Movies/TV category, Page 74
TV Talk: WQED debuts story of 1st Pittsburgh ambulance service
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. WQED-TV producer Annette Banks kept running into the same reaction as she researched the station’s latest half-hour documentary production: “How have I never heard of this?” Sure, there have been newspaper accounts and an NPR...
Dolly Parton makes surprise appearance on ‘Call Me Kat’
Dolly Parton made a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of Fox’s “Call me Kat” to pay tribute to the show’s late co-star Leslie Jordan. “Dear friend, there’ll be no sad farewell, there’ll be no tear-dimmed eyes,” the country superstar sang to Jordan in a prerecorded message that aired during...
‘It was way gorier’: How ‘M3GAN’ came to life and landed in theaters (with a lower body count)Video
Years ago, after rising through the ranks on genre TV shows such as “Grimm” and “The 100,” screenwriter Akela Cooper found herself at a crossroads. A lifelong horror fan, she’d long put off writing the two horror features that had been swimming around in her head — until one day...
Review: Anna Kendrick explores co-dependent damage in ‘Alice, Darling’Video
In “Alice, Darling,” the titular protagonist’s friends are a little worried. As the three of them embark on a weeklong trip, peacemaking Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku) has her eye on Alice (Anna Kendrick), later describing her eating habits as “disordered.” Birthday girl Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn), a struggling artist, has been drifting...
TV Talk: Avoid ‘Alert;’ KDKA-TV’s Bob Pompeani honoredVideo
It’s a given at this point in TV history that broadcast networks have given up on sophisticated storytelling in favor of procedural dramas of varying quality. But 2023 begins with one of the most unbelievable procedurals we’ve seen in a while. Fox’s missing persons drama “Alert” (Sunday after “NFL on...
TV Talk: New season of ‘The Bachelor’ features Pittsburgher
Cara Ammon, a 27-year-old recruiter originally from Pittsburgh, will be among the 30 contestants on the upcoming 27th season of ABC’s “The Bachelor” (8-10 p.m. Jan. 23, WTAE-TV) competing for the affection of bachelor Zach Shallcross. ABC’s bio for Ammon says she works in an office in New York City,...
Iran releases Oscar-winning film actress held over protests
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran released a prominent actress from an Oscar-winning film on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after she was jailed for criticizing a crackdown on anti-government protests, local reports said. Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency said Taraneh Alidoosti, the 38-year-old star of Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning 2016 film,...
Sheriff: No foul play in ‘Avengers’ star Jeremy Renner snow tractor injury
RENO, Nev. — The serious injuries actor Jeremy Renner suffered while using a snow tractor to free a snowbound motorist on a private mountain road near Lake Tahoe appear to be a “tragic accident,” the sheriff in Reno said Tuesday. The 51-year-old “Avengers” star was seriously hurt when he was...
TV Q&A: Are local TV news staffs shrinking?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: It seems each local TV station is adding a new young reporter monthly. Are the news staffs larger or smaller than they were a few...
José Andrés and his daughters eat their way through Spain
NEW YORK — On his new TV show, celebrated chef José Andrés goes into a restaurant kitchen in Spain and confronts a massive moray eel. Only one of them is leaving that kitchen intact. Andrés oversees as cooks prepare the eel for its final flourish — deboned, sliced paper thin,...
‘Women Talking’ review: A powerful, moving tribute to quiet strengthVideo
Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel “Women Talking” was inspired by a horrific real-life story: In a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia, many girls and women were repeatedly and violently raped by men in the community, who would use an animal anesthetic to render the victims unconscious as they slept in their...
TV Talk: Christian Bale, Scott Cooper on making ‘The Pale Blue Eye’ in Western Pa. and how the Fettermans came to cameoVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Making movies in Western Pennsylvania is becoming as common — or more so — than finding writer/director Scott Cooper and star Christian Bale at work on a Hollywood backlot. Cooper directed Bale in 2013’s “Out...
