The filmmaking team known as Radio Silence, made up of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, plus producer Chad Villella, struck black (comedy) gold with their 2019 horror-thriller “Ready or Not,” about a young bride, played by Samara Weaving, who has to battle her way out of a murderous game hosted by her wealthy soon-to-be…
The first thing you notice about the set for “Monsters of the American Cinema,” a recent play by Christian St. Croix that’s having its Los Angeles premiere at the Matrix Theatre in a Rogue Machine production, is the glow of black and white horror films. Lighting designer Ric Zimmerman has captured to perfection that cozy…
CBS Television Studios has ordered a new daytime drama developed under its partnership with the NAACP, the network announced on Monday. “The Gates,” which is scheduled to premiere in January 2025, is the first greenlighted project to come out of the pact, which was formed in response to the national outcry following the 2020 murder…
The first weekend of the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is in the books. Before the second weekend brings Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator, No Doubt, Doja Cat and more than 100 other artists back to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, let’s take a look at the highlights of the weekend….
Indio — The 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival wraps its first weekend on Sunday, April 14, with Doja Cat’s return to the desert for her first time headlining the event. Other artists include Victoria Monét, Reneé Rapp, J Balvin and Bebe Rexha. It has been a big weekend of music in the desert. Tyler,…
INDIO — Gwen Stefani wanted to get this straight. “You showed up to Coachella, Saturday night 2024,” she asked, “to see No Doubt play together on this stage for the first time in nine years?” Dressed in a shredded plaid outfit, her blond hair twisted into a pair of knots atop her head, the 54-year-old frontwoman…
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is underway and for some music fans, it’s a way to express their style with the Empire Polo Club in Indio acting as one big grass-covered runway. In 2023, we saw lots of metallics, fringe and bright colors pop on the polo field. Even the musicians are into…
What is more psychically exhausting, in fiction and I suppose in life, than the story of the double agent, the mole, the traitor embedded among those he’s working against? It’s a dramatic theme we return to again and again — Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys got six seasons of “The Americans” out of it a…
Ballet flats, low-rise jeans and Cosmopolitans are back in style, so it is the perfect time for all six seasons of “Sex and the City” to stream on Netflix. The HBO series, previously exclusively on Max, premiered April 1 on the streaming service, where a wider subscriber base pulled in first-time viewers and rewatchers who…
“The Golden Bachelor” star Gerry Turner was overjoyed when he proposed to financial services professional Theresa Nist, putting a fairy-tale stamp on his journey to find love again at 72. The couple rushed to get married, eager to start their new life together. But the fairy tale is over. Just more than three months after…
Work on Piano Transcribing As the world becomes increasingly digital, the need for transcription services has never been greater. Transcription is the process of converting audio or video files into written text. It requires excellent attention to detail, fast typing skills and an in-depth knowledge of grammar and punctuation. It can be used in a…
The first lines that greet viewers of Vera Drew’s gonzo new film, “The People’s Joker,” are a necessary disclaimer meant to assure audiences (and whatever legal departments at various corporations may be watching) that this passion project was never intended to infringe on any known copyright. Later, a logo of the film will more specifically…
Michael Douglas, star of “Romancing the Stone,” “Fatal Attraction,” “The American President” and so much more, is not the actor one would think of as first in line to play portly, balding man on the money Benjamin Franklin, but he has nevertheless done just that. In the very enjoyable if not always convincing “Franklin,” which…
Don’t want to miss a thing from Aerosmith’s farewell tour? The rock group’s fans are in luck. Aerosmith announced Wednesday that its Peace Out tour is officially back on, with an updated slate of shows — including three Southern California stops — set to kick off in September. The rock group’s tour launched early last…
Hardcover fiction 1. Table for Two by Amor Towles (Viking: $32) A collection of stories from the author of “The Lincoln Highway.” 2. James by Percival Everett (Doubleday: $28) An action-packed reimagining of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” 3. The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press: $30) An intimate portrait of coming of age…
Imprisoned reality TV star Todd Chrisley is facing even more legal and financial woes. Last week, a federal jury found that the real estate tycoon, known for the USA Network series “Chrisley Knows Best,” defamed an investigator from the Georgia Department of Revenue. A Georgia judge decided Thursday that Chrisley, who is currently serving a…
On the Shelf Terminal Island: Lost Communities on America’s Edge Naomi Hirahara and Geraldine KnatzForeword by William DeverellAfterword by George TakeiAngel City Press: 288 pages, $50 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. As executive director of the Port of Los…
“Mr. David. It seems you have a history of doing the same things wrong over and over. And I truly hope this time you finally learned your lesson,” Dean Norris’ Judge Whittaker told Larry David — the fictionalized version of himself — during the series finale of HBO comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” He has not….
Corduroy sports coats. Shiny disco shirts unbuttoned to mid-chest. Bell-bottom slacks. Muscle-bound goons with noses crooked as Mulholland Drive. And unsolved capers lining the sun-splashed streets like palm trees. That’s how young Jim Harbaugh saw Los Angeles when he was growing up in Michigan. “Laying on your stomach, hands on your chin, elbows on the…
When “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” premiered last month, the four-part documentary detailing the alleged abuse and discrimination behind some of Nickelodeon’s most beloved shows, the response was overwhelming. It detailed disturbing child sexual abuse cases involving two crew members on creator Dan Schneider’s shows and included a bombshell interview with…
When Amy Sedaris makes appearances around the country, she finds it easy to identify the “Strangers With Candy” fans in the audience. “They’re ugly,” she says with a cackle. “They’re misfits and outcasts.” Stephen Colbert tells a similar story. “If you’re walking on the street and you see somebody wearing a trash bag and talking…
When people recognize veteran journalist Miles O’Brien from his days covering aviation for CNN, they often thank him for his coverage of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. O’Brien has to politely correct those grateful fans. He was on CNN’s air for 16 consecutive hours covering the demise of the space shuttle Columbia, which…
This Sunday the PBS British-import series “Masterpiece” brings to American audiences the four-part “Mr. Bates vs The Post Office,” which caused a sensation when it was broadcast in January in the U.K. The title suggests something perhaps comical or fluffy — a man can’t get his mail delivered, or the postman keeps tramping through his…
Michael Jackson’s production company is fighting to keep sealed court records out of the hands of two of his accusers ahead of a forthcoming jury trial. MJJ Productions filed a motion Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to quash four subpoenas issued by Jackson’s alleged sex-abuse victims, Wade Robson, 41, and James Safechuck, 46….
