Today in Entertainment: Inside Disney’s Pandora; Fyre Fest’s apology; and ‘Hamilton’ ticket details

After intense criticism over a festival-preview trailer that many fans found sexist, Hard’s Gary Richards has made his first statement on the controversy.

The Hard Summer preview clip, written and directed by Agata Alexander, featured several male headlining DJs wearing outsized prosthetic breasts, ostensibly to satirize the lack of women artists at dance music festivals.

In an emailed statement to The Times, Richards said:

Hard Summer in 2013.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

How could no one behind Hard Summer’s new preview trailer suspect that so many fans would hate it?

The clip, which can be watched here and does contain imagery that could offend, may have been done with the intent to admirably satirize the lack of women on music festival bills (including Hard’s). But doing so by putting gigantic prosthetic breasts on top-billed male acts including DJ Snake, What So Not, Party Favor and Claude VonStroke?

Even though the clip was written and directed by a woman, the instant backlash has left a festival — one with plenty of other issues to deal with — scrambling to save face.

The clip is, indeed, hard to watch, and not just for its juvenile tone and the way it trivializes a legitimate concern in music culture. It’s maybe most embarrassing because it is a completely unforced error from a festival that actually took complaints about gender imbalance on the lineup seriously this year.

As the video itself notes, in 2016 the festival only had four female performers. This year, there are 26 out of 110. That’s actually a very real and laudable gain, and Hard could very easily have coasted on that goodwill. The bill is better for it. Rising acts like Madam X and Cray and established draws like Tinashe and Anna Lunoe bring a different energy and attitude to a fest.

There was just absolutely no need to vaporize that hard-won goodwill with a wince-worthy gag, one that could even alienate many of the same women artists whom the fest worked so hard to get on the bill (a few artists in the electronic scene have already spoken out against it, as evidenced by the tweets below).

That’s where the attention should have been — on the gains made by taking active efforts to diversify lineups. It makes for a better, safer, more inclusive and exciting experience, one that fans are demanding from festivals.

For someone who won a Tony four years ago for fearlessly flying on a trapeze in “Pippin,” off-stage Andrea Martin is endearingly self-effacing and excitable. Over eggs and coffee at a cafe on the Upper West Side, where she’s rented the same apartment since the early 1970s, Martin discussed her love of the circus, her Armenian roots and the possibility of an “SCTV” reunion.

Currently in production on the third season of the caustic Hulu comedy “Difficult People,” the actress, 70 and fabulous, can also be seen in “Great News.”

Read More

Over the weekend, over 40,000 LGBTQ-friendly people and lovers of drag descended upon the Los Angeles Convention Center for RuPaul’s DragCon. In its third year, the celebration of “the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all” featured panel discussions, drag “herstory” sessions, and fashion and makeup workshops for men and women.

Think Comic-Con, but for drag queens.

One of the most attended panels of the weekend was titled “What Is Drag in Trump’s America?,” hosted by the new purveyors of scathing political takes, Teen Vogue. It featured the outspoken Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Alaska, standout and fan favorites from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” -- which, in its ninth season, moved from Logo TV to VH1 this year.

One of this year’s additions was the Kid Zone, an area dedicated to drag’s youngest fans.

“We did it because we recognize that there are so many young people, from 3 to 11 or so,” RuPaul told The Times ahead of DragCon. “I think young parents know how important it is to expose their children to this diversity, especially in this current political climate. This is a place where they can go and expand their lives and see that there is more than one way to live a successful, abundant life. It doesn’t have to exist in this box, and it involves all the colors in the crayon box. We are so proud of this because it gives our queens an opportunity to meet them, fans that wouldn’t necessarily go to a nightclub to see them.”

A 210,000-square-foot exhibitor space has more than 200 vendors selling drag-related merchandise and makeup. The world’s most famous drag queen also had a booth, where he signed autographs and sold all things RuPaul.

DragCon ended Sunday night with a keynote by RuPaul. In it, he announced good news for drag’s fans in New York: the convention will be making its debut in the Big Apple in a few short months on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

READ: RuPaul, the world’s most famous drag queen, on pushing boundaries and getting political

“Hamilton” fans began arriving at the Hollywood Pantages about 8:30 p.m. Saturday. By Sunday morning, the crowd lined up on Argyle Street had swelled to hundreds, all trying to snag tickets as they went on sale at 10 a.m.

Although tickets were also available online and by phone, some thought their chances would be better in person. Times staff writer Jessica Gelt was on the scene.

Read More

(Genaro Molina / Los angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Always on his mind

A closer look at the land of Pandora. The map of the Mo’ara territory reveals how Pandora has changed a generation after the conflict of between the local Na’vi and the human invaders over the mining of unobtanium.

The park covers an expansive 12 acres of property, but the map itself extends well past the boundaries set by Disney’s imagineers.

“Hondros,” a documentary about the life of late Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Chris Hondros, received the Audience Award for documentary at Tribeca. Pictured: Inge Hondros.

(Ben Gabbe / Getty Images for Hondros)

The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival came to a close Saturday with the announcement of the two winners for the Audience Awards, sponsored by AT&T.

“The Divine Order,” directed and written by Petra Volpe, won the narrative award for its tale of Swiss suffrage in the 1970s.

Winning the documentary award was “Hondros,” which was directed by Greg Campbell and written by Campbell and Jenny Golden, about the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Chris Hondros, who died in Libya in 2011.

“It is always exciting to see what resonates most with the audience, and this year, both the narrative and documentary winners represent smart filmmaking and impactful storytelling,” Paula Weinstein, one of the founders of the festival, said in a statement.

“On behalf of the Tribeca team, we congratulate ‘The Divine Order’ and ‘Hondros’ as the 2017 Audience Award winners, and hope moviegoers worldwide get to experience these powerful films.”

Runners-up for the Audience Awards include “Saturday Church,” written and directed by Damon Cardasis, for narrative film and “Shadowman,” written and directed by Oren Jacoby, for documentary.

The festival awarded its top jury prizes Thursday, with Rachel Israel’s “Keep the Change” winning the top narrative jury prize.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times )

At Walt Disney World’s new Pandora -- the World of Avatar, guests can order something that sort of tastes like a cheeseburger. Except it doesn’t look like a cheeseburger. It’s a doughy white pod, filled with burger fixings.

Pandora “pods” can be stuffed with veggies, burger fixings or breakfast.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

The story, Disney Imagineers said, is that humans who have inhabited Pandora miss the food of home, only now they have to use alien ingredients.

Also on the menu is green beer -- a light, wheaty ale made by Terrapin Beer Co. Restaurant staff said the initial plan was for a blue beer -- the Na’Vi, after all, are a blue-skinned race -- but that proved a tougher task using natural ingredients.

Hawkes’ Grog Ale

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

Wine drinkers can go with Banshee Chardonnay, which we did not get to sample, and the bulk of the food offerings center on mix-and-match bowls (beef, fish or tofu). But perhaps the most colorful offering is dessert. A rich blueberry cream cheese mouse is a perfectly circular orb that glistens a bright shade of toothpaste blue.

Blueberry cheesecake

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times )

The restaurant, Satu’li Canteen, is themed like an old mess hall, one once used by the RDA, the evil corporation shown in the 2009 James Cameron film “Avatar.”

See photos of Pandora’s menu items.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and singer Ciara drafted a sure thing Friday, welcoming a baby girl to their family on the first day of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Baby Wilson was immediately drafted as QB by the Cleveland Browns. (Not really.)

Ciara and Wilson posted matching Instagram pictures announcing the birth of their daughter Friday night, featuring a photo of the singer on the beach, taken by Wilson.

“Dear Sienna Princess Wilson, No matter how big the wave, we will always be your calm in the storm. We Love You,” the post read.

The couple married in July and announced Ciara’s pregnancy via Instagram in October.

This is Wilson’s first child and the second for Ciara, who shares 2-year-old son Future Zahir Wilburn with rapper Future.

×

Our resident Disney expert, Todd Martens, receives training for banshee adoption, inside Pandora – The World of Avatar, the new ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

In James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar,” the blue-skinned Na’Vi bond with giant winged creatures called banshees in a duel to the near-death. At Disney’s new Pandora — The World of Avatar, situated inside Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fla., the banshees are far cuter and much less violent.

In fact, when the park opens May 27, guests will be able to take home a mini robotic banshee for $49.95. Inside Windtraders, Pandora’s store for all things “Avatar”-related, guests are matched with a colorful banshee that will rest on one’s shoulder. Mine was pink and menacingly cute rather than vicious.

A leash, or, controller, if you prefer, will wrap around one’s waist, allowing the wearer to order the banshee to flap its wings, open its mouth and even let out a mini howl.

But do not call them baby banshees. All of Disney’s cast members in Pandora are in on the story, and will politely inform guests that the take-home banshees are scale-models to help conservationists study the creature.

×

A line queue for the Pandora ride “Flight of Passge” in Disney World’s new park.

Midway through James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi action film “Avatar,” set on the distant planet of Pandora, lead character Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) observes, “Out there is the true world. In here is the dream.”

He’s referring to his ability in the film to inhabit an alien body, and not, of course, a theme park. Yet Disney, at its Animal Kingdom park in Orlando, Fla., will on May 27 attempt to transport guests to an otherworldly reality -- a place not inhabited by princesses and castles and singing ghosts but by floating mountains, a bioluminescent forest and mysterious creatures who rustle plants just out of sight of guests.

Pandora -- the World of Avatar, which was inspired by the Cameron film but does not feature any of its main characters, aims to put a true-to-life spin on the fantasy universe. Situated in Animal Kingdom, Pandora will play up themes of conservation as it presents a fragile world on the road to rehabilitation. Set about a generation after the conflict of the film, much of Pandora, which we visited as part of a preview today, conveys a tranquil setting.

The Na’Vi River Journey boat ride is an intimate (the boats seat about eight people each) and calming trip through a bioluminescent forest, culminating in a visit with the Shaman of Songs, a Na’Vi relaxing and serenading guests amid the glowing fauna.

The Shaman of Songs also happens to be one of Disney’s most impressive audio-animatronics to date, possessing almost human-like fluidity. Along the journey, guests will encounter flowing jellyfish, pulsating orange plants and the wolf-like creatures that haunt Pandora. The effect is akin to floating through an above-ground coral reef.

Elsewhere, the more thrilling Avatar Flight of Passage aims to simulate the effect of riding a banshee, one of “Avatar’s” winged, dragon-like animals. After traversing up a small mountain -- consider it a very moderate hike -- guests enter a cave and see ancient Na’Vi drawings. The cave eventually reveals itself to be a science center, where humans are working with the Na’Vi to protect the banshees from extinction.

In Flight of Passage, guests are matched with an alien body. The aim is to create the illusion of becoming a Na’Vi, who can train and tame the banshees. After boarding a solitary, stationary-bike-like ride system, a back support will rise and push guests forward. Once the ride begins, a screen is revealed and, with the help of 3-D glasses, attendees will soar amid Pandora’s flying mountains.

The first half of the 4 1/2-minute ride is rather thrilling, as the banshee careens down mountains, through waterfalls and nearly gets into a tussle with a Great Leonopteryx, a bigger, more orange-hued dragon. The second half slows down, as guests again visit some of Pandora’s glowing forests.

