Movies/TV category, Page 102
TV Talk: Mandy Moore previews final season of ‘This Is Us’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Pre-pandemic, “This Is Us” co-creator/executive producer Dan Fogelman, who lived in Bethel Park as a child, suggested the possibility of shooting scenes for the partially Pittsburgh-set family drama at a Steelers game in the show’s...
2021 box office closes with more fireworks for ‘Spider-Man’
NEW YORK — Hollywood closed out 2021 with more fireworks at the box office for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which topped all films for the third straight week and already charts among the highest grossing films ever. But even with all the champagne popping for “No Way Home,” the film...
Pittsburgh Pop: Remembering the legendary Betty White; reactions to ‘Boba Fett’
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including the passing of Betty White and her connection to Pittsburgh native Bill Cullen through the TV game show “Password.” They also set their sights...
TV Talk: Steve Harvey as a judge, a new culinary competition and a Jules Verne classic highlight midseason broadcast TVVideo
This year broadcast networks tried a different premiere pattern with both NBC (“American Auto” and “Grand Crew”) and ABC (the excellent comedy “Abbott Elementary”) debuting some series in December but then not rolling them out weekly until the new year. Here are the other midseason series you can expect to...
TV Q&A: How are ratings for ‘Nightly Sports Call?’
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: I’m back to see if the now-accurately named “Nightly Sports Call” — because most nights they only take one call — has increased ratings by...
Brian Baumgartner gets ‘meta’ about his beloved ‘The Office’ character Kevin
Brian Baumgartner hasn’t landed a high-profile role since playing awkward accountant Kevin Malone on “The Office.” But he’s too busy leading tours down memory lane to complain. Baumgartner started a podcast last year that serves as the main source for his new book, “Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Oral History...
5 questions to help you figure out if you’ll love ‘The Matrix Resurrections’
As a wise Oracle once said, “Everything that has a beginning has an end.” Well, maybe she meant everything but the “Matrix” movies. Four films, one “Animatrix,” video games and two decades of enormous cultural influence later, the franchise borne of Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s 1999 sci-fi opus has rebooted...
Pittsburgh Pop: Ghosts of 2021 pop culture past, present and future
In this week’s episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including the year that was in TV and local TV news anchor changes. They tick off some of the highlights of the year in...
‘Spider-Man’ surpasses $1B globally in second weekend
Peter Parker’s good fortune continued over the holiday weekend as Hollywood prepares to close the books on a turbulent 2021. Even with some mighty competition from new Matrix and Sing movies, and rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” stayed in the No. 1 spot and netted...
Jason Bateman named Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Jason Bateman was named the 2022 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals on Thursday, the first recipient of the award since 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Bateman, an actor, producer and director on the Netflix series “Ozark,” who also played a starring...
Actor who played ‘Home Alone’ brother arrested in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY — “Home Alone” actor Devin Ratray surrendered to authorities in Oklahoma on Wednesday after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, police said. Ratray, who played older brother Buzz McAllister in the 1990 Christmas movie, was released from jail shortly after his booking on two domestic assault and...
TV Talk: Fayette County hunter launches season two of ‘MTN TOP Outdoors’Video
Jeremiah “Jay” Voithofer of Farmington, Fayette County, remembers going to a Holiday Inn in Uniontown at age 8 to meet Terry Drury, a host of TV shows about hunting. “I made a turkey sound call and he gave me – and signed – his box call,” Voithofer said. “It’s just...
TV Q&A: Will Mark Harmon return to ‘NCIS’ as Gibbs?
Q: Mark Harmon’s name and likeness are the first things that appear in the opening credits of “NCIS.” However, he is no longer on the show. Any idea why he’s still in the opening credits? — Jeff, Baldwin Q: Is Mark Harmon really done on “NCIS”? The new guy (Gary...
Chris Noth out at ‘The Equalizer’ amid sex assault claims
LOS ANGELES — Chris Noth will no longer be part of the CBS series “The Equalizer” in the wake of sexual assault allegations against the actor. Universal Television and CBS made a joint announcement Monday that Noth would no longer be part of filming “effective immediately.” Noth has played a...