“Ride” recounts the epic journey of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to bicycle around the world. Opening Friday at S the Old Globe in San Diego, the ambitious musical features six characters, spans numerous years and traverses multiple countries — all with just two actors. It might seem a surprising choice to stage a globe-trotting,…
Whether it’s Charlie Chaplin literally trapped in the gears of industrialization in “Modern Times” or James Cameron crafting a gripping vision of robots enslaving us in “The Terminator,” audiences are consistently confronted by the threat of machines. But French writer-director Bertrand Bonello’s disquieting new film paints those anxieties in muted new colors, chronicling a love…
It’s Leg Day for Jakob Nowell, who’s fueling up for his workout on a recent afternoon with a late breakfast at a Long Beach diner just down the street from his gym. The only son of the late Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell, Jakob got into weightlifting a few years ago and adheres zealously to his…
The music industry just lost another power couple. Chance the Rapper and his wife, Kirsten Corley, announced that they will officially “part ways” through a joint statement posted to their Instagram stories Wednesday. The announcement follows a year of speculation surrounding their potential marriage troubles after the artist was recorded last April dancing with another…
The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, April 7, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.
Though he worked steadily into the second decade of this century, Joe Flaherty, who died Monday at 82, will be remembered for two series: the Canadian sketch comedy “SCTV,” which sneaked onto American television by way of late-night syndication in the late 1970s, and “Freaks and Geeks,” the 1999 CBS comedy that would prove to…
The girl on the cover of Patric Gagne’s new book, “Sociopath: A Memoir,” looks out impassively beneath uneven bangs, lips pursed in a way that suggests there’s trouble behind the mask, like the time she stabbed a grade-school classmate with a pencil or, as she grew older, broke into houses and stole cars. An unapologetic…
Two members of Warner Bros. Discovery‘s board of directors are stepping down after the U.S. Department of Justice expressed concerns over a possible antitrust violation. The media conglomerate said Monday that Steven A. Miron and Steven O. Newhouse resigned after the DOJ notified them of a probe into whether their service violated Section 8 of…
From the outside, Center Theatre Group headquarters, a nondescript building across the street from the Music Center, is spectacularly unimpressive, the kind of place your mind wouldn’t even register as existing. But inside, the buzz of puzzle-solving energy might make you think you’ve stumbled onto the set of “Oppenheimer.” CTG Managing Director and Chief Executive…
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” smashed its box-office competition this weekend, soaring past expectations with estimated domestic ticket sales of $80 million and delivering the second best opening of the year, just behind another Warner Bros. and Legendary film, “Dune: Part Two.” Premium formats such as Imax and Dolby Cinema made up 48% of…
For years, Giancarlo Esposito’s performance as stoic and ruthless cartel distributor Gustavo Fring was pivotal in helping “Breaking Bad” and its prequel spinoff, “Better Call Saul,” become prime examples of antihero-centered shows. Fring’s illicit power and reign of terror established a spectrum of villainy to measure against Walter White and Saul Goodman’s moral ambiguity. In…
Actor Chance Perdomo, the Los Angeles-born star of “Gen V” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” died in a motorcycle crash, his representatives said Saturday. He was 27. “His passion for the arts and insatiable appetite for life was felt by all who knew him, and his warmth will carry on in those who he loved…
Time increases the monetary value of certain objects we leave behind. What was once brand new the years turn into antiques — like the Etruscan artifacts exhumed after being hidden for millennia in Alice Rohrwacher’s “La Chimera,” a film of incandescent beauty, both aesthetically and in its thematic liminality. As with Rohrwacher’s previous movies, there…
At their best, Luc Besson’s films occupy a different plane. His action-thrillers “The Professional” and “Lucy” may be set in our world, but the veteran French director seems to place them in a parallel realm, one powered by the loopy, escapist pleasures of movies themselves. Maybe that’s why, when he has ventured into more overt…
Lou Gossett Jr. was still a teen, fresh off a successful Broadway run, when he landed at LAX and headed to Beverly Hills in a cherry red Ford Fairlane, feeling on top of the world. He didn’t get far before the cops pulled him over, saying he matched a description of someone they were looking…
Jerry Seinfeld and his all-star cast are “drunk on sugar-power” in the new trailer for “Unfrosted,” a film that chronicles Pop-Tarts’ origin story. That’s how the comedian described the film in a 2018 tweet when it was just a nebulous concept. “Imagine the drunk on sugar-power Kellogg’s cereal culture of the mid-60’s in Battle Creek,…
My Ukrainian Jewish parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were comfortably ensconced in the Midwest when Hitler began persecuting the Jews; I have no familial connection to the Holocaust. Still, the sight of a swastika gives me shivers, and all the more so given that, in this age of denial and re-nascent fascism, the symbol has outlived…
Acclaimed artist and sculptor Richard Serra was known for his massive works of steel that live in institutions and public spaces across the world. The influential sculptor died Tuesday at age 85, but his work and his legacy of challenging audience perspectives lives on. In a 1998 interview with The Times, Serra emphasized that even…
The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, March 31, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.
Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. has been named as a co-defendant in a lawsuit brought against embattled hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. The lawsuit, which was brought in February by Diddy’s “Love Album” producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, was amended Monday to list Gooding as a defendant, as well as to include a declaration from…
“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” a new ID docuseries, explores the allegedly toxic work environment on popular Nickelodeon shows throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The show focuses on TV creator Dan Schneider, who was accused of inappropriate and abusive behavior by those working on his hit children’s series. The documentary and…
Candiace Dillard Bassett is taking a “break” from “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” the show’s network, Bravo, said Monday on its website. “This is not a farewell, but a ‘see you later,’“ Dillard Bassett told People in a statement. The former Miss United States and Obama campaign staffer cited a desire to focus on upcoming…
Former theater impresario Bill Bushnell, who led the influential but short-lived Los Angeles Theatre Center during a heady six-year run in the late 1980s, has died at age 86. One of the key figures in the city’s theater scene in that era, Bushnell died Jan. 31 in Cueca, Ecuador, where he had retired, according to…
NBC News staffers are upset about the network’s hiring of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, and one of them let viewers know about it Sunday. Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd, appearing on the program’s roundtable, told his successor, Kristen Welker, that “there is a reason a lot of journalists at NBC…
Former “Blue’s Clues” host Steve Burns has conducted therapeutic check-ins with his TikTok followers occasionally since 2021 — but a recent upload hit viewers harder than usual. This week, Investigation Discovery released a four-part docuseries, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which revealed the toxic culture behind some of the most popular…
After weeks of often wild speculation about the nature of her planned abdominal surgery and subsequent months-long absence from the public eye, Catherine, Princess of Wales announced Friday that she is in the early stages of treatment for cancer found during post-operative tests. “This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I…
News of Akira Toriyama’s death rang across the internet earlier this month, leaving millions of anime fans mourning the loss of the influential manga artist behind the “Dragon Ball” series. Many of them could be found across Latin America — Mexico in particular— and among Latinos in the U.S., who have embraced the animated series…
