

“The reality is, when you’re working in this industry, you’re sometimes shooting a movie in China for four months,” she said. “You’re away from your family for four months. I think it’s more the separation than anything that can weigh on people.”

What a lovely way to say “get a flippin’ grip,” Ms. Bell.

Of course, there’s also “Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger’s take on the end of Pratt and Faris’ eight-year marriage, which appears to be complete denial that it’s really happening.

Unfortunately for all the romantics in the room, Stanger’s maybe-they’ll-work-it-out comments have been, according to Gossip Cop, officially denied.

Share
Advertisement

Jennifer Lawrence reveals what she would have changed about ‘Passengers’

Jennifer Lawrence is standing by her 2016 sci-fi thriller “Passengers.”

The Oscar-winning actress said she was proud of the project despite its tepid critical reception. However, she agreed with the criticism that it might have benefited from a major edit: Her character should have woken up first.

Co-starring Chris Pratt, the film earned more than a respectable $300 million at the global box office but was slammed for justifying rape culture because Pratt’s lonesome character -- aboard a spaceship hurtling into the future -- roused Lawrence’s character from her suspended-animation slumber without her consent.

“I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t spot it,” the September cover star told Vogue. “I thought the script was beautiful — it was this tainted, complicated love story. It definitely wasn’t a failure. I’m not embarrassed by it by any means. There was just stuff that I wished I’d looked into deeper before jumping on.”

The actress will next appear in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller “Mother!,” which also stars Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer next month. She’s been romantically linked to Aronofsky since September 2016 and confirmed reports that they began seeing each after the film wrapped.

“We had energy,” Lawrence told the magazine. “I had energy for him. I don’t know how he felt about me.”

Recently watching the trippy film reminded Lawrence “all over again how brilliant he is” as a filmmaker, but she also praised him as a partner.

“I’ve been in relationships before where I am just confused. And I’m never confused with him,” said Lawrence, who’s previously dated Coldplay’s Chris Martin and her “X-Men” co-star Nicholas Hoult.

Despite their 22-year age difference (she’s 26, he’s 48) and Lawrence’s “vastly disappointing” love of reality TV, the forthright star indicated that the two get along swimmingly.

“I normally don’t like Harvard people, because they can’t go two minutes without mentioning that they went to Harvard,” she said. “He’s not like that.”

Share

‘SNL’ alum Bill Hader returns to his roots to channel his inner Scaramucci

In its special prime-time run, “Saturday Night Live”-lite wasted little time in satirizing Anthony Scaramucci with a little help from Bill Hader.

It hasn’t quite been three months since “SNL” aired its season finale, but the news cycle in that time has had many wondering what could have been on the late-night comedy sketch show. A special four-week prime-time run of “Weekend Update” attempts to get a handle on some of it.

Kicking off the first of its four Thursday episodes of “Weekend Update: Summer Edition,” Hader returned to his old stamping grounds to play the former White House communications director who left quite the impression during his brief tenure -- thanks in part to that NSFW phone conversation with a reporter from the New Yorker.

The lampooning started when “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost referenced the revolving door of Trump administration staffers -- including Scaramucci, Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

“At this point, I don’t know if Trump is colluding with Russia, but he’s definitely colluding with ‘Dancing With the Stars,’” Jost joked.

But how is the Mooch feeling about being ousted less than two weeks after getting the job? Well, luckily he FaceTimed later in the show to share his thoughts with Jost’s co-anchor Michael Che.

After proclaiming “MOOCH!” several times and poorly clarifying his comments from that vulgar New Yorker exchange, Hader’s Scaramucci played up the public’s fascination with him.

“Everybody loves the Mooch,” Hader as Scaramucci said with exaggerated hand gestures to match an exaggerated Italian accent. “I’m like human cocaine. You got a little bump of me, I made you feel excited, but I was out of your system too quick. And now that I’m gone, you’re all depressed and edgy and you’re trying to figure out how to score some more Scara--mooch!”

When Che suggested he would have liked Scaramucci to have stuck around in his White House position a little longer, Hader’s Scaramucci agreed but said he had no regrets.

“All I did was sell my company, miss the birth of my child and ruin my entire reputation, all to be king of Idiot Mountain for 11 days,” he said.

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Viola Davis turns 52 today

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Sometimes, it’s not just about being good. It’s about just staying in the line long enough for people to understand you’re not leaving.

— Viola Davis, 2002

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A pivotal presence

Share

New details on the $10 ‘Hamilton’ ticket lottery: How it works and when it starts

After some delay and much anticipation, details of the $10 “Hamilton” ticket lottery for Los Angeles were announced Friday morning — and go into effect immediately.

How it works: Forty tickets will be sold for $10 apiece for every performance at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, where “Hamilton” will play Friday through Dec. 30. Ticket hopefuls enter by going to www.LuckySeat.com/hamilton or by downloading a new “Hamilton” app (HamiltonBroadway.com/app).

The daily lottery opens at 11 a.m. Pacific time two days prior to the performance date and closes at 9 a.m. Pacific time the day before the performance. So, for a Wednesday show, the lottery would open at 11 a.m. Monday and close at 9 a.m. Tuesday. About two hours after the lottery closes, winners are chosen and notified by email or text. Winners then have until 4 p.m. that day to pay online by credit card. Winners who do not complete their purchase by the 4 p.m. deadline will forfeit their ticket.

Winners will need a valid photo ID that matches the name on their lottery entry. Each person will be limited to one entry per performance. Each winner can buy one or two seats. Seat locations will vary, the Pantages said. More official rules and details: www.HollywoodPantages.com/lottery.

About that new app, also announced Friday: It includes camera filters, merchandise shop and content on the various “Hamilton” companies. Fans can use the app to enter the Los Angeles lottery starting now, producers said; the app can be used to enter the New York lottery starting Aug. 22 and the Chicago lottery on Aug. 29.

Read more ways to get tickets and see exclusive behind-the-scenes features, cast interviews and other “Hamilton” national tour news at latimes.com/hamilton.

Updated at 10:15 a.m.: New information on how many seats each lottery winner can buy was added to this article.

Share
Advertisement

A ‘devastated’ Tanya Tucker releases song to honor former flame Glen Campbell

Tanya Tucker, whose brief and stormy relationship with Glen Campbell was the stuff of headlines in the early 1980s, has released a song in honor of her former fiance, who died Tuesday at 81 after struggling for years with Alzheimer’s disease.

“I’m just devastated. Absolutely devastated,” Tucker said in a statement Thursday. “It’s been so hard these past several years knowing what he’s been going through. My heart just breaks.”

As a couple, the two made music together — notably “Dream Lover” — for 14 months while she was in her early 20s and he was in his mid-40s. Tucker would have been Campbell’s fourth wife had they not broken off their engagement in 1981.

In 1982, the “Rhinestone Cowboy” singer married Kim Woollen. That marriage lasted the rest of his life.

“Glen and I shared some incredible, precious memories together for a long time,” Tucker said in her Thursday statement. “There were some ups and downs and, of course, all the downs were played out in the press. We both got past all that. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing.”

Tucker said her new song, “Forever Loving You,” is not only in memory of Campbell but also “for all of those who are losing or have lost someone they love.”

It includes the lyrics: “If I’d have loved you like you were all that mattered / To this old world and me / If I could turn back the hands of time / God, if I only could / I’d go back now and change my life and make it up to you / Then I could slip away for all eternity / Forever loving you.”

The sentiment in the song has been a long time coming, it seems.

“I would lay down my life for Glen Campbell if I could just make him totally happy for even one day,” a 22-year-old Tucker told People in 1981, fresh off their breakup, “but he’s not the kind to change his mind.”

A portion of proceeds from “Forever Loving You,” which you can hear here and purchase on iTunes, will go to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, Tucker said.

Share

Taylor Swift testifies in groping trial: ‘It was a definite grab. A very long grab’

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Taylor Swift has taken the stand in her groping trial against former Denver radio host David Mueller.

On the fourth day of proceedings, the 27-year-old pop star testified in U.S. District Court in Denver on Thursday and insisted that Mueller grabbed her butt in June 2013 while they were posing for a photo during a pre-concert event.

The Associated Press reported that Swift said: “It was a definite grab. A very long grab,” later noting that someone would have had to have been underneath her to see the actual groping, “and we didn’t have anyone positioned there.”

Swift also testified she “got as far away from him as I possibly could” after the incident. Her account undercut Mueller’s testimony that he was “jostling” to get his arm around her during the photo op.

Recalling the events at the crux of Mueller and Swift’s dueling lawsuits being tried in Denver this week, the “Shake It Off” singer told Mueller’s attorney that she is “critical” of Mueller “for sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my bare ...”

Swift said she mentioned the alleged grabbing to her photographer 15 minutes after it took place -- after she had finished greeting a few dozen people who had been waiting in line, AP said.

Mueller claims that he was fired from his job at country station KYGO and was banned from Swift concerts based on false allegations about the 2013 encounter. In her countersuit, Swift accuses Mueller of sexual assault and is seeking a symbolic $1 in damages.

A message referencing a Taylor Swift lyric is displayed across the street from the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse Thursday during the singer's trial against David Mueller.
(Theo Stroomer / Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Taylor Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, who is also named in Mueller’s $3 million lawsuit, directly accused the former DJ of sexually assaulting her daughter.

A tearful Andrea Swift explained in her testimony that she and her daughter did not report the alleged groping to police because they didn’t want it to “define” Swift’s life.

“I knew what happened, I heard it from her, I heard it from my daughter’s mouth. He sexually assaulted her, right there, that guy,” she said during her emotional testimony, pointing at Mueller, according to E! News.

She said that her daughter told her “a guy just grabbed my ass in the meet-and-greet” and that he had said he was “with the radio station.”

“She couldn’t believe that after he grabbed her, that she thanked them for being there,” Andrea Swift said on the stand. “It was just destroying her that she said that...as a parent it made me question why I taught her to be so polite in that moment.”

She added that she didn’t want her daughter to “relive this awful moment” and endure the Internet trolling that would likely ensue had it gone public. The incident “shattered” their trust, she said, and resulted in the Swift team changing their approach to meet-and-greets.

Swift now limits her fan interaction and stopped going into crowds. The meet-and-greets decreased in size and her team started running background checks and now use metal detectors and wands for security, Andrea Swift said (via the Denver Post).

Because I was a larger person, I thought it would be a good idea if I closed my hand so I didn’t poke Taylor with my fingers.

— David Mueller, disputing Taylor Swift’s charge that he groped her during a meet-and-greet

Mueller testified on Tuesday that it was a colleague who groped Swift, not him. As he continued his testimony on Wednesday, he said that he had his palm down during the meet-and-greet and recalled only touching the singer’s rib cage with his knuckles, according to AP.

The supposed incident was immortalized in a photograph from the meet-and-greet in which Mueller and his girlfriend flank the then 23-year-old pop star. The picture is a key piece of evidence in the trial and Andrea Swift spent a portion of her testimony breaking down how a curve in her daughter’s skirt was a result of Mueller’s hand going behind Swift and grabbing her butt, the Denver Post reported.

“I know it went behind her,” Mueller told Swift’s attorney. “And at that point I don’t know where my hand went and that’s why I would say it was an accident.”

He later told his lawyer that his hand “was not on Taylor Swift’s rear end.”

“Because I was a larger person, I thought it would be a good idea if I closed my hand so I didn’t poke Taylor with my fingers,” Mueller said.

Share
Advertisement

Paley Center to host exclusive ‘Mindy Project’ costume exhibit

Attention fans of fashion and “The Mindy Project” alike: This one’s for you.

The Paley Center for Media announced Thursday an immersive costume exhibit celebrating the Hulu series’ sixth and final season, curated by Salvador Perez, the Emmy-nominated costume designer and president of the Costume Designers Guild.

“We’re thrilled to give fans of ‘The Mindy Project’ the rare up-close opportunity to see the fun and vibrant costumes worn by the loveable Mindy Lahiri,” Maureen J. Reidy, president and CEO of the Paley Center, said in a statement.

“ ‘The Mindy Project’: Six Seasons of Style Curated by Costume Designer Salvador Perez” will feature costumes from throughout the series’ run, including unseen items from the as-yet-to-air sixth season.

“Costume designing ‘The Mindy Project’ has been a career defining experience for me,” Perez said in a statement. “I could never have imagined how magical this project would be.

“Looking back over six seasons and 117 episodes, I am very proud of the colorful, fashionable world I was able to create and share with the fans of ‘The Mindy Project.’ This exhibit is a gift to the fans who have been so supportive all these years,” he concluded.

In addition to the exhibit, which opens Aug. 26 and runs through Oct. 1 at the Paley Center’s Beverly Hills location, the cast and creative team from “The Mindy Project” will participate in a panel and Q&A on Sept. 8 during the PaleyFest Fall Previews.

Share

Ryan Murphy on his limited series ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’: ‘[He] did not have to die’

Producer Ryan Murphy takes part in a panel discussion on "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" during the 2017 Television Critics Assn. summer press tour.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP)

After hooking viewers with a look back at the machinations inside and outside the so-called “Trial of the Century” in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” heavyweight TV producer Ryan Murphy next explores the chilling 1997 murder of fashion design icon Gianni Versace.

During an appearance Thursday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour on the Fox lot in Century City, Murphy spoke of his intentions for the second installment of the anthology series, titled “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” premiering in January.

“I think it’s more than why [Versace] was killed; it was sort of why it was allowed to happen,” Murphy told reporters

Versace was gunned down in July 1997 in front of his Miami Beach home. The designer’s death was the fifth slaying in four states that police attributed to Andrew Cunanan. (Cunanan, 27 at the time, killed himself days later.)

Murphy said the show, which uses Maureen Orth’s “Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History” as its source material, will aim to examine Cunanan’s motives and the larger theme of homophobia. (Versace was one of the few openly gay celebrities of the time.)

“We’re trying to talk about a crime within a social idea,” Murphy said. “Versace, who was [Cunanan’s] last victim, did not have to die. One of the reasons he was able to make his way across the country and pick off these victims, many of whom were gay, was because of homophobia at the time.”

From left: Ricky Martin, Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez, writer/executive producer Tom Rob Smith, executive producer Brad Simpson, and creator Ryan Murphy of "The Assassination of Gianni Versace."
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

Murphy was joined onstage by stars Ricky Martin, who plays Versace’s longtime partner, Antonio D’Amico; Darren Criss, who plays Cunanan; Edgar Ramirez, who plays Versace; as well as writer/executive producer Tom Rob Smith and executive producer Brad Simpson.

Among the topics discussed were the intricacies of examining a true story through a dramatized lens — and the deftness required in telling that story while also being respectful to Versace’s family.

One reporter brought up how Orth’s book makes the case that Versace was HIV-positive — a detail that never has been confirmed by the family. A preview of the drama’s opening scene screened for reporters ahead of the panel showed Ramirez’s Versace taking medication.

“The Versaces,” Murphy acknowledged, “will like some of what they see, and some of it they will be uncomfortable with.”

Murphy also was asked about D’Amico’s denouncement of the drama, spurred when photos from the series leaked online.

“It’s very hard to judge anything that you’re watching based on a paparazzi photograph,” said Murphy, who told reporters that he recently spoke to D’Amico by phone and had a positive discussion.

“You’re not doing a documentary — you’re doing a docudrama,” he continued. “My response to that was I think that you have to see the show, and then comment. But I think he understands that now, and he’s certainly allowed his opinions.”

Share
Advertisement

Keep calm and watch Seth Meyers break down Trump’s war of words with North Korea

Seems like a lifetime ago that social media hosted escapist pleasures such as arguing over the color of a dress, and those innocent days probably aren’t coming back any time soon, given the recent escalation in rhetoric between North Korea and President Trump.

Undaunted, late-night hosts have been mining the situation for material since the news broke Tuesday. While Samantha Bee’s “Full Frontal” briefly expressed gratitude for the experienced presence of national security advisor H.R. McMaster during this crisis, Seth Meyers offered his own take on Wednesday’s “A Closer Look” segment.

“It’s an extremely tense, delicate situation that requires calm diplomacy and sober deliberation,” the “Late Night” host began. “Unfortunately, we elected a human bullhorn with a corn syrup addiction.”

After replaying the clip of Trump’s crossed-arms “fire and fury” threats, Meyers compared his posture to that of an impatient Starbucks customer and advised, “Hey, man, when you respond to North Korea, you’re not supposed to sound like North Korea.”

Meyers went on to recount Trump’s use of Twitter to address this and other controversies, a habit that frequently catches White House officials off guard. The segment went on to reference how the president’s tweets on North Korea have been viewed by China, who called them “emotional venting.”

“China now treats our president the way parents treat a 16-year-old who won’t come down for Thanksgiving dinner,” Meyers explained.

Share

Anthony ‘the Mooch’ Scaramucci is finally taking his act to the talk-show circuit

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

Is America ready to “Mooch” again? We’re about to find out.

Stephen Colbert tweeted Wednesday night that he had big plans for his Monday show, announcing that former White House communications director Anthony “the Mooch” Scaramucci will be his guest.

It’s been less than three weeks since Scaramucci was hired into the position at the Trump White House, and just 10 days since he was unceremoniously fired from that same position.

In that time, “The Late Show” -- and late-night TV in general -- has had plenty to say about the man, the myth, “the Mooch.”

But Colbert won’t be the first to get a crack at Scaramucci.

Early Thursday morning, George Stephanopoulos, former Clinton White House communications director and current co-host of ABC’s Sunday morning political analysis show “This Week,” tweeted that he will have the first official post-firing interview with Scaramucci this weekend.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” airs Monday through Friday at 11:35 p.m. PDT on CBS. “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” airs Sunday at 8 a.m. PDT on KABC Los Angeles.

Make sure to set your Mooch-related DVRs accordingly.

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Antonio Banderas turns 57 today

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

I have a multiple career. This is something America gave me as an actor. The possibility of doing many different works, that is something in Spain I never had. Once I move here, I do musicals like ‘Evita,’ adventure movies, action movies like ‘Mask of Zorro,’ social movies like ‘Philadelphia.’ ... I love to change.

— Antonio Banderas, 2004

FROM THE ARCHIVES: An accent on versatile

Share

Chester Bennington’s widow thanks James Corden for his sensitivity about ‘Carpool Karaoke’ episode

James Corden, left, and Chester Bennington.
James Corden, left, and Chester Bennington.
(Joe Scarnici / Getty Images, left; John Shearer / Associated Press, right)

James Corden and company will let family and others close to Chester Bennington decide whether to broadcast a “Carpool Karaoke” episode that Linkin Park participated in just days before the band’s frontman committed suicide at age 41.

Widow Talinda Bennington is grateful.

She thanked both the show and its host via Twitter late Tuesday after Corden made clear that they’d be seeking outside opinions on how to handle the episode.