The ride was longer than I expected, and also far smoother. As someone who doesn’t fare too well on motion simulators -- I cannot ride Star Tours: The Adventure Continues without getting sick -- I experienced no such nausea on Flight of Passage. I attribute that to the variation in ride pace, but also the crispness of the effects.

Pandora is big, about 12 acres, and everything in it is billed as an attraction. Some plants, for instance, will allow guests to interact with them -- acting as drums that affect the lighting of the land or release spores into the air. At night, the ground will glow beneath guests’ feet.

If you rush through the land just to hit the two rides, Joe Rohde, the Imagineer behind the project, cautions that you’re “wasting your time.” Once it opens, for instance, Disney will have cast members act as Pandora expats who will chat up guests on Pandora wildlife.

We’ll have more on Pandora for you today, and in the weeks to come.

• What do the Na’vi eat? A look at the food inside Disney World’s new Pandora park
• Bonding with a shoulder banshee at Disney World’s Pandora: Warning, don’t call it a ‘baby’

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

“Judge Judy” took home its second consecutive award for best legal/courtroom program at Friday night’s ceremony for the Daytime Creative Arts Emmy, its third win in 21 seasons.

The ceremony, held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, celebrated the men and women working behind the scenes in daytime television, honoring programming broadcast between 2 a.m. and 6 p.m. during 2016.

Veteran actor Kelsey Grammer won his first Daytime Emmy at the ceremony for his voice work as Blinky on Netflix’s animated series “Trollhunters.”

Grammer’s voice acting on “The Simpsons” as Sideshow Bob garnered him a Primetime Emmy in 2006.

Streaming-content provider Amazon took home Emmys for both preschool children’s animated program and children’s animated program, with “The Snowy Day” and “Lost in Oz: Extended Adventure,” respectively.

The rest of the Daytime Emmy categories, including awards for morning program, talk show and drama series, will be awarded Sunday at a ceremony hosted by Mario Lopez (“Extra”) and Sheryl Underwood (“The Talk”).

Late-night host Stephen Colbert celebrated the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency Friday, saying that much has been accomplished in the country.

“A lot has been done in the first 100 days,” Colbert said in his opening monologue of CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” “Just none of it by him.”

He quipped that the 100-day milestone was also an indication of another deadline. “We cannot bring him back to the store without a receipt. Slightly damaged goods.”

Colbert added that he was so pleased that the country “survived” those first 100 days: “I did not have that in the office pool.”

After a day of memes and negative press about the massive disaster that greeted music fans arriving in the Bahamas for the first-ever Fyre Festival — unfinished grounds, lack of promised accommodations, no luggage, no beer, food better suited for an elementary school sleep-away camp and the cancelation of one headliner — the organizers are offering an explanation and apology for the now-canceled event.

Hyped as “the cultural experience of the decade,” the festival was supposed to launch the first of two consecutive weekends Friday on a remote island in Fyre Cay in the Exumas, a string of islands in the Bahamas. Blink-182, Disclosure, Kaytranada, Migos, Rae Sremmurd, Tyga, Desiigner, Pusha T., Major Lazer and two dozen other artists and surprise-guest headliners spanning a myriad of genres were promised.

But the festival, co-created by Ja Rule and entrepreneur Billy McFarland and promoted by Fyre Media Inc. — collapsed into disarray on Thursday as guests began to arrive for the event, which was expecting 6,000 to 7,000 people. (Read our full breakdown here.)

As images of collapsed tents instead of plush villas and trash-strewn grounds started to go viral on social media, organizers canceled the festival at the last minute and frustrated guests blasted the entire event as a fraud.

Late Friday, after the festival bore the brunt of some intense scrutiny, McFarland offered a full explanation.

Here’s what went wrong, in his own words, as sent directly from festival organizers:

“Today was a very challenging day for all of us. But we would like to fully explain what happened.

“Billy McFarland and Ja Rule started a partnership over a mutual interest in technology, the ocean, and rap music. This unique combination of interests led them to the idea that, through their combined passions, they could create a new type of music festival and experience on a remote island.

“They simply weren’t ready for what happened next, or how big this thing would get. They started by making a website and launching a viral campaign. Ja helped book talent, and they had hundreds of local Bahamians join in the effort. Suddenly, they found themselves transforming a small island and trying to build a festival. Thousands of people wanted to come. They were excited, but then the roadblocks started popping up.

“As amazing as the islands are, the infrastructure for a festival of this magnitude needed to be built from the ground up. So, we decided to literally attempt to build a city. We set up water and waste management, brought an ambulance from New York, and chartered 737 planes to shuttle our guests via 12 flights a day from Miami. We thought we were ready, but then everyone arrived.

“The team was overwhelmed. The airport was jam-packed. The buses couldn’t handle the load. And the wind from rough weather took down half of the tents on the morning our guests were scheduled to arrive. This is an unacceptable guest experience and the Fyre team takes full responsibility for the issues that occurred.

“Everyone was very concerned for our guests. They needed a place to sleep and everyone did their absolute best to rebuild. We took everyone to the beach and built as many tents and beds as fast as possible, but as more guests arrived, we were simply in over our heads. Ultimately, we didn’t think security could keep up, so we had to postpone the festival. The response to the postponement was immediate and intense. We had no other options this morning, so we began the process of getting guests quickly and safely back to Miami, which continues now. Our top priority as a company is to ensure the comfort and safe return home of all of our guests.

“Then something amazing happened: venues, bands, and people started contacting us and said they’d do anything to make this festival a reality and how they wanted to help. The support from the musical community has been overwhelming and we couldn’t be more humbled or inspired by this experience. People were rooting for us after the worst day we’ve ever had as a company. After speaking with our potential partners, we have decided to add more seasoned event experts to the 2018 Fyre Festival, which will take place at a United States beach venue.

“All festival-goers this year will be refunded in full. We will be working on refunds over the next few days and will be in touch directly with guests with more details. Also, all guests from this year will have free VIP passes to next year’s festival.

“We’re grateful for the Bahamian Government and The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism for their assistance during this challenging time — their efforts have been exemplary. We want to thank the people of the Bahamas for their support and for graciously allowing us the privilege of visiting their islands. We apologize for any inconvenience the past 24 hours has caused and we look forward to making a considerable donation to the Bahamas Red Cross Society as part of our initiatives. We need to make this right. And once we make this right, then we will put on the dream festival we sought to have since the inception of Fyre.

“Thank you for all your continued patience and understanding. We apologize for what all of our guests and staff went through over the last 24 hours and will work tirelessly to make this right.”

The path to Pandora -- The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

A bioluminescent forest. A ride on a banshee. Flying mountains.

On May 27 Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom’s will open what’s expected to be one of the company’s most technically immersive theme park lands to date, Pandora -- The World of Avatar. But we’re headed in there Saturday, and you can follow along online.

Inspired by the 2009 James Cameron film “Avatar,” Pandora will inject a heavy dose of make believe into Disney’s more realistic theme park, one that features sections modeled after Africa and Asia and puts live animals rather than costumed creatures center stage.

Set a full generation after the conflicts of the film, Disney Imagineers promise Pandora to be so intricately constructed that this planet in the Alpha Centauri star system will feel more lifelike than not.

The bridge that leads into Disney’s Pandora -- The World of Avatar.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

We’ll begin to find out when we get our first glimpse of Pandora, as Disney is opening up the land for a small media preview. We’ll have multiple stories about the land in the coming weeks, including interviews with some of those who are bringing it to life.

We’ll be going on both of the land’s main attractions -- one, Avatar Flight of Passage, that simulates a ride on the winged banshees, and another, Na’Vi River Journey, that serves as a calming ride through a glowing forest -- as well as sampling some of Pandora’s food.

You can follow along on Twitter, Instagram and stayed tuned here for first impressions and photos.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The flagship Las Vegas edition of Electric Daisy Carnival, America’s largest multi-day music festival, has announced its full lineup.

The bill is again packed with many of the top names in EDM — the recent Coachella dance-tent headliner Marshmello, Martin Garrix and Zedd among them — who are now staple performers at the festival. Others, like the tropical-house mainstay Kygo and the Los Angeles genre-hopper Mija, will make their EDC Las Vegas debuts.

But a few new concepts and one-off collaborative sets are worth a fresh look.

One set will see Alison Wonderland, one of the first two women to perform on the fest’s main stage last year, perform on that stage yet again back-to-back with Diplo and Jauz. Insomniac’s factory93 concept — focused on underground-leaning acts — will have a much bigger stage, with all-night label takeovers from Drumcode, Paradise and Moodzone.

And the roving Burner-inspired art cars will feature sets from a few notable SoCal DJ crews and promoters including Desert Hearts and Brownies & Lemonade.

The festival, now in its 21st installment, will hit the Las Vegas Motor Speedway once again on June 16-18.

Anne Rice, pictured in 2014, is seen at her home in Palm Desert.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Pop culture’s ongoing love affair with the ’90s rages on with word that Anne Rice’s “Vampire Chronicles series is angling for a TV revival.

Paramount Television and Anonymous Content announced they have obtained the rights to 11 of Rice’s books for development. Rice will executive produce the series and her son, Christopher Rice — a bestselling author in his own right — will write the adaptation. Previously, the Paramount/Anonymous partnership yielded “Berlin Station” on Epix and Netflix’s teen suicide drama “13 Reasons Why.”

“It is undeniable that Anne Rice has created the paradigm against which all vampire stories are measured,” Amy Powell, president of Paramount TV, said in a statement. “The rich and vast world she has created with ‘The Vampire Chronicles’ is unmatched and sophisticated with 90’s gothic undertones that will be perfectly suited to captivate audiences.”

For those who didn’t experience the ’90s the first time around, Rice’s vampire series has sold more than 100 million copies, and its first book — published in 1976 — yielded the 1994 film “Interview with the Vampire,” which starred Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and an unnervingly young Kirsten Dunst. If that doesn’t sound decade-specific enough, Guns N’ Roses also covered the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” for the soundtrack.

“For decades now fans of ‘The Vampire Chronicles’ have been clamoring for a long-form television adaptation of this galaxy of content,” Christopher Rice said in the same statement. “We’re confident this exciting deal will result in many excellent things for Lestat in the universe of television.”

Los Angeles fans finally get their shot: Tickets for “Hamilton” at the Hollywood Pantages go on sale at 10 a.m. Sunday. There are three ways to make a play for the hottest theater ticket in town: through the Pantages website, by phone at (800) 982-2787 and in person at the Pantages box office.

Keep reading for details on ticket prices, show dates and more:

Read More

(Paul Hawthorne / Associated Press)

Charlotte Rae, the actress who played matriarch Edna Garrett on “Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Facts of Life,” has bone cancer.

The 91-year-old sitcom star, who beat pancreatic cancer seven years ago, was diagnosed Monday, according to People.

“So now, at the age of 91, I have to make up my mind. I’m not in any pain right now. I’m feeling so terrific and so glad to be above ground,” Rae told the magazine. “Now I have to figure out whether I want to go have treatment again to opt for life. I love life. I’ve had a wonderful one already. I have this decision to make.”

The actress’ mother, sister and uncle died from pancreatic cancer, she said. Rae, who said she was cancer-free after six months of chemotherapy when she fought pancreatic cancer, was supposed to start chemo again Thursday, but held off to “think about it first.”

The first time around, nobody knew about her treatment, she said, noting that she had “great wigs.”