The Long Beach Media Guild announced Friday that at least 60% of the bargaining unit received layoff notices shortly after newsroom employees moved to unionize and went on strike to protest the impending cuts. The unit, which is seeking voluntary recognition from its employer, the Long Beach Journalism Initiative, said that nine of its members…
Josh Peck has spoken out after the release of a documentary detailing the abuse his “Drake & Josh” co-star Drake Bell suffered at the hands of a Nickelodeon dialogue coach. “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” a four-part docuseries released this week by Investigation Discovery, pieces together testimonies from former Nickelodeon cast…
Lukas Gage shouldn’t view his Las Vegas wedding as the time he really screwed up. He should view it as the time he got a personal Shania Twain concert. Gage has offered his apologies to Twain for “wasting her time” when she serenaded the “Road House” actor and celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton — who was…
Netflix is about to find out whether it can get its own “Game of Thrones” without having “Game of Thrones.” When Netflix executive Peter Friedlander finished reading the popular Chinese science-fiction trilogy “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” in 2016, he was sure it would be a great TV show. The books, in which Earth is faced…
Hallie Jackson is taking over the anchor chair on the Sunday edition of “NBC Nightly News.” NBC News announced Wednesday that Jackson would take over the anchor chair on April 7. She succeeds Kate Snow, who remains at the network as a senior correspondent. “Hallie is an exceptional journalist and an extraordinary broadcaster, representing the…
In “The New Look,” a period drama from Apple TV+, Maisie Williams stars as Catherine Dior, a woman who has received less attention than her older brother, legendary fashion designer Christian Dior, but is every bit as fascinating. A member of the French Resistance who was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, Catherine Dior survived…
This article contains spoilers for the series finale of Netflix’s “Young Royals.” For three seasons on Netflix’s “Young Royals,” Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) has wrestled with a difficult question: Can he balance his duties as the heir to the Swedish throne with his love for his working-class schoolmate Simon Eriksson (Omar Rudberg)? The answer, in…
Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney has unveiled the lineup for his inaugural season at the helm of the city’s most prominent Westside theater. The 2024-25 season will feature a mix of classics and new co-productions, as well as Los Angeles, West Coast and world premieres. It also debuts a strategic direction for the…
Dr. Dre’s hospitalization for a brain aneurysm in 2021 was a harrowing experience that included three strokes over a two-week period, the legendary producer recently said. “It’s just something that you can’t control that just happens, and during those two weeks, I had three strokes,” he said on the March 14 episode of SiriusXM’s podcast…
On the Shelf Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar By Cynthia CarrFSG: 432 pages, $30 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. Warhol superstar Candy Darling is synonymous with doomed glamour — a gorgeous woman playing a dying gorgeous woman. The image…
David Seidler, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of the acclaimed 2010 drama “The King’s Speech,” has died. He was 86. Seidler’s manager, Jeff Aghassi, told The Times that Seidler died Saturday while fly-fishing in New Zealand. No specific cause of death was given, but Aghassi said, “David was in the place he loved most in the world…
In 1988, the BBC television series “That’s Life!” aired a program on Nicholas Winton, a former stockbroker who helped to save 669 children from the Nazis in the months leading up to World War II and the Holocaust. As seen in the episode, the producers of the show surprised Winton by seating him in the…
Since booking her breakout role in The CW drama “Riverdale” in 2017, Camila Mendes has skyrocketed to fame as one the most prominent Brazilian American stars in Hollywood. Yet, despite building on her success with acclaimed projects such as Netflix’s “Do Revenge” and Hulu’s “Palm Springs,” the actor says she has yet to receive a…
The pillows are fluffed, the cocktails are mixed, the enchiladas are warming in the oven. Ilana and Enrique Gomez have done everything to ready their Pasadena mansion for the arrival of their daughter’s boyfriend. But nothing could prepare them for who the person at their front door turns out to be. In Gloria Calderón Kellett’s…
A trio of climate change protesters disrupted a Broadway preview of “An Enemy of the People” on Thursday night in what some audience members — including critics — initially thought was a scripted moment. The disruption came during an immersive town hall scene in which the play’s protagonist, Thomas Stockmann (“Succession” alum Jeremy Strong), attempts…
Seoul is the latest major city to establish itself as a significant international hub for new art. With that distinction comes the expected propagation of ambitious museum exhibitions seeking to articulate, illuminate and cogitate over its local history of modern art, which is little-known. “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s–1970s” is the latest….
Jennifer Lopez won’t officially launch her This Is Me…Now tour until the summer, but the pop superstar’s newest circuit has already undergone multiple scheduling changes. The “Let’s Get Loud” and “Dear Ben” singer canceled several shows initially set to take place Aug. 20 through Aug. 31, The Times has confirmed. Among the now-canceled gigs are…
Just as the country prepares for what promises to be one of the uglier and most historically significant presidential election cycles, Max is gifting us with the “The Girls on the Bus.” Inspired by Amy Chozick’s 2018 book “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns and One Intact Glass Ceiling,” it follows four women as…
South by Southwest has voiced support for artists boycotting its festivities and events in Austin, Texas, after they were criticized by that state’s governor, Greg Abbott, on social media. The annual entertainment and technology festival said in a missive Tuesday that it “does not agree with Governor Abbott” and his take on the numerous artists…
R.C. Hogue grew up with Kanye West’s music. The rapper was “a top-three artist for me and a big part of my upbringing,” said Hogue, a 30-year-old from Los Angeles. Even after West supported Donald Trump, Hogue tried to “separate the art from the artist, because a lot of artists have done messed up things.”…
In just the past few months, Sydney Sweeney has changed. Already a two-time Emmy nominee for her roles on “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” she starred in and produced the worldwide box-office hit “Anyone but You.” Such is Sweeney’s current career trajectory that she is unfazed by the severe, mocking response to the recent disappointment…
William Shatner is busy. A documentary on his life, “You Can Call Me Bill,” directed by Alexandre O. Philippe (“Lynch/Oz”), is scheduled to roll out in theaters March 22 to coincide with his 93rd birthday. He continues to host and narrate the puzzling-phenomena History series “The UnXplained With William Shatner.” A 2022 performance at the…
“Billie Eilish? Billie Eilish, your car is here,” a traffic coordinator announced on his megaphone. There’s nothing more democratizing than the Vanity Fair Oscar party, where almost everyone in the room is so famous that no star really sticks out — and everyone leaves via Santa Monica Boulevard in what feels like a school pickup…
On the Shelf Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “the Apocalypse” By Emily RaboteauHenry Holt: 304 pages, $30 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. As the Northern Hemisphere slowly emerges from the dark days of winter, we welcome the extra hours…
The 2024 Oscars was momentarily delayed because of protesters converging in Hollywood to call for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. The Dolby Theatre ceremony, initially scheduled to start at 4 p.m., didn’t get rolling until six minutes after the hour. Once ABC’s red carpet coverage ran a few minutes over, the telecast was…
When girls in their junior year of high school scour the mall for the perfect dress in the spring, it’s time for prom. But not for 17-year-old Ismerai Calcaneo. She’s shopping for the Oscars. It’s a quest for a dress that this Roosevelt High student could have never imagined. And it’s taken her teacher’s Instagram…
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes something like Friday night’s premiere of “Road House” at SXSW. The event had unexpected surprises from start to finish, including but not limited to the movie itself. The project has been dogged by controversy: Director Doug Liman previously stated publicly that he would not attend…
This year’s Oscar nominees did strong business at the box office. But the year ahead is uncertain after a shaky winter.