“We will approach it in whichever manner his family, or the people that were involved in that episode, however they would like it to be handled,” Corden told the Associated Press at the “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” launch party.

“We consider it to be not our decision to make. We will navigate it as delicately as possible and just adhere to whatever wishes they would want to because I don’t think there’s any other way we could deal with it, really.”

On July 17, Linkin Park posted a photo taken while shooting a “Carpool Karaoke” segment with actor Ken Jeong. “Fun day ... stay tuned,” the caption read.

The band also tagged Apple Music, which on Monday launched “Carpool Karaoke: The Series,” a standalone show spun off of the “Late Late Show” segment that features famous folks on a “commute” with Corden, chatting and singing along with him to music on the stereo.

Monday’s guest? Will Smith, getting jiggy with it.

Share
Advertisement

Amber Heard and Elon Musk’s relationship has run out of fuel

(Evan Agostini / Associated Press, left; Jordan Strauss / Associated Press)

Amber Heard and Elon Musk have split up, and she doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Being in the public eye means having to explain yourself to so many people, so much of the time,” the “Magic Mike XXL” actress, whose recent divorce from Johnny Depp generated headline after headline, many of them fueled by her allegations of domestic violence, wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday.

“In this case, I’d like to remain more quiet,” she continued. “Although we have broken up, Elon and I care deeply for one another and remain close.”

While Heard was asking for privacy and describing these as “very human times,” the SpaceX and Tesla billionaire’s Boring Co. was talking about a plan to shoot people across the United States at speeds of up to 600 mph using “pressurized pods in a depressurized tunnel.”

Musk reportedly confirmed their split in comments on another picture posted earlier on Heard’s Instagram page.

“Btw, just to clear up some of the press storm this weekend, although Amber and I did break up, we are still friends, remain close and love one another,” he wrote, via Us Weekly. “Long distance relationship when both partners have intense work obligations are always difficult, but who knows what the future holds.”

We can’t imagine Heard’s dad, David, who reportedly thought his daughter and her beau were wanting to settle down and start a family, is handling the breakup well.

Share

Bruce Springsteen will soon show Broadway who’s the Boss

Bruce Springsteen announced Wednesday that he would make his Broadway debut in October.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Broadway is about to be jammed with tales of broken hearts and dashed dreams as Bruce Springsteen plans his fall debut on the Great White Way.

On his website Wednesday, the iconic New Jersey musician announced “Springsteen on Broadway,” a series of solo shows at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York that will explore the rocker’s life through his words and music.

“I wanted to do some shows that were as personal and as intimate as possible,” Springsteen said in a statement. “I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theaters which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind.”

The show will present Springsteen alone with just a piano and guitar (sorry, E Street Band) as he performs his songs and reads passages from his 2016 memoir, “Born to Run.”

“All of it together,” Springsteen said of the show, “is in pursuit of my constant goal to provide an entertaining evening and to communicate something of value.”

“Springsteen on Broadway” performances will begin Oct. 3, with an official opening on Oct. 12. There will be five shows a week through Nov. 26.

In order to clamp down on second-hand resales, tickets will be available for purchase exclusively through Ticketmaster Verified Fan. The service requires pre-registration to combat bot sales.

Tickets go on sale Aug. 30 at 7 a.m. PDT. Verified fans who are randomly selected to receive an offer code will be notified two to four hours prior to sale time. Registration and verification do not guarantee fans will have the ability to purchase tickets, and all individual sales are limited to two tickets per purchaser.

Share
Advertisement

CMT and HLN to air tributes to departed music great Glen Campbell

Networks are lining up to honor the life and brilliant legacy of music superstar Glen Campbell, the singer, songwriter and actor who died Tuesday at the age of 81.

CMT announced Wednesday that it will premiere “CMT Remembers Glen Campbell” on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. PDT. (It will air again on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 8:30 a.m.)

The special will include footage from Campbell’s final interview with the network, filmed in 2011, as well as some of Campbell’s performances and tributes from fellow country stars such as Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton.

“If you know you got it, live with it the best way you can,” said Campbell of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in that 2011 interview. “You don’t cry over spilled milk.”

If you’re eager to revisit Campbell’s life even sooner, HLN is airing the acclaimed 2014 documentary “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” on Wednesday (as in, tonight) at 9 p.m. PDT. (HLN, formerly Headline News, is a spinoff network of CNN, which aired the TV premiere of the documentary in 2015.)

ALSO

Glen Campbell dies at 81; country-pop singer battled Alzheimer’s

‘A shining light in so many ways’: Music world remembers country-pop great Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s battle added a heroic coda to a pop-country star’s life

Share

Watch Will Smith and James Corden get jiggy with it on ‘Carpool Karaoke’

James Corden is back in the carpool lane, with Will Smith riding shotgun.

The debut episode of Apple Music’s new iteration of the “Carpool Karaoke” series premiered Tuesday. The standalone show is a spin-off of Corden’s popular late-night segment on “The Late Late Show.”

Corden kicked off the new series’ inaugural show the best way he knows how: jamming out. With Smith in the passenger seat, the tunes were hand-picked from some of the actor-musician’s 1990s repertoire, including “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and “Boom! Shake the Room.”

Smith also revealed that he’s been in talks to play Barack Obama in a film. And by “in talks,” Smith means he’s talked about it before -- with Barack Obama, no less. The former president’s response?

“He told me that he felt confident that I had the ears for the role,” Smith quipped.

YouTube offers a clipped version of the episode, though it hits several of the show’s major moments, including Corden and Smith singing “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” alongside a full marching band.

The full version, available exclusively on Apple Music, features several additional karaoke jingles, notably the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song. Obviously.

The video above also teases other “Carpool Karaoke” performances, including “Game of Thrones” stars Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner’s spirited rendition of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.”

Share
Advertisement

Jimmy Webb on Glen Campbell: ‘The American Beatle, the secret link between so many artists and records’

Jimmy Webb remembered his friend and collaborator Glen Campbell in a new editorial.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday night, Variety published a stirring editorial from a heartbroken Jimmy Webb, who remembered his friend and frequent collaborator Glen Campbell, just hours after the latter’s death was announced.

Webb, who penned many of Campbell’s classic hits, including “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” shared just a few of his many memories about his friend, whom he called “my big brother, my protector, my co-culprit, my John crying in the wilderness.”

“Let the world note that a great American influence on pop music, the American Beatle, the secret link between so many artists and records that we can only marvel, has passed and cannot be replaced,” Webb wrote, calling Campbell’s death both an inevitable certainty and a sudden catastrophe.

Webb wrote that Campbell’s love was deep and mercurial and his friendship tenacious.

“Just thinking back I believe suddenly that the ‘raison d’etre’ for every Glen Campbell show was to bring every suffering soul within the sound of his voice up a peg or two,” Webb said.

He concluded by asking fans to show sympathy for Campbell’s family and Webb’s own children, who considered the lost legend as a “wondrous uncle.”

Webb said it was difficult to write through his grief. “It’s like waking up in the morning in some Kafkaesque novella and finding that half of you is missing.”

But he made a simple promise regarding Campbell’s legacy.

“This I can promise,” Webb wrote. “While I can play a piano he will never be forgotten.”

ALSO

Glen Campbell dies at 81; country-pop singer battled Alzheimer’s

‘A shining light in so many ways’: Music world remembers country-pop great Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s battle added a heroic coda to a pop-country star’s life

Share

The end of the world begins on late-night TV

The End of the World, Tuesday Edition.

Hey, kids. Amid reports that North Korea has produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead, late-night television hosts had a thing or two to say about that Tuesday night.

Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” opened with a mock translation of a speech by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, complete with voiceover and subtitles.

“Hear me, American imperialist dogs,” Kim was made to say. “War is on your doorstep. In fact it is already standing in your breakfast nook. Soon you will pay dearly for these new sanctions. Because our glorious missiles can now reach Chicago. Goodbye, Wieners Circle on Clark Street.

“And these missiles are equipped with miniaturized nuclear warheads, built by the tiny hands of our toddler workforce. But it’s cool, they are union. In addition, I also have three dragons. The Unsullied call me Kim-Leesi, the Uncle of Dragons. Together we will engulf your urban centers in hellfire.

“But before I bring you righteous death, I am taking a quick 17-day vacation at my golf resort in Pyongyang. It’s a great place to shoot golf or an uncle. But make no mistake, it’s a working vacation. I will still be making every effort to destroy the world.”

Colbert returned to the subject in his monologue: “I don’t want to be alarmist,” he began, “but we’re all going to die.”

He pointed out that 15 countries had joined in the sanctions, but North Korea was focusing its rhetoric on the United States.

“Look, North Korea, stop trying to make us a thing, all right,” said Colbert. “I’m not saying what we have isn’t special, but it isn’t exclusive…. Maybe you should start threatening other countries too.”

Then he pivoted toward a rom-com trope: “Maybe the country you really want to annihilate has been right in front of you the whole time.”

Addressing Trump’s “fire and fury” comments, delivered from his New Jersey club, where the American president actually is on a 17-day vacation, Colbert said, tremulously, “Shut up! You’ll get us all killed. And I just started ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’”

“Today started as a beautiful summer day here in L.A.,” said Jimmy Kimmel on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “and suddenly I was on Google searching ways to survive a nuclear attack. FYI, there are no ways, it turns out.”

Kimmel sent a roving reporter out to Hollywood Boulevard to see whether passersby could even locate North Korea on a map. Statistically speaking it is not hard to find people unable to answer this question; one assumes that those who could were left out for the sake of comedy. Some located it in the Middle East, some in the general vicinity of Canada.

“You want a hint?” the interviewer asked one person. “It’s right above South Korea.”

Kimmel later singled out one of these respondents in his studio audience. “Where are you from, or do you even know?” he asked her.

Share
Advertisement

Denver DJ accused of groping Taylor Swift says it might have been his boss who did it

The former radio host accused of groping Taylor Swift will remain on the stand Wednesday as the pop star’s trial goes into its third day.

David Mueller, the former KYGO DJ who Swift claims grabbed her buttocks during a June 2013 concert meet-and-greet, took the stand on Tuesday to recount his version of events that led him and the singer to court. Swift’s attorney will continue his cross-examination of Mueller on Wednesday, then Mueller’s witnesses will be called to testify.

During his attorney’s questioning, Mueller said that he and the “Shake It Off” singer were trying to reach around each other during the photo op when “our hands touched and our arms touched,” adding that he “may have touched Swift’s rib cage, or rib, or ribs,” according to the Associated Press.

The former radio host testified in front of an eight-person jury -- selected Tuesday after attorneys attempted to weed out Swift fans earlier this week -- as the singer-songwriter sat in the courtroom with her mother, Andrea Swift, whom Mueller also names in his $3-million lawsuit. Mueller claims that Swift’s accusation was false and that it cost him his job, and Swift counter-sued, claiming Mueller sexually assaulted her.

Swift’s lawyers called the photo taken at the event “damning” proof that Mueller groped her. However, in opening statements, Mueller’s attorney Gabriel McFarland pointed out that Mueller’s hand “is not underneath Miss Swift’s skirt, and her skirt is not rumpled in any fashion,” adding that no one from Swift’s team saw anything amiss.

Mueller also testified that one of his bosses, Hershel Coomer, had told Mueller “that he had his hands on her butt” when Coomer met Swift that day. But he couldn’t explain why he didn’t tell those investigating the incident about Coomer’s overture. Swift’s lawyers said she was “absolutely certain” that it was Mueller who touched her.

Denver workers put up signs Tuesday in an office building across the street from the federal courthouse where Taylor Swift and David Mueller are standing trial.
(Jeff Kandyba / Associated Press)

Though several fans showed up for the trial, public interest in watching it at the downtown Denver courthouse is lower than expected, according to the Denver Post, which said that public seats to view the trial in an overflow room were handed over to the media.

On Tuesday, some workers near the courthouse put up signs that read “Free Tay” and “Haterz gonna hate” (a lyric reference to Swift’s song “Shake It Off”) in the window of an office building across the street from the federal courthouse.

On Wednesday, supporters were still present in and around the courthouse.

Share

A Star Is Born: Juanes turns 45 today

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

Colombia has suffered so much that the only way to go forward is to imagine a better country. Music has the power to bring people together, to change things. That’s my mission.

— Juanes, 2009

FROM THE ARCHIVES: FOREIGN EXCHANGE - Colombia rocker Juanes gives back

Share
Advertisement

Rosie O’Donnell talks about first series regular role on Showtime’s ‘SMILF’ and (almost) avoids mentioning Trump

Rosie O'Donnell of "SMILF" speaks onstage at the Showtime portion of the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour on August 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA.
Rosie O’Donnell of “SMILF” speaks onstage at the Showtime portion of the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour on August 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA.
((Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images For Showtime)

In her 30-plus-years career, Rosie O’Donnell has tackled stand-up comedy, Broadway, film, hosting a talk show and publishing among other endeavors. But on Nov. 5 the Long Island native marks a milestone: her first series regular role on television.

In the new Showtime dramedy “SMILF,” O’Donnell plays Tutu, the mother of the lead character played by Frankie Shaw, who created the series, based on her Sundance Film Festival Jury Award-winning short film.

Shaw’s character Bridgette lives in South Boston and is navigating single motherhood, dating and other issues and O’Donnell’s character is definitely one of her issues.

“My agent sent me the short films that Frankie did, and I was blown away by both of them,” O’Donnell told reporters during the Showtime portion of the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour on Monday on the Paramount lot. “My agent said very meekly on the phone, ‘This is not really an offer. You have to talk to her on Facetime.’ I was like, ‘Get that woman on Facetime. Let’s see what we can do.’”

The show is semi-autobiographical for Shaw, and O’Donnell spent Thanksgiving with the creator-star and her family, including her mother, in Boston and found a lot of common ground.

“My mom died when I was 10,” said O’Donnell, “so to see what would have been my mother’s life in Frankie’s mother was kind of a beautiful and healing thing for me. You know, it’s working-class Irish people, and that’s who I was growing up, and that’s who you remain, I think. And it felt familiar, loving and really authentic.”

“By the end of the night,” recalled Shaw, “my mom said, ‘Rosie, there’s no one else I would want to play me.’”

“I’m really thrilled for me as an actress,” said O’Donnell, noting she has often played roles close to her own personality. “It’s a role of a lifetime.”

It will also allow her to explore issues of mental illness, which she is eager to do “in an accurate and realistic way.”

“I suffer from major depressive disorder and PTSD, and I’ve been medicated since April 1999, right after Columbine. World events seem to be big triggers for me,” said O’Donnel. “There are so many millions of people in the United States who don’t get the help that I was lucky enough to get and don’t medicate themselves in a manner that’s going to be beneficial to their long-term health, and I think that Tutu never really had the ability or the support in her community and because of her age to go talk to someone and to get the kind of help that she needs, so we will be dealing with that concept as well.”

Although the panel began with a joke from Showtime President and CEO David Nevins noting that time was limited so questions about U.S. presidents should be kept to a minimum, O’Donnell -- who was in great spirits -- didn’t quite make it to the end without referring to President Trump, with whom she’s had an antagonistic relationship for years.

After getting laughs and good responses throughout the panel -- including to her famed impression of friend Penny Marshall -- O’Donnell expressed her gratitude, saying she hadn’t been onstage for awhile and quipped that Trump has rallies for similar reasons of validation.

Although “SMILF” marks her first series regular character, O’Donnell has done quite a bit of television over the years in addition to her talk show and stint on “The View,” including roles on everything from “Gimme a Break” in the ‘80s to “Difficult People” earlier this year.

Share

Fox bosses talk up ‘The Four,’ their answer to ‘American Idol,’ and future of ‘24’

Contestant Sonika Vaid performs during a dress rehearsal for the final season of "American Idol" on Fox.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times))

“American Idol” who?

Top on Fox’s agenda during the network’s portion of panels Tuesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills was talking up it’s new singing competition series slated for next year, “The Four.”

The new reality competition not only fills the void left by “American Idol,” which had long been a tentpole series in the genre, but “The Four” also serves as a bit of retribution as “American Idol” makes its jump to ABC.

“Its concept feels fresh and timely and it has inherent urgency,” Fox Television Group Co-Chairmen Dana Walden told reporters.

“The Four,” the show’s working title, begins where most singing competitions end: with the finalists. Each week, four singers selected from their auditions from a panel of music experts will sing against challengers, which could include viewers, to keep their spot on the show. The panel of music experts--not yet cast--will guide the winner’s career. Rob Wade, Fox’s head of alternative programming, described “The Four” as “‘Game of Thrones’ with better singing and less nudity.” The series is based on an Israeli format.

“The prize is unique. It’s designed to discover and build the career of a new music star--and that’s something we feel has been missing lately in music competitions,” Walden said. “They’ve become much more about celebrity panels and much less about star making.

When it was implied that some might view the series as Fox’s attempt to sabotage ABC’s run of “American Idol,” Walden jokingly deadpanned: “Really?”

A premiere date has not been announced, but the series is expected to launch next year. But it likely won’t run against “The Voice” or “American Idol,” Walden said.

“We really believe in this show,” she said. “We’re not developing it to just try to create some noise in the same space.”

Wade also noted that the series was being treated as an event and, therefore, would have a shorter run than most singing competition series.

But even with all the talk of the network’s new singing competition series, questions remained about the network’s decision to cancel “American Idol” and, moreso, how it let the show slip away to ABC--topics Walden has addressed before and attempted to again: citing high cost and dwindling ratings.

When Walden was asked who was making a mistake--Fox for canceling the show or ABC for reviving it so soon after it went off the air--Walden wryly shot back, “ABC... I’m just kidding.”

Time was also spent discussing the future of “24.” Though “24: Legacy” won’t live on, Walden and David Madden, president of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Co., made it clear the “24” brand is not dead at Fox. “Perhaps it will live in a more anthological story franchise,” Walden said.

Talks of its next possible iteration have begun with executive producers Howard Gordon ad Brian Grazer. And Madden said the next version of “24” will likely not be aligned to the show’s fictional counterterrorism organization, CTU.

“We want to take the same kind of ticking clock and apply it to something else,” Madden said.

Share
Advertisement

Producer Ken Ehrlich remembers the ‘great musical moment’ Glen Campbell gave the Grammys

Glen Campbell at the 2012 Grammy Awards.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

I was always a big Glen Campbell fan, right from the beginning. One of the real joys of my life was the 2012 Grammy show when Glen came and performed. Even though he was already somewhat in the grip of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he gave us a great musical moment that was amplified by the emotional layer due to his illness. Allen Toussaint often told me that Glen’s version of ‘Southern Nights’ was one of his favorite performances of any of his songs. And now they’re both gone.

— Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the Grammy Awards telecast

Read More

Share

‘A shining light in so many ways’: Music world remembers country-pop great Glen Campbell

As news of the death of Glen Campbell spread, celebrities of all kinds took to the Internet to express their grief over the loss of the country music legend, who died Tuesday at 81.

“Had Glen Campbell ‘only’ played guitar and never voiced a note, he would have spent a lifetime as one of America’s most consequential recording musicians,” Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement.

“Had he never played guitar and ‘only’ sung, his voice would rank with American music’s most riveting, expressive, and enduring,” Young added. “He left indelible marks as a musician, a singer, and an entertainer, and he bravely shared his incalculable talent with adoring audiences even as he fought a cruel and dread disease. To all of us who heard and loved his soulful music, he was a delight.”

Others shared similar sentiments about the singer, songwriter, musician, television host and actor.

Share
Advertisement

With a new album on the way, is Miley Cyrus taking a detour?

Miley Cyrus performing at 2017 Wango Tango in Carson.
(Christian K. Lee / Los Angeles Times)

The wait is almost over: Miley Cyrus announced on her website Tuesday the release date and title for her new album.

“Younger Now” will be out Sept. 29, and its promotional image, along with recently released songs, suggest a change of pace for Cyrus, whose NSFW antics have earned her a fair amount of infamy the past few years.

Surrounded by bejeweled beading, the album’s title is spelled out in rope that would look right at home in a lasso. Are we about to meet Miley the rodeo queen (and reformed wrecking ball)?

“Malibu” and “Inspired,” the first two tastes of Cyrus’ new album, have leaned more traditionally pop than her 2015 collaboration with the Flaming Lips, “Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz.” And last year as a judge on “The Voice,” Cyrus revisited her country roots with godmother Dolly Parton and Pentatonix on a blistering renditon of “Jolene.”

Perhaps Cyrus will drop more clues about her new direction when she performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27.

Share

President Trump says he’s not on vacation, but late-night TV hosts aren’t buying it

Donald Trump kicked off his 17-day, definitely earned, absolutely, certainly, not-at-all-a-vacation over the weekend, billing it as a “work trip.”

But nobody’s buying it -- well, at least not on late-night TV. So, while Trump takes swings at golf balls, Stephen Colbert and company took swings at the president.

“You’ve got to give it to him — he’s there to relax after months of grueling golf at Mar-a-Lago,” Colbert quipped during Monday’s “The Late Show.”

Colbert noted the president’s staunch insistence that his extended vacay is in the name of professional duties, thank you very much: “This is not a vacation - meetings and calls!” Trump clarified in a tweet.

“Meetings and calls — wow,” Colbert said. “Trump has to do all that during vacation? Man, I would not want to work for Vladimir Putin! Tough boss.”

Coincidentally, Putin is also taking a vacation right now. “He’s in Siberia putting on a snorkel and shooting fish with a spear gun,” Colbert said. (This is real news.) “Though he later claimed the fish was killed by Ukrainian separatists.”

During his “Closer Look” segment, “Late Night” host Seth Meyers ribbed the vacation/not-vacation for its decidedly subpar destination choice.

“Just in case you needed more proof that he’s not really a billionaire, he takes a New Jersey vacation,” the New York-based Meyers said, adding, “‘New Jersey vacation’ sounds like a slang term for a mafia hit job. ‘Hey, what happened to Bobby? Let’s just say he’s taking a New Jersey vacation — in a landfill.’”

Meyers made himself clear — he wasn’t criticizing Trump for taking a little time off.

“I’m criticizing him for being a lying hypocrite,” he cracked.

Meanwhile, as “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon pointed out, everyone seems to be forgetting who’s really on vacation here.

“President Trump is in the middle of his 17-day trip to his New Jersey golf course, but he says that it isn’t a vacation,” Fallon said during Monday’s show. “The staff of the White House said, ‘For us it is. Never been happier.’”

Share
Advertisement

Sinéad O’Connor is ‘safe ... not suicidal’ after posting troubling video online

Sinéad O’Connor’s mental health drama continues to play out on Facebook, with an unidentified person assuring fans late Monday that the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer was being taken care of after posting a troubling video begging her exes and children to come get her and take care of her.

“I am posting at Sinead’s request, to let everyone who loves her know she is safe, and she is not suicidal,” an unnamed person wrote Monday night on the same Facebook page where O’Connor posted the startling video Thursday. The singer is “surrounded by love and receiving the best of care,” the person said, and she “asked for this to be posted knowing you are concerned for her.”

O’Connor, 50, has a history of going public with her personal struggles.

In the profanity-laden video, which she said she was making on the chance it would help someone who doesn’t have her resources, a tearful O’Connor said she was living alone in a motel “in the arse end of New Jersey” with nobody to lean on except her psychiatrist.

Stating that she was suffering from three mental illnesses, she accused her children and a couple of her exes of not caring about her well-being. In past interviews, she has said she was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011, attempted suicide in 2012 and suffers from depression and PTSD.

O’Connor has been married four times and has two children with two ex-husbands, plus two more with ex-boyfriends. Her musical contributions along the way have gotten somewhat lost under the weight of her struggles.

“I gave so much love in my life and I just can’t understand how a person can be left alone...,” she said in the newest video. “Mental illness, it’s a bit like drugs, it doesn’t ... [care] who you are, and what’s worse, the stigma doesn’t ... [care] who you are, and suddenly all of the people who are supposed to be loving you and taking care of you are treating you ... [badly].

“Then when you’re angry or you’re hurt because they’re doing it, it’s like a witch hunt,” she went on.

Share

Jury selection continues through second day in Taylor Swift groping trial

(Richard Shotwell / Associated Press)

Jury selection in Taylor Swift’s groping trial has overflowed into Tuesday, when opening statements are expected to begin.

Selection proceedings began in U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday. Administering a 15-page questionnaire and hours of questioning, attorneys for both sides tried to determine who might be biased against either the crossover star or former Denver radio host David Mueller.

Mueller, who went by “Jackson” on his morning show, claims that Swift falsely accused him, defamed him and pressured his employer to fire him after an alleged groping incident at a June 2013 Pepsi Center meet-and-greet.

The disc jockey previously had worked for country music station KYGO and was assigned to work at the concert when he and his girlfriend were allowed to meet Swift in person. He also named Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, and her radio promotions manager, Frank Bell, in his complaint against the singer and is seeking $3 million in damages.

In her countersuit, Swift claimed that Mueller grabbed her butt when he and his girlfriend came to meet her. She is seeking $1 in damages while holding Mueller responsible and “serving as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts,” her lawsuit said.

Swift was in the courtroom Monday listening to the potential jurors as Judge William J. Martinez and lawyers questioned them for four hours, according to the New York Times.

About 60 potential jurors are being considered for the eight-person panel and were asked such things as whether they listened to Swift’s music, watched her videos, read blogs about her, bought her albums or attended her concerts.

They also were asked whether they listened to KYGO or had been fired, inappropriately touched or falsely accused of inappropriately touching someone, according to the Denver Post. Additionally, lawyers tried to determine whether jurors had heard of the high-profile lawsuits or seen the leaked photo in which Mueller appeared to be groping Swift.

People wait in line to attend Taylor Swift's civil case at the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse in Denver on Tuesday.
(Joe Mahoney / Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Swift fans lined up around the federal courthouse in downtown Denver on Tuesday, vying for one of the 32 courtroom seats that would allow them to witness the proceedings and potentially see their idol, who is expected to appear during some of the trial.

An overflow room with 75 seats and a closed-circuit television also is available to view the trial, which is expected to last about two weeks. Each option is available to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.

No jurors had been selected on Monday, but several were dismissed, including one who said on the questionnaire that Swift was “petty and dishonest,” the New York Times reported.

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Dustin Hoffman turns 80 today

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

With acting, I didn’t know if I was any good -- for many years -- but I knew that that’s what I wanted to do. You know, I was lucky -- I got ‘The Graduate,’ and a light switched on from unemployment to stardom.

— Dustin Hoffman, 2012

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Big screen or small, Dustin Hoffman feels ‘Luck’-y

Share

Watch Jennifer Lawrence unravel in the deliciously creepy first trailer for Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Mother’

Seeing is believing.” The first trailer for Darren Aronofsky’s hotly anticipated “mother!” has arrived, giving audiences a tantalizing peek at the Sept. 15 psychological thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence as a woman absolutely unraveling after the arrival of unexpected house guests.

Paramount’s crafty marketing roll-out has been deliberately stingy on the details of the Aronofsky-Lawrence team-up, which marks the director’s first film since 2014’s “Noah.” But the film’s two-minute trailer (and poster) promises dark and delicious suspense more akin to “Black Swan,” Aronofsky’s Best Picture-nominated ballerina thriller, which nabbed Natalie Portman the Oscar for best actress.

“Mother” -- stylized as “mother!” for reasons that should reveal themselves when the film premieres at the Venice and Toronto film festivals next month -- stars Lawrence and Javier Bardem as a seemingly happy couple, seemingly happily ensconced in their sprawling country home when the arrival of Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer heralds disturbing goings-on.

The trailer hints at domestic paranoia tales like “Rosemary’s Baby” or the atmospheric Italian giallo films in which madness and murder lurked in the shadowy corners of cushy domiciles. Lawrence’s descent into screaming fits, visions of blood-streaked basement walls, Pfeiffer’s every glance, and other assorted creepy flashes loaded with dread also do the trick to whet appetites for a plot Paramount simply teases thusly:

“A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. From filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (‘Black Swan,’ ‘Requiem for a Dream’), ‘mother!’ stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in this riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice.”

Watch the trailer:

A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. From filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan,” “Requiem for a Dream”), “mother!” stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and

Share
Advertisement

All the insane details from that ‘Game of Thrones’ dragon battle, plus Dany and Jon’s crush is officially confirmed

Do not mess with her dragons.

After waiting seven seasons to introduce Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) dragons to Westeros, Sunday night’s “Game of Thrones” finally unleashed the fiery fury on everyone’s favorite gold-handed Lannister.

A battle so big and so hot it may have topped last season’s epic “Battle of the Bastards.” And that’s with just one dragon — Dany’s got two more waiting in the wings.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

The fourth episode of the seventh season of “Game of Thrones” (officially titled “The Spoils of War”) unleashed two of Daenerys’ biggest assets: her dragons and the Dothraki army. And if you remember the words of the late King Robert Baratheon, “Only a fool would meet the Dothraki in an open field.”

After the episode, HBO unveiled an elaborate look at the making of its mad battle, which it dubbed “The Loot Train Attack.” Here’s everything we learned from the detailed, behind-the-scenes reveal.

Westeros is full of famous people

It would appear as if the “Game of Thrones” extras are a mix of highly trained professionals and celebrity super-fans. The next in a long line of “GOT” cameos (including musicians from bands such as Coldplay, Sigur Rós and Mastodon and singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who promptly left Twitter shortly after his appearance) is athlete Noah Syndergaard.

A pitcher for the New York Mets, Syndergaard was spotted hoisting a spear for Team Lannister.

The surprise was received more warmly by fans than the aforementioned Sheeran cameo, probably because he was nearly impossible to spot. And just look at him: Syndergaard’s nickname is Thor for a reason. This guy was born to lob spears at his enemies.

Confirmed: Dany and Jon Snow are starting to fall for each other

And something totally unrelated to the battle (but equally interesting) was the very-much-related twosome of Daenerys and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) clearly starting to get sweet on each other. The showrunners have been fueling this flirtation the whole time, and they finally admitted it.

In a separate “after the episode” breakdown, executive producer David Benioff confirmed the crush.

“To make it all even more complicated, they’re starting to be attracted to each other,” he said. “So much of it is not from dialogue or anything we wrote. It’s just the two of them in a small space, standing near each other, and us just watching that and feeling the heat of that.”

So yes, their love is real. But it’s not at Luke and Leia levels of awkwardness yet.

Read More

Share

Usher sued by fans who say he exposed them to herpes without warning

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Three people who say they had unprotected sex with Usher are suing the R&B star on allegations of fraud, sexual battery, infliction of emotional distress and more, alleging that he was positive for the herpes virus and didn’t tell them in advance.

“He never warned me about any STDs,” said Quantasia Sharpton, speaking in New York on Monday at a news conference where she said she had unprotected sex with Usher Raymond IV after a concert she attended around her 19th birthday.

Sharpton and two anonymous plaintiffs — one male, one female — are named in the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in Los Angeles. Attorney Lisa Bloom said at the news conference that one of her three clients had contracted genital herpes.

“Usher, if you are negative, please say so,” said Sharpton, who tested negative for herpes. “If you are positive, you need to warn your sex partners so that they can make their own informed decisions.” Bloom also called on Usher to publicly declare whether he carries the virus.

A representative for Usher did not respond Monday to a request for comment, and the performer did not make a public statement.

According to a July 19 report by Radar Online, which cited court documents it had obtained, Usher paid $1.1 million in 2012 to settle a lawsuit with a former lover, a celebrity stylist, who said she had contracted herpes from him during unprotected sex.

“We hope the reports are not true,” said Bloom, who maintains she has been contacted by others who claim to be in the same situation as the three plaintiffs. “We hope that Mr. Raymond is negative and that this can all be cleared up quickly. We hope that he has not knowingly endangered his sex partners, fans who revered him and who were thrilled to receive his personal attention.”

The new lawsuit asks for a jury trial as well as unspecified damages and court costs.

Share
Advertisement

Amazon acquires Aaron Sorkin’s Lucille Ball biopic

Oh, Luuucy! Your biopic is home.

“Lucy and Desi,” Aaron Sorkin’s feature project about iconic small-screen stars Lucille Ball and her former husband Desi Arnaz, has been acquired by Amazon Studios, according to Deadline. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett has been attached to play the beloved, Emmy-winning comedian in the authorized telling of the sitcom stars’ romantic and business partnerships.

Escape Artists and the couple’s children, Lucie Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz Jr., will produce the film about the lovable redhead and the Cuban bandleader. The project written by “Moneyball” scribe Sorkin was first announced in 2015 and has been making the rounds since.

As for who will play the meddlesome TV housewife’s former husband, that’s still up in the air. Producers are reportedly eyeing Javier Bardem and other big names to star in the biopic, Deadline reported. No word either on who will play their “Lucy” co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance, the actors who brought curmudgeonly landlord Fred Mertz and his affable wife Ethel -- Lucy’s unwitting scheming partner -- to life.

Ball and Arnaz co-founded Desilu Productions in 1950 when they met resistance over Arnaz playing Lucy’s husband, bandleader Ricky Ricardo, on their show. When the comedy became a runaway hit and globally televised phenomenon, they sold their “I Love Lucy” films to CBS for $6 million.

Then, when she and Arnaz ultimately split in 1960, she bought her ex’s interest in Desilu, which produced “Star Trek” and “Mission: Impossible,” among other series. Ball became the first woman to head a major studio and one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

The Arnaz children have controlled the rights to their parents’ memoirs since the TV stars died in the 1980s. The rights package is said to include access to those tales.

“Lucie Arnaz has been incredibly, unbelievably generous,” Blanchett told Entertainment Weekly of the project in 2016. “We met a few years ago and started talking about this, and now Aaron Sorkin is in advanced talks to adapt her mother and father’s story. It’s incredible.”

Share

Check out the first images from ‘Prince: A Private View,’ plus Beyoncé’s foreword

Beyoncé, left, and Prince perform together at the Grammy Awards in 2004. Bey penned the foreword to a new book of photographs of the late pop superstar.
Beyoncé, left, and Prince perform together at the Grammy Awards in 2004. Bey penned the foreword to a new book of photographs of the late pop superstar.
(Timothy A. Clary / AFP/Getty Images)

If the promise of never-before-seen Prince portraits weren’t tempting enough, Afshin Shahidi’s “Prince: A Private View” gives you another reason to check it out: a foreword by Beyoncé.

The forthcoming photography book pays tribute to the late pop icon who famously kept his private life exactly that.

Shahidi was a close friend of Prince’s for the better part of 20 years and served as his photographer for 10. In the aftermath of his untimely death last year at age 57, Shahidi has unearthed images that showcase Prince in moments both intimate and public.

Gearing up for the book’s October launch, Entertainment Weekly teased a preliminary glimpse of Shahidi’s images Monday, as well as a tidbit of Queen Bey’s prologue.

“Truth be told, the word ‘icon’ only scratches the surface of what Prince was and what he remains to me,” the “Lemonade” singer writes in her introduction.

Bey shared the stage with her mentor in 2004, when the duo performed a medley of their respective hits during the Grammy Awards. She later recounted the performance during a 2012 interview and made no effort to mask her awe.

“I was on the stage with Prince? Are you serious?” she said. “Of course I was terrified to be working with him. Walking into rehearsals, I was just so overwhelmed and nervous and starstruck. We rehearsed every day for an hour for a week, instead of six hours the day before. That was so smart, it was Prince’s idea – I guess he knows people are starstruck because he’s so amazing.”

“Prince: A Private View” is due out Oct. 17.

Share
Advertisement

Amy Schumer will make her Broadway debut in Steve Martin’s ‘Meteor Shower’

Actress and comedian Amy Schumer will star in Steve Martin's four-person comedy "Meteor Shower" starting in November.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision/Associated Press)

What do you do when your wacky stage play is bordering on unfledged critical catastrophe? Nab Hollywood’s favorite train wreck and ask her to headline, of course.

At least that was Steve Martin’s stopgap solution now that his newest play, “Meteor Shower” -- whose earlier productions received mixed reviews -- is headed for Broadway. And reigning comedy queen Amy Schumer is going with it.

The brassy personality behind Comedy Central’s “Inside Amy Schumer” will make her Broadway debut in Martin’s offbeat, four-person production, which moves to the big leagues in November. “Meteor Shower” is a zany marital comedy that chronicles one bizarre 1993 evening spent watching a meteor shower in Ojai, Calif.

Schumer will lead a cast of fellow funny people, including Keegan-Michael Key (of “Key & Peele” fame, who is performing in an off-Broadway run of “Hamlet” alongside Oscar Isaac), Alan Tudyk (“Firefly”) and Tony Award winner Laura Benanti (“Gypsy”). Jerry Zaks, whose Bette Midler-fronted “Hello, Dolly!” revival is consistently breaking box-office records, is set to direct.

“Meteor Shower” kicks off its Broadway stint with previews beginning Nov. 1, ahead of its Nov. 29 opening at Manhattan’s Booth Theater.

Share

Carly Waddell, Evan Bass of ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ are expecting a baby

(Rick Diamond / Getty Images)

Carly Waddell and Evan Bass, who met during the fourth season of “Bachelor in Paradise” and were married in June, are expecting a baby.