“I think I’m going to go for it,” said the TV veteran, who celebrated her birthday over the weekend. “The side effects were not too bad when I did it originally. I’ve had a great life, but I have so many wonderful things happening. I’d like to [choose] life. I’m grateful for the life I’ve already had.”

Rae was born in Milwaukee in 1926 and got her start in theater at Northwestern University. She perfected her comedy in clubs “to showcase myself for Broadway,” she told The Times in 2006 when her impish album “Songs I Taught My Mother” was rereleased.

Rae, who was wed to the late Emmy- and Grammy-winning composer John Strauss, most recently appeared alongside Meryl Streep in 2015’s “Ricki and the Flash,” on Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World” and ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars.”

It’s fresh out the oven: Katy Perry released her foodie new jam “Bon Appetit” on Friday.

The dance track — the second off Perry’s upcoming fifth studio album — generously serves up double entendres, mashing up sex and food porn and instructions to save room for “the world’s best cherry pie.”

(Do with that what you will, but know it’s a lyric that launched a thousand memes. Think twice before using the cherry emoji.)

Perry’s collaboration on the catchy tune with Atlanta hip-hop trio Migos has earned the LGBTQ-allied singer some criticism because group member Quavo made some homophobic-sounding remarks in a February Rolling Stone interview. The group later apologized for the comments, which were about another Atlanta rapper who came out as gay.

The pop vixen has championed GLAAD, teaming up with the organization for a campaign against gay violence in 2014, and accepted the National Equality Award at the Human Rights Campaign gala last month.

Perry, who will appear on “Saturday Night Live” with Dwayne Johnson on May 20, has yet to address criticism of the collaboration.

The Weinstein Co.’s movie “3 Generations” has been reclassified with a PG-13 rating, instead of the original R assigned by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, after the distributor made some changes to its transgender-teen drama.

The film stars Naomi Watts, Elle Fanning and Susan Sarandon. Fanning plays a New York teenager seeking to transition from female to male. Watts portrays her mother, and Sarandon is her lesbian grandmother.

Cuts were made to the film as a compromise to ensure the PG-13 rating, the studio said in a statement Thursday. The movie went through regular review procedures, MPAA spokesperson Chris Ortman said Friday.

“While we regularly meet with a wide range of organizations to discuss the rating system, no outside groups have any influence on the rating process,” Ortman said.

The historically conservative Parents Television Council supported the R rating and was unhappy with the decision, accusing the MPAA of being influenced by Harvey Weinstein, who challenged the initial R rating on his company’s upcoming release. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which supported the filmmakers and the movie and also pushed for a PG-13 rating, was pleased.

GLAAD President and Chief Executive Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement that “3 Generations” was “a film that all families should be able to see.”

“Once again,” she said, “The Weinstein Company dared to tell culture-changing LGBTQ stories that Hollywood too often shies away from.”

Parents Television President Tim Winter, speaking in a statement released Thursday, accused the ratings board of protecting the interests of Hollywood before those of parents. The MPAA’s Ortman challenged that presumption.

“Each film is rated by a team of raters, who are themselves parents, in order to serve [the Classification and Rating Assn.’s] purpose of providing information to parents about viewing choices for their children,” he said.

The movie opens May 5 in New York and Los Angeles and expands its release May 12.

Updated, 8:14 a.m., April 28: This article was updated to include a statement from the MPAA. It was originally published at 9:33 p.m. April 27.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: She’s Loving This Stage of Her Life

What a difference an armed robbery makes. Just ask Kim Kardashian.

“It was probably no secret, you see it on the show ... I was definitely materialistic before,” the reality TV star told Ellen DeGeneres on Thursday’s episode of “The Ellen Show.”

“Not that there’s anything bad with having things and working hard to get those things ... but I’m so happy that my kids get this me, and that this is who I am raising my kids, ‘cause I really don’t care about that stuff anymore.”

Kardashian was, of course, robbed at gunpoint during fashion week last October in Paris, where she was traveling with millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry.

Turns out the people who traumatized the 36-year-old mother of two and took her jewels had been targeting her for two years, she said, getting excited about various items she would show off publicly.

Now, she said, she “truly” doesn’t know if she’ll ever wear real jewelry again. Indeed, her neck and hands were bare during the sit-down. She said she never thought before about having a 24-hour security guard outside her door when she traveled. Now she has “several,” just to be able to sleep at night.

The robbery was “seven or eight minutes of torture,” and she knew 100% that she was going to die.

“But when I look back and analyze it .. it could have been way worse,” she said. “I don’t want to sound like I’m not grateful. I’m out, I’m home, I’m safe, I’m such a better person.

“I’m — It’s OK.”

Watch Kim struggle with her emotions during the interview, above.

READ MORE: Kim Kardashian’s robbery ordeal, from begging for her life to dealing with the aftermath>>

An attorney for Chris Soules of “The Bachelor,” who was arrested earlier this week in Iowa after an accident left a man dead, is asking that his client not be tried in the media.

“Soules’ 911 call, released yesterday, proved that the initial knee-jerk coverage of this accident was incorrect,” his lawyers said Thursday in a statement. Attorney Brandon Brown “recognized the heightened level of interest because of Soules’ celebrity status,” the statement said.

The small-town farmer went from being a contestant on “The Bachelorette” to courting dozens of women as “The Bachelor,” then moved on to compete on “Dancing With the Stars.” He and his chosen bachelorette, Whitney Bischoff, ended their engagement in May 2015, nearly seven months after he proposed and nearly three months after viewers watched him ask for her hand in marriage.

The 35-year-old has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash. “While initial reports suggested Soules fled the scene, the 911 call confirms that Soules in fact was the one who contacted law enforcement immediately.”

The reality TV star’s legal team, from Des Moines, Iowa, law firm Parrish Kruidenier, said they were considering asking for a gag order.

READ MORE: ‘The Bachelor’s’ Chris Soules called 911 before leaving the scene of fatal crash>>

Read the full statement:

“Chris Soules has retained attorneys Alfredo Parrish, Brandon Brown and Gina Messamer of the Des Moines, Iowa, law firm Parrish Kruidenier to represent him. Brown recognized the heightened level of interest because of Soules’ celebrity status, but asked that members of the public do not prejudge this case based on media coverage. Soules’ 911 call, released yesterday, proved that the initial knee-jerk coverage of this accident was incorrect.

“While initial reports suggested Soules fled the scene, the 911 call confirms that Soules in fact was the one who contacted law enforcement immediately. During the call, he clearly identified himself and explained his role in the terrible accident. Soules attempted to resuscitate Mr. Mosher and remained on the scene with him until emergency medical personnel arrived. Soules’ attorneys are exploring the possibility of a gag order to prevent further misinformation from prejudicing Soules’ right to a fair trial.

“Soules’ legal team is working to gather all of the evidence and review the facts of this tragic collision. They have already filed a demand asking law enforcement to preserve possible evidence and anticipate filing additional motions next week. His attorneys are confident that once all the evidence is made public, it will show Soules acted reasonably and did everything in his power to provide aid to Mr. Mosher.

“Due to the nature of the pending charges, neither Soules nor his counsel will be making any statements at this time. Soules and his family request that their privacy and the privacy of Mr. Mosher’s family is respected. Everyone in this close-knit farming community is mourning Mr. Mosher’s passing. Soules offers his sincere condolences to the Mosher family.”

(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

As Caitlyn Jenner’s just-published memoir “The Secrets of My Life” pulls back the curtain on her gender transition and her life among the Kardashians, not everybody is taking it well.

Especially not Kris Jenner.

Details about the Olympian-turned-reality-star’s decision to transition in 2015 from Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner and confirmation that she had her final gender reassignment surgery are all in the book, but some dishy material about the Kardashian matriarch is reverberating with fans and upsetting the reigning first family of reality TV.

The memoir, co-written by Buzz Bissinger, who penned the Vanity Fair article that introduced Caitlyn Jenner to the masses, has some kind words for the momager, including admiration for Kris’ connections, her business acumen and her ability to perfectly apply lip liner without a mirror.

However, Caitlyn also said in the book that she told Kris about her gender issues before they got married and said Kris knew that for 4½ years before they met, Caitlyn had been on hormones. Additionally, Caitlyn wrote that she told Kris about her gender problems before they would make love.

“I told her there had been a woman inside me all my life,” she wrote.

The couple announced their split in 2013 and finalized their divorce in 2014. During their decades-long union, Caitlyn cross-dressed in front of her ex but was asked by Kris to do it only while traveling, so that their children wouldn’t get wind of it. It was something Caitlyn grew to resent, she said, and she would steal her wife’s gowns and purses to wear while traveling. (Their differing takes on their marital woes have been a topic of discussion for years.)

In a recent episode of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” Kris fumed with anger about passages in “The Secrets of My Life” that claimed she knew Caitlyn was transgender before they wed.

“None of it makes sense,”Kris said to daughters Khloe and Kim Kardashian. “I read it and basically the only nice thing she had to say was that I was great socially at a party one time. ... Everything she says is all made up. Why does everything have to be that Kris is such a bitch?”

She added: “I’ve never been so angry and disappointed in somebody in my whole life.”

In response, the Olympic gold medalist said on “Good Morning America” that the book is “extraordinarily honest.”

“It is my perspective, and obviously when you do a book like that, there are different opinions. I have a lot of friends that know the truth and know what I’ve been through and know the whole situation,” Caitlyn said.

She told Andy Cohen that in the wake of publishing, Kris said she didn’t want to talk to Caitlyn ever again. (Caitlyn also elaborated on her claims that she was a “punching bag” on the show and a revelation that Kris had been in charge of her finances.)

“Honestly, I never had a low point [while doing the show], actually, until the other day when Kris said some of that stuff. It was the first time I was really upset,” she said. “I had some of the best conversations with my children on that show. ... It forces you to deal with issues. ... It forces you to sit down with your kids and deal with a lot of things.”

Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner’s second-born child with the late Robert Kardashian, shared her thoughts on the feud on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in an episode that aired Thursday.

“My heart breaks for my mom, you know, because I feel like she’s been through so much and [Caitlyn is] promoting this book and she’s saying all these things,” Kardashian said. “I just don’t think it’s necessary and I just feel like it’s unfair. Things aren’t truthful.”

Kardashian said Caitlyn was dishonest “with certain things” about Kris in the book.

“I feel like it’s taken [Caitlyn] a really long time to be honest with herself, so I don’t expect her to be honest about my mom now. But it’s just so hurtful,” she said. “I wish her all the success in the world, but not at our expense.”

Kardashian said she and husband Kanye West have been avid supporters of Caitlyn Jenner’s transition and wanted to remain respectful of her, but thought there was no need to “bash” the family. She said she was hurt by her stepfather, who’s dad to her half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and hasn’t spoken to Caitlyn in a few weeks.

“Kendall and Kylie, that’s their dad and I think my mom’s been so respectful for so long and always wanting Caitlyn around and always wanting to have a great relationship with Caitlyn,” Kardashian said. But that doesn’t appear to be the case for the rest of the Kardashian brood.

“I’ll always love her. That was my stepdad for so many years. She taught me about character and so much growing up and I just feel like I don’t respect the character that she’s showing now.”

Kim Kardashian’s younger sister, Khloe Kardashian, is also “taking it a little tough,” Caitlyn said at a book signing, according to RadarOnline. “Everyone on the Jenner side is fine. All this stuff tends to work itself out!”

Someone call Ryan Murphy, because this needs to be turned into a “Feud” series, stat.

