Entertainment category, Page 119
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-set ‘Average Joe’ delivers ‘Breaking Bad’ vibes on BET+
The premise of the darkly comedic BET+ drama “Average Joe,” set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, sat with writer Robb Cullen for a long time. A Philadelphia native, Cullen created the 2003 FX comedy “Lucky,” which featured the first series regular role for Swissvale native Billy Gardell. Last year when BET+...
The Westmoreland names Silvia Filippini-Fantoni as new director and CEO
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art has named Silvia Filippini-Fantoni as its new Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO, effective in August. Filippini-Fantoni comes to The Westmoreland from The Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey, where she is deputy director of learning and engagement. “I am dedicated to ensuring that this...
TV Talk: Amazon debuts magical realism series ‘I’m a Virgo;’ ‘The Bear’ roars againVideo
Filmmaker Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”) delivers magical realism weirdness with Amazon Prime Video’s “I’m a Virgo,” sort of a “Pushing Daisies” with a darker Tim Burton vibe but less coherent storytelling. It’s definitely strange but often funny and sometimes even moving. Streaming June 23, the story begins with...
Review: Indie supergroup boygenius lives up to hype in Pittsburgh show
Can there be such a thing as an indie supergroup? Well, if any band could stake that claim, it might be boygenius. After all, the band’s members — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus — have released critically acclaimed solo albums. They’ve had a song prominently featured in “The...
TV Q&A: Will Peacock no longer be free for Comcast’s Xfinity subscribers?
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 turned on Comcast’s Xfinity and it says Peacock will no longer be free after June 26. On screen, it says you can order it...
boygenius fans camp out early in hopes of prime Stage AE spots
After the Taylor Swift pandemonium last weekend, more music lovers are going to extreme lengths to see their favorite performers on the North Shore. Fans were lined up outside of Stage AE early Tuesday morning in hopes of scoring a spot close to the stage to watch boygenius Tuesday evening....
Country’s Dierks Bentley brings Gravel & Gold Tour to Star LakeVideo
When the pandemic hit, many of country singer Dierks Bentley’s contemporaries hunkered down to work on new music. He did the opposite. “A lot of my friends were back in Nashville working on music, but I was not. I was not interested,” he said. “I was interested in doing all...
Dr. Dre to receive first Hip-Hop Icon Award from music industry group ASCAP
LOS ANGELES — Dr. Dre will need to make room in his trophy case for another prestigious award. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers said on Tuesday that Dr. Dre will receive the first-ever ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award. He’ll be honored at the organization’s Rhythm & Soul Music...
Houston rapper Big Pokey dies after collapsing at show in Texas
HOUSTON — Milton Powell, a Houston rapper who performed under the name Big Pokey and is credited with elevating the city’s hip-hop scene, died after collapsing during a show in Texas, a local official said Monday. Tom Gillam III, a justice of the peace in Jefferson County, where Powell was...
5 filmmakers whose work you need to catch up on this summer
I often tell my film criticism students, as they prepare to review a new movie, that it’s always helpful to familiarize yourself with a director’s past work. That might sound like fairly obvious advice, but it’s worth reinforcing for someone not accustomed to watching movies through the lens of auteurism,...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking Taylor Swift, Stan Savran, summer movies, ‘Secret Invasion’Video
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 weekend’s Taylor Swift concerts and the passing of Pittsburgh sports journalist Stan Savran. The pair discuss summer movies, including box office failures so...
What makes a streaming hit? Desperate fans ‘game the system’ to save favorite shows
LOS ANGELES — Nikki Rodriguez wants Netflix to renew its fantasy series “Shadow and Bone” — so much so that she has watched its second season 15 times. She’s promoted fan videos on social media to court new viewers for the show. The New York resident also created a Change.org...
Dolly Parton releases duets with Heart’s Ann Wilson, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford
At 77, Dolly Parton is singing her heart out and her face off on two new songs from her forthcoming debut rock album. On Friday, the country music superstar gave fans another sneak peek at the star-studded album, releasing collaborations with Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Heart’s Ann Wilson. Both...