“SECRET IS OUT GUYS!!!!,” she said Sunday on Instagram, after issuing a statement to People. “Evan and I are SO EXCITED to announce we are HAVING A BABY!!! What a beautiful, wonderful, wild year it has been and the adventure continues Feb 2018!”

Bass, 34, already has three boys from a previous marriage: Nathan, Liam and Ensley. He and Waddell, 31, told E! News in April that they planned to have kids, with her saying they’d keep trying until they had a girl.

The couple’s Puerto Vallarta wedding in mid-June — conducted by host Chris Harrison, of course — was taped for broadcast during the upcoming season of the “Bachelor” franchise’s summer incarnation, which premieres Aug. 14 on ABC.

The start date on Season 4 of “Paradise” comes a week late, after production was delayed by an investigation into what happened between contestants DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios on the first day of filming.

Share
Advertisement

Miley Cyrus, the Weeknd and Lorde will perform at the MTV Video Music Awards

Miley Cyrus will be on hand for the VMAs later this month.
(Christian K. Lee / Los Angeles Times)

Miley Cyrus, the Weeknd and Lorde are among the first slate of performers booked for the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, the network announced on Monday.

Also expected to hit the stage is the show’s host, Katy Perry, Fifth Harmony, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Shawn Mendes.

More performers will be announced leading up to the awards.

Kendrick Lamar is this year’s most nominated artist, with his visual for “Humble” landing eight nods. Perry and the Weeknd follow with five.

The VMAs will air from the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27.

Share

John Oliver calls Stephen Miller a ‘vitamin D-deficient minion’ and other nice things

In the battle of CNN reporter Jim Acosta versus White House advisor Stephen Miller, let it be known that John Oliver is firmly Team Acosta.

Or, to be more accurate, he’s really, really anti-Miller. On Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight,” the comedian devoted several minutes to skewering the Duke graduate, noting his resemblance to a “vitamin D-deficient minion.”

Miller was in the news this week following a heated exchange with Acosta, who asked him to defend a strict new immigration proposal in light of the poem by Emma Lazarus inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. Miller argued that since the words -- “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” -- were added later, they were irrelevant.

As Oliver argued, “Just because it wasn’t part of the original does not mean it is worthless. Some of the best things ever made were changed part way through.” Case in point: The “Fast & Furious” movies didn’t always have the Rock.

Oliver also expressed shock over the fact that Miller, who is rumored to be in the running to replace Anthony Scaramucci as the White House communications director, is just “31 human years old.” As evidence, Oliver rolled a clip of the Santa Monica native campaigning for student government by ranting about having to pick up his own trash “when we have plenty of janitors who are paid to do it for us.”

“Wow, he is truly one of the most revolting humans (Minions) I have ever seen,” Oliver said, using profanities.

Miller wouldn’t have found much to like in this week’s main segment, either, which questioned whether President Trump’s plan to hire thousands of new border patrol agents was really a good idea (Oliver uses profanities in this too).

Share
Advertisement

Chris Pratt-Anna Faris split hits fans hard: ‘Love is dead’

The couple in happier times.
(Frederick M. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)

People who are not Chris Pratt or Anna Faris seem to be taking the Chris Pratt-Anna Faris breakup news more seriously than they expected.

The union of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Mom” stars — they got married in 2009 and have a 4-year-old son together — appears to have meant quite a bit to legions of complete strangers.

Prominent themes on social media: The introspective “I don’t care about celebrity couples, but for some reason I cared about them,” and the more bluntly fatalistic “Love is dead.”

There was also evidence of a protective vibe toward other seemingly solid celebrity couples.

And perhaps this guy said it best ...

Share

Amid recent woes, Aaron Carter reveals he’s bisexual -- and has killer abs

If the last few days have been any indication, Aaron Carter is really feelin’ himself. Could it be his newly revealed singlehood? His recent admission about his sexuality? His washboard abs? Perhaps all of the above?

Following a rough month in which the 29-year-old singer was arrested on suspicion of DUI, Carter took to Twitter late Sunday night to share a black-and-white, shirtless selfie with his 624,000 followers.

It’s been quite an eventful weekend for Carter. On Saturday, the ‘90s pop star came out as bisexual in a candid, emotional message via Twitter. Big news, considering he’s just about to clock in at 20 years in the public eye.

“This doesn’t bring me shame, just a weight and burden I have held onto for a long time that I would like lifted off of me,” he wrote. “When I was around 13-years-old I started to find boys and girls attractive. There were years that went by that I thought about it, but it wasn’t until I was 17-years-old, after a few relationships with girls, I had an experience with a male that I had an attraction to who I also worked with and grew up with.”

Shortly after, “Entertainment Tonight” revealed that Carter’s announcement arrived on the heels of a hush-hush breakup with girlfriend Madison Parker the week prior.

“The split was very amicable,” a source told “ET. “Aaron is continuing to focus on his personal self with regards to his truth, health and music.”

Here’s Carter’s post about his sexuality:

Share
Advertisement

Why did Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood refuse chemo? Because ‘this hair wasn’t going anywhere’

(Victoria Will / Invision/Associated Press)

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has opened up about his lung cancer scare and how he spared his iconic mullet in the process.

“There was a week when everything hung in the balance and it could have been curtains -- time to say goodbye. You never know what is going to happen,” the 70-year-old English rocker told the the U.K.’s Mail on Sunday.

Nicknamed “Reckless Ronnie” for his years of hard partying, the musician said his doctor discovered he had lung cancer last May during a routine health check ahead of the Stones’ European tour in September. After examining his heart, lungs and blood, they found a cancerous lesion -- “this supernova burning away on my left lung” -- and he underwent a five-hour operation to remove it.

“He asked me what I wanted to do and my answer was simple: ‘Just get it out of me,’” Wood said.

The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who joined the Stones in 1975, wasn’t surprised by the discovery because he hadn’t had a chest X-ray since 2002, when he was in rehab at Cottonwood Tucson in Arizona during one of many of his attempts to get clean.

He was prepared for bad news but had faith he would be OK, though he and his third wife, Sally Humphreys, decided not to tell anyone else about the scare because they “didn’t want to put anyone else through the hell we were going through.”

The hell-raising star’s decades of debauchery came to an end fairly recently. He’s been “clean” for eight years and he kicked his smoking habit last year ahead of the birth of his fifth and sixth children, twin daughters Gracie and Alice.

“I had this thought at the back of my mind after I gave up smoking a year ago: ‘How can I have got through 50 years of chain-smoking – and all the rest of my bad habits – without something going on in there?’”

Wood was resolute that if the cancer had spread, he wouldn’t go through chemo, or as he put it: “I wasn’t going to use that bayonet in my body.” But it wasn’t because he didn’t think the chemo would work.

“No. It’s more I wasn’t going to lose my hair. This hair wasn’t going anywhere. I said, ‘No way.’ And I just kept the faith it would be all right,” he said. “A week later they came back with the news that it hadn’t spread and I said, ‘Let’s get it out now.’ Just before I closed my eyes for the operation I looked at the doctor and said, ‘Let battle commence.’”

The rocker, who’s promoting his new book, “Ronnie Wood: Artist,” said he’s “OK now” and encouraged others to get screened.

“People have to get checked. Seriously have to get checked. I was bloody lucky, but then I’ve always had a very strong guardian angel looking out for me. By rights I shouldn’t be here,” he said.

Share

ABC’s ‘The Middle’ to finish plowing the heartland in its ninth and final season

A throwback to a simpler era of family sitcoms, “The Middle” on ABC plowed the heartland long before it was fashionable.

The family comedy about life in the middle of the country has toiled in the shadows of flashier shows set in big cities like “Modern Family.” But now, just as red states have gained cultural and political cache, the oh-so ordinary (and apolitical) Heck family of the fictional small town of Orson, Ind., is stepping off the stage.

ABC will air the ninth and final season of “The Middle,” beginning in October, giving viewers the opportunity to say a leisurely goodbye to Frankie, Mike, Sue, Axl and Brick Heck.

On Sunday, at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills, the show’s creators and its five stars -- Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Eden Sher, Charlie McDermott and Atticus Shaffer -- reflected on the ingredients that made the show about life in a flyover state special.

“Even in the pilot, we talked about planes flying from one coast to another, and people looking down, and how you should really check it out,” said DeAnn Heline, one of the show’s two executive producers.

“People in the middle of the country have been touched by the honoring of their everyday life, and that’s what we hoped,” added Eileen Heisler, who created the show with Heline, her roommate at Indiana University.

Plans for the final season began last fall -- before the November elections -- because the producers wanted to carefully plot the final season and exit while the show was still loved by fans.

“We wait until it was a hot topic, then we leave,” Heisler said. Heline added: “We just felt like the timing was right.”

The sitcom went on the air at a time when major networks were struggling to replicate the success of “Friends” with shows about ultra-rich urban sophisticates, including “Cashmere Mafia,” “Lipstick Jungle” and “Dirty Sexy Money.” Those shows, some with unlikable lead characters, quickly burned out but “The Middle,” with its endearing family members, plugged along.

In the most recent season, the show averaged 7 million viewers an episode, according to Nielsen ratings. It was one of ABC’s top shows for attracting a multi-generational audience.

Flynn, who plays patriarch Mike, said the show benefited by going on the air in the wake of the Great Recession. “We were told it was good timing for us when we started,” he said.

He also noted that the cultural schism in America wasn’t necessarily about the middle of the country versus the coasts. “It’s really big city or not -- that’s the difference,” Flynn said. Shaffer, who plays the youngest offspring Brick, noted that in real-life he is from the small town of Acton.

While it was “flattering” to suddenly be a zeitgeist show, “we’ve just been keeping our heads down and doing the show that we’ve always done,” Heline said.

“When Eileen and I first sat down to develop this show, we said `There are no shows set in the Midwest; There are no shows with a blue-collar family that is struggling,” Heline said.

“Those were things that we really wanted to bring to the show,” she said. “There wasn’t anything else like it on the air.”

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: Charlize Theron turns 42 today

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

My native language is Afrikaans, and I knew I had to lose my accent or I wouldn’t get any work. I couldn’t afford a coach, so I lost it by watching lots of television.

— Charlize Theron, 1997

FROM THE ARCHIVES: She’s Living on Fast Track Reserved for the Beautiful

Share

Chris Pratt and Anna Faris announce they’re separating

Chris Pratt and Anna Faris have announced they are separating after eight years of marriage.

The actors announced their breakup on social media Sunday night in a joint statement confirmed by Pratt’s publicist.

“We tried hard for a long time, and we’re really disappointed,” the actors wrote. “Our son has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward. We still have love for each other, will always cherish our time together and continue to have the deepest respect for one another.”

Pratt, who stars in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise and Faris, who stars on CBS’ comedy “Mom,” were married in 2009. They have a 4-year-old son.

Share
Advertisement

ABC entertainment chief Dungey says Dan Conner lives on ‘Roseanne’ reboot, talks safety on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’

Dan Conner will rise from the dead in the new version of “Roseanne.”

Fans of the classic original version of ABC’s blue-collar sitcom will recall that the character of Roseanne’s husband Dan, played by John Goodman, was said to have died of a heart attack on the series finale.

It was part of a darker, unexpected course that the series took in its final season in which star Roseanne Barr had complete creative control.

But ABC entertainment President Channing Dungey told reporters at the Television Critics Assn. press tour on Sunday in Beverly Hills that the patriarch’s heart will beat anew as part of the midseason eight-episode revival to air during the 2017-18 TV season.

“I wouldn’t say that it is ignoring the events of the finale, but I can confirm that Dan is definitely still alive,” she said.

Dungey also said the updated series will be true to what it was when fans embraced it during the years when it was among the top-rated shows on network television that addressed the challenges faced by working-class families. The series ran on ABC from 1988 to 1997 and has remained popular in syndication.

The original cast has signed on to participate with the exception of Johnny Galecki, who stars on the CBS series “The Big Bang Theory.” Dungey said ABC is in talks with the actor, who played David Healy on the series.

“We feel very confident that it returns to the show that we really know and love,” Dungey said. “It’s very much tonally similar to the original show. It’s unflinching, it is honest, it is irreverent at times and very, very funny.”

The wild card aspect of the deal ABC made to get the series was to allow Barr to make the show with little input from the network’s programming executives. ABC had to agree to that provision to match an offer made by the streaming service Netflix.

ABC will also find itself back in the business of dealing with the unpredictable real-life Roseanne, who uses her Twitter feed as a platform for her unconventional political views. (Barr sought the Green Party nomination for president in 2012).

Dungey noted that Barr announced a few weeks ago that her son is going to be taking over her Twitter feed in the near future.

“We did not ask her to do that, but she did make that decision,” Dungey said. “What we’ve heard from Roseanne is she is very excited about the show and wants to be very focused on the show.”

Dungey noted that she was not concerned about what one reporter described as “wacky conspiracy stuff” that appeared on Barr’s Twitter feed in recent days.

“I try to just worry about the things that I can control,” Dungey said.

In recent months, ABC already had its share of controversy from “Bachelor in Paradise,” its summer reality spinoff of “The Bachelor.” Production was suspended on June 11 after it was revealed that two intoxicated contestants were filmed having a sexual encounter on the set. Questions were raised on whether the female contestant involved had consented.

Once production resumed June 20, after the show’s studio Warner Bros. conducted an internal investigation that found no wrongdoing, ABC aired a promotional spot that appeared to capitalize on the scandal.

Dungey said the spot was pulled after a rash of bad press that suggested the network was insensitive to a situation in which the safety of the contestants was in question.

“The promo in question did not refer to the alleged incident at all,” Dungey said. “It actually was comprised of a bunch of tweets from ‘Bachelor’ [fans] who were expressing their potential disappointment that there wouldn’t be a season and then the joy that there would be. We thought that it was cheeky and funny and sort of in line with the show. However, the response told us otherwise, and then we pulled it.”

Dungey would not go into detail on what precautions were taken on the “Bachelor in Paradise” set following the investigation, noting it was handled by Warner Bros.

“It certainly has brought to light some safety issues that we want to make sure that we are more on top of moving forward in terms of making sure that our contestants are safe and protected at all times,” she said.

Share

Daniel Dae Kim on his ‘Hawaii Five-0’ departure: ‘All good things come to an end’

Executive producer Daniel Dae Kim of "The Good Doctor" speaks onstage during the Disney/ABC Television Group portion of the 2017 Summer Television Critics Assn. Press Tour.
Executive producer Daniel Dae Kim of “The Good Doctor” speaks onstage during the Disney/ABC Television Group portion of the 2017 Summer Television Critics Assn. Press Tour.
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

Over a month after news broke that Daniel Dae Kim would not be returning to “Hawaii Five-0” over a salary dispute, the actor was asked to address the matter during an appearance at the Television Critics Assn. press tour.

Kim was on a panel Sunday at the Beverly Hilton to promote the new ABC drama, “The Good Doctor,” on which he serves as an executive producer. But it wasn’t long before Kim was asked to elaborate on what led to his “Hawaii Five-0” exit.

“That was a really important part of my life for seven years,” Kim told reporters, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of the CBS procedural.

“That said, it’s possible to be grateful ... and still maintain a steadfast sense of your self-worth,” Kim said.

“All good things come to an end,” Kim said. “I’ve closed that chapter of ‘Hawaii Five-0’ and begin this new chapter on ‘The Good Doctor.’ I couldn’t be more excited at ABC where I started my career in earnest” on “Lost.”

News broke in late June that Kim and his co-star Grace Park would be leaving the show ahead of its eighth season due to a dispute with CBS Television Studios over claims they were paid less than their white co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. Their departures brought renewed focus to Hollywood’s diversity problem.

“The path to equality is rarely easy,” Kim wrote in a message on Facebook at the time.

“The Good Doctor,” about a physician with autism starring Freddie Highmore (“Bates Motel”), premieres Sept. 25 on ABC.

Share
Advertisement

‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Atlanta,’ Carrie Coon big winners at the Television Critics Assn. awards

Host Kristin Chenoweth and Sterling K. Brown of "This Is Us" perform at the 33rd Television Critics Assn. awards Saturday at the Beverly Hilton.
Host Kristin Chenoweth and Sterling K. Brown of “This Is Us” perform at the 33rd Television Critics Assn. awards Saturday at the Beverly Hilton.
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

“The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Atlanta” were the big winners at the 33rd Television Critics Assn. awards Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton.

“Handmaid’s Tale,” the Hulu drama adapted from Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, took home two awards, for program of the year and outstanding achievement in drama, while “Atlanta,” the FX comedy, also won two awards, for outstanding achievement in comedy and individual achievement in comedy for creator-star Donald Glover.

“Fargo” and “The Leftovers” star Carrie Coon made TCA awards history by receiving her award for individual achievement in drama for both performances.

The ceremony, which was not televised, was hosted by an energetic and musically minded Kristin Chenoweth. The Tony- and Emmy-winning firecracker made multiple costume changes, including the signature “Handmaid’s” robe and bonnet as well as a royal tip of the tiara to “The Crown.” She also performed a pithy spoof of her “Wicked” number “Popular,” in which she renamed the awards “The Chennies.”

The “American Gods” star also invited Sterling K. Brown, celebrating the outstanding new program win for “This Is Us,” to join her onstage to perform the duet “For Good,” also from “Wicked.”

In all, 12 awards were handed out including a career achievement honor to documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and a Heritage award for the beloved NBC comedy “Seinfeld.”

Results were determined from votes cast by the TCA membership, comprised of more than 220 professional TV critics and journalists from the United States and Canada, including this writer.

2017 TCA Award recipients:

  • Individual achievement in drama: Carrie Coon, “The Leftovers,” HBO, and “Fargo,” FX
  • Individual achievement in comedy: Donald Glover, “Atlanta,” FX
  • Outstanding achievement in news and information: “O.J. Made in America,” ESPN
  • Outstanding achievement in reality programming: “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath,” A&E
  • Outstanding achievement in youth programming: “Speechless,” ABC
  • Outstanding new program: “This Is Us,” NBC
  • Outstanding achievement in movies, miniseries and specials: “Big Little Lies, HBO
  • Outstanding achievement in drama: “The Handmaid’s Tale” Hulu
  • Outstanding achievement in comedy: “Atlanta,” FX
  • Program of the year: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu
  • Career achievement award: Ken Burns
  • Heritage award: “Seinfeld,” NBC
Share

A Star Is Born: Michelle Yeoh turns 55 today

(Patrick Downs / Los Angeles Times)

It’s time for [James] Bond to be different, to move into the 21st century. Today your leading lady has to be something more, more than ‘Oh-James-come-rescue-me!’ That’s something of the past.

— Michelle Yeoh, 1997

FROM THE ARCHIVES: 007’s sidekick: Producers of the new Bond film wanted a different type of leading lady. They got one.