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

FOR THE RECORD

April 27, 3:31 p.m.: An earlier version of this article said Bruce Jenner and Kris Jenner finalized their divorce in 2013. They divorced in 2014.

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

Chris Soules attends a NASCAR event on June 19, 2015.

(Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)

Chris Soules, the former “Bachelor” who was arrested earlier this week in Iowa on suspicion of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, called 911 from the scene Monday night, but reportedly wouldn’t come out of his house for hours after a couple of sheriff’s deputies showed up at his door.

“I rear-ended a guy on a tractor,” Soules told the dispatcher on a 911 recording — obtained by the Des Moines Register and others — breathing heavily and indicating that the “guy on the tractor” was hurt.

Though there were no eyewitnesses to the crash, according to TMZ, other people got there by the time the 911 call was made. The 8:20 p.m. crash sent Soules and his pickup into a ditch on one side of the road and Kenneth Mosher and his tractor into a ditch on the other side.

Mosher was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The 66-year-old was a resident of Aurora, Iowa, about a mile south of where the crash occurred. Soules lives in Arlington, Iowa, about 15 miles north of the accident site.

A spokesman for the 35-year-old “Dancing With the Stars” veteran told People that Soules was “devastated” when he learned Mosher had died.

Soules, who had identified himself to the dispatcher, called a friend for a ride home, but then wouldn’t come out of his house later to talk to sheriff’s deputies, sources told TMZ. Eventually, hours later, they got a search warrant. Soules was arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, and blood and urine samples were collected after he was taken by deputies to a hospital, the website said.

Soules was charged with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in a death. The charge is a felony.

“I believe it was a very tragic, sad accident that took the life of a guy that was just coming home from work,” Richard Roepke, whose daughter is married to Mosher’s son, told People on Tuesday.

“This is corn-planting time, the best time of the year for a farmer. Kenny was working on one of the farms just a little north of Aurora and I think he was just coming home. For Chris, what happened was just a freak accident.”

Law enforcement sources told TMZ that skid marks at the scene indicated two things: That Soules hit the brakes before impact, and that he hadn’t been driving excessively fast.

After he was released Tuesday on $10,000 bond, Soules deleted his Instagram account, followed by his Facebook and Twitter pages on Wednesday, People said.

The investigation is expected to take another two to four weeks, sources told TMZ.

“Unfortunately, accidents happen in the spring and fall sometimes with tractors and trucks because there are more tractors on the road, so I am going to reserve judgment until I hear all the details about what happened,” Arlington City Clerk Mary Jo Brown told the Des Moines Register on Tuesday. “All I know is that it has got to be devastating for [Soules] and his family and for the other family involved, too.”

“I also know this story is going to spread like wildfire around here and probably all over because of who he is,” she added. “Sometimes fame isn’t your friend.”

HOLLYWOOD, CA--FEB. 16, 2017--Warren Littlefield, left, a producer on FX’s “Fargo,” stands near composer Jeff Russo and director John Cameron, during a day of filming at a motel in Hollywood.

(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)

In the FX drama, “Fargo,” the wintry Midwest is the backdrop to murder, mayhem, and mystery. But this season, its third, the City of Angels is about to get in on the action.

The series, inspired by the beloved 1996 Coen brothers movie, shot scenes for next week’s third episode in Los Angeles. And we were on set with creator and executive producer Noah Hawley.

“I was excited about the idea because obviously the Coens have a very long relationship with the idea of Hollywood,” he said, noting they particularly like to play with different periods in Hollywood.

“This [episode] has a period element to it as well, but it’s not really a period they’ve dealt with in their films.”

Season three, which is set in 2010, follows two feuding brothers (both played by Ewan McGregor with an assist from Spanx) as tensions rise in their sibling rivalry over an inheritance from their long-dead father. Carrie Coon also stars as Gloria Burgle who journeys to Los Angeles in episode three to poke into her stepdad’s mysterious past as “Thaddeus Mobley.”

While we won’t give too much away, let’s just say the settings are in keeping with the “Fargo” universe: think coffee shop and motels.

Outside of this field trip to Los Angeles--both production-wise and story-wise--shooting on the third season mostly took place in Calgary, Canada, which stands-in for the show’s snowy Midwest setting.

Check back next week for our inside look as “Fargo” takes on Los Angeles.

HOLLYWOOD, CA--FEBRUARY 16, 2017-- An actor in Santa clothing gets in his “background” position poolside, at a motel in Hollywood, CA, during filming of FX’s season three of “Fargo,” Feb. 16, 2017.

(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times)

A new prologue video for “Alien: Covenant” has been released, and it finally gives fans a greater glimpse into how Ridley Scott’s upcoming movie links to “Prometheus.”

“Prologue: The Crossing” picks up the story immediately after Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and synthetic being David (Michael Fassbender) escape from the horrors they encountered in Scott’s 2012 sci-fi thriller aboard an abandoned engineer vessel as the sole survivors of their exploration team.

The vignette shows Dr. Shaw repairing David as they continue their search for humanity’s creators. David narrates the piece as the ship they’re on sets course towards the engineer homeworld.

What this all has to do with the iconic facehuggers and double-mouthed xenomorphs from the “Alien” franchise still remains unclear. But hopefully more will be answered in “Alien: Covenant.”

In addition to Fassbender, the cast of “Alien: Covenant” includes James Franco, Demian Bechir, Danny McBride, Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup.

The film is slated for release May 19.

(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The L.A. band Haim has returned after a four-year break with its much-anticipated new album.

“Something to Tell You,” the second LP from the sister trio, will be out July 7 on Columbia. It follows their 2013 debut, the acclaimed “Days Are Gone.” The group worked with longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid (Adele, Usher) and Rostam Batamanglij, formerly of Vampire Weekend.

The group announced “Something” along with a new in-studio video, directed by P.T. Anderson, that previews their song “Right Now.” They’ll also perform May 13 on “Saturday Night Live.”

“The Simpsons” is pulling no punches when it comes to lampooning President Trump, as evidenced by its detail-dense new video commemorating his first 100 days in office.

It begins on a dark and stormy night and only gets darker from there.

Except for Trump’s hair. That’s still quite lively.

Sean Spicer is seen hanging — literally — in the White House press room with a note on his suit reading “I quit.” Kellyanne Conway scurries away, saying, “I am not replacing him.”

Upstairs, Steve Bannon is locked in a stranglehold with someone who could be any number of Trump’s advisors — Reince Priebus, Jared Kushner, Stephen Miller —and while the union metaphorically burns, the president is in bed on his phone.

While Trump’s boudoir looks virtually identical to its depiction in an August video from “The Simpsons,” it now features the delightful addition of a framed photo of POTUS pretending to drive a truck.

As he relaxes, Trump reviews the accomplishments from his first 100 days, including lowering his golf handicap, raising his number of Twitter followers and legalizing the hunting of hibernating bears.

Meanwhile, daughter Ivanka Trump is using her new place on the Supreme Court to peddle wares while Ruth Bader Ginsburg is physically removed from the bench.

Back in Springfield, the D.C. antics have all been a bit much for Marge Simpson, who’s already run through four years’ worth of Prozac.

“One hundred days. We’re 6.8% of the way home,” a narrator intones over a shot of a four-year calendar. “Paid for by ‘Anyone Else 2020.’”

Trump has long been a target for Fox’s long-running animated series, which in a 2000 episode jokingly predicted a Trump presidency and has lampooned the now-president several times since.

(Richard Shotwell / Associated Press)

Johnny Depp returned to his swashbuckling ways on Wednesday, making a guest appearance on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at the Disneyland Resort, much to fans’ delight.

The attention-averting move happened to come as his former business managers accused him this week of being a “habitual liar.” More on that in a sec.

Though there are three animatronic Jack Sparrows on the ride, Depp’s in-the-flesh appearance and running conversations with boat riders was a welcome surprise to fans who shared it on social media.

The “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” star greeted riders on the attraction as his rum-swilling alter-ego, resplendent in Sparrow’s eyeliner and dreadlocks, wielded a sword and recited lines from the long-running movie franchise.

The 53-year-old’s appearance came as the ride celebrates its 50th anniversary and ahead of the May 26 release date for the next “Pirates” installment. The new chapter sees the return of fan favorites Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley as Depp’s ill-fortuned Sparrow pursues the legendary Trident of Poseidon in a race against bad guy Capt. Salazar, played by Javier Bardem.

Depp’s outing also comes a day after his public battle with his former management company hit the radar again.

The actor and the Management Group have been embroiled in a dispute over his finances that resulted in the star filing a $25-million lawsuit in January alleging fraud, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and more against his longtime business managers. He claims they lost tens of millions of dollars over more than a decade.

The Management Group countersued in February, claiming that Depp refused to reign in his “voracious spending.”

“Why didn’t they drop me as a client if I was so out of control?” Depp told the Wall Street Journal this week in his first public comments on the matter since he filed the lawsuit.

On Tuesday, Management Group spokesman David Shane lobbed his rebuttal, claiming that the film star “is a habitual liar who denies responsibility for his own outrageous conduct” and “has himself to blame for his financial woes.”

Let’s see how good Capt. Sparrow’s sword is at deflecting bad publicity ...

The science on the Trump administration is a little closer to settled.

“Late Night with Seth Meyers” offered a deep dive Wednesday night into the administration’s apparent fondness for executive orders — the president has signed 30 so far — and highlighted how Trump the candidate was less enamored of the practice than Trump the president appears to be.

“It is at this point like a law of physics,” Meyers said at the beginning of one of his “A Closer Look” segments. “For every Trump action, there’s an equal and opposite Trump clip.”

Meyers amusingly applied the same science to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s stance on executive orders as well.

The segment went on to look at further details as Trump approaches the 100-day mark of his presidency, including changes to his much-publicized border wall plans, Ivanka Trump’s difficulties on a public panel in Germany, and the various unintelligible comments during Trump’s interview with the Associated Press about his planned corporate tax cut.

Watch it below.

Putting the comedy in some context: Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama averaged 45.5, 36.4 and 34.5 executive orders per year, respectively, over their eight years each in office, according to the American Presidency Project at UCSB.

George Washington? The country’s first president averaged only one per year.

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A mix of styles suits My Morning Jacket

Jonathan Demme, right, with Anne Hathaway before a screening of “Rachel Getting Married” at the 2008 Venice International Film Festival.

(Damien Meyer / AFP/Getty Images)

The death of Jonathan Demme comes as a shock because his films felt so alive. Seemingly guided by the spirited convictions of his creative generosity, emotional openness and observant, exploratory curiosity, Demme was an exemplar of an artist who refused to be defined as any one thing.

He made fiction features and documentaries, worked in television during a long and eclectic career, and won the Oscar in 1992 for directing “The Silence of the Lambs.”

The strongest constant in Demme’s work was his unpredictability and a sense of constantly pressing on to something new.

At the same time he never seemed restless in the conventional mode of agitation. He exuded a contradictory sense of energetic enthusiasm and disarming calm that may well have been the key to his work as a collaborator.

Demme brought out the best in his performers, and had a particular eye to the dynamic of couples or pairs, including Paul Le Mat and Mary Steenburgen in 1980’s “Melvin and Howard,” Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith in 1986’s “Something Wild,” Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in “The Silence of the Lambs,” Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington in 1993’s “Philadelphia” and Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in his last fiction feature, 2015’s “Ricki and the Flash.”

