Entertainment category, Page 275
Q&A: Jon Stewart is still fighting for the middle ground
NEW YORK — When Jon Stewart signed off from the “The Daily Show” five years ago, he didn’t say goodbye. “The conversation isn’t ending,” Stewart said. Stewart is now picking it back up with “Irresistible,” his second film as writer-director, following 2014’s “Rosewater,” and an extension of many of the...
Gabby Barrett to perform, answer fan questions on YouTube, FacebookVideo
Gabby Barrett is doing a streaming event tonight in honor of her new album. The Munhall native and “American Idol” finalist will do a live performance and fan Q&A on her YouTube channel and Facebook page. Fans can submit questions via her Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts. Her debut album...
Tina Fey asks to pull ’30 Rock’ episodes that featured blackface
At the request of co-creator Tina Fey, four episodes of the comedy “30 Rock” are being removed from circulation because they featured characters performing in blackface. The series aired on NBC from 2006 to 2013, but episodes are still being shown in television syndication and on streaming services including Hulu,...
Stream the best of director Joel SchumacherVideo
The legendary director Joel Schumacher passed away on Monday at the age of 80 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Schumacher leaves behind a cinematic legacy littered with a wide variety of unforgettable films that were incredibly popular and left an undeniable impact on pop culture, but were also often...
Carnegie Museums plan timed ticketing system for reopening next week
Carnegie Museum is scheduled to reopen next week, with museum officials requiring all visitors over age 2 to wear masks and instituting a timed ticketing system to ensure the building does not exceed 25% of its capacity. The museum, which reopens June 29, will have directional signs for visitors and...
Reports: Michael Keaton to return as BatmanVideo
It’s been nearly 30 years since Michael Keaton played Batman, but he may be answering the Bat-Signal once again. The Hollywood Reporter says the Pittsburgh native is in talks to reprise the role in Warner Bros.’ upcoming DC movie “The Flash.” And it might not just be the Flash movie,...
Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra hosts series of online classes
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s Academy of Music announced a slate of one-hour online summer courses. Classes will include the academy’s annual exploration of the various periods of classical music, along with technique courses and a “Life in Music” series: • “Classical Chatters” explores the four basic periods of classical music...
Joel Schumacher, director of ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’ dies at 80
Joel Schumacher, the flamboyant journeyman director who dressed New York department store windows before shepherding the Brat Pack to the big screen in “St. Elmo’s Fire” and steering the Batman franchise into its most baroque territory in “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin,” has died. He was 80. A representative...
2021 Golden Globes move to Feb. 28, Oscars’ former slot
With the covid-19 pandemic upending Hollywood traditions, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. announced on Monday that next year’s Golden Globe Awards would be held on Feb. 28, 2021, the date originally slated for the 2021 Oscars. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will return to host for the fourth time at...
Darren Criss reveals songwriting chops and a goofier sideVideo
Great songs have been inspired by all kinds of things — like love, dreams and heartache. Now comes an unlikely one inspired by a hot dog. That’s the comedic premise of the first episode of Quibi’s new 12-part series “Royalties,” starring Darren Criss and Kether Donohue as an aspiring songwriter...
Petition wants to rename Columbus, Ohio to ‘Flavortown’ after native son Guy Fieri
After the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, announced last week that the city was removing the large statue of Christopher Columbus that stands in front of city hall, some want to do more and rename the city. How does Flavortown, Ohio, sound? More than 26,000 have signed a Change.org petition to...
Live Nation plans drive-in concert series in Tennessee, Missouri, IndianaVideo
Tour promoter Live Nation has announced its first-ever drive-in concerts series in the U.S. for July, months after the live music industry has been on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The entertainment company on Monday announced “Live from the Drive-In” — a set of nine shows to take place...
Cardinal Pell to publish prison diary musing on sex abuse case, church, sports
Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican finance minister who was convicted and then acquitted of sexual abuse in his native Australia, is set to publish his prison diary musing on life in solitary confinement, the Catholic Church, politics and sports. Catholic publisher Ignatius Press told The Associated Press the first...