Share
Advertisement

Lena Waithe of ‘Master of None’ discusses Emmy nomination and LGBT representation during GLAAD panel at TCA press tour

Lena Waithe participates in the "Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Trends on TV Today" panel at the Television Critics Assn. Summer Press Tour.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The “Master of None” episode Lena Waithe had been reluctant to explore — about her character Denise’s coming out experience — not only earned her an Emmy nomination but also the distinction of being the first black woman nominated for comedy writing. And while she’s reveling in the moment, Waithe is quick to note that progress needs to be made.

“I didn’t know I was the first black woman,” Waithe, who co-wrote the Thanksgiving episode with star and co-creator Aziz Ansari, said during a panel presented Friday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills by GLAAD, the LGBTQ advocacy group.

It wasn’t until her publicist confirmed the detail with the Television Academy that it sunk in. Mindy Kaling, Waithe pointed out, was the first woman of color to be nominated in the category in 2010 for an episode of “The Office.”

“I’m the first black woman to be nominated,” Waithe said. “Hopefully, not the last. We’ve got to work on that.”

Waithe gave credit to Ansari and fellow “Master of None” co-creator Alan Yang for urging her to tell her story.

“I’m really grateful,” Waithe said of the recognition for the episode. “It’s very black. It’s very female. It’s really gay. [And] the cool thing about that is so many people loved it ... particularly white people like it; straight, white people have come up to me and say how much they like it. And that, to me, is progress. When a straight, white guy is, like, ‘ “Thanksgiving” was my favorite episode,’ that’s when art is doing its job, when he can look at my character and go, ‘I can see myself in her.’ ”

Waithe talked about the breakthrough during GLAAD’s panel — “Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Trends on TV Today.” Other panelists included “How to Get Away With Murder” creator Pete Nowalk, “My So-Called Life” and “13 Reasons Why” star Wilson Cruz, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s” Stephanie Beatriz and “Wynonna Earp” showrunner Emily Andras.

The panelists spoke largely of the importance of seeing more dimensional gay characters on television and greater diversity. Megan Townsend, GLAAD’s director of entertainment research, noted that gay characters on television are overwhelmingly male and white.

Cruz, a former GLAAD board of directors member, said there is value in visibility.

“25 years ago when I came out ... I was adamant about being out,” said Cruz, who next will be seen as part of the first gay couple on “Star Trek” when CBS’ All Access premieres “Star Trek: Discovery” next month.

“There wasn’t anybody out on TV at the time playing a series regular character,” he added. “I wanted to send a message directly to young people that they could be themselves, have a wonderful life and love someone of the same sex.”

Share

Laverne Cox and Alexandra Billings talk transgender representation on TV: ‘Lives are on the line’

Alexandra Billings, from left, Laverne Cox, Shadi Petosky and Jill Soloway at the Television Critics Assn press tour.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision/Associated Press)

Hollywood has much work to do when it comes to wide-ranging transgender representation on television, according to advocates.

While transgender visibility has no doubt been boosted by mainstream shows such as Amazon’s “Transparent” and E! network’s “I Am Cait,” progress has been incremental. Of the 260-plus LGBTQ characters on television, according to GLAAD figures, only 11 were transgender -- and three of them were on “Transparent.”

“Today, media images and representations of transgender people are about 20 years behind where media representations of lesbian and gay and bisexual people are,” said Nick Adams, GLAAD’s director of transgender media and representation. “We’re sort of where LGB storytelling was in the late ’80s or early ’90s, when it comes to trans people.”

Adams spoke as part of the GLAAD-sponsored panel Transgender Trends on TV Today, held Friday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills. Other panelists included Laverne Cox (“Orange Is the New Black,” “Doubt”), Alexandra Billings (“Transparent,” “How to Get Away With Murder”), Jill Soloway (creator of “Transparent”), Rhys Ernst (producer and director of “Transparent”) and Shadi Petosky (creator of “Danger & Eggs”).

The recent news cycle -- from the military ban and the murder of trans women to the ridiculing of trans activist Janet Mock on a radio show and the transphobic social media comments aimed at teenage reality star Jazz Jennings -- has illustrated the ongoing plight of the trans community. The panelists agreed that a more well-rounded representation of transgender people in the media is crucial to combating the negative stereotypes that have long prevailed.

“We’ve got to tell these stories better because lives are on the line,” Cox said. “Trans people are being murdered, are being denied healthcare, access to bathrooms and employment and housing because of all of these, sort of, misconceptions that people have about who we really are.”

Among the stated goals from GLAAD in bringing transgender characters to the next level is moving beyond the “transition narrative.”

“For me, I think transition narratives are most useful within community,” Cox said. “Transition narratives, in and of themselves, are not necessarily problematic, but I think that becomes the only thing that people focus on .... I think my life got way more interesting after I transitioned than it was during the transition.”

Billings noted the educational benefits of a character’s transition, but agreed it was important not to dwell on it.

“If we spend too much time on it, if we draw a circle around it, we are stuck in puberty,” Billings said. “But I think there is something important about looking at that journey and what that journey is. It’s less about curiosity and more about education.”

Share
Advertisement

A Star Is Born: James Gunn turns 51 today

(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

As a kid I wasn’t attracted to horror movies because I liked to be scared. I liked the dark imagination, the dark side of fantasy. They are films about outsiders and monsters and creatures, and I related to those creatures .... I was much more interested in creepy than scary.

— James Gunn, 2006

FROM THE ARCHIVES: On the lighter side of terror

Share

Next episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ leaks online, but was not part of recent hack

On the same week that a cyberattack was said to have compromised the security of some of HBO’s programming, this Sunday’s episode of perhaps its most closely guarded secret -- “Game of Thrones -- leaked online.

A low-res version of the fourth episode of the blockbuster drama’s seventh season appeared on a Reddit thread ahead of its premiere date Sunday.

According to a spokesperson from HBO, the leak was related to one of HBO’s distribution partners, Star India, and had no relation to the hack.

“This confirms the compromise of episode 4 of Game of Thrones Season 7, earlier this afternoon,” a statement from a Star India representative said. “We take this breach very seriously and have immediately initiated forensic investigations at our and the technology partner’s end to swiftly determine the cause.

“This is a grave issue and we are taking appropriate legal remedial action,” the statement concluded.

The network is also continuing to work with law enforcement to investigate the security breach that took place earlier this week.

“At this time, we do not believe that our e-mail system as a whole has been compromised, but the forensic review is ongoing,” HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler told staff members in an email sent Wednesday afternoon.

Share
Advertisement

Angelina Jolie, Vanity Fair at odds over explanation of controversial children’s casting game

(Brendon Thorne / Getty Images)

A game used in auditions for the young lead in the upcoming Angelina Jolie film “First They Killed My Father” has pitted the Oscar-winner and Vanity Fair magazine against each other.

The casting method, which involved Cambodian children snatching away money and coming up with a lie when they were caught, was described in the magazine’s September cover story.

After concerns were raised about the idea of asking children to steal and lie, Jolie told the magazine that the audition had been taken out of context -- “a pretend exercise in an improvisation ... had been written about as if it was a real scenario” -- and asked that the interpretation be corrected. The “Unbroken” director lamented the suggestion that real money would be taken from a child, saying she would be “outraged” if that had happened.

“The casting crew showed the children the camera and sound recording material, explaining to them that they were going to be asked to act out a part. ... The children were not tricked as some have suggested,” according to a statement her lawyers gave the magazine. “All of the children auditioning were made aware of the fictional aspect of the exercise and were tended to at all times by relatives or guardians from NGOs. ... We apologize for any misunderstanding.”

Vanity Fair is sticking to its original copy about the game and even ran transcripts from Jolie’s interview, which had been recorded by contributor Evgenia Peretz on two devices, that described it.

“After reviewing the audiotape, V.F. stands by Peretz’s story as published,” the magazine said.

“First They Killed My Father,” a film about Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge genocide, hits Netflix in September.

Share

YouTube Red nabs ‘Karate Kid’ TV sequel, starring the franchise originals

Thirty years after the epic tournament that capped “The Karate Kid,” original headliners and nemeses Ralph Macchio and William Zabka are back for a belated round two. Reprising their roles from the iconic ‘80s franchise, the fictional adversaries will return to the dojo in “Cobra Kai,” a new series coming to YouTube Red in 2018.

The 10-episode, half-hour series is written and executive produced by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. YouTube announced the series Friday morning, just before hosting a panel session at the Television Critics Assn. alongside both Macchio and Zabka.

“The minute I heard about this project, I knew we had to have it,” YouTube originals chief Susanne Daniels said in a statement. “ ‘The Karate Kid’ became an instant classic in the 1980s and still resonates with audiences around the world and on YouTube today.”

Culling its title from the infamous Cobra Kai dojo that provided the backdrop for Macchio and Zabka’s token rivalry, the series touts a reimagined take on the three-part saga. But die-hard fans of the original films need not worry; “Cobra Kai” pays homage to the standout themes of its predecessor; rivalry and redemption will have a big presence in the reboot.

The new series kicks off three decades in the aftermath of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, and Johnny Lawrence (Zabka) is still reeling from defeat. Hungry for redemption, Lawrence reopens the Cobra Kai -- which, of course, reopens his enduring rivalry with the now-successful Daniel LaRusso (Macchio).

The series chronicles their toils -- both physical and emotional -- as they come face-to-face with the demons of their past and work to address the frustrations of their present. Perhaps it goes without saying, but their primary mode of confrontation and catharsis is as it has always been: karate.

Share
Advertisement

ABC postpones ‘Little Mermaid Live!’ special

Ariel will be staying under the sea for a little while longer. ABC is postponing “The Little Mermaid Live!”

The live-TV adaptation, to be presented under the “Wonderful World of Disney” banner, was originally set for Oct. 3 but has been pushed back. No new date has been announced, but the network said it is eyeing 2018 so that Ariel — and the production — can get their legs.

“We love the idea of doing a live musical and want to make it wonderful,” an ABC spokesperson said in an announcement Friday. “The project is so unique that we are making best efforts to do it next year and want to give it all the attention it deserves.”

Plans for the two-hour musical event were unveiled during ABC’s May upfront presentation, and promised a “never-before-seen live action/animation hybrid television experience.” The network said it would enlist celebrity artists for the stage show, but no cast has been announced.

We love the idea of doing a live musical and want to make it wonderful. The project is so unique that we are making best efforts to do it next year and want to give it all the attention it deserves.

— ABC on postponing ‘The Little Mermaid Live!’

Adapted from Disney’s 1989 animated film, “The Little Mermaid Live!” is the latest in ABC’s live musical productions, which kicked off with 2013’s “The Sound of Music Live!” starring Carrie Underwood. Disney also has plans for a separate live-action “Little Mermaid” film pairing “Moana” and “Hamilton” composer Lin-Manuel Miranda with original composer Alan Menken.

“The Little Mermaid Live!” is one of three live-event specials on ABC’s roster for the 2017-2018 season. The network will pay homage to Rolling Stone magazine in February with “Rolling Stone 50,” and an untitled live sitcom special with Jimmy Kimmel and Justin Theroux is also in the works.

-----

For the Record

An earlier version of this article erroneously said ABC’s future live-event specials will include one paying homage to the band the Rolling Stones.

Share

A Star Is Born: Billy Bob Thornton turns 62 today

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Directing is more heartbreaking in a lot of ways. Being in ‘Armageddon’ didn’t kill my career, but with directing you’re kind of held responsible. You’re involved in every facet; you get to know the people who buy cheese, and if the movie doesn’t do well, you have more of a feeling of letting others down.

— Billy Bob Thornton, 2001

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Man Who Was All There

Share
Advertisement

Steve Harvey talks about that scathing staff memo: ‘I can’t write ... I should never write’

(John Locher / Associated Press)

Steve Harvey appeared at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour on Thursday to hype his new syndicated daytime show, “Steve.”

But he wasted little time in addressing the blunt staff memo that surfaced this year in which he told his employees “not to come to my dressing room unless invited” and to not approach him while he’s in his makeup chair unless he initiates the conversation.

“There’s two things I learned,” Harvey said.”One, I can’t write. Two, I should never write.”

But he did not apologize for his comments in the memo, which he said was leaked by a former employee of his Chicago-based daytime show. The ex-worker was not asked to join the new show, which is based in Los Angeles.

“It really wasn’t that big a deal,” Harvey said, adding that he wrote the note a year ago. “I’m a very congenial guy.”

Harvey’s mission with his new show is “to bring late-night TV to daytime.” He believes too much of daytime TV is devoted to cooking segments and “the coupon queen.”

“Steve” will be the latest vehicle for the comedian, who hosts shows including “Family Feud” and “Little Big Shots.”

“I never thought I would have had this kind of success on TV,” he said. “God just shined a light on me.”

Share

It’s official: ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ reveals new characters, and they’re looking as creepy as ever

Just six weeks ahead of its season premiere, “American Horror Story: Cult” has gifted fans with a surprise pre-show treat. Of course, in AHS speak, “treat” really means “extraordinarily spooky photo set.”

In typical AHS fashion, the anthology horror series has remained mostly tight-lipped on the specifics of Season 7 -- until now. Trailing creator Ryan Murphy’s big reveal on Wednesday -- which confirmed veteran Emma Roberts’ highly anticipated AHS return -- the series is offering viewers a first look at its new cast members.

The new photos tout shadowy introductions for series newcomers Billie Lourd, Colton Haynes and Alison Pill. And check out the recurring clown imagery, plucked straight out of your childhood nightmares.

In addition to AHS first-timers, the new season will star familiar favorites, including Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson and Frances Conroy (as well as Roberts). Adina Porter, Mare Winningham and Cheyenne Jackson will also return.

“American Horror Story: Cult” kicks off Sept. 5 on FX. Check out the new teaser photos below.

Share
Advertisement

Five things we learned about what’s in store on ‘This Is Us’

The cast and creator of "This Is Us" at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills.
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images))

It’s almost time to dust off that box of tissues.

Breakout hit “This Is Us” returns for its second season on Sept. 26. And while there are no solid new clues to add to the Jack’s-death conspiracy theory roundups, we learned a few things about what’s in store when the cast and creator, Dan Fogelman, took the stage at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills.

Prep those eyes:

--When the show returns ...

Season 2 will pick up the day after the fight -- in the past. In the present day, things open with the siblings, Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown), celebrating their 37th birthday. For those who don’t recall, the Season 1 premiere kicked off with their 36th birthday.

--Sylvester Stallone will guest star

The “Rocky” actor will play a costar/fatherly figure to Kevin on the feature film he’s working on. Go ahead, process that. As of now, Stallone is slated to appear in one episode. (Diehard “Rocky” fans may recall that Milo Ventimiglia played Stallone’s son in “Rocky Balboa,” and the pair’s friendship helped facilitate bringing him to “This Is Us.”)

-Viewers will get a little more back story on the adoption of Randall

Reporters screened a scene from Season 2 that showed present-day Randall asking his mother Rebecca (Mandy Moore) about his adoption. Rebecca speaks about her initial reluctance about the whole idea.

--William isn’t going anywhere.

Though Randall’s biological father, William (played by actor Ron Cephas Jones), died in Season 1, he will continue to have a presence in the series.

“Characters exist in scenes happening at earlier times,” Fogelman said. “Ron is opening our season in our own way. ... Somebody dying in the show doesn’t affect things.”

--OK. So about Jack’s death -- answers are coming.

“If that is a question that has haunted people, over the course of the second season they will get all the answers they want,” Fogelman said.

He added that Season 2 would delve more deeply into who the family was before and after Jack’s death.

“There’s a lot of healing to be done,” Fogelman said. “We’ve painted a picture of the world’s perfect dad and husband. And now we’re going to show the struggle of being that guy and bring him to a fully realized place.”

Share

NBC orders Season 2 of ‘Will & Grace’ revival ahead of premiere

NBC can’t get enough of “Will & Grace.”

Even before its return to prime time on Sept. 28 after an 11-year absence, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt announced at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour Thursday that the network has already ordered a 13-episode second season.

And that’s not all. The first season has been extended by four episodes, for a total of 16, all directed by James Burrows, who directed every episode of the show’s initial eight-year run.

“There’s been such an outpouring of love from the fans,” Greenblatt said. “We are a very grateful network and we are more than thrilled to have the show on the air for at least two seasons.”

During the session, series stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes, along with co-creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, fielded questions from reporters about the show’s approach to LGBTQ representation, racial diversity and the current political climate.

They also addressed the thorny issue of how the revival would move forward considering the finale of the original, which saw Will and Grace drift apart then reunite many years later, among other dramatic changes.

Or rather, they won’t: The revival will essentially ignore those events because, as Mutchnick explained, “We never would have gone in that direction if we weren’t ending the show.”

Mutchnick was equally candid when asked a question about working with the network again following a contentious lawsuit over the series rights.

“Bob Greenblatt’s NBC is very different from Jeff Zucker’s NBC,” he said, referring to the previous head of the network. “We are very, very happy to be a part of Bob Greenblatt’s NBC.”

Eric McCormack and Debra Messing of "Will & Grace."
(Mark Davis / Getty Images)
Share
Advertisement

Hard Summer’s Gary Richards splits with Live Nation

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Days before the 10th anniversary of the EDM and hip-hop festival Hard Summer, fest founder Gary Richards has announced that he will be parting ways with Hard’s parent firm, Live Nation.

Richards posted a statement after making several previous allusions to a potential exit. L.A. Weekly broke the news of his separation, which comes five years after Live Nation bought his firm.

“I am leaving Live Nation after this week’s Hard event to pursue an incredible new opportunity that I will share with everyone in the weeks to come. Accordingly, I will not be attending or curating the next Holy Ship cruise event in 2018,” Richards wrote.

Live Nation will keep control of the Hard Events brand and shows, though it’s uncertain who will take the reins of booking the events in the future.

The festival is synonymous with Richards’ unorthodox tastes, and helped launch the careers of DJ’s including Diplo, Steve Aoki and Skrillex. But Hard Events also made for uneasy bedfellows with rival Live Nation promoter Insomniac, which produces Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas.

Representatives for Hard declined to comment further on the widely reported rumors that Richards would be moving to rival promoter LiveStyle, the firm spun off from the promoter SFX Entertainment.

Fans of Hard Events have already circulated a petition pledging to boycott future editions of the popular cruise series Holy Ship.

Share

Tearful ‘Everwood’ reunion at TCA is short on Chris Pratt, but long on good memories

Vivien Cardone and Treat Williams of "Everwood" speak during the CW portion of the Television Critics Assn. press tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Aug. 2.
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

If the CW ever decides to reboot the early 2000s family drama “Everwood,” there is one sponsor they should definitely hit up: Kleenex.

Joyful tears flowed freely among the cast and creators during the show’s 15-year reunion panel at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour on Wednesday.