TV Talk: Mt. Lebanon native charts course for ‘Book of Boba Fett,’ ‘Mandalorian’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Mt. Lebanon native Dave Filoni has been living his childhood dream of playing “Star Wars” for two decades, trading his childhood action figures for writing scripts and directing costumed actors and massive “Star Wars” props...
Trevor Noah’s malpractice lawsuit claims surgery made him ‘sore, lame and disabled’Video
“The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah has filed a malpractice lawsuit against a New York doctor and hospital after allegedly suffering “permanent, severe, and grievous” injuries as a result of a surgery in November 2020. The Comedy Central star filed the lawsuit in New York’s Supreme Court against orthopedic surgeon...
What is a bidding war? CBS and NBC could chase ‘Jeopardy!’ for their TV stations
Last summer, the beloved game show “Jeopardy!” was getting pummeled with bad publicity over a botched search for a new host. But Sony Pictures Television’s stumbles trying to find a successor to the late Alex Trebek did not seem to matter much to “Jeopardy!” fans. In the current 2021-22 television...
Analysis: The Duggars built a wholesome reality TV empire on TLC. Now it’s in ruins
When reality TV star Josh Duggar was convicted this month of receiving and possessing child pornography, it brought a shocking end to the Duggars’ decade-plus reign as the Fundamentalist Kardashians. On their TLC shows “19 Kids and Counting” and “Counting On,” the ultra-conservative Arkansas clan known for its love of...
Pittsburgh Pop: Upcoming movies, midseason TV and ‘Being the Ricardos’
In this week’s episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including midseason cable/streaming series with local ties. Owen rates recent premieres “1883” and “With Love” and the pair preview what’s coming in midseason TV,...
Film-friendly atmosphere, ideal locations bring director back to W. Pa. for ‘The Pale Blue Eye’
A rich history, varied landscape and welcoming community have drawn director Scott Cooper back to Southwestern Pennsylvania to film his upcoming adaptation of “The Pale Blue Eye” for Netflix. “It’s an incredibly pleasant place to shoot,” said Cooper, “and it works exceedingly well for the 1830s Hudson Valley.” Cooper and...
Paul Rudd hosts ‘SNL’ sans audience, Charli XCX amid omicron
NEW YORK — People’s Sexiest Man Alive of 2021 was indeed inducted into the vaunted Five-Timers Club on “Saturday Night Live,” but the surging omicron variant of the coronavirus meant there was no live audience to see it happen. Instead, viewers at home saw new sketches taped earlier in the...
Spidey nets 3rd best opening of all time with $253 million
Never underestimate your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, even with a mutating virus afoot. Despite rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” not only shattered pandemic-era box office records; it became the third best opening of all time behind “Avengers: Endgame” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” The Sony and Marvel...
Chris Noth accused of sexual assaults; actor denies claims
LOS ANGELES — Actor Chris Noth has been accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate encounters that took place in 2004 and 2015, according to a report Thursday. The women’s identities were withheld by The Hollywood Reporter in order to protect their privacy, said the trade publication, which used...
TV Talk: ‘Yellowstone’ prequel, ‘Downton Abbey’ follow-up highlight midseason cable/streaming seriesVideo
Mid-season cable and streaming scripted series start in earnest in January, but with so much competition, some outlets chose to debut new shows this weekend. “With Love” (Friday, Amazon’s Prime Video): A five-episode, Christmas-set rom-com – it’s more rom than com – about a Latino family and their romantic entanglements....
Ligonier area provides props as ‘The Pale Blue Eye’ film crew arrives at Compass Inn
Staff at Fort Ligonier and the Laughlintown Antique Mall will be watching carefully when a locally filmed Netflix movie becomes available for viewing. There’s a chance items from either of those sites could make an appearance in “The Pale Blue Eye,” a period murder mystery that is being shot at...