President Joe Biden’s feisty State of the Union address Thursday saw a substantial lift in viewing compared with last year’s speech. Nielsen data showed the average TV audience across 14 networks carrying the event was 32.2 million viewers, an 18% increase over the 27.3 million who watched in 2023. The number fell short of Biden’s…
It’s especially noteworthy that there’s still no Oscar category for stunt coordinator because at the first Academy Awards, the movie that earned best picture did so by showcasing breathtaking stunt work. The 1927 film “Wings” was nominated in only one other category — engineering effects — when it took home the trophy for what was…
Warner Bros. Discovery is giving cable network truTV a sports makeover. The cable channel, currently a hodgepodge of reality shows and reruns, will become an additional platform for the media giant’s sports properties, which include the NBA, the NHL and the NCAA basketball tournament. Starting March 11 — a week before the start of March…
The critical success of the FX series “Reservation Dogs” and the spotlight on performers like Lily Gladstone, an Academy Award nominee for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” has heightened awareness of Indigenous cultures and stories, particularly in Hollywood, where until recently they’ve been mostly caricatured — or absent — during the century-plus history of the…
Keyboardist Jim Beard, who spent more than a decade of his life playing for rock group Steely Dan, has died. The band, formed by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, confirmed Beard’s death in a brief statement shared on its website on Wednesday. “It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our friend…
Four years ago, Netflix was faced with a formidable challenge to its dominance. Competitors including Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery invested billions of dollars to chip away at Netflix’s market share by launching splashy shows on their own streaming services. For a time, it seemed that Netflix was vulnerable. The company lost subscribers…
Comedian Nick Swardson said he wants a second shot at bringing his comedy to Beaver Creek, after he got the hook for reportedly arguing with some Colorado fans. The stand-up comic and frequent Adam Sandler collaborator seemingly offered his social media followers an explanation for his behavior and vowed to “make it up.” “Just casually…
With the arrival of “Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda,” the battle of Gadsby versus Netflix is officially on pause. “The last time Netflix brought this many trans people together, it was for a protest. So, progress!” the comedian jokes in the trailer for the new special, premiering Tuesday. Now three specials deep — “Nanette,” “Douglas” and…
Country rock band Blackberry Smoke is mourning one of its own: drummer Brit Turner, who died after a battle with brain cancer. “It is with the deepest sorrow that we inform everyone that our brother Brit Turner has moved on from this life,” the Atlanta group announced in a Monday Facebook post. “If you had…
Thousands of Hollywood crew members and their supporters gathered Sunday in the crisp morning air and muddy fields at Encino’s Woodley Park in a show of support ahead of contract negotiations that begin this week with the major film and TV studios. Slogans such as “Fighting for living wages,” and “Nothing moves without the crew”…
The writers of the Oscar-nominated film “American Fiction” and the Apple TV+ series “Slow Horses” earned top honors at the 36th USC Libraries Scripter Awards on Saturday night. Established in 1988, the awards recognize adapted screenplays and their original source material. The prizes are given to both the author and screenwriter, acknowledging the collaborative process….
Sydney Sweeney’s debut as “Saturday Night Live” guest host was a smooth one. The star of “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” showed in sketch after sketch that she could hold her own comedically even if a lot of the material didn’t give her much to work with beyond playing off her sex-symbol public image or…
Making her feature directorial debut, Noora Niasari adapts the real-life story of her own childhood and the mother who risked everything to secure their escape.
Iris Apfel, the beloved fashion icon and interior designer whose eccentric style inspired individuality, creativity and joy, has died, according to a post on her official Instagram account. She was 102. Known for her bold accessories, oversize round glasses and “totally mad” outfits, Apfel never let age slow her down. She was 84 when the…
“Rust” director Joel Souza, who was injured when Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun, said he couldn’t wrap his head around what had transpired on the New Mexico film set — even after being rushed to a hospital. “I knew something got me,” Souza testified Friday in a Santa Fe, N.M. courtroom on the seventh…
Reading List 10 books for your February reading list If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. Critic Bethanne Patrick recommends 10 promising titles, fiction and nonfiction, to consider for your March reading list. Whether your March begins with the traditional winds…
A string of production delays has left “Dune: Part One” fans antsy for the film’s sequel, which hits theaters this Friday. But director Denis Villeneuve himself waited more than 40 years for the project to come to fruition. Villeneuve read Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel “Dune” for the first time when he was around 13, he…
NEW YORK — At the end of the musical “Chicago,” Roxie Hart, a chorus girl who has been charged with murdering her lover, is declared not guilty. It should be a victorious moment for the aspiring vaudeville star, but just as the verdict is announced, the press gets wind of another bloody crime unfolding down the…
Comedian Richard Lewis, the stand-up comic who most recently played a fictionalized version of himself on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has died. He was 76. Lewis died “peacefully at his home in Los Angeles” on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack, his publicist Jeff Abraham confirmed Wednesday. “His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all…
Gary Sinise’s only son, McCanna “Mac” Sinise, died last month after a 5½-year fight with a rare bone cancer, the veterans activist and “Forrest Gump” actor announced Tuesday on his foundation’s website. “Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can,” the actor wrote. “As parents,…
For executive producer Mark Ford, the new Lifetime documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?” embodies the talk show host’s ethos of “radical honesty.” “If we had sanitized it and just made it seem like everything was fine, we wouldn’t be telling the truth,” he said over Zoom on Monday, after the Lifetime docuseries concluded. That truth…
Sean Bailey, the longtime Walt Disney Co. executive who oversaw the studio’s live-action movies, is stepping down, the Burbank-based entertainment giant announced Monday. David Greenbaum has been appointed to the newly created role of president of Disney live action and 20th Century Studios, and will oversee film projects for both units spanning theatrical and streaming…
New Mexico prosecutors attempting to prove that Alec Baldwin was criminally negligent in the fatal shooting of the “Rust” movie cinematographer must grapple with a complicating piece of evidence: a damaged gun. Baldwin has long maintained that he did not pull the trigger of his prop gun — a Colt .45 revolver — on Oct….