The group was reunited to spread the news that CW Seed — the network’s streaming service — will begin streaming the four-season series about New York City doctor Andy Brown (Treat Williams) uprooting his kids and moving to a small Colorado town in the wake his wife’s death.

Williams was on hand alongside his TV children, Vivien Cardone and Gregory Smith, as well as fellow “Everwood” residents Emily VanCamp, Tom Amandes, Justin Baldoni, John Beasley, Stephanie Niznik and Debra Mooney, along with executive producers Greg Berlanti and Rina Mimoun. (Absent was Chris Pratt, who was a series regular in one of his earliest roles, but more on that later.)

The waterworks started with Berlanti, as he recounted the show’s genesis.

“This is an emotional day for me,” said the veteran TV producer-writer-director who began his career with family dramas before being consumed by the DC superhero universe on the CW (“Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl” etc.)

“The show obviously was about coming of age. And I was so lucky that I made it when I did, at the beginning of my career,” he added. “I’m very blessed. And I realized a few years after, that I’m not sure I’d be that lucky again, in the same way. I’ve been really proud to work on a lot of things I’ve worked on since, but I think probably people that know this show probably know me better, in that way. It was very personal.”

Treat Williams on the "Everwood" panel at TCA on Aug. 2.
Treat Williams on the “Everwood” panel at TCA on Aug. 2.
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

The emotions ran high again when Amandes (“Scandal,” “Arrow”) recalled a charged episode dealing with abortion that he called “some of the finest and bravest writing that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working on.”

Later, Williams and Cardone (who was 9 years old when the series began) tearfully remembered making a pledge to be each other’s temporary father and daughter since they were away from their actual families.

There were also plenty of laughs during the discussion and many centered on Pratt, who played the lovably dim-witted Bright Abbott.

When asked for funny anecdotes about working with the “Jurassic World” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” star, Williams quipped, “How much time have you got?”

They all agreed that Pratt, who was unable to attend, had an ineffable star quality, as well as an apparently insatiable appetite.

“We hung out quite a bit,” recalled Beasley. “And I told him that he was going to be a star. ... I had no idea he was going to be ‘Chris Pratt’ Chris Pratt, but he’s just a great guy, and he deserves everything he gets.”

Niznik recalled Pratt’s eagerness to absorb lessons from the rest of the cast. “That really impressed me,” she said. “I just remember him in the beginning saying, ‘I am Chris. ... I am learning how to act, and I hope you don’t mind if I hang out and watch what you are doing.’ ... I think it paid off for him. He’s so good.”

Given the goodwill that the cast and creators clearly still have for one another, questions about a possible revival — perhaps in the style of the recent limited series reboot “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” — came up multiple times.

Williams said he would do it “in a New York minute.”

“No one has asked,” Berlanti said, “but I think we all would love to work together again.”

When asked if a show like “Everwood” could work now, Berlanti thought it was possible.

“There’s more platforms than ever for people to tell stories,” he said, noting that it was more important now to have a passionate audience as opposed to a vast one. “I certainly hope that there’s a lot of young writers out there from all walks of life that are figuring out a way to tell their story.”

“Look at ‘Game of Thrones,’” Williams said. “It’s just ‘Everwood’ in fur.”

The cast of "Everwood" reunites at TCA on Aug. 2.
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)
Share
Advertisement

Who says catfights can’t be feminist? The cast of the CW’s ‘Dynasty’ thinks they are

The cast of CW's reboot of "Dynasty," from left: Grant Show, Nathalie Kelley, Elizabeth Gillies and Sam Adegoke.
(Richard Shotwell / Invision)

When it aired on ABC back in the 1980s, the prime-time soap “Dynasty” was infamous for over-the-top catfights that occasionally ended in bodies of water.

And they’ll be an integral part of the remake airing on the CW this fall.

“We are going to sell them through pay per view,” joked executive producer Josh Schwartz on Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour.

While the original series centered on the bitter rivalry between the current and former wives of an oil tycoon, CW’s update pits an ambitious young woman against her stepmother, who happens to be around the same age.

In the pilot, Cristal Flores (Nathalie Kelley) gets engaged to her older boss, Blake Carrington (Grant Show), and also receives a promotion to COO of the family’s energy business -- much to the irritation of Blake’s daughter, Fallon (Elizabeth Gillies).

Spoiler alert: Words are exchanged and unseemly sparring ensues.

But instead of fighting over men, they’re fighting over career opportunities. So... good?

Kelley thinks so.

“Here’s how I justify it. If modern women today ... are fighting, rightly so, for equal pay and to be treated equally and seen equally as men, why can’t we also have the right to fight like men?” she wondered. “That’s my feminist take on why we pull each other’s hair out.”

Catfights weren’t the only concern in updating the story of the Carringtons and the Colbys for the youth-oriented CW network in the more woke age of 2017.

The new series also boasts a more inclusive cast, including Sam Adegoke as Jeff Colby. Kelley, a Peruvian-Australian actress, has had her character’s name updated from Krystle to Cristal to reflect her heritage.

And unlike in the original, Steven Carrington (James Mackay) is gay, confident in his sexuality and accepted by his father, Blake.

“There is no rancor over that issue,” Schwartz said. Instead, father and son clash over environmental issues such as fracking.

“I felt like we were honoring this idea in 2017 [that] Steven Carrington was out and proud,” added executive producer Stephanie Savage.

Share

Gloria Estefan and LL Cool J to make Kennedy Center Honors history

The Kennedy Center Honors announced a historic crop of honorees for 2017 on Thursday, including the first Cuban American, singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, and the first hip-hop artist, LL Cool J, to earn the distinction.

Rounding out the honorees are renowned actress, dancer, choreographer and Los Angeles native Carmen de Lavallade; television living legend Norman Lear; and music superstar Lionel Richie.

“The Kennedy Center Honors spotlights the extraordinary careers of five artists whose talent and ingenuity have enriched and shaped cultural life in America,” Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said in a statement.

“This is a truly exceptional slate of honorees – made even more special by the fact that we will honor these artists as we also celebrate four decades of the Kennedy Center Honors,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter in the statement.

Kennedy Center Honors recipients are recognized for their lifelong contributions to the performing arts, including dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television.

In 2016, the Kennedy Center Honors recognized Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, rock band the Eagles, actor Al Pacino, singer Mavis Staples and singer-songwriter James Taylor.

The 2017 honorees will be feted at a gala on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage Dec. 3, which CBS will broadcast Dec. 26.

Share
Advertisement

Watch Samantha Bee skewer Kris Kobach as the ‘racist music man’

Samantha Bee panned President Trump’s Voter Integrity Commission again Wednesday night. Only this time, the roast had rhythm.

As Bee pointed out during a “Full Frontal” segment last month, she has done her due diligence to probe the respective backgrounds of the commission’s leading minds. And the savvy political commentator has made her feelings quite clear: She thinks they’re full of it, especially Kansas Secretary of state Kris Kobach, the commission’s vice chair.

So, with “Hamilton” star Javier Muñoz making a cameo, Bee lampooned the panel once more. But she didn’t proffer viewers with the same old song and dance -- namely because she actually performed a full-fledged song and dance.

Backed by an ensemble donning colonial garb, Bee played a “racist con man” rendering of Kobach in a musical parody skit loosely inspired by “The Music Man.” Taking jabs at what she considers Kobach’s history of supporting anti-immigrant policies, Bee’s Kobach sold slanted (and, ultimately, unconstitutional) legislation to smalltown folk.

“Kobach tap-danced from town to town selling unsuspecting white people a law they didn’t need for a problem they didn’t have,” Bee explained. “[He] left their towns divided and broke … kind of like a racist music man.”

Muñoz played a local immigrant. “The city welcomed me,” he sang wistfully, “[but] now there’s such hostility.”

Watch the full segment here (Note: profanity).

Share

A ‘Death Wish’ for right now: Bruce Willis action remake gets first trailer

“I wanna buy a gun.”

The first trailer for the new version of “Death Wish” came out on Thursday and anyone longing for the good old days of relatively uncomplicated, arguably politically reactionary Charles Bronson action pictures should mark their calendars for Nov. 22.

Directed by Eli Roth from a screenplay by Joe Carnahan and starring Bruce Willis, the trailer packs in hot-button political ideas including viral video, vigilante justice, racial profiling, hoodies, gun violence in urban Chicago, the perceived tranquility of the suburbs and the threat of invading criminals. All set to AC/DC’s classic rock anthem “Back in Black.”

And in case anyone was wondering how the movie might subvert the relationship between gun culture, action filmmaking and what has come to be known as “toxic masculinity,” the trailer features a young woman telling Willis he is “cocked, locked and ready to rock” while what seems to be a more age-appropriate female therapist encourages him to “keep it up.”

In keeping with the spirit of the moment, the Roth/Carnahan/Willis iteration of “Death Wish” does not look to be subtle. Whether it is intentional troll bait for the think-piece era, just dumb trash or a sharp rebuke remains to be seen.

Share
Advertisement

‘Hey, where’s all the white people?’ Trevor Noah tackles fairness of affirmative action in college admissions

With political matters reshuffling the deck of the day’s news on seemingly an hourly basis, late-night hosts continue to have plenty of choices on where to focus their aim.

Seth Meyers, for instance, targeted the evergreen topic of chaos behind the scenes of the Trump White House, while Stephen Colbert looked at the transcript of a recent Wall Street Journal interview with the president through the lens, naturally, of a cartoon. (Look for more of that as a “Late Show” spinoff airing this fall on Showtime — seriously.)

“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” meanwhile, tackled the Justice Department’s recently announced plans to investigate the fairness of affirmative action in college admissions, specifically for white applicants.

“Finally!” Noah enthused. “You know how many times I go to colleges in America and say, ‘Hey, where’s all the white people?’ If American colleges were any whiter, Jon Snow would build a wall to protect us from them.”

With a faint air of incredulity, Noah further examined the plans, which are in part spurred by a Washington Post poll showing that most Trump supporters feel white people have it worse than black people. “Where?” Noah asked. “In the sun?”

Watch the segment above.

Share

Toronto Film fest announces Platform section lineup, including Ben Stiller, Mike White and Armando Iannucci

The Toronto International Film Festival announced Thursday the lineup for this year’s Platform section. Now in its third year, the juried competition showcases original voices in contemporary cinema.

The selection will include the world premiere of “Brad’s Status,” written and directed by Mike White and starring Ben Stiller.

This year’s program will open with “The Death of Stalin,” directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci. With a cast that includes Jason Isaacs, Rupert Friend, Michael Palin and Andrea Riseborough, the movie is the first from Iannucci since 2009’s “In the Loop” and the creation of the TV series “Veep.”

The section will close with Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton’s period Western “Sweet Country,” starring Sam Neill and Bryan Brown. The film was previously announced as part of the main competition at the upcoming Venice International Film Festival.

Other notable films include new works from Austria’s Barbara Albert and England’s Clio Barnard.

“The films unveiled today embody our bold vision for the program, and our ongoing commitment to showcase artistic and inventive directors that fearlessly push boundaries,” said Piers Handling, director and chief executive of TIFF, in a statement. “The 12 titles exemplify bravery, dynamism and a unique voice in storytelling that we look for when curating the Platform program.”

“Platform is the place to look for the distinct stamp of today’s most interesting directors as they establish their reputations,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF’s artistic director, in a statement

Last year’s selection included Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” which would go on to win three Academy Awards including best picture; Pablo Larrain’s “Jackie,” which would earn three Oscar nominations; and the recent release William Oldroyd’s “Lady Macbeth.”

The jury for this year’s Platform section will be Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige, Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska and German filmmaker Wim Wenders.

The complete Platform lineup:

  • “Beast,” Michael Pearce, United Kingdom, world premiere
  • “Brad’s Status,” Mike White, USA, world premiere
  • “Custody,” Xavier Legrand, France, North American premiere
  • “Dark River,” Clio Barnard, United Kingdom, world premiere
  • “The Death of Stalin,” Armando Iannucci, France/United Kingdom/Belgium, world premiere
  • “Euphoria,” Lisa Langseth, Sweden/Germany, world premiere
  • “If You Saw His Heart,” Joan Chemla, France, world premiere
  • “Mademoiselle, Paradis,” Barbara Albert, Austria/Germany, world premiere
  • “Razzia,” Nabil Ayouch, France, world premiere
  • “The Seen and Unseen,” Kamila Andini, Indonesia, world premiere
  • “Sweet Country,” Warwick Thornton, Australia, North American premiere
  • “What Will People Say (Hva vil folk si,)” Iram Haq, Norway/Germany/Sweden, world premiere

The 2017 Toronto International Film Festival is set for Sept. 7-17.

Share
Advertisement

Focusing on the man he wants to be, Justin Bieber explains why he canceled his tour

Justin Bieber took to Instagram Wednesday night to share a disjointed message about the cancellation of his Purpose tour.
(Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

A fervent Justin Bieber took to Instagram on Wednesday night to attempt to explain himself to fans. At least it appeared that way, based on the number of exclamation points he used.

The 23-year-old superstar shared a rambling missive to share his head (and heart) space less than two weeks after announcing the cancellation of the last 14 days of his Purpose tour.

There’s been plenty of speculation in recent days about his intentions, with TMZ suggesting that Bieber has rededicated his life to Christ, via the Hillsong Church.

Bieber has denied that, instead insisting that he just needed a break after spending the better part of two years on the road.

Regardless of whether Jesus played a role, one thing is certain: Bieber is #blessed.

Bieber started his message to fans by talking about how grateful he is for their existence, before detailing the ways he’s failed in recent years, citing insecurities and bitterness, jealousy and fear.

“I am extremely blessed to have people in the past few years help me build my character back up reminding me of who I am and who I want to be!!!” Bieber wrote, going on to note that his mistakes don’t have to dictate his future.

“I am reminded of how blessed I am to have a voice in this world,” Bieber continued. “I’ve learned the more you appreciate your calling the more you want to protect your calling.”

More than anything, the Canadian sensation is concerned with longevity.

“I want my career to be sustainable but I also want my mind heart and soul to be sustainable,” he wrote, so he can eventually be the man, husband and father he wants to be.

Bieber called the message to fans “an opportunity for you to know my heart” before concluding with perhaps the most profound insight of all.

“This message is very grammatically incorrect, but its from the heart,” Bieber wrote in all caps. “But I think there’s something special about imperfections!!”

That’s a sentiment I express to my own editor every day, so maybe Bieber isn’t so far removed from the common man as he might appear. After all, who among us hasn’t accidentally mowed down a paparazzo within the last week?

Share

Prepare to feel old: ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a new special

Hey, dolls. The Kardashians have been on the air for a decade and to celebrate that, um, achievement, E! will air a 10-year anniversary special with the reality-TV family in September.

“Keeping Up With the Kardashians” executive producer Ryan Seacrest will host the 90-minute sit-down with momager Kris Jenner and her kids Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner as they look back on the program and talk about living out the tabloid-ready highs and lows of the past decade in front of the camera.

In the teaser trailer, Kim recalls her early days with husband Kanye West, Khloe reveals she went on a blind date with NBA star Tristan Thompson and Kylie says she can’t remember a time before the show existed.

Seacrest asks them about the toughest day in the show’s history and promises that all the secrets will be revealed. That may or may not include public marriages, divorces and break-ups, the birth of several children, health scares and near-death experiences and Caitlyn Jenner’s transition.

“Since the show’s inception 10 years ago, viewers have watched the family evolve, grow and become a huge part of today’s pop culture zeitgeist,” Jeff Olde, executive vice president of programming and development at E!, said in a statement. “In celebrating the family’s decade on the air, we are extremely grateful for the fans all over the world who have ‘kept up’ since the beginning.”

The juggernaut reality series, which has spawned numerous spinoffs, heads into its 14th season on Oct. 1. “Keeping Up With the Kardashians 10-Year Anniversary Special” airs Sept. 24.

Share
Advertisement

Kidd Creole, founding member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, arrested on murder charge in New York

Nathaniel “Kidd Creole” Glover, a founding member of the influential rap group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of a homeless man in New York.

Glover performed on classic Furious Five rap songs including “Superappin’” and “It’s Fresh” and producer Prince Paul’s track “Handle Your Time.”

According to a police report obtained by Rolling Stone, officers responded to a 911 call regarding a violent incident around midnight Tuesday at East 44th Street and 3rd Avenue

“Upon arrival, police observed a 55-year-old male with multiple stab wounds to the torso,” the report said. “EMS also responded and transported the male to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.”

Glover was arrested Wednesday after being identified in part through surveillance video, according to the New York Daily News.

As Kidd Creole (not to be confused with producer and musician August Darnell’s 1980s post-disco project, Kid Creole & the Coconuts), Glover continued to perform at old-school rap concerts with members of the Furious Five, even though the group had splintered into factions in the early 1980s amid royalty disputes.

The group’s current itinerary includes dates in Philadelphia on Aug. 20 and Las Vegas in October. They’re also slated to perform at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater in January as part of an ‘80s revue.

Share

A Star Is Born: Martha Stewart turns 76 today

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

One thing I learned from Snoop [Dogg, the rapper] is that you don’t leave the stove when you’re cooking. I sometimes get a little distracted, so I’ll run off. ... But I still think I’m smart enough and my timing is really impeccable, blah, blah, blah. But I sometimes burn things and overcook things. He doesn’t leave; he’s constantly touching his food with the fork or the spoon. Stirring the pot. 

— Martha Stewart, 2016

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg talk cooking, cocktails and cannabis

Share
Advertisement

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ lead actors to reprise roles in Broadway production

It’s the Cast Who Lived: Seven stars of the West End Co. production of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will reprise their roles on Broadway when the award-winning play crosses the pond next year.

Author J.K. Rowling’s stage follow-up to her wildly popular wizarding-world books will see several of the principal cast members treading the boards in the Big Apple. Reprising their roles in the two-part play are Jamie Parker (Harry Potter), Noma Dumezweni (Hermione Granger), Paul Thornley (Ron Weasley), Poppy Miller (Ginny Potter), Sam Clemmett (Albus Potter), Alex Price (Draco Malfoy) and Anthony Boyle (Scorpius Malfoy), according to a Wednesday announcement on the show’s official Facebook page.

Those actors will be joined by a company of 28 new actors when the show opens April 22, 2018, at the redesigned Lyric Theatre. Tickets will go on sale at Ticketmaster on Oct. 12, with registration beginning on Oct. 1.

“Cursed Child,” co-written by Rowling, Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, debuted to much fanfare at London’s Palace Theatre in June 2016. The show also became the most awarded production in the history of the Olivier Awards (a.k.a. the British Tonys), racking up nine wins, including top prizes for director and new play.

