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Tag: television

  • What to stream this week: Taylor Swift, a new animated ‘Superman,’ ‘Biosphere’ and ‘Wham!’

    What to stream this week: Taylor Swift, a new animated ‘Superman,’ ‘Biosphere’ and ‘Wham!’

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    Taylor Swift’s rerecording of her “Speak Now” and survivalist Bear Grylls taking Bradley Cooper and Rita Ora into the wild are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are the sci-fi comedy ”Biosphere” starring Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass, and a new spin-off series starring Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan from “The Real Housewives of New York City.”

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass are the last two men on Earth in the not-too-distant-future sci-fi comedy ”Biosphere,” available in theaters and on demand on Friday, July 7 from IFC. John DeFore in The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it’s “a mysterious and hilarious pic that really can’t be discussed much without saying things a prospective viewer would be better off not hearing.” “Biosphere” is the directorial debut of Mel Elsyn, who co-wrote the script with Duplass.

    — If Paramount+ isn’t in your streaming bundle, “80 for Brady” will be available on Prime Video starting Tuesday. The movie, inspired by a true story, stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field as a quartet of best friends, and lifelong Patriots fans, who go to the super bowl to see Tom Brady play. Reviews weren’t great, but most singled out the legendary actors as reason enough to take a chance. Stephanie Zacherek, in Time, wrote it was “brassy, ridiculous and shameless” and also “irresistible,” while critic Katie Walsh singled out the “loose, absurdist” humor of the screenplay. Plus, it’s only 98 minutes.

    — Freddie (Park Ji-min) is a 25-year-old who was adopted as a child, raised in France and decides to return to South Korea, where she was born, for the first time in “Return to Seoul,” coming to Mubi on Friday, July 7. The critically acclaimed film, written and directed by Davy Chou, got a little lost in its theatrical run but made a handful of year-end best of lists. Richard Lawson, in Vanity Fair, wrote, “She’s a fascinating creation, prickly and mercurial and, for a spell, immoral. But Chou eventually rounds his film into something compassionate, a bittersweet collage of a young life in flux.”

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — Taylor Swift has given us a chance to travel back in time after she re-recorded her sophomore country album, “Speak Now,” her third do-over after “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).” “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” has 22 songs, including six that were written during the album’s original era, but not recorded until recently. Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s Hayley Williams are among the guest appearances. Swift wrote on social media: “Since ‘Speak Now’ was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album.”

    — If PJ Harvey’s new album sounds fresh and inspired that’s because the new songs came out in about three weeks and they were recorded spontaneously. “I Inside the Old Year Dying” is Harvey’s 10th studio album and first since 2016’s Grammy-nominated “The Hope Six Demolition Project.” The album is produced by long-time collaborators Flood and John Parish. Lead folkish single “A Child’s Question, August,” is filled with pastoral imagery, sparse instrumentation and the singer’s soprano.

    — Go to Netflix if you’re hoping to wake up before you go-go to celebrate a special pop duo in “Wham!” The 92-minute documentary about the musical pair — George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley — lands Wednesday and promises access to personal archives including never-before-seen footage, and previously unheard interviews. The doc, directed by Chris Smith, charts the duo’s four-year journey from teenage school friends to global superstars with hits like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Young Guns.” Michael died in 2016.

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    NEW SERIES TO STREAM

    — Part one of “The Lincoln Lawyer” season two drops Thursday on Netflix. If you haven’t watched the series based on the novels by Michael Connelly, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Mickey Haller. Haller is a well-known defense attorney in Los Angeles who has a keen ability to think outside the box in ways to help his clients. He’s also often chauffeured around town in a Lincoln while he does work from the back seat. Season one saw Haller return to law after several setbacks including addiction and a divorce. In season two, Haller is the It Lawyer in town. Season two is based on Connelly book’ “The Fifth Witness.”

    — David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan aren’t the only new Superman and Lois Lane in town. A new animated series, “My Adventures with Superman,” has Jack Quaid as the superhero’s voice along with Alice Lee as Lois Lane. Debuting Thursday on Adult Swim, the story follows Clark Kent as a reporter for the local paper in Metropolis who also happens to be a secret superhero.

    — Adventurist Bear Grylls has found more celebrities to take out of their comfort zone and be tested by the great outdoors. Watch Bradley Cooper venture out into the Wyoming Basin on a new season of “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge,” premiering Sunday, July 9. Other stars featured include Troy Kotsur, Grylls’ first deaf guest whom he takes to the Scottish Highlands, “Doctor Strange” and “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch, Tatiana Maslany of “She-Hulk,” recording artist Rita Ora, and Tony Award-winners Daveed Diggs and Cynthia Erivo.