In what could be a sign for awards shows to come, the Spirit Awards were severely disrupted on Sunday afternoon by pro-Palestinian protesters. About 40 minutes into the daytime ceremony, which was held in a tent near the beach in Santa Monica, loud sounds could be heard by attending guests. A small group of protesters…
As the industry held its collective breath awaiting Friday’s opening of “Dune: Part Two,” North American moviegoers continued to largely ignore new releases. Last week’s No. 1 film, Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love,” maintained the top spot with $13.5 million, according to estimates from market research firm Comscore, while anime stalwart “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no…
The stand-up comedian Shane Gillis — famously hired and fired from “Saturday Night Live” in 2019 when racist slurs he used on a podcast resurfaced — guest hosted the show, proving that longtime producer Lorne Michaels is still willing to court controversy if it means people will tune in to see potential fireworks. But the…
PALM DESERT — As her keyboard player slowly cycled through the chords of her song “Teenage Dream,” Olivia Rodrigo stood onstage Friday night and proclaimed that her nightmare hadn’t come true. The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter was maybe 20 minutes into the opening date of her world tour behind her 2023 album, “Guts,” which closes with…
While the “faith-based film” has evolved over the years, there’s one tried-and-true formula this particular type of movie can’t quit: an improbable story about a sick child in a perilous situation starring a popular actress (see: Jennifer Garner in “Miracles From Heaven,” Chrissy Metz in “Breakthrough,” etc.). In this kind of film, the drama remains…
Dolly Parton has confirmed her Beyhive membership. The “Jolene” singer took to Instagram Thursday to congratulate Beyoncé on her country debut, which consisted of a surprise dual release announced during the 2024 Super Bowl. The livelier of the singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” made Beyoncé the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart,…
“It’s been a hell of a ride.” With those parting words, Jack McCoy stepped down from his job as Manhattan district attorney after decades of public service — and Sam Waterston bid farewell to his signature role on “Law & Order” after 19 seasons and 405 episodes spread over 30 years. To put this run…
Santa Fe, New Mexico — On the opening day of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez’s criminal trial, opposing attorneys painted two dramatically different portraits of the embattled 26-year-old weapons handler. Gutierrez could spend up to three years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering following the October 2021 accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna…
It’s fascinating that Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, longtime filmmaking collaborators and spouses, and the creative team behind the exploitation flick “Drive-Away Dolls,” have repeatedly — and lovingly — described their new film as “trashy” in interviews. It’s a way of nodding to influences like the “Pope of Trash” himself, John Waters, and titillating B-movie…
Santa Fe, New Mexico — More than two years after Alec Baldwin fired the deadly shot, questions persist about who was responsible for the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western movie “Rust.” After a long and bumpy prosecution, the first trial in the “Rust” shooting tragedy begins this week in…
Eric Klinenberg wants you to remember what was, collectively, the worst year of our lives. But he doesn’t just want you to recall 2020 — the pandemic with its lockdown and rising death toll, the attempt at a racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder and the presidential election where the loser refused to accept reality…
It should have been an easy job for the sound team of “Maestro” — Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony played in England’s Ely Cathedral. Normally they would pre-record the music and run playback while musicians and conductor Leonard Bernstein (as played by Bradley Cooper), mime along. But that’s not how Cooper, also the co-writer and director of…
The people have spoken: Taylor Swift, America Ferrera, Rachel Zegler and the movie “Barbie” are awarded top categories at this year]s People’s Choice Awards, held Sunday night at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Scroll through to see your favorite stars as they joined staff photographer Jason Armond in the Los Angeles Times Portrait Studio…
LONDON — The 77th annual British Academy Film Awards have confirmed what pundits already know: “Oppenheimer” is the film to beat this year at the Oscars. Christopher Nolan’s opus scored for best film and director during tonight’s ceremony, held for the second year at London’s Royal Festival Hall. But while many of the winners were well-predicted,…
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” won best picture Saturday at the Annie Awards, which honors animated films and television programs. The Sony Pictures Animation feature collected six other awards, including best direction, FX and character design, at the annual ceremony, which was held at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The superhero film is a sequel to “Spider-Man: Into…
Dakota Johnson has yet to see her new movie “Madame Web,” which debuted Wednesday — but not for the reasons people seem to think. Johnson’s confession, a clip from an interview with Magic FM, is circulating on social media, with some interpreting her choice not to watch the movie as indifference. After all, the actor…
Earlier this month, the Oxygen network announced “Selena & Yolanda: The Secrets Between Them,” a two-part docuseries airing Saturday that promises to shed new light on the murder of Tejano icon Selena Quintanilla directly from her killer, Yolanda Saldívar. “After so many years, I think it’s time to set the record straight,” says Saldívar in…
Former CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves has agreed to pay an $11,250 fine to settle a Los Angeles City Ethics Commission complaint that accused him of interfering with a police investigation and inducing a government official to violate laws. The incident dates back to November 2017 when former Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Cory Palka began…
Brian Wilson‘s longtime business partners are seeking to become the Beach Boys singer’s co-conservators, weeks after the death of his wife, Melinda Wilson. In a petition filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wilson’s publicist Jean Sievers and business manager LeeAnn Hard said the 81-year-old musician has been diagnosed with a “major neurocognitive disorder” and…
Rolling Loud California announced Thursday that it’s adding a fourth night to its May festival at Hollywood Park. Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign, who released their collaborative album “Vultures 1” on Feb. 9 under the moniker ¥$, are teaming up for the new opening-night performance Thursday, Mar. 14. According to a news release from…
In her March Rolling Stone cover, Kirsten Stewart drips sweat-slicked sex appeal — and she’s doing it for her own gaze, not anyone else’s view of gender or sexuality. “I want to do the gayest f—ing thing you’ve ever seen in your life,” the “Twilight” alum said Wednesday about the cover, which shows a mulleted…
A New Mexico judge ruled Wednesday that alleged drug use by “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed during off-hours could be introduced as evidence during her upcoming trial on involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of the film’s cinematographer. Special prosecutors plan to tell jurors that Gutierrez-Reed, 26, used cocaine, marijuana and alcohol when she was…
Roses are red, violets are blue. Marvel just confirmed it’s “Fantastic Four” stars, let’s see who’s who. Marvel treated its fans to a Valentine’s Day surprise Wednesday, unveiling on social media that Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”), Vanessa Kirby (“Napoleon”), Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things”) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“The Bear”) will suit up for the…
Landing roles in Matteo Garrone’s “Io Capitano” was a life-changing experience for Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall. The young Senegalese actors were cast to play African migrants Seydou and Moussa, respectively. Two young men hoping to live out their dreams in Europe and, eventually, the United States, after crossing the African continent and the Mediterranean…
Once upon a time, comic-book movies used to be camp, riding the line between silliness and sincerity that would suit the cinematic adaptation of a slim, illustrated story about superheroes and their exploits. But around 20 years ago, the superhero industrial complex rejected camp, becoming dark and gritty, then sarcastic and flip, then cycling back…
Monday’s “The Daily Show” opened to a roaring applause and standing ovation from the studio audience as they welcomed back host Jon Stewart, who left the show back in 2015, after 16 years at the helm. “Why am I back, you may be asking yourself, and that’s a reasonable question,” he said with a grin…
Looks like Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan won’t be heading down the aisle after all. The reality TV star and the former college basketball star have reportedly called it quits after a year of dating. Sources confirmed the split to People after breakup rumors surfaced over the weekend. A representative for Pippen did not immediately…
Taylor Swift’s new television special Sunday, aka Super Bowl LVIII, carried live from Las Vegas on CBS and Paramount+, came with a football game attached, a musical production number and a host of comedy sketches masquerading as commercials — and they said variety was dead! I have been asked here, however, to discuss only the…
Taylor Swift’s lucky number is 13. Does this mean the Chiefs are winning Super Bowl LVIII? Look at our stats to find out why the Chief’s should win it all.
