Movies/TV category, Page 96
TV Talk: Oscars rebound from 2021 disaster, then derailed by a slapVideo
Back in its traditional home with legitimately funny monologues from the hosts, ABC’s telecast of the 2022 Academy Awards proved a vast improvement in entertainment value from the pared-down-for-covid 2021 show. “CODA,” directed by 1999 Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grad Sian Heder, was the big winner, taking home...
Chris Wallace says he found Fox News’ questioning of the truth ‘unsustainable’
Veteran newsman Chris Wallace counts himself among the casualties of Fox News’ coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection and the conspiracy-mongering leading up to the attack on the Capitol. With his CNN debut slated for Tuesday, Wallace told The New York Times he ditched Fox News in December — his...
The Oscars are tonight. Here’s how to watch or stream live
The 94th Academy Awards are right around the corner with just enough time to squeeze in watches of some of the 10 best picture nominees before the lights go down in the Dolby Theatre. After last year’s scaled back ceremony at Los Angeles’ Union Station, this year the Oscars are...
Will Smith, Chris Rock confrontation shocks Oscar audience
LOS ANGELES — A 94th Academy Awards that steadily maintained a buoyant spirit was rocked by an unbelievable exchange after Will Smith took offense to a joke made by Chris Rock about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. After Rock joked to Smith that he was looking forward to a sequel...
Black News Channel shuts down days after ratings high
NEW YORK — The Black News Channel has pulled the plug after the 2-year-old venture failed to meet payroll and lost the backing of its biggest investor. Princell Hair, the company’s president and CEO, told employees Friday in a memo that the news network was ceasing live production and would...
TV Talk: Pam Surano exits KDKA-TV for job with Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
KDKA-TV freelance reporter Pam Surano has left the station and joined the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh where she’s now working as producer/assignment editor for another former KDKA mainstay: Jennifer Antkowiak, who is the diocese’s executive director of communications and community relations. Surano said Antkowiak, who Surano had met previously...
Wedding officiant: Tom Hanks said ‘I will do it’ and performs ceremony for Bellevue couple
Krisna Poznik Stahl wrote a letter to actor Tom Hanks. She told the Academy Award-winning star a story about her and her fiancé, Tyson Stahl. They live in a 102-year-old house in Bellevue they’ve been renovating — reminiscent of the home in Hanks’ 1986 movie “The Money Pit.” The couple...
TV Talk: Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ rises on Disney+Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. For its latest Marvel series, Disney+ introduces a new character from the comic books rather than spinning off someone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it has done previously (“Wanda Vision,” “The Falcon and the Winter...
Netflix cancels filmed-in-Pittsburgh ‘Archive 81’
This article contains spoilers for the first-season finale of Netflix’s “Archive 81,” released on Jan. 14. A Netflix publicist confirmed a Deadline.com report that the streaming service canceled filmed-in-Pittsburgh supernatural thriller “Archive 81” after just one season. No reason for the cancellation was given by Netflix which often considers the...
TV Talk: ‘Halo’ premieres, ‘Bridgerton’ returnsVideo
When adapting an existing media property, there’s an inherent conflict for a series’ writer: How much do you stick to what already exists versus going your own way? That tension is apparent in the first episode of the new Paramount+ series “Halo,” adapted from the popular video game, which in...
TV Q&A: Did a Pittsburgher have a hand in a recent ‘NCIS’ episode?
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: While watching “NCIS” a few weeks ago, I heard one character say to another … ‘he’s a jagoff.’ Then later in the show, another character...
Tom Hanks movie ‘A Man Called Otto’ to film in Oakmont; actor not expected to be in town
Portions of some Oakmont roads will be closed Thursday for filming of the Tom Hanks movie “A Man Called Otto.” No parking or travel will be permitted on Delaware Avenue between Fifth Street and Isabella Way, and Fourth Street between Washington and Maryland avenues. The closures will be from 6...