He likewise brought out fresh, unexpected contours from performers such as Michelle Pfeiffer in 1988’s “Married to the Mob” and Anne Hathaway in 2008’s “Rachel Getting Married.” . . .

. . . His films never existed in a bubble, always showing an evolving social awareness and often even critique through his interest in the lives of working people, his elevation of female characters and attention to cultural inclusiveness. . . .

. . . “The Silence of The Lambs,” which won a total of five Oscars including best picture, may be Demme’s most accessible, commercial picture and yet it also still feels entirely his own — a film without concessions, pulling together strands from his exploitation-film origins along with his deeply felt emphasis on character to become both a chilling serial-killer tale and a story of self-discovery and self-reliance.

Read More

Mike Rutherford, left, Phil Collins and Tony Banks of Genesis in 2007.

(Darryl James / Getty Images)

The three-man incarnation of Genesis could turn it on again in concert — in theory, at least — to mark 50 years of shared history since the group first came together in 1967.

Mike Rutherford, who along with Phil Collins and Tony Banks kept Genesis going after Peter Gabriel’s 1975 departure from the ranks, told Ultimate Classic Rock earlier this month that the three of them are still good friends and might be open to some one-off shows.

“With Phil retired, we never wanted to go on. But we’ll see,” Rutherford said. “I do appreciate the fact that we’re all very good friends, which is nice, especially the three of us. Who knows?”

Such a reunion would echo the group’s 2007 effort, Turn It On Again: The Tour, which capped its five-month run with two shows at the Hollywood Bowl.

Last October, Collins said he would be game. “I wouldn’t want to do anything that lasted six months or a long time. But I wouldn’t rule out doing something.”

The idea of a comeback, Rutherford told Ultimate Classic Rock, was sparked by memoirs he and Collins wrote in recent years.

“I came away, as he did too, with a feeling of what an incredible time we’ve had. How lucky we’ve been. And more importantly, what a great friendship we’ve had.”

Alas, no mention of Steve Hackett, who played with the band through most of the ‘70s and is on tour with his “Genesis Revisited With Hackett Classics 2017” show in Europe and Down Under through the summer. UCR’s Matt Wardlaw, however, told the Los Angeles Times that Rutherford had spoken kindly of his former bandmate.

And as for Gabriel? Though he called a band meeting in 2005 to discuss a possible reunion that didn’t happen, the musician who went solo in the 1970s told Rolling Stone in 2011 that a reunion was “in the outside department of the betting shop,” though he wouldn’t commit to never ever.

“I assume we won’t lose any sleep if we don’t do more,” Gabriel said of his band mates. “You know, we had a great run. They did way better after I left anyway. So I don’t think anyone has anything to complain about.”

Updated, 7:58 a.m. April 27: This article has been updated to link to Ultimate Classic Rock, not the Mirror, as the original source of the Mike Rutherford interview. It has also been updated with additional details about Steve Hackett.

(Angela Weiss / AFP/Getty Images, left; Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press, right)

President Trump, or rather comedian Anthony Atamanuik portraying him, came by “The Daily Show” Tuesday night to promote his own Comedy Central series “The President Show,” which debuts Thursday after Trevor Noah’s half-hour.

Although Alec Baldwin still wears the title of America’s Trump — for now — Atamanuik, who honed his impression in a series of “Trump vs. Bernie” mock debates with James Adomian, does an impressive turn as the commander in chief, getting the vagueness, the rapid swings in tone, the weird softness and the wandering syntax.

Noah began the segment without faux-Trump, commenting on the looming/not looming government shutdown, the president’s claim that human trafficking is “probably worse now than at any time in the history of this world” (“You know who told him that?” Noah asked. “His good friend Frederick Douglass”) and the downgrading of the border wall to maybe a fence, maybe a blimp, or whatever: “Pretty soon it’s just gonna be a ditch, and then it’ll just be stern words – no crossing, no crossing, bad Mexican, no.”

Atamanuik’s Trump, calling Trevor “Travis,” arrived from the wings to “push back on the lies and the slander. There’s a beautiful work, it’s called counterpoint, it’s unbelievable.” And he pointed at the desk – the counter.

“I never watch your show,” he told Noah, who attended the TIME 100 Gala in New York on Tuesday night, “but I’ve seen all the episodes, and you’ve said some very not nice things about me.” He described himself as “nicely on top of bigly on an angel food cake.”

As to how to pay for his wall, the imitation president floated a novel idea: “We’re going to bring millions upon millions of Mexicans into the United States and let them — let them — do the low-paying jobs that Americans won’t do and then we’re going to save so much money, and we’re going to save so much money -- and then we can use that to pay for the wall.”

As Noah moved on to Trump’s proposed corporate tax cut, Antamanuik loomed behind him as if behind Hillary Clinton in a presidential debate, then compared taxes to tipping.

“I tip all the time, everybody,” he said. “I tip everywhere, sometimes I don’t even leave the money for the bill, I just leave the tip.. and I’ll leave it peeking out, the tip just peeking out, from underneath, and I don’t put the tip everywhere, and China is underneath, we know China is underneath the world.” This devolved into a rude joke (those who are not afraid of some mildly blue humor can hear it in the video below).

Atamanuik-as-Trump closed with a promo for his new series, which of course has yet to air.

“It’s a huge hit, tremendous ratings and it starts this Thursday right here, on the failing Comedy Central.”

Director Jonathan Demme in Utah in 2006 for the Sundance Film Festival, where he premiered his film “Neil Young: Heart of Gold”.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

In an odd coincidence, the Fox drama series “Shots Fired” will air what amounts to a tribute of sorts to the late Jonathan Demme tonight with a previously scheduled episode that Demme directed.

The Oscar-winning Demme, who died Wednesday morning from complications of esophageal cancer, had occasionally ventured into the world of TV in recent years, directing episodes of AMC’s “The Killing” and HBO’s “Enlightenment.” He won the Oscar for best director in 1992 for “Silence of the Lambs.”

Speaking on Fox 11’s “Good Day L.A.” Wednesday morning, “Shots Fired” actor Aisha Hinds said of her experience workign with the director, “Jonathan Demme came in and truly brought a huge, open heart. . . he certainly has left an incredible fingerprint on this earth, his legacy is broad in so many ways.”

“To work with a legend, and then have them made fully human, super empathic, very present, every frame he was there for everyone,” said series costar DeWanda Wise in the same interview. “It was one of the true joys of my life to work with him.”

Wednesday’s episode of “Shots Fired,” titled “The Fire This Time,” will air at 8 p.m.

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

For the record

10:17 a.m.: An earlier version of this article reported that Jonathan Demme died Monday. He died Wednesday morning.

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

Update

3:19 p.m.: Post updated to add comments from Aisha Hinds and DeWanda Wise of “Shots Fired.”

The rapper DMX has canceled his L.A. show due to a medical emergency.

(Mark Davis / Getty Images)

The rapper DMX has canceled his performance tonight at the Novo in downtown Los Angeles due to what organizers described as a medical emergency.

The nature of his condition wasn’t immediately released, and representatives did not immediately respond.

The artist born Earl Simmons has faced significant troubles recently. Last year, he was found unconscious in a New York hotel parking lot, and legal and mental health issues have plagued him in recent years. His allegedly erratic appearance at a Ruff Ryders reunion show caused some fans concern.

The rapper was slated to appear with openers Too $hort, Ying Yang Twins and Suga Free. The show will continue with those acts, but refunds are available for ticket-holders who no longer want to attend.

(Jenna Schoenefeld / For The Times)

Once again, Jeff Goldblum’s world is about to get a little more Jurassic.

He will be returning to the “Jurassic Park” franchise in the fifth film, currently untitled and scheduled for release on June 22, 2018, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Goldblum starred in 1993’s “Jurassic Park” and 1997’s “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” as cocky mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm and will reprise the role in the next film.

Joining Goldblum in the sequel are “Jurassic World” stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Details are scarce about the “Jurassic World” sequel, but it’s clear that the box office expectations will be as big as they’ve ever been. “Jurassic World” sold $1.67 billion in tickets worldwide and is the fourth-highest grossing movie of all time.

Those eager to see Goldblum in action sooner can catch him in “Thor: Ragnarok,” which opens Nov. 3.

(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Carol Burnett and Tim Conway: bonded through comedy

Chris Soules of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” was arrested overnight in Iowa and arraigned Tuesday morning on a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

The “Dancing With the Stars” alum, 35, was arrested at 1:16 a.m. Tuesday, a jail official told the Des Moines Register. The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to the newspaper that the arrest was in connection with an accident that happened at 8:20 p.m. Monday in which a pickup truck rear-ended a tractor north of Aurora, Iowa.

Both vehicles went into ditches on opposite sides of the road, according to an Iowa State Patrol report obtained by the Register. Soules abandoned his truck in the ditch and left the scene on foot, the report said. The driver of the tractor, described by a sheriff’s deputy as an older man, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Photo gallery: Celebrity mug shots>>

Police documents obtained by TMZ said Soules, who was being held on $10,000 bond, had alcoholic beverage containers in his truck at the time of the accident. Witnesses identified him and called police, the site said.

Soules — an Iowa farmer who in 2015 took his bachelorettes (and, in turn, Season 19 “Bachelor” viewers) on a tour of his small, remote hometown of Arlington, Iowa — was in Buchanan County court Tuesday morning for arraignment, as reported on Twitter by local NBC affiliate KWWL. The crash scene is about 15 miles south of Arlington, the station said.

A range of stars from Broadway and musical theater will come together for the upcoming “Concert for America: Stand Up, Sing Out!,” a civic-minded charity event coming UCLA’s Royce Hall on May 24.

Acts include Chita Rivera, Cheyenne Jackson of “American Horror Story,” Rachel Bloom of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” Jane Lynch of “Glee” and scores of others.

This is the fifth edition of the show, and the first time it has come to Los Angeles. Hosts and creators Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley also founded Broadway for Orlando, an effort to help victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida.

Proceeds from this concert will go to a variety of civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, SPLC, and National Immigration Law Center.

On sale now, tickets are $30.

During his monologue Monday night, “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert took a look at Donald Trump’s first 100 days as president.

Colbert had a quip for every development, from Trump’s recent interview with the Associated Press -- in which he compared ratings for his appearances on recent Sunday morning news programs to those for the shows in the wake of Sept. 11 -- to the campaign promises he hasn’t kept.

“This Saturday he will reach 100 days in office and, boy, it sure seems longer,” the host joked. (He then showed a gag photo of himself as a young boy hosting the show at the start of the 100 days.)

Trump has tweeted complaints about the “ridiculous standard” of the 100-day benchmark, and Colbert noted that he has yet to make good on some of his campaign promises. But he did point out that at least one person has benefited from Trump’s presidency: Colbert himself.

He was referring, of course, to the bump in ratings for “The Late Show,” which has been on a winning streak for nearly three months.

“I’ve got to say, Donald Trump has done a lot for me in the first 100 days,” Colbert said with a grin and a salute. “Thank you for your service, Mr. President.”

And then, with a laugh: “And now I feel dirty.”

DJ Snake, who performed at this year’s Coachella, will also be part of the HARD Summer festival.

(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for Coachella)

It’s a big morning for festival announcements.

After a yearlong absence, the team behind the EDM and hip-hop-driven HARD festivals will return to Fontana for a new edition of HARD Summer.