LAS VEGAS — Once again, Ed Kelce has a vested interest in the Super Bowl — his son Travis is an All-Pro tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs — but this one feels so much different than last year. There’s the cyclone of interest surrounding Taylor Swift, of course, Travis Kelce’s superstar girlfriend. That has…
This article contains spoilers for Episode 5 of HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country.” Episode 5 of “True Detective: Night Country” ended not with a whimper, but with a bang. After Ennis, Alaska, Police Chief Liz Danvers discovers that Hank Prior, one of her fellow officers, is interfering with her investigation into the deaths of the…
We don’t know much about prehistoric humankind, except for the idea that it wasn’t very human. Even paleontologists find the field’s accepted facts in constant revision based on new theories and an incomplete fossil record. Suffice to say, if it’s 45,000 years ago, as stated in the somber, enervating, occasionally ridiculous horror film “Out of…
Taylor Swift needs to get from Tokyo to Las Vegas this weekend. Chances are she’ll be using a private jet to get from Japan’s capital — where she is performing Saturday night — to Sin City, where boyfriend Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are playing the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII…
When “Aggro Dr1ft,” the latest provocation from auteur Harmony Korine, premiered at a string of prestigious film festivals last fall, it played at the Sala Grande in Venice, the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater in New York City. For the Los Angeles premiere of “Aggro Dr1ft” on Wednesday night,…
Moshe Kasher is sitting in a tiny kitchen on the second floor of St. Paul’s Commons. Twice a month, the building, technically the oldest Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, is home to Nefesh, a spiritual, transdenominational Jewish community based in Echo Park. Though Friday night services are set to begin at 7 p.m., we need…
Disney beat earnings expectations for its most recent fiscal quarter as pressure mounts on Chief Executive Bob Iger to impress shareholders while trying to beat back a challenge to his strategy from activist investor Nelson Peltz. The Burbank entertainment giant delivered net income of $2.15 billion during the first fiscal quarter of 2024, which is…
The blockbuster “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert movie will join the Disney+ streaming service March 15. Walt Disney Co. announced Wednesday that it secured streaming rights to last year’s smash hit film in a deal that demonstrated, once again, the enormous appeal — and economic prowess — of the pop superstar. The movie was…
Gina Carano wants a jury to get her “Star Wars” job back. The former “The Mandalorian” actor filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Walt Disney Co., Lucasfilm and Huckleberry Industries alleging wrongful termination and discrimination for her dismissal from the Disney+ series. Carano, who had portrayed former Rebellion soldier Cara Dune for two seasons on “The…
Beginner Piano Transcriptionist Make A beginner piano transcriptionist is a musician who writes down the melody of a song from an audio recording, as well as any accompanying chords. The transcriptionist may also create a score for the piece, to be used as a guide when practicing. Piano transcription is often considered one of the…
Julia Turner, who led culture and entertainment coverage for the Los Angeles Times before taking on a business strategy role, announced Tuesday that she was leaving the paper. “The time has come for me to explore other ways to contribute to the mission of strengthening, protecting and preserving news in the digital age,” Turner said…
Sunday’s duet between Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs at the Grammys brought us one of those rare moments in today’s America in which appreciation was louder than criticism. From the illuminating joy on her face to the admiration on his, we were once again reminded of music’s undeniable ability to turn strangers generations apart into…
Maybe the real psyop was letting us think she might not win. Accepting the pop vocal album prize for “Midnights” at Sunday’s 66th Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift thanked the Recording Academy, thanked her fans — then announced the upcoming release of an LP all but certain to take her to the 67th Grammy Awards. “It’s…
The 66th Grammy Awards appeared to go exactly as planned Sunday, despite arriving during the biggest storm of the year. And that was exactly the problem. There were few noticeable flubs, outbursts or bleep-laden speeches during the live broadcast from downtown L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena. Performances by Dua Lipa, SZA and Travis Scott went off without…
As the clock ticked past 12:30 early Sunday, even the famously talkative Clive Davis knew that his annual pre-Grammy gala was going long. “In New York, this is about the time we’d head to Studio 54,” the veteran record executive told a thinning crowd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where for years Davis has gathered…
After two weeks of “Saturday Night Live” episodes featuring actors who couldn’t quite overcome the challenge of hosting the long-running series, it was time to let a comedy pro take the reins. And run it right to the winner’s circle. Recent Emmy winner for “The Bear” Ayo Edebiri proved more than capable, bringing her quick-delivery…
It wasn’t even 9 p.m., but Jon Bon Jovi had made up his mind: “I think it’s about time that we blow the roof off this place,” he told the crowd gathered in his honor at Friday’s MusiCares Person of the Year gala. That was the veteran rocker’s way of bringing out Bruce Springsteen —…
Depending on the decade you saw him onscreen, Carl Weathers may evoke memories of either seriousness or laughter, which is to say that he had range as an actor with roles big and small. He died on Thursday at 76, and he leaves behind a robust body of work in television and film. After trying…
An unhoused woman who was arrested last week after allegedly shooting a music producer in Santa Monica has been charged with murder. Prosecutors said 27-year-old Kayla Delise Mackie was charged Tuesday in the shooting death, along with other crimes. On the morning of Jan. 25, officers responded to a report of shots fired on 29th…
Choreographer Matthew Bourne transposes Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” to an asylum for young people. Ostensibly disturbed, the inhabitants of the Verona Institute seem normal enough, if perhaps understandably forlorn for having been discarded by parents who didn’t want to deal with their challenges. The youngsters sulk, stomp and scamper, pull pranks and horse around. Eluding…
Built from intuitive hunches — she calls them “corazonadas” — the work of Mexican writer-director Lila Avilés plays like an invitation into her characters’ most vulnerable states, not to judge them but to share in their experience. “Tótem,” the latest of her understated miracles (it’s Avilés’ second feature after 2018’s “The Chambermaid”), unfolds over a…
Octavio Solis had taken on an impossible task. Could he, the mighty Mexican American playwright from El Paso who had conquered stages across the country, adapt the behemoth tome that is Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” for the stage? The Spanish literary classic has befuddled would-be adaptors across all mediums. Artists at Disney tried for…
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Walt Disney Co.’s 1st Amendment lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, delivering a legal victory to the Republican leader who recently ended his presidential campaign. Disney sued DeSantis in April after the conservative governor and his allies in the state took control of the special district that governs Walt…