Bebe Rexha struck by cellphone during concert, needs stitches
Bebe Rexha reportedly needed stitches above her left eye after being hit with a cellphone during a show Sunday night in New York. But the pop star known for her “I’m good (Blue)” hit reassured fans Monday morning, posting to her official Instagram account with — what else? — “I’m...
What if things could turn out differently? How the multiverse got into our heads and didn’t let go
“Let’s do things differently this time.” Those are the first words you hear at the beginning of this month’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” an otherworldly meditation on multiple realities and how our lives might unfold. The message is clear from the get-go: We have choices. Things could be malleable. You...
TV Talk: Former Pittsburgher is in the kitchen with Chef Carmy on ‘The Bear’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. PASADENA, Calif. — Last summer’s FX- produced Hulu hit “The Bear,” about chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his attempts to revive a grimy Chicago sandwich joint, returns for its second season with all 10 episodes...
Central Park birder Christian Cooper is turning his viral video fame into a memoir and TV show
NEW YORK — There’s nothing that can keep Christian Cooper from enjoying his “happy place,” the bird-friendly Ramble of Central Park — not even his tense, viral video encounter three years ago with a woman walking her dog off leash in his refuge. Cooper is a lifelong birder, and Black,...
‘The Flash’ opens to $55 million, a step off the typical superhero pace
DC and Warner Bros.’ long-in-the-works superhero movie “The Flash” opened to $55 million in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Though a fair amount of money by normal standards, a sizable jump from DC’s last release, the “Shazam!” sequel, and enough for...
Topping it off: Taylor Swift gives hat to Hempfield girl at concertVideo
Cost of two Taylor Swift tickets? $1,800. Watching Taylor Swift give her hat to your daughter? Priceless. “I can’t even believe this happened,” Renata Guarlotti said through a raspy voice after screaming during the Friday night concert. “It was surreal.” The Hempfield woman and her 10-year-old daughter, Katie, had floor...
Photos: Thousands of Taylor Swift fans took in the show outside Acrisure StadiumVideo
While Taylor Swift was setting an attendance record inside Acrisure Stadium Saturday night, the crowd outside the stadium was also huge. Along with the over 73,000 in the seats of the stadium, thousands of fans (there’s no official count, yet) gathered outside the venue on the grass, along the Allegheny...
Behind the art: Artist’s eye views Pittsburgh yard as peaceful cloister
(Editor’s note: Behind the Art is a recurring series highlighting artistic works throughout the county.) “Quaint Courtyard on Dithridge” is “a beautiful, beautiful cityscape,” said Barbara Nakles of the Ottmar F. Von Fuehrer oil painting that depicts a backyard scene from Pittsburgh’s Oakland section. The artwork was a 1956 acquisition...
Taylor Swift’s 2nd night in Pittsburgh sets Acrisure Stadium attendance record
Will pop superstar Taylor Swift’s attendance record at Acrisure Stadium “Stay Stay Stay” and prove to be as “Untouchable” as it seems? Swift set an attendance record for Acrisure Stadium Saturday night, according to stadium officials, with the crowd of 73,117 the largest ever for the venue. Country star Garth...
Review: Taylor Swift shakes Acrisure with a show for the ages
There’s no one else who can make Acrisure Stadium shake quite so hard as Taylor Swift did Friday night for the first of two Pittsburgh shows on her nationwide Eras Tour. The reviews from other tour stops were indeed true: Swift’s concert is a multihour (3½ hours on Friday) adventure....
Photos: Taylor Swift dazzles in 1st of 2 Pittsburgh shows
Taylor Swift played the first of two nights of her Eras Tour stop Friday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The pop superstar will be back for a second show Saturday. A little snippet of “22” from Taylor Swift + a few crowd views from inside Acrisure Stadium on Friday night.Photo/video:...
Trio of Murrysville musicians headed to Portugal with Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra
A.J. Schmidt doesn’t remember why he first chose to take up flute at the end of his third-grade year. But his father does. “He came home at nine years old and said, ‘I can make a sound on it, and it’s pretty,’” said Schmidt’s father Judd, who is getting ready...