Tom Petty’s family tells Trump to stop using ‘I Won’t Back Down’ on campaign
The family of late singer Tom Petty has told President Donald Trump to not use the song “I Won’t Back Down” on his campaign. After Trump used the song Saturday night at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the members of Petty’s family posted a statement to Twitter. “Trump was...
Playwright August Wilson to get Hollywood Walk of Fame star
August Wilson is going Hollywood, after a fashion. The famed playwright from Pittsburgh will be honored with a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles. Wilson was among the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s 2021 honorees announced last week. Also announced...
Kurt Cobain ‘MTV Unplugged’ guitar sells for sky-high $6 million
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Grunge became gold Saturday as the guitar Kurt Cobain played on Nirvana’s 1993 “MTV Unplugged” performance months before his death sold for an eye-popping $6 million at auction. The 1959 Martin D-18E that Cobain played in the band’s rare acoustic performance and subsequent live album was...
Comedian DL Hughley tests positive for covid-19 after fainting onstage
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Comedian D.L. Hughley announced he tested positive for covid-19 after collapsing onstage during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee. The stand-up comedian, 57, lost consciousness while performing at the Zanies comedy nightclub on Friday night and was hospitalized, news outlets reported. On Saturday, Hughley posted a video on...
Comedian Billy Gardell, WDVE’s Bill Crawford take crack at ‘dad jokes’Video
A wise man once said, “There’s a fine line between a numerator and a denominator.” That man was probably a dad, because that’s a classic example of the humor we love to hate — the dreaded dad joke. When does a joke become a dad joke? When it becomes apparent....
Beyoncé drops surprise single ‘Black Parade’ on JuneteenthVideo
LOS ANGELES — Beyoncé did not let Juneteenth pass without dropping one of her signature surprises — a new single called “Black Parade.” “I’m going back to the South, I’m going back where my roots ain’t watered down,” Beyoncé sings, opening the track. At several points on Friday’s release, the...
Hollywood evolves during pandemic with drive-in premiere
LOS ANGELES — Dave Franco says the drive-in premiere for his directorial debut was “perfect” but admittedly “a little weird.” The 35-year-old actor found himself at the center of Hollywood’s evolving response to the coronavirus pandemic Thursday as he premiered his directorial debut “The Rental” to more than 1,300 people...
Pittsburgh’s Liberty Magic to host Black Lives Matter episode
Magicians can make things disappear. If only they could eliminate racism. Some performers are going to work toward that goal during Liberty Magic @ Home at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a special Black Lives Matter episode. Philadelphia’s Eric Jones will host a live, virtual close-up event on the Pittsburgh Cultural...
‘Chariots of Fire,’ ‘Lord of the Rings’ actor Ian Holm dies
LONDON — Ian Holm, an acclaimed British actor whose long career included roles in “Chariots of Fire” and “The Lord of the Rings” has died. He was 88. Holm died peacefully Friday morning in a hospital, surrounded by his family and carer, his agent, Alex Irwin, said in a statement....
Review: Munhall native Gabby Barrett shines on debut album ‘Goldmine’Video
As the big day drew closer Thursday afternoon, Gabby Barrett felt a “roller coaster of emotion.” It’s understandable, those twists and turns of excitement and nervousness, along the tracks of happiness. The Munhall native and “American Idol” finalist was hours away from the June 19 release of “Goldmine,” her first...
Raven-Symoné posts wedding photos, ‘I love you’ to new wife
Raven-Symoné says she’s single no longer. “I got married to a woman who understands me from trigger to joy, from breakfast to midnight snack, from stage to home,” Raven-Symoné wrote in a post Thursday that included a photo of her embracing Miranda Maday. “I love you Mrs. Pearman-Maday!” wrote Raven-Symoné,...
Billie Eilish gets 3-year restraining order against trespasser
A judge has extended to three years a restraining order taken out by Billie Eilish against a man who repeatedly appeared at her Los Angeles home. In a hearing, Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman agreed to the extension of the May 11 order preventing 24-year-old Prenell Rousseau of Farmingville, N.Y.,...