Hinton Battle, who won Tony Awards (featured actor in a musical) for his performances in “Miss Saigon,” “Sophisticated Ladies” and “The Tap Dance Kid,” has died at 67. No cause of death was mentioned. A choreographer, director, actor and writer, Battle made his Broadway debut as the original Scarecrow at the age of 15 in…
Issa Rae says she went from being “stupidly optimistic” early in her career to pessimistic about Black stories being made a priority in Hollywood. Despite starring in three of last year’s critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated films — “Barbie,” “American Fiction” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” — Rae still worries about her outlook in the ever-changing…
The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has taken steps to limit the further spread of explicit deepfake images of Taylor Swift after they went viral last week. Amid outcry from Swift’s fans on social media, lawmakers and the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, X made the Grammy winner’s name unsearchable on its platform over…
Farce, particularly of the bedroom variety, has traditionally leaned male. A prototypical situation involves a playboy type trying to keep two women apart on a puzzle-box set conveniently equipped with multiple doors. “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” Selina Fillinger’s comedy that had a turn in the…
Joni Mitchell will perform at next week’s Grammy Awards, organizers announced Sunday, marking the beloved singer-songwriter’s first performance at music’s highest-profile awards show and her latest step in a public comeback after a debilitating brain aneurysm in 2015. Mitchell, 80, is nominated for best folk album at the Feb. 4 ceremony. “Joni Mitchell at Newport”…
Even if Dakota Johnson, the star of “Madame Web” and this week’s “Saturday Night Live” guest host, was in on the monologue joke that musical guest and previous five-time host Justin Timberlake was there to upstage her, it must have seemed a lot less funny to her by the end of the show. It was…
Comedian Jay Leno is seeking to become conservator over his wife Mavis Leno’s affairs because she has dementia. Leno filed court documents Friday to ask a family court judge to grant the conservatorship so he can structure a living trust and other estate plans to make sure that his 77-year-old wife has “managed assets sufficient…
To leave something behind doesn’t necessarily imply a sense of direction. That active limbo permeates writer-director Anthony Chen’s appealingly liquid “The Breaking Ice,” about a trio of disaffected Chinese twentysomethings defying their chilly northern environs by forming a quick, meaningful connection over an alcohol-fueled weekend. From the delicate impermanence of snow to the appealing solidity…
Netizens are calling actor-activist Alyssa Milano “tone-deaf” after she posted a fundraiser for her 12-year-old son’s baseball team. The “Charmed” alum solicited donations in a Thursday X post, saying the team was raising money for an upcoming trip to Cooperstown, N.Y. “Any amount would be so greatly appreciated,” Milano wrote, linking a GoFundMe page that…
Cori Broadus, Snoop Dogg’s 24-year-old daughter, is on the mend after suffering a stroke last week. Broadus provided her Instagram followers with a health update Wednesday, announcing that “my CT scan of my chest came back normal” in a since-expired Instagram story. She did not reveal any further information about her hospitalization. “I’m going home…
There’s a single-take sequence in “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” that, over roughly 20 minutes and less than a mile’s journey, seems to distill a small corner of eternity. We are somewhere in the Vietnamese countryside, where a soft-spoken young man named Thiên (Le Phong Vu) is sent on an errand by a friend. A…
Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” will be one housewife short next season. Newcomer Monica Garcia will not reunite with her “Real Housewives” co-stars for Season 5 after her fiery debut season on the Bravo series, multiple outlets reported. News of Garcia’s exit dropped amid this week’s bombshell Season 4 finale, which revealed she…
Jacqueline Novak’s debut stand-up special, “Get on Your Knees,” began as an essay she wrote in the early 2000s, while an undergraduate at Georgetown University, exploring her “evolving ideas about — and relationship to” performing oral sex. The piece developed into a sold-out, nationwide theatrical tour directed by comedian John Early and then a 90-minute…
Girl power may have bested atomic energy at the box office in last summer’s “Barbenheimer” showdown. But Tuesday’s Academy Award nominations morning flipped the script, with Christopher Nolan‘s “Oppenheimer” dominating the field of competition with 13 nominations while “Barbie” fell short of expectations with eight. Forever linked in pop culture’s unlikeliest cinematic portmanteau, “Barbie” and…
It’s rare that a single episode of television invites comparisons to “Big Little Lies,” “The Usual Suspects,” the novels of Agatha Christie and the timeline-scrambling films of Christopher Nolan. It’s rarer still when the show in question is the 10th domestic version of a long-running reality TV franchise whose best known star is currently serving…
Adam Harrison, one of three sons of reality “Pawn Stars” personality Richard “Rick” Harrison, died in Las Vegas, a family representative said Saturday. He was 39. On Monday, Harrison, through his rep, told TMZ that his son had overdosed on fentanyl. “Yes, I can confirm Adam died from a fentanyl overdose. The fentanyl crisis in…
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, revealed Monday that she has skin cancer. This is the second form of cancer the British royal has been diagnosed with in a year, after confirming she had breast cancer in June. Ferguson shared her health news Monday in an Instagram post. “I have been taking some time to myself…
Randy Rainbow, leader of the musical theater resistance to Donald Trump and his train of fascist Mini-mes, had a campaign stop at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre for his “Randy Rainbow for President” tour on Friday. His platform? Make America Gay Again. (He said he’s vying to be the first twink in the White House since…
PARK CITY, Utah — Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence,” a sleek and sublimely nimble ghost story with a world-premiere Friday night at the 40th annual Sundance Film Festival, hinges on a formal conceit so spookily effective that it’s hard to believe it’s never been attempted before. Maybe it has been (the history of independent cinema contains unseen, uncovered…
The jazz and R&B vocalist Marlena Shaw, whose “California Soul” has become a staple element of ads and hip-hop songs, has died. She was 81. Shaw’s daughter, Marla Bradshaw, announced the legendary singer’s death in a Facebook video posted Friday. “It is with a very heavy heart that for myself and my family, I announce…
PARK CITY, Utah — Other stars such as “Beef” Emmy winner Steven Yeun, “The White Lotus” star Meghann Fahy, Lucy Liu and Jason Schwartzman stopped by the L.A. Times Studios at the Sundance Film Festival presented by Chase Sapphire to mark the 40th edition of the festival. Check out highlights from this year’s festival below. READ…
Things were getting weird again between mission control and the space station S.A.B.E.R. For one thing, both places were crawling with cats, turning a high-concept livestream from Marvel Entertainment into a chaotic scene of tumbling, jumping, eating, purring felines that just might have been extraterrestrials in disguise (a.k.a. “flerkens”). Mission control was on the back…