DJ Snake, Justice, Snoop Dogg (performing his classic LP “Doggystyle”) and the Skrillex/Boys Noize project Dog Blood are at the top of the bill for this year’s event, slated for Aug. 5 and 6 at the Auto Club Speedway of California.

Rae Sremmurd, Migos, Skepta, JME, Mike Will Made It and Ty Dolla Sign are among the other hip-hop and grime acts in notable slots. Formidable dance acts include Anna Lunoe, Ellen Allien, Jai Wolf and Jackmaster. (Recent Coachella-goers will find a lot of return visits from acts who played that event.)

The fest marks the 10th anniversary of HARD Summer (and a fitting return for Justice, who headlined the first one). Last year’s edition was its biggest yet, but it was marred by three fan deaths (possibly drug-related), and HARD did not produce a Halloween-timed festival that year, as it usually does.

Also, the Las Vegas music-and-food extravaganza Life Is Beautiful released its own lineup, covering a huge swath of rock and hip-hop favorites. Muse, Blink-182, Gorillaz and Chance the Rapper top the bill, along with Lorde, Kaskade, the xx and Wiz Khalifa. The fest takes place in downtown Las Vegas on Sept. 22-24.

Scott Baio.

(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

Scott Baio is defending himself against recent backlash over comments made in the immediate aftermath of “Joanie Loves Chachi” co-star Erin Moran’s death on Saturday.

On Monday, Baio appeared on WABC radio’s “The Bernie and Sid Show” and said, “If you do drugs or drink, you’re going to die,” before adding that he didn’t actually know the circumstances surrounding the troubled actress’s death.

“She was just an insecure human being and fell into this world of drugs and alcohol,” Baio said during his radio appearance.

“Again, I don’t know if that’s what killed her. I’m sure it was a culmination of years and years of doing it that might have had something to do with it. She just never found her way.”

The Harrison County (Ind.) Sheriff’s Department stated Monday that autopsy results revealed Moran likely died from complications related to stage 4 cancer. She was 56.

Toxicology reports are still pending, but officials also noted that no illegal narcotics were found in Moran’s home at the time of her death.

Facing criticism for his comments, Baio first took to Twitter to build his defense on the fact that he said “if you use drugs and alcohol,” before moving on to blame critics for only hating him because of his support for the president.

Baio then turned to Facebook to explain the real culprit behind the miscommunication: fake news. In a Monday evening post, Baio stated that he had been influenced by media outlets that suggested Moran’s died from a drug overdose.

As for the interview itself, Baio contends that he was asked only about Moran’s past substance abuse issues and had yet to learn her cause of death.

“I was still upset and said I felt that living that kind of a lifestyle will catch up with you and nothing good would come of it,” Baio wrote.

Baio went on to talk about how he was heartbroken over Moran’s death, especially now that he knew it was from cancer.

Read Baio’s full Facebook post here.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: At 74, Al Pacino is still chasing that next great role

Tucker Carlson

(Richard Drew / Associated Press)

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson acknowledged his position as a new face for those tuning into Fox News during the 8 p.m. EST time slot Monday evening with a few brief remarks to top his broadcast.

“I watched Bill O’Reilly for years,” Carlson began, noting that viewers were seeing an unfamiliar sight with “Tucker Carlson Tonight” in the place of the network’s 20-year-plus fixture, “The O’Reilly Factor.”

After expressing his admiration for “The Factor’s” former host, Carlson said, “What O’Reilly did was not easy. He set a high bar and I’m going to do my best to meet it.”

Carlson’s broadcast then continued with the analysis of recent poll numbers that indicated President Trump would still defeat Hillary Clinton if the election were held today. In short, the beat goes on at Fox News.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Faye Dunaway thought Warren Beatty was simply being Warren Beatty when he hesitated before showing her the winner’s card at the end of the Oscars in February.

“He took the card out, and he didn’t say anything. He paused,” the actress said with a laugh Monday on “NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt.” “He looked over me, offstage. He looked around. And I finally said, ‘You’re impossible.’

“I thought he was joking,” she said. “I mean, I thought he was stalling. Warren’s like that. He kind of holds the power....”

Dunaway and Beatty were onstage to present the Academy Award for best picture — but the “Shampoo” star held a card saying Emma Stone had won for “La La Land.” And that was the movie Dunaway notoriously declared to be the winner of the Oscars’ top 2017 prize.

The world knows the rest of story, of course. Spoiler: “Moonlight” actually came out on top.

The 76-year-old “Chinatown” star, who’ll have more to say on the “Today” show Tuesday morning, said she was “completely stunned” by the gaffe and felt “very guilty” about it.

“I thought, ‘I could have done something, surely,’” she said. “Why didn’t I see Emma Stone’s name on the top of the card?”

And as for Dunaway’s assumption that Beatty was pausing for dramatic effect?

“It’s part of his charm.”

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Elton John contracted “a harmful and unusual” bacterial infection during his recent South American tour and, after an extended hospital stay that included two nights in intensive care, has canceled all of his shows scheduled for April and May.

“During his return flight home from Santiago, Chile, he became violently ill,” his reps said Monday in a statement. “Upon returning to the UK, Elton’s Doctors admitted him to hospital, where he underwent immediate treatment to remove the infection.”

John was discharged on Saturday and, on doctor’s orders, is resting at home. He’s expected to make a full recovery.

The South American portion of John’s “Wonderful Crazy Night Tour” included four dates in Brazil between March 31 and April 6, plus the April 10 gig in Chile.

“Infections of this nature are rare and potentially deadly,” the statement said.

The canceled gigs include the entire April/May run of “The Million Dollar Piano” at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, plus a May 6 show in Bakersfield.

“I am extremely grateful to the medical team for their excellence in looking after me so well,” the “Tiny Dancer” singer said in the Monday statement. He’ll resume performing on June 3 in Twickenham, England.

Ticket holders who bought via credit card can receive a refund credited to that card; those who paid cash can request a refund at the original point of sale.

Gregg Allman says he’s resting at home in Savannah, Ga. — on doctor’s orders — despite reports Monday that he had entered hospice care.

“I want to thank you for all the love that you are sending. Looking forward to seeing everyone again,” the 69-year-old Allman Brothers Band veteran said on Facebook. “Keep Rockin’.”

Allman announced in mid-March that he wouldn’t be touring in 2017 and offered refunds to fans who’d purchased tickets for shows in June.

It’s unclear where the hospice rumors originated, but stories from an Iowa radio station and Relix magazine, along with a concerned tweet from country star Travis Tritt, gained a high profile before Allman’s team set the record straight.

Allman, who had a liver transplant in 2010 after contracting hepatitis C, also axed shows in 2011 to recover from a transplant-related respiratory infection. In 2016 he canceled shows because of unspecified “serious health issues” that were being treated by the Mayo Clinic.

The rocker has said his doctors believe he contracted hep C from a contaminated tattoo needle.

Kendrick Lamar performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 23.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Kendrick Lamar, fresh off his second weekend of headlining the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, has announced a new run of arena-headlining dates for the summer.

The MC’s tour will take him to L.A.’s Staples Center on Aug. 6, at the tail end of a monthlong tour beginning July 12. The tour is in support of his new, widely acclaimed album “Damn,” released last week to coincide with his Coachella dates.

Openers for the tour include Travis Scott — who made a cameo with Lamar to perform “Goosebumps” in Indio — and D.R.A.M.

To the delight of fans, Lamar recently swung through his hometown of Compton to sign albums in a surprise appearance at a Best Buy store.

Writing about Lamar’s Coachella spectacle during the fest’s first weekend, The Times’ Mikael Wood said, “If Lamar’s star turn in Indio cemented his status as hip-hop royalty, his performance also demonstrated how uniquely he wears that crown.”

The last time Amber Heard made news out of Australia it was for smuggling two dogs. This time it’s for mugging with some big dogs.

Heard, whose acrimonious divorce from Johnny Depp was finalized in January, posted a pic Sunday having dinner with Tesla-SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk at Moo Moo restaurant on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Could’ve been a birthday dinner, as the “Aquaman” actress turned 31 on Saturday.

“Cheeky,” she wrote in the caption, drawing attention to her lipstick print on Musk’s face. He posted a similar pic on his Instagram account.

Musk also noted that they were out to eat with “Aquaman” director James Wan and executive producer Rob Cowan.

Sounds, ahem, romantic.

Amber Heard pleads guilty to dog smuggling, makes a stiff PSA with Johnny Depp

Heard and Musk hung out together over the weekend at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, holding hands and walking arm in arm, according to People, which said they’ve been friends for four years and sparked rumors when they showed up at the same time last summer in Miami and London.

Musk is said to have asked “Machete Kills” director Robert Rodriguez to introduce him to Heard after they were both involved in that 2013 movie.

Heard’s dad, for one, sounds like he’s gung-ho — surprise —about his daughter connecting with a billionaire.

“Amber and Elon are both very serious about each other. She would love to get married,” David Heard told Grazia Daily last week. “One of the things they want to do is settle down and have a family.”

Then again, Papa Heard was also pretty stoked about Johnny Depp back in the day.

“I’m so pleased that he’s in our family. The age difference makes him a bit closer to my age, so we get on great. We have a lot of fun together, and he takes good care of my daughter, so what more could I ask for?,” he told Grazia a few years ago.

(Richard Drew / Associated Press, left; Jean-Baptiste Lacroix / AFP / Getty Images, right.)

Sabo, a right-wing street artist in Los Angeles, is raising eyebrows with advertisements posted around town that depict Caitlyn Jenner as the scary clown from Stephen King’s “It.”

Jenner’s head is transplanted onto Pennywise the clown’s body in one poster, while her face floats eerily in others, with the ads’ original title “IT” in big red letters on all of them.

The ads are seen as a protest of Jenner’s appearance Monday on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which replaces “The O’Reilly Factor” at 8 p.m. EDT weeknights on Fox News.

The altered advertisements are reportedly near Fox News’ Los Angeles bureau in Hollywood.

“I have nothing against gays or transexuals [sic],” Sabo said in all-caps Monday on Twitter. “Just stop trying to normalize it. Thank you ...”

In King’s book, Pennywise resurfaces every 30 years to kill children in a Maine town.

Previously, the artist told the Los Angeles Times, “I don’t think my work is meant to offend. I think I challenge people to such a degree that maybe I scare them.”

“I converted to the Muslim faith and I joined ISIS, so what’s going on with Bruce Jenner goes against my newfound faith,” Sabo told the Hollywood Reporter. “If any progressives have a problem with this poster, then I’ll just have to label them ‘Islamophobic.’”

Tweaking the posts with Jenner’s image, he told the trade paper, was hardly as brutal as the treatment of gays and transgender people in some Muslim nations.

Jenner’s high-profile appearance on Carlson’s show is meant to launch the new host in the time slot left vacant after Bill O’Reilly’s abrupt exit from Fox News last week. Jenner has been doing the rounds to promote her new book, “The Secrets of My Life.”

“I’m interested in Caitlyn Jenner’s politics and what it must be like to be in that position, having people coming at you from both sides, and so I’m going to have a conversation about it,” Carlson said Friday on “The Five.”

Meanwhile, Stephen King himself was riffing on O’Reilly last week as well — and in the process revealed the awesome fact that yes, even a bestselling author throws a blanket on the couch to protect it from dog hair.

Erin Moran and Marion Ross at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ “Father’s Day Salute to TV Dads” in North Hollywood in June 2009.

(Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

Authorities said Monday that former “Happy Days” star Erin Moran likely died from cancer at her southern Indiana home.

A statement released by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department said an autopsy revealed that the 56-year-old actress had stage-four cancer. The statement did not specify what type of cancer.

ALSO: Moran’s ‘Happy Days’ family wishes her peace: ‘Erin always brought light to the party’

The department said Moran died Saturday in the rural community of New Salisbury, about 20 miles northwest of Louisville, Ky. Officials said standard toxicology test results are pending but that no illegal narcotics were found at the home.

A Burbank, Calif., Moran began acting in TV and movies before she was 10 years old. In 1974, she was cast in “Happy Days” as Joanie Cunningham, the kid sister to high school student Richie Cunningham, played by Ron Howard.

Read More

Since Donald Trump took office in January, a narrative has emerged that his daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are more moderate voices in an administration known for more extreme personalities.

But on Sunday, “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver threw cold water on that widely held assumption. Here’s a link to the video (warning: Oliver is known to use language that could offend).

With both Kushner and the younger Trump now assuming official roles in the White House -- and Kushner, in particular, tasked with a Herculean to-do list that includes bringing peace to the Middle East and ending the opioid epidemic -- Oliver attempted to answer two questions.

Is Ivanka really the moderating influence that people claim?

And what in Jared’s background justifies such a gigantic White House portfolio?

As for Ivanka, who has been “cast as the calm, reasonable, indoor-voiced” member of the Trump clan, Oliver saw little evidence of her oft-cited support for Planned Parenthood or concern over climate change. Instead, she is “trained to be as vague and likable as possible so everyone can plausibly think she shares their values,” he said.

On the rare occasion she has publicly voiced her opinion on matters of policy, as in a television appearance in which she inaccurately characterized Hillary Clinton’s parental leave plans, she was misleading, Oliver said. “When it comes to lying about easily observable facts, the apple does not fall far from the orange.”

Oliver was similarly unimpressed by Kushner, whose Harvard degree is often cited as evidence of his capabilities. After all, he joked, “the Unabomber went to Harvard,” and not everyone’s father can afford to donate $2.5 million to their first-choice school, as Kushner’s did.

Given Kushner’s ubiquity at the president’s side, Oliver also wondered why it was so rare to actually hear him speak and did not, unlike some pundits, consider it evidence of his quiet brilliance. Instead, Kushner was more akin to “a sentient Kohl’s mannequin who read a book once.”

Running through Kushner’s business record, including a stint as the publisher of the New York Observer and the troubled purchase of a Fifth Avenue skyscraper, Oliver determined there was not much to recommend this “creepily silent 36-year-old heir to a real estate fortune” for a job that “would be unmanageable for the smartest man on Earth.”

Oliver’s ultimate conclusion? “If they are the reason you’re sleeping at night, you should probably still be awake.”

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

MORE: Shirley MacLaine talks about Oscars, Robert Osborne and her new film

Sheryl Crow

(Christopher Berkey / For The Times)

Sheryl Crow pulled up a stool and sat down at the counter in the spacious kitchen of her farmhouse about 10 miles out of downtown Nashville.

It’s casual Thursday on the Crow family spread that she shares with her two sons, who are in school this morning while she greets a visitor. She’s sporting a fading Bruce Springsteen T-shirt, well-broken-in jeans and black boots, an ensemble that’s more about function than fashion, comfort not couture.

Just five nights earlier, she was on stage at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, where she gave a boisterous crowd of about 500 fans their first sampling of material from her latest album, “Be Myself,” out April 21 through her new record deal with Warner Bros. Records.

Read More

Erin Moran, in the blue dress, with Garry Marshall, left,Tom Bosley, Marion Ross, Henry Winkler and Anson Williams in 2001.

(E.J. Flynn / Associated Press)

The surviving members of Erin Moran’s “Happy Days” family are remembering her in death as a “sweet angel” with a kind heart.

The 56-year-old was found dead Saturday afternoon in Indiana after authorities responded to a 911 call reporting that a woman was unresponsive.

Henry Winkler, who played the Fonz on the popular sitcom, wished Moran the peace “she wanted so badly here on earth.” Scott Baio, who played her boyfriend Chachi Arcola on the show, echoed the sentiment, saying he’d “always hoped she could find peace in her life.”

Ron Howard, who played her brother, Richie Cunningham, and Anson “Potsie” Williams, remembered her as a person who could light up a room, while Don “Ralph Malph” Most and Marion Ross, her TV mom, were simply saddened.

“I can’t really comprehend this right now,” Most tweeted. “Very painful loss.”

“She was the quickest, fastest little kid. Wonderful,” Ross, who played Marion Cunningham, told NBC News as she remembered how a young Moran would switch between on-set schooling and on-camera work with the adults. “This breaks my heart.”

Tom Bosley, who played “Happy Days” patriarch Howard Cunninham, died in 2010. Al Molinaro, who played the owner of the diner on the show, died in 2015, and Garry Marshall, who created that sitcom along with “Laverne & Shirley,” “Mork & Mindy,” “Joanie Loves Chachi” and many others, died last year.

Outside the “Happy Days” family, Moran was remembered by other celebrities who either worked with her back in the day or grew up watching her on TV. Among them were Lisa Whelchel,— who played Blair Warner on “Facts of Life,” an NBC series that overlapped a few years with “Happy Days” and the short-lived “Joanie Loves Chachi” spinoff — and Maureen “Marcia Brady” McCormick from “The Brady Bunch,” which like Moran’s shows ran on ABC.

While no details about Moran’s death were immediately available over the weekend, an autopsy was pending, according to the Associated Press.

For the record, 9 a.m. April 24: An earlier version of this article said the “Happy Days” matriarch’s name was June Cunningham. The character’s first name was Marion.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Bill O’Reilly is far from muzzled — the former top dog in the Fox News roster will be back with his No Spin News podcast starting Monday.

O’Reilly was fired from “The O’Reilly Factor” last week. “The No Spin News returns,” the broadcaster announced Saturday night on his website. It airs at 7 p.m. EDT, an hour earlier than “Factor” used to start on Fox News.

What’s next for Bill O’Reilly? We have some ideas

The most recent episode of the podcast, which goes back to 2009 as a premium-access series on O’Reilly’s website, is from April 11, the day before he went on vacation.

Commentors on the website were, in general, sad about O’Reilly’s departure from cable news, supportive of him and enthusiastic about hearing the host again online come Monday evening.

Timeline: The rise and fall of Bill O’Reilly

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Actor Dev Patel has gone from ‘Slumdog’ to ‘Infinity’

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Jack laid-back

Steven Spielberg and Jordan Peele attended the inauguration of Universal CityWalk’s newly revamped AMC movie theater Thursday night, now dubbed Universal Cinema after a multimillion-dollar renovation.

“Universal Studios has been a part of my life for as long as I can actually remember my life,” Spielberg told the crowd. “I am happy to be here tonight to join the official opening of Universal Cinema, where moviegoers have the rare opportunity to see movies at the very place where movies are actually made.”

Filmmaker Will Packer (“Straight Outta Compton”) and producer Jason Blum (“Get Out”) also were in attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which featured a Universal Pictures film reel in lieu of the traditional red ribbon.

NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer and Universal Studios Hollywood President and COO Karen Irwin delivered opening remarks before ushering the media inside for a tour of the new facility.

“We wanted to create a venue that was equal to how filmmakers watch movies,” Meyer said. “The transformation of Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk is the result of a 25-year comprehensive blueprint.”

The theater is the first in the U.S. to combine Christie laser projection, Christie Vive audio and Dolby ATMOS surround sound and also offers reserved recliner seating in all 18 of its auditoriums.

The split-level structure features a Director’s Lounge Cocktail Bar on the upper level with a full-service bar in place of a typical concession stand. Guests are allowed to bring their drinks into the second-level auditoriums.

Auditoriums were designed as “black boxes” with black walls, speakers, seats and floors, allowing for minimal light interference. The renovation also included the addition of more than 700 speakers with an average of 40 per auditorium.

With Universal Studios’ production lot and filming locations just down the road from CityWalk, guests now can watch a movie and then potentially tour the lot where it was filmed.

×

Justin Chang reviews “The Fate of the Furious,” directed by F. Gary Gray and starring Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Scott Eastwood and Nathalie Emmanuel. Video

In a twist that might suggest all is not well among the “Fast and the Furious” family, Deadline reported Friday that Universal is entertaining the idea of a spinoff from the series featuring Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson.

The plan to expand the universe through a film anchored by Johnson comes after a summer of speculation about bad blood between the former WWE superstar and “Fast and the Furious” star and executive producer Vin Diesel.

Last August, Johnson took to social media with an expletive-laden rant about some of his male co-stars on “The Fate of the Furious,” the eighth film in the franchise. Though never confirmed officially, reports maintained that Diesel was the target of Johnson’s ire.

In an April interview with The Times, Diesel called himself “a good scapegoat” with regard to Johnson’s displeasure on-set, but he added, “You can’t really feud with me too much if I’m hiring you, right?”

After Johnson’s posts, Diesel visited his trailer to try to clear the air.

“People are all human. I think it was a hard shoot,” Diesel said.

The spinoff is still in the early stages but will be written by Chris Morgan, who penned the last six of the franchise’s installments.

“The Fate of the Furious” opened in theaters April 12 and has grossed more than $685 million globally.

The White House visit this week by Ted Nugent, left, Sarah Palin and Kid Rock was too just too good for late-night TV to pass up.

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press; Cliff Owen / Associated Press; Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

Bill O’Reilly was the butt of jokes on late night this week, but the White House visit from an unusual trio -- Sarah Palin, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent -- had late-night hosts in stitches Thursday night.

The Internet exploded after Palin, the former Alaska governor who was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, posted a set of photos on her Facebook page from throughout the executive mansion, including in front of a portrait of Hillary Clinton.

The trio of Trump supporters had been treated to a private dinner, a tour and a free-range policy chat Wednesday night with Trump.

On “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert quipped in his opening monologue: “Kim Jong Un might be dragging us into thermonuclear conflict. Faced with the possible annihilation of all living things, yesterday President Trump met in the Oval Office with the joint chiefs, the head of the CIA the national security advisor and the secretary of State.”

He paused. “I’m just kidding .… He met with Sarah Palin, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.”

But he wasn’t done. He showed an Oval Office photo of the three with President Trump and said that after they took the picture, Nugent “hunted Reince Priebus with a crossbow.”

Later on CBS, James Corden showed the same photo. “For once, Trump really was the smartest person in the room,” he said, with some laughter, on “The Late Late Show.”

His glee continued: “Look at this photo! They are one Vanilla Ice away from the next season of ‘The Celebrity Apprentice.’”

Meanwhile, over on NBC’s “Tonight Show,” Jimmy Fallon was so amused by this visit that he had to repeat their names twice.

“Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock … or as they’re more commonly known, the Redneck Holy Trinity.”

Fallon, as if needing his own convincing, showed the picture as evidence.

“This really happened,” he said. “They were going to do a silly one and then they realized that was the silly one.”

From “Wonder Woman” to “Atomic Blonde,” women are shattering the glass ceiling with their fists this summer. But it’s not just comic book superheroes and blockbuster franchises vying for moviegoers’ attention this season. Get a closer look at some of the most-anticipated films in The Times’ 2017 Summer Movie Guide.