Jeremy Renner seriously injured while plowing snow in Nevada
LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Renner suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries in a snow plow accident in Reno, Nevada, on Sunday, a representative for the actor said Monday, and remains in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery. A publicist for Renner said in a statement that the 51-year-old...
Full speed ahead: ‘Avatar’ sequel again dominates box office
NEW YORK — “Avatar: The Way of Water” is the box office king for a third straight week, and shows no sign of slowing down. James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel to the first “Avatar” film brought in an estimated $63 million over the holiday weekend, roughly the same as the previous...
2023 public domain debuts include last Sherlock Holmes work
WASHINGTON — Sherlock Holmes is finally free to the American public in 2023. The long-running contested copyright dispute over Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales of a whipsmart detective — which has even ensnared Enola Holmes — will finally come to an end as the 1927 copyrights expiring Jan. 1 include...
Review: Tom Hanks gives ‘A Man Called Otto’ an easygoing sincerityVideo
It says something about the current state of studio filmmaking in Hollywood that all the things that make “A Man Called Otto” stand out are things that really should make it commonplace. The film is made with a level of craft and simple competence that has become shockingly rare. A...
‘GMA3′ co-anchor T.J. Holmes files for divorce amid Amy Robach scandal
T.J. Holmes on Wednesday filed for divorce from lawyer Marilee Fiebig amid the ongoing investigation into the journalist’s reported romance with his “GMA3″ co-anchor Amy Robach. Holmes, 45, filed in New York City according to TMZ. The filing comes a month to the day since cozy photos of him and...
‘Aftersun,’ ‘Banshees’ lead AP’s best films of 2022
The Associated Press’ Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr’s picks for the best movies of 2022: Jake Coyle 1. “Aftersun”: Rarely does such a delicately crafted tale pack such a wallop. Charlotte Wells’ breathtaking feature debut, starring newcomer Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal as an 11-year-old girl and her...
TV Talk: What’s new, returning to broadcast channels in 2023Video
In 2023, as Wall Street pressures on media companies to turn profits continue, expect broadcast channels to increase time devoted to cheaper (re: reality, non-fiction) programming as conglomerates continue to prioritize their streaming services. But early in the new year, there will be a decent balance of scripted/unscripted programming: ABC...
Review: A baby for sale in Korean drama ‘Broker’Video
The Korean drama ” Broker ” begins like a noir. A young woman walks slowly in the pouring rain in the middle of the night in Busan, her flimsy hood doing little to keep her dry. She looks haunted but determined and soon we see her destination: A church with...
The Year of the Slap: Pop culture moments in 2022
Taylor Swift was up. Elon Musk was in, out, in and maybe out again. Tom Cruise was back. BTS stepped aside, and so did Serena Williams, and Tom Brady too — oops, scratch that. But the slap? The slap was everywhere. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t on the level of...
17 of the most anticipated movies of 2023
A new year, a new list of reasons to eat popcorn. Here are some of the notable movies that will be gracing the multiplexes in the coming year; note that movie release dates, as always, are subject to change. ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ Those fond of Channing Tatum’s particular brand...
TV Q&A: Why did NFL Network cut to commercial during the Franco Harris tribute?
Question: Why did CBS go to commercial instead of the memorial for Franco Harris during the Dec. 24 Steelers game? Pathetic. — Lynn, via Facebook Rob: Although that game aired locally on KDKA-TV, a CBS affiliate, neither KDKA nor CBS had any control of the telecast. It was an NFL...
TV Talk: What’s new on cable, streaming in 2023
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Although a slowdown in the amount of original content probably will arrive in late 2023 or early 2024, for the foreseeable future viewers can expect a lot of new and returning TV programs across cable...
Original ‘That ‘70s Show’ cast returns in ‘That ‘90s Show’ trailer, Danny Masterson notably absentVideo
Original stars from “That ’70s Show” appeared in a trailer for upcoming spinoff “That ’90s Show” on Netflix, but Danny Masterson, who has been accused of rape by four women, was nowhere to be seen. Topher Grace as Eric, Laura Prepon as Donna, Ashton Kutcher as Kelso and Mila Kunis...