When Vivienne Medrano was a kid, she stayed away from horror, anything considered adult and any images that might be considered inappropriate, especially on the internet, fearing that scary stories and sights might hold a malevolent power. But in high school, a flip switched. “I saw ‘South Park’ for the first time, and I saw…
Out of town, on Broadway and on the road, the recent revival of “1776” was strategically cast in a nontraditional manner, with actors of diverse gender identities and racial backgrounds portraying the historically white, male Founding Fathers as they finalized the Declaration of Independence. “Putting history in the hands of the humans who were left…
On the Shelf Dwell Time: A Memoir of Art, Exile, and Repair By Rosa LowingerRow House: 360 pages, $28 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. Rosa Lowinger’s grandparents landed in Cuba fleeing the Holocaust, hoping for America but not quite…
Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas’ contentious divorce battle seems to be simmering down. The “Game of Thrones” star asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit she filed in September accusing Jonas of child abduction. In new legal documents obtained by The Times, attorneys for the former couple asked the New York judge overseeing their case…
Disney has settled a lawsuit with a major financial partner that accused the Burbank entertainment giant over the summer of self-dealing and breach of contract. Attorneys for Disney and film-financing firm TSG Entertainment jointly filed a request for dismissal in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 5, indicating that the dueling parties have agreed to…
As the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards hit screens across the U.S., Times photographers looked for moments unfolding amid the flashy festivities, both on and off the big stage. Scroll to see a gallery of humorous, graceful and jubilant photography from before, during and after the show, including imagery from Times photographer Allen J. Schaben’s special…
The internet library of Ryan Gosling reaction shots welcomed a new entry, and his longtime partner Eva Mendes has already put it to good use. Over the weekend, Gosling joined his “Barbie” crew in Santa Monica at the Barker Hangar for the 29th Critics Choice Awards. “Barbie” picked up six prizes — including a seemingly…
Brian Cox revealed that “Succession” fans often ask him to channel his character Logan Roy when they approach him in public, and he finds their very specific request “extraordinary.” Cox received an Emmy nomination for lead actor in a drama series for his performance as media tycoon Logan Roy in the final season of HBO’s…
DES MOINES — Despite the Iowa caucuses taking place 1,700 miles away from California — and the temperature being much colder here — the Golden State, its elected leaders and its policies were a constant target in the lead up to the first presidential nominating contest in the nation Monday. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San…
Reporters can always tell when “Mean Girls” is going to win the box office. Well, they can tell when it’s winning. Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of the Broadway musical — based on the original 2004 film “Mean Girls” that starred Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams — topped the domestic holiday weekend box office, bringing in a…
The mystery story is a relatively recent innovation, whether dated from Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 short story “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” with its amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin, or Wilkie Collins’ 1868 novel “The Moonstone,” which established many of the conventions still in use today, or even the 1887 debut of Sherlock Holmes, so…
Onstage for the first time since hosting the Golden Globes, Jo Koy vented about his attempt to skewer Hollywood stars currently on the awards circuit. “Lotta marshmallows, man — they’re delicious, but goddamn, they’re soft,” he told the audience of St. Louis’ Stifel Theatre on Friday night, according to Variety. “I just come from a…
While the new “Mean Girls” movie includes many, many punchlines from the first film, recited verbatim, devout fans will clock plenty of changes. Bullying, once the province of three-way calling on landlines, now occurs on social media. Gone are the misguided Asian jokes, the sizeism slander, the ableist language and the whole pedophilia plot. And…
Talk about a wild card weekend. In what would be a stunning move, the NFL and the Walt Disney Co. are contemplating a pair-up that would give the league a stake in the sports media company, said a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to comment. The New York Post first reported…
Six months after the nominations for the 75th Emmy Awards were announced, the Television Academy is finally ready to celebrate the best of the 2022-23 television season. Hit shows such as “The Last of Us,” “The Bear” and “The White Lotus” have already notched a few early wins at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, held…
Kelly Carlin, the daughter of comedian George Carlin, is slamming an AI-generated comedy special mimicking the voice of her late father. On Tuesday, it appeared that the comedian, who died in 2008 at age 71 of congestive heart failure, was weighing in on contemporary hot-button issues, including former President Trump and mass shootings in America….
Film director Bong Joon Ho is among a collective of Korean artists who are calling for a new investigation into the death of “Parasite” actor Lee Sun Kyun. Lee was found unconscious inside his car at a park in Seoul on Dec. 26. His wife had reportedly found a note akin to a suicide note…
Selena Gomez will portray 11-time Grammy Award-winning Linda Ronstadt in an upcoming biopic, according to various news reports. Ronstadt, who made a name for herself in rock ‘n’ roll and country, leaned into her Mexican heritage and released Spanish-language music later in her career. “It all started with a simple dream,” Ronstadt wrote in an…
Amazon on Wednesday said it would cut several hundred jobs at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, after a review of its business in the past year. ” [W]e’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact,”…
Natalie Portman just shared her very practical reason for steering away from Method acting. Portman scored an Academy Award for her portrayal of a ballerina who takes commitment to startling lengths in “Black Swan.” In the critically acclaimed “May December,” Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress who dedicates herself to a film role in extreme…
Before “Night Swim” overstays its gimmick — the pool is haunted! — and begins to prune, it plays like the best “dollar baby” ever made. Dollar babies, for those not in the know, are movies derived from short stories of Stephen King that the mega-selling author allowed film students and up-and-coming dreamers to adapt for…
Director Dan Levy surely knew that a movie follow-up to the fizzy, funny and starmaking sleeper success that was his Emmy-winning “Schitt’s Creek” wouldn’t be as simple as copying and pasting its winning formula onto the demands of a feature. Thankfully “Good Grief,” the holiday-perfumed comedy-drama that he also wrote and stars in, feels like…
Jeremy Allen White, what’s next?? There’s the kind of famous where anyone with a Hulu subscription squeals, “Yes, chef!” in your honor. Then there’s break-the-internet famous, which White has done as Calvin Klein’s newest underwear model. Whether he’s yelling at line cooks while portraying chef Carmy in “The Bear,” flinging himself from the top rope…
Lil Nas X and his steamy music-video fling with the devil still seem to live rent free in Dave Chappelle‘s head — that much is clear from the comedian’s latest Netflix special, “The Dreamer.” The controversial comedian closed out 2023 with a nearly hour-long stand-up show that pondered dreams of his own and those of…