TV Talk: Western Pa. teen advances on ‘American Idol;’ Joe Serafini will be back on ‘High School Musical’Video
Morgan Gruber of Franklin Township, Beaver County, made it through her first audition for the “American Idol” judges in the episode on Monday, getting three “yes” votes to continue on the singing competition series. The 17-year-old Riverside High School senior from Fombell already had judge Luke Bryan in her corner...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Welcome to Flatch,’ ‘Monday Night Football’ changes and Mister Rogers in Florida
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 Latrobe native Fred Rogers’ Florida stomping grounds at Rollins College. Benz and Owen talk about the changes in the broadcast booth at “Monday Night...
Picture perfect: Movie star Tom Hanks takes photo with bride and her wedding party
In true Mister Rogers’ fashion, Tom Hanks continues to do kind things. Hanks, who embraced the role of Fred Rogers in the film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” hasn’t stopped being like the late Pittsburgh icon. Last week, he took time out from shooting his latest film to wave...
TV Talk: Donald Glover on the return of ‘Atlanta’ and ending the seriesVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. It’s been more than a minute since viewers got a new episode of FX’s “Atlanta” (10 p.m. Thursday). Actually, it’s been almost four years. Viewers can blame at least two of those years on the...
‘The Batman,’ still No. 1, crosses $300 million
“The Batman” is still going strong three weeks into its theatrical run, with a tight grip on the top spot at the box office. Robert Pattinson’s debut as the Dark Knight earned an additional $36.8 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. It also slid past the $300...
Tom Hanks takes break from filming in Ambridge to wave hello to a mom and her boyVideo
Ashley Glass of Ambridge had a surprise celebrity encounter Thursday morning. Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks took a break from filming on Merchant Street to wave to Glass and her 2-year-old son, Charles. Glass, 35, a homemaker and mother of five, said the actor spotted them while filming scenes for...
Everything you need to know about the 2022 Oscars
NEW YORK — Final preparations are underway for the 94th Academy Awards and a long-awaited return to Hollywood’s glamourous normalcy after a muted ceremony and ratings low last year. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2022 Oscars, including where to watch the live show, who’s expected to win...
Amazon closes $8.45 billion deal to buy MGM, add 4,000 movies to Prime Video
Amazon has officially acquired MGM Studios for $8.45 billion — a deal that will bring thousands of movies and TV show episodes to Prime Video. The deal was first announced in May 2021. MGM Studios tweeted, “So excited to share that MGM is now part of Prime Video and Amazon...
TV Talk: Mt. Lebanon native Gillian Jacobs directs ‘More Than Robots;’ Fombell singer on ‘American Idol’Video
Mt. Lebanon native Gillian Jacobs is best known for her acting roles — on NBC’s “Community,” in last summer’s Netflix horror series “Fear Street” — but she’s steadily building a reputation as a documentary filmmaker with her latest endeavor, the robotics competition doc “More than Robots,” premiering Friday on Disney+....
TV Q&A: Does a local newscast really need 3 anchors?Video
Q: I just watched the new three-announcer format on WTAE morning news and must say I am not a fan. It is like watching the Three Stooges give a report that Moe begins, Larry continues and Curly completes. Why does it take three to report the morning news? — Jack,...
Foundation in honor of Michael Keaton’s nephew gives $50,000 to UPMC Matilda H. Theiss Health Center
At the 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Feb. 27, actor Michael Keaton gave an emotional speech after being named best male actor in a television movie or limited series. The award recognized the Pittsburgh native’s work in Hulu’s “Dopesick” about the causes and effects of America’s opioid crisis....
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Tinder Swindler,’ ‘The Adam Project,’ ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ and Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham on ‘The Walking Dead’
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 Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham’s role on “The Walking Dead” and Pittsburgh native Joseph Cannon on “Law Order.” Benz and Owen talk about the end...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham’s character revealed on ‘Walking Dead;’ ‘Welcome to Flatch’ premieresVideo
This column includes spoilers for the March 13 episode of “The Walking Dead.” While other actors on “The Walking Dead” came into this zombie apocalypse series without any sense of what that might be like, Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham had the covid-19 pandemic as a bit of a guide. She...