Plan your summer: A list of every single movie coming out this season

Read More

(Giuseppe Cacace / AFP/Getty Images)

Depeche Mode fans just can’t get enough.

After selling out three previously announced concerts, the veteran synth-pop band said Friday it was adding a fourth night to its upcoming run of shows at the Hollywood Bowl.

The new gig will happen Oct. 18, following earlier shows on Oct. 12, 14, and 16. Tickets for the Oct. 18 show will go on sale April 28.

In a statement, Depeche Mode’s handlers said the four-night stand will mark the first time any act has played that many consecutive concerts at the Hollywood Bowl.

The band also said it would play a “special, intimate show” in Hollywood on Wednesday, with tickets being given away for free “as a thank you to fans in L.A. for their support and for helping to make history.” Details are on Depeche Mode’s website.

The concerts are part of the group’s Global Spirit Tour behind its 14th studio album, “Spirit,” which came out in March.

Listen to the lead single, “Where’s the Revolution,” below.

Update, 2:45 p.m.: This story was revised to reflect that the third show (on Oct. 16) is also sold out.

(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Patti LuPone on cellphone abusers: ‘Arrogance and defiance’

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have returned for “The X-Files.”

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The truth is out there and it’s this: Fox is re-resurrecting “The X-Files.”

Following last year’s successful revival, the network announced Thursday that it has ordered a second chapter to “The X-Files” event series.

Stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny will once again reprise their roles as Dana Scully and Fox Mulder for the 10-episode installment, which will again be executive produced by creator Chris Carter.

“Chris’ creativity, along with the brilliant work of David and Gillian, continue to propel this pop culture phenomenon, and we can’t wait to see what fresh mysteries Mulder and Scully uncover in this next chapter of ‘The X-Files,’ ” said David Madden, president of Fox Broadcasting Co., in a statement.

“The X-Files,” which ran for nine seasons from 1993 through 2001 in its initial run, was revived as a six-episode event series last year. It drew an average of 16 million viewers across multiple platforms.

Production on the next chapter in the event series will begin this summer, and the series is slated to air during the 2017-18 season.

Louis C.K. and FX reigned supreme among this year’s Peabody Award winners for entertainment announced Thursday.

The cable network had two television series — Donald Glover’s “Altanta” and Pamela Adlon’s “Better Things” — among the seven entertainment programs honored by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Louis C.K.’s independent television series “Horace and Pete” was also among winners. C.K. is a co-creator of “Better Things” and previously scored Peabody honors for his FX series “Louie.”

The other Peabody winners in the entertainment category are:

“Happy Valley,” a heart-wrenching BBC One crime drama.

“Lemonade,” Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed visual album produced by HBO Entertainment, in association with Parkwood Entertainment.

“National Treasure,” a disturbing examination of sexual abuse and celebrity from Hulu and the UK’s Channel Four.

“Veep,” HBO’s two-time Emmy-winning comedy series featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the center of an American political satire.

The Peabody Awards will announce the winners of the news, radio/podcast, children’s, education, and public service categories on April 25.

Here is a link to a video of clip of this year’s Peabody Award-winning television. Some adult language is featured in the video.

(Bertrand Guay / AFP / Getty Images)

Prince’s “Deliverance” will not be delivered — at least not on Friday.

A federal judge in Minnesota ruled late Wednesday that Ian Boxill, a songwriter and producer who planned to release a collection of previously unheard Prince songs this week, is not allowed to do so, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

In her ruling, the judge sided with the estate of the late pop singer, which argued that the “Deliverance” EP violated a contract Boxill had entered into that gave Prince sole ownership of any music they recorded together.

The six-song collection, which had already been made available for pre-order on iTunes, was to come out Friday, exactly one year after Prince died from a fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park complex near Minneapolis.

Boxill said he and the singer had recorded the material — including the title track, which you can hear below — between 2006 and 2008 and that he’d continued to work on the music following Prince’s death.

The Star Tribune said U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina Wright told Boxill to surrender all recordings of his work with Prince that was subject to the agreement he’d made with the singer.

But the block is only temporary, the paper added. Prince’s estate will have to argue its case further next week to stop the music from being released in the future.

(Chris Young / The Canadian Press via Associated Press)

There’s a new Bruce Springsteen song out, and it takes on President Trump.

“That’s What Makes Us Great” comes from Springsteen and his longtime friend and collaborator Joe Grushecky, who was inspired to write the tune after Trump was accused of mocking a disabled reporter and finally put pen to paper around the time the new president took office.

“I had this song, and Bruce and I had been talking,” Grushecky told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I sent it to him and he liked it. I said, ‘What do you think about singing on it?’ He gave it the Bruce treatment.”

That “treatment” included Springsteen’s emailing his vocals, Grushecky said; the Pittsburgh musician and his band, the Houserockers did the rest in the next state over.

The song — which is very much a duet, not pure Bruce — riffs on immigration policy and “alternative facts.” Some sample lyrics, sung by Springsteen: “Don’t tell me a lie/ And sell it as a fact/ I’ve been down that road before/ And I ain’t goin’ back/ And don’t you brag to me/ That you never read a book/ I never put my faith/ In a con man and his crooks.”

The Boss, who supported Hillary Clinton in the final stretch of the election, shared his thoughts about Trump in an interview with Rolling Stone that ran about two weeks before Trump was elected.

“The republic is under siege by a moron, basically. The whole thing is tragic,” he said. “Without overstating it, it’s a tragedy for our democracy.”

He told Britain’s Channel 4 News three weeks before the election that he understood Trump voters and was unwilling to paint anyone with the broad brush of racism.

“He gives these very glib and superficial answers to very entrenched and very difficult problems,” Springsteen said, “but they’re answers that sound pretty good if you’ve struggled for the past 20 to 30 years.”

Then he said Trump was a “flagrant, toxic narcissist” with no sense of decency or responsibility, who wanted to take down the entire democratic process.

“That’s What Makes Us Great” debuted on E Street Radio on Sirius XM on Wednesday morning and was available for purchase on Grushecky’s website later that day, with availability on iTunes and various streaming services promised as well.

As word spread Thursday morning, however, Grushecky’s site was crashing off and on.

Bill O’Reilly, left, welcomes Stephen Colbert, then host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” to the set of the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor” in 2007.

(Jeff Christensen / Associated Press)

With the news that Bill O’Reilly had been dismissed from his show on Fox News, it was inevitable that late-night hosts would weigh in.

And with the exception of a spring-breaking Seth Meyers and Samantha Bee (whose “Full Frontal” is also in reruns in advance of next week’s “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner”), they didn’t disappoint.

“I owe a lot to Bill O’Reilly,” admitted “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert in his opening monologue. “I spent over nine years playing a character based largely on him -- and then 12 months in therapy to debloviate myself.”

While Colbert refused to gloat about O’Reilly (on camera at least), he did throw the show to his alter ego from “The Colbert Report.” “Stay strong, Papa Bear,” the retired faux-pundit said tearfully after inviting O’Reilly to the same mountain getaway he shares with Jon Stewart.

On Stewart’s former shop, “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah began his O’Reilly segment saying he wanted to give him the send-off he deserved, something an in-denial Fox wouldn’t provide despite so many departures as a result of sexual harassment accusations (“No news to report here, everything is fine. Back to you, Megyn. I mean, Greta. I mean, Gretchen.”)

Noah then offered a look back at O’Reilly’s career that included a rage-filled outburst from his days on “Inside Edition” that had been making the rounds once more on social media with the day’s news.

“Some of us watch that clip and we see madness,” Noah said. “But in the mid-’90s a man by the name of Roger Ailes watched it, and he saw greatness.”

Noah then recounted some of O’Reilly’s moments that promoted the “white Christian resentment” that fueled Fox News, including his show’s repeated coverage of “The War on Christmas.” “Here’s what I don’t understand,” the South African-born Noah said in response. “If white people don’t have it good in the U.S., then which race does?”

Noah then ran clips of O’Reilly’s more racist outbursts, including telling Columbia professor Marc Lamont Hill that he looked “a little bit” like a cocaine dealer. It was the kind of deep dive into the Fox News archives that fell squarely in “The Daily Show’s” wheelhouse.

“A lot of people said Jon Stewart was the Yoda of cable news,” Noah said near the segment’s conclusion. “Well, Bill O’Reilly was the Sith Lord.”

Will “The Daily Show” miss its longtime adversary and the mountain of material he generated? Perhaps, but smart money says it won’t have a problem finding another.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards will return to the best coast in August. The cable network announced Thursday that this year’s ceremony will be held at the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27.

“The City of Inglewood welcomes the return of the MTV VMAs to the number 1 concert venue in California, the Forum,” said Inglewood mayor James Butts in a statement. “Once again, Madison Square Garden set the standard for both East and West Coasts.”

The VMAs have split their locations between the two coasts for the last decade, specifically in New York City and the greater Los Angeles area. 2007 was the last time the awards eschewed the coast, landing instead in Las Vegas at the Palms Casino Resort.

“MTV, at 35 years old, has been around almost as long as the Forum. Together, we’re 85 and enjoy lifetimes of music history,” said Shelli Azoff, managing partner for the Forum. “This year is sure to be another epic show with many incredible memories for MTV, the award winners, and especially the fans. The entire Forum family is thrilled to welcome back the VMAs!”

The Forum also hosted the 2014 VMAs, when Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” won video of the year.

Beyoncé dominated the awards last year, taking home eight Moonmen trophies and, with 24 total wins, surpassing Madonna as the most decorated artist of all time,

The 2017 VMAs will air live from the Forum on Aug. 27 at 8 p.m.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

WALK OF FAME: Visit George Takei’s star

FROM THE ARCHIVES: George Takei: How to bend social media to your will

(William West / AFP / Getty Images)

Serena Williams is pregnant, her representative confirmed Wednesday afternoon, hours after the tennis star posted and then deleted what appeared to be a baby announcement on social media.

“I’m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this Fall,” the athlete’s rep told the Associated Press via email.

Williams’ early morning Snapchat selfie showed the 35-year-old athlete in profile, wearing a bright yellow one-piece swimsuit and sporting the bittiest of bellies — captioned with the declaration, “20 weeks.”

Williams and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian got engaged in December. Other posts on her Snapchat showed signs of what appeared to be a vacation in Mexico.

Along with lots of entertainment and news outlets, the Women’s Tennis Assn. picked up on the Snapchat post early in the morning but later took down its congratulations message, according to CNN, which posted a screen grab of the deleted selfie. Tennis’ US Open offered congratulations as well, without question.

Updated, 4:53 p.m.: This post was updated with confirmation that Williams is pregnant.

The article was originally published at 3:19 p.m.

The first trailer for “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger” has been released, giving fans their first look at Marvel’s newest TV superheroes.

Starring Olivia Holt as Tandy Bowen (a.k.a. Dagger) and Aubrey Joseph as Tyrone Johnson (a.k.a. Cloak), “Cloak & Dagger” marks Marvel’s first foray into full-on teen soap drama.

If the trailer is anything to go by, “Cloak & Dagger” is a definite departure in tone and style from Marvel’s other ABC and Netflix shows. But the appearance of the Roxxon Corp. sign should reassure fans that the series is definitely a part of the larger Marvel universe.

“Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger” will air on Freeform (formerly ABC Family) in early 2018. Watch the full trailer above.