The plot picks up years after the the series’ climactic Battle of Hogwarts, when the famed Harry Potter is juggling his workload at the Ministry of Magic with his tenuous relationship with his youngest son, Albus, who grapples with the family legacy as a first-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Share

CW heads beyond the DC Universe with military drama ‘Valor’

The CW cannot live on superheroes alone.

The network has successfully forged an identity with genre shows based on the DC Comics library (“Supergirl,” “The Flash,” “Arrow,” “Legends of Tomorrow” and the upcoming “Black Lightning”). But military fatigues will be the uniforms joining the CW line-up this year as it adds “Valor,” a new drama about a special-ops unit.

At the summer editon of the Television Critics Assn. press tour Wednesday in Beverly Hills, CW President Mark Pedowitz said that he has sought to develop a military show since he arrived at the network six years ago. He saw the setting work with Lifetime’s “Army Wives,” a series that came out of ABC/Disney’s studio under his aegis.

Pedowitz noted the current political climate is the right moment for a military show since the armed forces are among the few institutions in a polarized American society that have maintained their respect and stature with the public.

“In this very fractionalized country, more people support the military than not, and they’ll give a show like this a shot,” Pedowitz said.

Other networks have the same idea. The new fall TV schedule has an array of military dramas including “SEAL Team” on CBS and “The Brave” on NBC.

“Sometimes you can’t control these things,” said Pedowitz. “It’s the CW, so we’ll have a different twist on it and hope the audience finds it.”

“Valor,” which has a young, attractive cast that includes Matt Barr and Christina Ochoa, will feel more like a soap than the other military entries coming this season.

The CW found its footing under Pedowitz, who has turned a once floundering enterprise into an effective platform to launch niche appeal series for its co-owners CBS and Warner Bros. Although the CW has no ratings blockbusters, the partners have successfully sold the shows to streaming services and overseas broadcasters. Even the CW series “Supernatural” remains a moneymaker for Warner Bros. as it enters its 13th season because of the revenue it generates on other platforms.

But Pedowitz noted it’s still necessary to have wide-appeal programs bring viewers in to the over-the-air TV affiliates that carry the CW, another reason why “Valor” is getting a shot.

“We’re broadcasters as much as we’re multi-platform players,” he said. “It’s still important to have a broad mix of shows. And I’ve always thought military shows worked.”

Share
Advertisement

‘Confederate’ social media protest to continue Sunday during ‘Game of Thrones’

David Benioff, left, and D.B. Weiss are part of a team developing HBO's "Confederate."
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The organizers of a social media protest aimed at HBO’s “Confederate,” a proposed show that has sparked intense scrutiny about how it will imagine slavery in a modern context, plan to keep up the pressure during this Sunday’s episode of “Game of Thones.”

“Confederate” is being developed by “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who are white. The pair invited husband and wife writer-producers Malcolm Spellman (“Empire”) and Nichelle Tramble Spellman (“The Good Wife”), who are black, to join the creative team for the show.

April Reign, the activist behind #OscarsSoWhite, told The Times Wednesday morning she is continuing the protest that began on Sunday. She is again asking “Game of Thrones” viewers to tweet @hbo using the hashtag #NoConfederate during the 9 p.m. East Coast and West Coast broadcasts of “Game of Thrones.”

The hashtag trended globally during the initial day of the protest. HBO issued a statement following the protest saying “Confederate” is still in its infancy and that viewers should reserve judgment until there is something to see.

Reign has said she wants HBO to abandon its plans for the show because of its slavery storyline.

Share

Say hello to ‘In a Heartbeat,’ the animated short that has the Internet swooning

Hang onto your heartstrings, because they’re about to get tugged.

In a Heartbeat” — the four-minute passion project from computer animation students Esteban Bravo and Beth David — had its cyberspace debut on Monday. And the Internet is crushing. Hard.

The animated short film, which has already amassed 6.4 million views (and counting) on YouTube alone, shares the sweet story of love at first sight. The narrative centers on Sherwin, a closeted young boy who, per the film’s plot description, “runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy of his dreams.” The short chronicles the frenzied emotional roller coaster that erupts in the aftermath of his runaway heart.

In an interview with NBC News, Bravo and David cited their own experiences as the film’s primary inspiration, adding that “In a Heartbeat” is the kind of film they wished they had seen growing up.

“The original pitch was a story between a boy and a girl,” David said. “But it wasn’t until we made it about a same-gender crush that the idea really started to take form and resonate with Esteban and I. We realized that we had something that could potentially be really special to us.”

The film has resonated with other people too. Teaming up to create a joint senior thesis in November, Bravo and David launched a Kickstarter campaign that aimed to raise $3,000 for the film’s production. They surpassed their fundraising goal by a long shot, reeling in more than $14,000.

“With [‘In a Heartbeat’], we wanted to challenge the preconceived notion that LGBTQ content is not appropriate or suitable for younger audiences,” Bravo told NBC News. “It’s an innocent and lighthearted story about a boy and his crush that we hope will resonate with younger people regardless of their background.”

“We tried to tell this story from a genuine place,” David added, “and be as emotionally honest as we could about how especially layered this experience is for LGBTQ kids.”

Share
Advertisement

What ‘Transparent’ star Kathryn Hahn loves about playing Rabbi Raquel

Kathryn Hahn talks about her Emmy nomination for ‘Transparent,’ Raquel’s journey in Season 3 and more.

She’s flawed and messy. But she also is such a good person. She’s really struggling to maintain that. I have such respect for her, for sure. I feel like such a mess compared to Raquel — just a moral and actual disaster.

— Emmy nominee Kathryn Hahn

Read More

Share

Randy Newman fawns over Vladimir Putin in an ironic love song on ‘The Late Show’

Tuesday was a relatively slow news day in America, which is to say, nobody was fired from the White House. There were no revelations of potentially impeachable presidential activity.

The writers of late-night television had to scrape a little harder for material, maybe, but they might have breathed a small sigh of relief after a week of events that must have kept them scribbling up until deadline.

Singer-songwriter Randy Newman dropped by CBS’ “The Late Show” for a rare visit to perform a song called “Putin,” about the Russian leader. It’s from Newman’s new album, “Dark Matter,” which comes out Friday.

“Putin” is what used to be called a topical song — not as immediately topical, say, as Colbert’s performance the previous night of a version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” retooled to bid farewell to Anthony Scaramucci — but in the old sense of lyrics addressing current events. The sort of topical songs Woody Guthrie used to write and play on a guitar inscribed with the words “This machine kills fascists.”

Newman writes the funny kind, darkly. For many, he’s just a man who pens sweet songs for Disney movies, such as “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story.” But he is a longtime satirist, who amplifies his acidity with a Southern California drawl and pleasant parlor piano stylings.

The ironically admiring “Putin,” which he performed in front of projected slides of the sometimes bare-chested Russian president, is not a brand-new song; he first performed it in 2016. But sung in the voice of a man with a crush on a dictator, its timeliness has, if anything, become only more timely. Here’s a taste:

He can drive his giant tractor
Across the Trans-Siberian plain
He can power a nuclear reactor
With the left side of his brain
And when he takes his shirt off
He drives the ladies crazy
When he takes his shirt off
Makes me wanna be a lady
Putin, will you put it next to me?

Share
Advertisement

Watch the harrowing first trailer for Angelina Jolie’s ‘First They Killed My Father’

The long-awaited debut trailer for Angelina Jolie’s “First They Killed My Father” finally dropped anchor Wednesday morning. And it’s a bit of a doozy.

Jolie is back in the director’s seat for the upcoming Netflix drama, which chronicles the true story of Loung Ung, a Cambodian child forced to participate in the nefarious horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. The trailer is one of few words (the actors, all of whom are Cambodian, speak the Khmer language), but the harrowing shots of child soldiers are pretty effective in getting the point across.

Jolie adapted the script for “First They Killed My Father” from Ung’s memoir of the same name and produced it alongside Cambodian-born documentary filmmaker Rithy Panh. Ung, a Cambodian human rights activist and friend of Jolie’s, shares a writing credit on the film.

This trailer comes on the heels of controversy after Jolie’s recent Vanity Fair interview raised some red flags about the film’s treatment of its child actors. Jolie has since tried to stamp out the claims, saying the information was taken wildly out of context.

Netflix will release “First They Killed My Father” on Sept. 15, after a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Share

James Corden and stars galore sing their way through ‘Carpool Karaoke’ trailer

The stars of “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” are getting up offa that thing and dancing till they feel better in the new trailer set to James Brown’s hit song.

Launching on Aug. 8, Apple Music’s original series is hitting the road with a trunkload of celebrities belting out hits inside and outside their vehicles. The star-studded trailer features “Late Late Show” host James Corden, along with a roster of A-listers, comics, a wrestler, some country stars, the whole Cyrus family, a Jonas brother and a pair of dragon-riding Stark sisters. To name a few.

Each episode of the singalong Web series features a celebrity pair -- such as Alicia Keys and John Legend, Billy Eichner and Metallica and Trevor Noah and Shakira -- joining the chorus of their personal playlists.

Corden, who originated the viral segment on his CBS talk show, will appear in a few episodes and serves as co-creator and executive producer with Ben Winston and Eric Pankowski. The late-night comic is paired with a wedding-crashing Will Smith, rides along with Keys and Legend and faces off with a confetti-tossing LeBron James in the teaser.

More shenanigans ensue as the singing makes its way to the streets, into supermarkets and laundromats, onto basketball courts and through pedicab races.

The trailer also features Shaquille O’Neal, Jessica Alba, Chelsea Handler, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tracee Ellis Ross, Ariana Grande, Queen Latifah, Lea Michele, John Cena, Seth MacFarlane, Blake Shelton, Michael Strahan, Jeff Gordon, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner and several others.

Share
Advertisement

Kanye West slaps insurance company with $10-million lawsuit over canceled tour dates

The rapper and producer Kanye West has sued insurance company Lloyd’s of London and its affiliated syndicates for $10 million, alleging it is delaying a claim stemming from 21 canceled dates on last year’s Saint Pablo Tour.

Filed by West’s touring company, Very Good Touring Inc. in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, the suit also alleges that the Lloyd’s investigation into the canceled concerts resulted in information about West’s medical condition leaking to the press.

In the filing, West alleges that the company and its agents “purposely and maliciously caused to be disseminated to news outlets privileged, private and personal information regarding Kanye and the dialogue between Very Good and the insurers.”

In a prepared statement, a spokesperson for Lloyd’s declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said, in part: “The reputation of the market has been built on meeting our obligations quickly and effectively where a claim should be settled.”

The statement added that in the past year, Lloyd’s paid out $18.5 billion in claims and that, in general, the insurance market “will always take steps to find a solution amicable to both clients and insurers where there are disagreements through discussion and mediation.”

West’s attorney, Howard King of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano LLP, declined to comment on the civil action, except to say that the suit speaks for itself.

West cut his tour short in November after he performed a series of uneven shows that featured extended between-song political monologues and rants, including one in which he declared that he “would have voted for Donald Trump” in the presidential election.

This occurred in the weeks following a multimillion-dollar jewel robbery in Paris that left his wife, Kim Kardashian, “bound and gagged while robbers looted jewelry from her hotel room,” according to the suit.

In the wake of the robbery, West, 40, canceled two shows but then returned to the road, only to cut short a Sacramento set after a half hour. He postponed his next gig at the Forum in Inglewood on the evening of the show, and then canceled the rest of the dates. Soon thereafter West checked himself into a hospital.

West’s lawsuit claims that Lloyd’s is contractually obligated to cover the costs of those canceled dates, is willfully ignoring the evidence that West was incapacitated and that the company has suggested that it “may deny coverage of the claim on the unsupportable contention that use of marijuana by Kanye caused the condition.”

Alleges the suit: “Their business model thrives on conducting unending ‘investigations,’ of bona fide coverage requests, stalling interminably, running up their insured’s costs, and avoiding coverage decisions based on flimsy excuses.”

Read the full lawsuit below (via Pitchfork).

Update, 10:30 a.m.: This story was updated with statements from Lloyd’s of London and West’s attorney.

Share

A Star Is Born: Charli XCX turns 25 today

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

I feel old, but it’s difficult to explain. In some aspects of my life -- doing dumb stuff, making bad decisions, going out with the wrong people -- I feel like I’m very young. But then I feel like I have another side of me where I know that I run a business. And I feel in control of that, which makes me feel adult.

— Charli XCX, 2014

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Charli XCX on ‘Sucker’: ‘I haven’t made an album to get on pop radio’

Share
Advertisement

Blake Lively dishes on her anxiety, husband Ryan Reynolds’ made-up tweets and their parenting philosophy

(Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

Blake Lively -- you know, the seemingly perfect, sun-kissed actress of “Gossip Girl” and “The Town” who has two perfect daughters with her seemingly perfect husband, Ryan Reynolds -- has set the record straight about her overly simplified life. (See above description.)

The “awakened” star, who headlines the fall drama “All I See Is You” and is producing and starring in an adaptation of “The Husband’s Secret” (from “Big Little Lies” author Liane Moriarty), called the pristine portrayal of her life “nonsense” in Glamour’s September issue.

“Not all men, but a subsection of men have a desire to understand and control women,” she explained. “To do that, you have to paint them into this thing you can wrap your head around. But women are complex... what you see in the media is not real life.”

Lively said she has “complete anxiety” worrying about the narrative her interviewer will pursue and how he or she will “spin her.” In addition to that, here are a few other tidbits we learned about the actress and her family.

She and Reynolds try not to work at the same time. The couple, who co-starred in 2011’s “Green Lantern” and wed in 2012, stagger their on-location projects so they can stay focused on their daughters James, 2, and Inez, nearly 1. She and her brood are currently in Reynolds’ hometown of Vancouver while he shoots “Deadpool 2.” After that, they’ll pack up and she’ll do a couple of movies of her own.

She’s raising empowered daughters and gets quite a bit of help from her “conscious” husband. Citing a bit from comedian Sarah Silverman’s “We Are Miracles” routine, Lively ascribes to the idea of not telling girls they can do anything because they already believe they can do anything.

“We’re all born feeling perfect until somebody tells us we’re not,” she said. “So there’s nothing I can teach my daughter [James]. She already has all of it. The only thing I can do is protect what she already feels... I do know that I have to watch her and listen to her and not project any of my own insecurities or struggles on her.”

Reynolds contributes to their empowerment by appropriating female pronouns -- say, when “picking up a caterpillar” and calling it “her” rather than “him” -- and discourages the use of the word “bossy” because of its belittling, negative connotation.

Reynolds’ hilarious tweets about parenting are made up and “he may as well work for the [National] Enquirer.”

Unfortunately those tweets that mommy blogs live for are “never, ever about James or Inez,” she said.

“Everything is a completely made-up scenario. He’ll run them by me sometimes just to make me laugh. But oh, I’m so in love with him when he writes that stuff.”

Read Lively’s full Glamour interview here.

Share

With Erinn Hayes exit, death comes to ‘Kevin Can Wait’ in season two

The Grim Reaper will make a rare appearance on a CBS sitcom this upcoming season.

CBS entertainment president Kelly Kahl and senior executive vice president Thom Sherman revealed Tuesday, at their inaugural session in front of the Television Critics Assn. press tour, that Kevin James will become a widower on his sitcom “Kevin Can Wait.”

The network previously announced that Erinn Hayes was exiting her role as James’ wife Donna. Sherman noted that the show would jump forward in time in season two, in which James will be reunited with his “King of Queens” co-star, Leah Remini, who is joining the cast as a regular.

“It will be addressed tastefully and set up as a way of moving forward,” Kahl said. “I’m not sure we can make that hilarious. It will be something that will have taken place in the past.”

As to why Hayes was released from her role, Kahl said it was a matter of James, the studios that produce the series and the network being pleased with the “Kevin Can Wait” guest shots by Remini.

James plays a retired police officer on the series. Remini appeared as his former partner in a two-episode story called “Sting of Queens.” While that title should have tipped everyone off, Kahl said Remini’s return was not the plan at the time.

“Erinn did a great job,” Kahl said. “When everyone collectively saw how Kevin and Leah worked together in the last few episodes there was an undeniable spark there. It wasn’t a test run. It was stunt casting that was meant to pump a little something into the show and it turned out really well.”

James and Remini starred together for nine seasons on “King of Queens,” which ended its run on CBS in 2007.

The move marks a network TV comeback for Remini, who last worked on CBS as a co-host of its daytime chat-fest “The Talk.” Known for clashing with the show’s producers, Remini was fired from the show after one season.

Remini’s latest series “Scientology and the Aftermath” on A&E was recently nominated for an Informational series Emmy.

Share
Advertisement

Patti Smith pens poignant ode to her ‘buddy’ Sam Shepard

(Jesse Dittmar / For The Times)

The singer, poet and author Patti Smith has written a farewell note to her longtime friend and collaborator Sam Shepard. Published on Tuesday in the New Yorker, the piece comes in the wake of the playwright and actor’s death at 73 last week due to complications from ALS.

Called “My Buddy,” the short essay focuses on a friendship that endured nearly six decades and extended across continents as the two artists were making their mark on culture.

“We knew each other for such a long time,” Smith writes. “Our ways could not be defined or dismissed with a few words describing a careless youth. We were friends; good or bad, we were just ourselves. The passing of time did nothing but strengthen that.”

Smith met Shepard in New York when he was drumming for the experimental folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, she wrote in her memoir, “Just Kids.” Despite Shepard being married, the pair developed a relationship that culminated in the theatrical work “Cowboy Mouth.”

It was at Shepard’s urging, in fact, that Smith first toyed with the idea of turning her poetry into musical performance pieces. Although their romantic relationship ended, the two remained close in the decades to follow, which is evident from Smith’s words.

In “My Buddy,” Smith writes of Shepard’s final moments: “The rain fell when he took his last breath, quietly, just as he would have wished. Sam was a private man. I know something of such men. You have to let them dictate how things go, even to the end. The rain fell, obscuring tears. His children, Jesse, Walker, and Hannah, said goodbye to their father. His sisters Roxanne and Sandy said goodbye to their brother.”

Smith adds that when Shepard died, she was far away, “standing in the rain before the sleeping lion of Lucerne, a colossal, noble, stoic lion carved from the rock of a low cliff. The rain fell, obscuring tears.”

In that moment, she says, she imagined herself with Shepard in Kentucky. “I pictured Sam’s books lining the shelves, his boots lined against the wall, beneath the window where he would watch the horses grazing by the wooden fence. I pictured myself sitting at the kitchen table, reaching for that tattooed hand.”

Smith isn’t alone in her respect for Shepard’s legacy. In his appreciation, Times theater critic Charles McNulty praised Shepard’s body of work. “An outlaw who has become part of the mainstream, Shepard is now ensconced in the theatrical canon, but it is still difficult to find a vocabulary that can precisely account for his theatrical brilliance.”

You can read Smith’s full reflection on Shepard here.

Share

Watch the creepy first trailer for David Fincher’s ‘Mindhunter,’ coming soon to Netflix

Netflix just released the first trailer for “Mindhunter,” and it’s basically an ominous, hair-raising nightmare. Then again, that’s pretty much par for the course when David Fincher, the filmmaker behind the “Zodiac” crime series, is involved.

The upcoming Netflix series, which is based on the book “Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit,” seems to fall right in line with Fincher’s repertoire. It stars Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany as FBI agents probing the minds of serial killers to crack pending investigations.

“Mindhunter” will roll into Netflix queues on Oct. 13. The show has already been confirmed for a second season.

Share
Advertisement

CBS Entertainment executives grilled over lack of diversity and female leads

Top CBS programming executives ran into a buzzsaw of questions and criticism over the network’s continued lack of progress over casting people of color and females in leading and key roles on its shows during its executive session at the Television Critics Assn. summer tour Tuesday in Beverly Hills.

CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl and Thom Sherman, senior executive vice president of programming, insisted that diversity was an important issue and that they had made strides on that front.

But the two execs continued to be peppered with questions by reporters who said CBS showed little interest in casting minorities in lead roles. “We hear the same thing, year after year,” said one reporter.

They also addressed the recent salary flap that resulted in the departure of Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park from “Hawaii Five-O,” with Kahl noting that they had offered the actors “a lot of money to stick around.”

Both Kahl and Sherman — who inherited the upcoming fall slate from previous CBS Entertainment President Glenn Geller, who stepped down for health reasons earlier this year — appeared caught off-guard when one reporter pointed out that the network’s casting departments on the East and West coasts were all white.

When asked if that had an impact on casting, both honchos denied that played a part and had cast many actors of color in the past. But Sherman said there were plans to expand the department.

When this reporter asked why a creator of a project that showcased the multiculturalism of America would pitch CBS given the network’s track record, Kahl seemed taken aback.

“To be honest with you, I’m not exactly even sure how to address that,” he said.

Kahl said that, while the speed of the network’s progress is debatable, “There is change happening at CBS.”

OR THE RECORD, 6:45 p.m.: An earlier version of this post quoted Kelly Kahl as saying, “I don’t how to answer that.” It has been corrected to read “I’m not exactly even sure how to address that.”

MORE:

CBS continues to bypass people of color and females for leading roles in its new fall shows

CBS launches casting diversity initiative

Six new CBS series, six white male leads. With prime-time diversity growing, how did the network fall behind?

Share

Marvel releases a tiny update for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ fans

The folks over at Marvel have a little announcement to make. A really, really little one.

Celebrating the start of filming on the MCU sequel “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” the studio released an itty-bitty, 14-second video Tuesday from the film’s set. Due July 6, 2018, the movie brings back Paul Rudd’s size-shifting superhero Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man.

The bigger addition this time around? Evangeline Lilly’s marquee-sharing turn as Hope van Dyne, a.k.a. the Wasp, who gets to share the bill as her superheroine steps into the spotlight following the events of “Captain America: Civil War.”

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” is directed by “Ant-Man” helmer Peyton Reed and also sees the return of Michael Douglas, Michael Peña, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Tip “T.I.” Harris, and David Dastmalchian.

At Comic-Con Marvel broke news of “Ant-Man and the Wasp”s new cast members: Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins and Randall Park.

Filming is slated to take place, again, in San Francisco and Atlanta.

Share
Advertisement

J.K. Rowling apologizes for her Trump accusation — but not to Trump

J.K. Rowling has apologized for misinterpreting President Trump's interaction with a disabled child.
(Lefteris Pitarakis, left; Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

In the latest round of J.K. Rowling vs. Donald Trump (her own personal Lord Voldemort), the novelist has apologized for her recent string of aggrieved tweets — but not to the president.

The “Harry Potter” scribe sparked a great deal of social-media backlash over the weekend after a viral video prompted her to accuse Trump of intentionally ignoring a 3-year-old boy whose spina bifida requires him to use a wheelchair. (You can watch that video here.)

For Rowling, the interaction (or at least her perception of it) hit close to home.

“How stunning, and how horrible, that Trump cannot bring himself to shake the hand of a small boy who only wanted to touch the President,” she wrote in a series of tweets.

“My mother used a wheelchair. I witnessed people uncomfortable around her disability, but if they had a shred of decency they got over it,” Rowling continued in the Twitter comments, which have since been deleted. “So, yes, that clip of Trump looking deliberately over a disabled child’s head, ignoring his outstretched hand, has touched me on the raw.”

The only problem? The video that initially prompted Rowling’s diatribe was incomplete. The boy’s mother, Marjorie Kelly Weer, penned a Facebook post over the weekend explaining that Rowling had misinterpreted the exchange.

“If someone can please get a message to JK Rowling: Trump didn’t snub my son & Monty wasn’t even trying to shake his hand,” she wrote. Weer added that her son does not usually take well to handshakes, anyway.

The video’s raw footage depicts Trump initially kneeling down in an attempt to shake the young boy’s hand (though his gesture was rebuffed).

Rowling apologized to the Weer family, but did not exactly extend a public olive branch to Trump.

“Multiple sources have informed me that that was not a full or accurate representation of their interaction,” she wrote Monday on Twitter, on what happened to be her birthday.

“I very clearly projected my own sensitivities around the issue of disabled people being overlooked or ignored onto the images I saw and if that caused any distress to that boy or his family, I apologise unreservedly.”

Share

After Sam Shepard’s death, Broadway will dim the lights for one of its own

Broadway will pay tribute to the late playwright Sam Shepard on Wednesday night.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Fans and friends continue to react to Monday’s news that decorated actor and playwright Sam Shepard has died.

The Broadway community announced Tuesday that the lights of the Great White Way will be dimmed for a minute on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. in memory of the man who penned many plays performed both on and off-Broadway.

“Sam Shepard was a prolific storyteller who created provocative, thoughtful, and exciting work for Broadway, off-Broadway, and film,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, in a statement Tuesday. “His original voice was a definite draw for audiences and had an undeniable influence on other artists.

“He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues,” St. Martin concluded.

MORE:

Sam Shepard, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Oscar-nominated actor, dies at 73

On film, Sam Shepard turned understatement into brooding poetry

Sam Shepard, the cowboy playwright who rewrote the rules of the American stage

Share
Advertisement

‘Call Me By Your Name’ trailer drops and Twitter goes crazy

Even before the trailer for “Call Me By Your Name” dropped early Tuesday morning, Twitter was flipping out.

Fans launched countdowns and began posting GIFs to express their excitement over finally getting a glimpse of the sensual love story that took the film world by storm at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Barry Jenkins, the director of “Moonlight,” even started his own hashtag -- #survivingdaCMBYNtrailerdrop -- to offer advice to anxious tweeters.

So what’s all the fuss about?

“Call Me By Your Name,” directed by Luca Guadagnino (“I Am Love,” “A Bigger Splash”) is adapted from André Aciman’s novel about a summer love affair between two young men.

Newcomer Timothée Chalamet stars as a 17-year-old who lives with his parents in the Italian countryside, where they welcome a 24-year-old American scholar (Armie Hammer) as a house guest for six weeks. Set in 1983, the film follows the growing romantic relationship between the teenager and the handsome visitor.

When it debuted at Sundance, critics were instantly enamored of the picture, which is set for an awards season release on Nov. 24. In his review for The Times, Justin Chang described the movie as “a powerfully erotic and affecting love story.”

“Not a single moment, impulse or emotional revelation feels rushed,” Chang wrote. “Guadagnino isn’t just one of the great sensualists of contemporary cinema; he has become a veritable deconstructionist of desire.”

Share

Pop singer Kesha announces first solo tour in four years

(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

Pop singer Kesha has announced a tour in support of her upcoming album “Rainbow,” and she’ll cap it in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium.

It will be the artist’s first solo run since her Warrior Tour in 2013, a delay due in part to a series of allegations and civil actions between the artist, who was born Kesha Sebert, and her onetime producer, Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. The producer is suing Kesha for defamation after she alleged that he sexually assaulted her. He denies the allegations.

Kesha recently concluded an extended run of dates under the cuss-laden title Kesha and the Creepies: ... the World Tour. But the Rainbow Tour will be a bigger production and will focus on music from her new album, which comes out Aug. 11.

The 21-date tour will see the artist perform at a number of notable venues, foregoing arena-sized stages for more intimate locales. The pop star, whose mother, Pebe Sebert, is a veteran country songwriter, will perform at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Sept. 29, the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on Oct. 9 and Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom on Oct. 18.

After a Halloween gig at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, Kesha will conclude this leg of her tour at L.A.’s Hollywood Palladium on Nov. 1.

Here’s the full run of dates:

Rainbow Tour 2017:
Sept. 26: Birmingham, Ala. — Iron City
Sept. 27: Nashville — Ryman Auditorium
Sept. 29: Atlanta — Coca-Cola Roxy
Sept. 30: Charlotte, N.C. — The Fillmore Charlotte
Oct. 2: Raleigh, N.C. — The Ritz
Oct. 4: Boston — House of Blues
Oct. 6: Silver Spring, Md. — The Fillmore Silver Spring
Oct. 7: Philadelphia — The Fillmore Philadelphia
Oct. 9: New York — Hammerstein Ballroom
Oct. 13: Lakewood, Ohio — Lakewood Civic Auditorium
Oct. 15: Detroit — The Fillmore Detroit
Oct. 16: Toronto — Rebel
Oct. 18: Chicago — Aragon Ballroom
Oct. 19: Milwaukee — Eagles Ballroom
Oct. 23: Kansas City, Mo. — Uptown Theatre
Oct. 24: Denver — Fillmore Auditorium
Oct. 25: Salt Lake City — The Complex
Oct. 27: Seattle — Showbox SoDo
Oct. 28: Portland, Ore. — Roseland Theatre (Daze of the Dead)
Oct. 31 - San Francisco — Masonic Auditorium
Nov. 1 - Los Angeles — Hollywood Palladium

Share
Advertisement

Kenan Thompson and ‘All That’ crew team up for kids’ sketch-comedy series

The sketch-comedy goofballs behind the side-splitting absurdity that was Nickelodeon’s “All That” are back, and they’re teaming up for round 2. Only this time, they’re launching a kids-centric, live-action sketch comedy show for the next generation.

“Saturday Night Live” veteran and distinguished funnyman Kenan Thompson is partnering with fellow “All That” alumni to create “Skoogle,” a series whose titular character (voiced by Thompson) is a Siri-like digital assistant.

According to a news release, “Skoogle” will “satirize everything from service apps to streaming entertainment to social media.” Thompson added that the series’ format —- which will bear comedic likeness to its ‘90s predecessor — is inspired by “the ‘never too young’ entrepreneurial spirit that is encouraging kids everywhere to start doing their own businesses at any age. And have a blast doing it!”

Thompson will once again team up with Albie Hecht, pocket.watch’s chief content officer and the former president of Nickelodeon Entertainment, for the new series. Hecht was the original executive behind “All That” and will serve as executive producer of “Skoogle,” alongside Thompson. Former “All That” actor Josh Server will also produce.

“Skoogle” is the first major series set for production under pocket.watch, a relatively young media brand whose content is geared toward children ages 2 to 11.

Share

Late-night TV hosts bid adieu to the Anthony Scaramucci they hardly knew

Here lies the career of Anthony Scaramucci. Canned by President Donald Trump and buried by late-night comedy.

Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and the bulk of the late-night crew bid fond farewell to Scaramucci on Monday night, after the White House communications director got fired after only 10 days on the job.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”

Colbert favored the bookend structure to say goodbye to the Mooch. Upon Scaramucci’s introduction as WHCD, Colbert (among others) made extensive reference to the Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and on Monday, Colbert brought it back.

But this time, instead of opting for the operatics of the song, Colbert brought out the ballad, crooning, “Mama, I just got canned … barely got to the White House, said some dumb stuff now I’m out … Mama, my job had just begun, and now I’ve gone and thrown it all away.”

“Mama (Mooch), I didn’t mean to make outcry,” Colbert continued. “I won’t be back to mooch this time tomorrow ... Carry on, carry on, without the old front-stabber.”

“Late Night With Seth Meyers”

Over on “Late Night,” Meyers had fewer imaginary tears to shed, instead examining the continuous shakeup of Trump’s administration, with the other recent departures of Sean Spicer and Reince Priebus.

“Even at his last job, Trump only fired one person a week,” Meyers quipped. “At this point, getting fired is part of orientation.”

Meyers went on to ponder how the White House could one-up Scaramucci with its next communications director.

“How do you top Scaramucci?” Meyers said. “Would it be an airhorn with chest hair? A lasagna with a switchblade? A Monster energy drink with googly eyes?”

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

Fallon opted to go upbeat by bringing in comedian and actor John Early (“Search Party”) to play the role of GOP fanboy and cheerleader.

When asked if he had words of support for Scaramucci, Early responded enthusiastically, “Keep telling it like it is, Mooch! We as a nation enjoy that you’re not PC and/or fake! Enjoy that time off, babe!”

Early then suggested that Scaramucci use that time off to pursue certain, um, activities that the Mooch previously suggested that Steve Bannon engages in.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Kimmel decided to keep things simple for his Monday night show, scoring a phone interview with “Scaramucci,” who engaged in an expletive-laden, mostly bleeped conversation.

Must be seen (or heard) to be believed.

“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah”

Noah was pleasantly befuddled by the latest White House disarray, particularly tickled that Scaramucci’s official first day was Aug. 15, meaning he had gotten fired before actually beginning his job.

“That’s like waking up in the morning, looking at the newspaper and it says, ‘Help wanted. But not you,’” Noah joked.

He went on to compare the Mooch to the song of the summer.

“Scaramucci came into our lives, made everyone obsessed with him for like a week, and then he left us with nothing but memories and a bunch of weird moves,” Noah said, before devolving into a modified Macarena dance reminiscent of Scaramucci’s news conference hand gestures.

File under: Anthony Scaramucci is gone but not forgotten (by late-night shows, at least).

Share
Advertisement

R. Kelly cancels Los Angeles show amid cult allegations

(Axel Koester / For The Times)

The embattled R&B singer R. Kelly has canceled a number of forthcoming dates on his new “After Party” tour, including an Oct. 6 concert at Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

The cancellations come after a recent Buzzfeed story by music journalist and longtime Kelly chronicler Jim DeRogatis alleged that the singer was keeping what was described as an “abusive cult” of women against their will. Kelly has denied the allegations.

Kelly, who performed on Friday in Virginia Beach, Va., has so far also nixed forthcoming concerts in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., and Dallas.

Although Ticketmaster offered no explanation for the cancellations, TMZ reported that in the hours prior to Kelly’s Virginia Beach concert, a chart of available seating indicated the venue was “barely at 50% capacity.” Representatives for Kelly were not available for comment.

Tickets for the Microsoft Theater date remain on sale through AXS.com, the venue’s ticketing site, but both the theater’s and Kelly’s website list the date as being canceled.

Tickets for Kelly’s concert in Ontario, Calif., on Oct. 8, however, remain on sale through Ticketmaster. But there doesn’t seem to be much of a rush. Vast swaths of Citizens Business Bank Arena seem to remain open, according to Ticketmaster’s chart.

Share

Oscar winner Casey Affleck and wife Summer Phoenix are divorcing

(Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for AFI)

The infamous Oscar curse has struck Casey Affleck.

The 41-year-old actor, who won an Academy Awards earlier this year for his work in “Manchester by the Sea,” is getting a divorce.

His wife, actress and model Summer Phoenix, filed her petition to split from Affleck in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday citing irreconcilable differences, The Times has confirmed. She is seeking joint physical and legal custody of their two sons -- Indiana, 12, and Atticus, 9 -- and is also asking for spousal support and attorney fees.

The couple announced their amicable separation in 2016 after 10 years of marriage, but Phoenix listed the date of separation as November 2015 in the petition.

“Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix have amicably separated. They remain very close friends,” the couple said in a joint statement in March 2016.

Affleck, who is the younger brother of Ben Affleck, and Phoenix, who is the younger sister of Joaquin Phoenix, had been an item since 2000 and wed in 2006. They co-starred in the 2000 comedy “Committed” and the 2002 play “This Is Our Youth” with Matt Damon.

Coincidentally, Affleck is the latest actor to face divorce proceedings after winning Oscar gold. Reese Witherspoon, Nicholas Cage, Halle Berry, Kirk Douglas, Sam Mendes and Sandra Bullock are just a few Academy Award winners whose marriages ended shortly after they took home their Oscars. Theories of an Oscar curse are believed to date back to the 1930s.

Share
Advertisement

James Franco’s ‘The Disaster Artist’ is bound for Toronto film fest’s Midnight Madness

After a strong debut at South by Southwest earlier this year, James Franco’s “The Disaster Artist” is headed to the Toronto International Film Festival during the height of awards season.

On Tuesday, TIFF organizers announced that the comedy -- about the making of the 2003 so-bad-it’s-good cult hit “The Room” -- will have its world premiere as part of the festival’s Midnight Madness program. The film, directed by and starring Franco, played as a “work-in-progress” in Austin in March and spurred early Oscar talk for the actor.

The Midnight section, which kicks off Sept. 7, will open with the unveiling of “Bodied,” a rap satire from Taylor Swift music video director Joseph Kahn that was produced by Eminem. Other highlights in the late-night category include “Brawl in Cell Block 99,” featuring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Carpenter, and “Mom and Dad,” co-starring Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair.

TIFF also revealed its Documentary lineup, which includes a number of films centered around recognizable personalities. The section will launch with “Grace Jones: Bloodlight & Bami,” from director Sophie Fiennes -- who, yes, is related to Joseph and Ralph Fiennes; she’s their sister.

Other high-profile figures getting the doc treatment include primatologist Jane Goodall (Brett Morgen’s “Jane”), Vogue editor André Leon Talley (Kate Novack’s “The Gospel According to André), Eric Clapton (Lili Fini Zanuck’s “Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars”) and Sammy Davis Jr. (Sam Pollard’s “Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me”).

Also sure to make headlines: a follow-up to Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 McDonald’s expose “Super Size Me.” The filmmaker’s new doc, “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!,” follows Spurlock as he opens his own fast-food restaurant to uncover how meat is mass-produced.

Share

A Star Is Born: Public Enemy’s Chuck D turns 57 today

(Patrick Downs / Los Angeles Times)

What always gave rap a leg up on other musics was the anger in it, but the anger before was always directed at other rappers -- ‘I’m better than you’ and so forth. When we came along, we decided to direct our anger at something real ... the government and people who were responsible for what was happening in society.

— Chuck D, 1992

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Checking In With Chuck D: The thinking-man’s rapper continues to generate both alarm and acclaim

Share
Advertisement