    — Bravo is sending two of its most iconic Bravo-lebrities, Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan of “The Real Housewives of New York City,” and giving them the “Simple Life”-meets-“Schitt’s Creek” treatment in “Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake.” Normally accustomed to trips to the Hamptons or St. Tropez, the pair jet off to Benton, Illinois, where the population is less than 7,000. The socialites check into a motel and are requested by the mayor to boost Benton’s morale. De Lesseps and Morgan revitalize a local theater with a variety show and build a new program. They also take part in activities like searching a nearby lake for crappie fish with their bare hands or going mudding with monster trucks. The show premieres Sunday, July 9, on Bravo and episodes will stream the following day on Peacock.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

    — In 2004, the Japanese developer Nihon Falcom launched one of the most ambitious video game franchises in history with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Ten titles later, the drama of the war-torn land of Zemuria shows no signs of slowing down, and it has been finding a wider Western audience since NIS America took over the English translations in 2019. The latest chapter, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, is being pitched as the series’ midpoint, so it may be a good chance for newcomers to catch up and the story so far and brace themselves for the endgame. If you relish the turn-by-turn strategy and anime-influenced storytelling of old-school Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games, you can pick up the trail Friday, July 7, on PlayStation 5/4 and Nintendo Switch.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.

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  • Alan Arkin, Oscar-winning ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ actor, dies at 89

    Alan Arkin, Oscar-winning ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ actor, dies at 89

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    LOS ANGELES — Alan Arkin, the wry character actor who demonstrated his versatility in comedy and drama as he received four Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar in 2007 for “Little Miss Sunshine,” has died. He was 89.

    His sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony confirmed their father’s death through the actor’s publicist on Friday. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man,” they said in a statement.

    A member of Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe, Arkin was an immediate success in movies with the Cold War spoof “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” and peaked late in life with his win as best supporting actor for the surprise 2006 hit “Little Miss Sunshine.” More than 40 years separated his first Oscar nomination, for “The Russians are Coming,” from his nomination for playing a conniving Hollywood producer in the Oscar-winning “Argo.”

    In recent years he starred opposite Michael Douglas in the Netflix comedy series “The Kominsky Method,” a role that earned him two Emmy nominations.

    Arkin once joked to The Associated Press that the beauty of being a character actor was not having to take his clothes off for a role. He wasn’t a sex symbol or superstar, but was rarely out of work, appearing in more than 100 TV and feature films. His trademarks were likability, relatability and complete immersion in his roles, no matter how unusual, whether playing a Russian submarine officer in “The Russians are Coming” who struggles to communicate with the equally jittery Americans, or standing out as the foul-mouthed, drug-addicted grandfather in “Little Miss Sunshine.”

    “Alan’s never had an identifiable screen personality because he just disappears into his characters,” director Norman Jewison of “The Russians are Coming” once observed. “His accents are impeccable, and he’s even able to change his looks. … He’s always been underestimated, partly because he’s never been in service of his own success.”

    While still with Second City, Arkin was chosen by Carl Reiner to play the young protagonist in the 1963 Broadway play “Enter Laughing,” based on Reiner’s semi-autobiographical novel.

    He attracted strong reviews and the notice of Jewison, who was preparing to direct a 1966 comedy about a Russian sub that creates a panic when it ventures too close to a small New England town. In Arkin’s next major film, he proved he could also play a villain, however reluctantly. Arkin starred in “Wait Until Dark” as a vicious drug dealer who holds a blind woman (Audrey Hepburn) captive in her own apartment, believing a drug shipment is hidden there.

    He recalled in a 1998 interview how difficult it was to terrorize Hepburn’s character.

    “Just awful,” he said. “She was an exquisite lady, so being mean to her was hard.”

    1968’s “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” in which he played a sensitive man who could not hear or speak, again elevated Arkin’s status in Hollywood. He starred as the bumbling French detective in “Inspector Clouseau” that same year, but the film would become overlooked in favor of Peter Sellers’ Clouseau in the “Pink Panther” movies.

    Arkin’s career as a character actor continued to blossom when Mike Nichols, a fellow Second City alumnus, cast him in the starring role as Rossarian, the victim of wartime red tape in 1970’s “Catch-22,” based on Joseph Heller’s million-selling novel. Through the years, Arkin turned up in such favorites as “Edward Scissorhands,” playing Johnny Depp’s neighbor; and in the film version of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” as a dogged real estate salesman. He and Reiner played brothers, one successful (Reiner), one struggling (Arkin), in the 1998 film “The Slums of Beverly Hills.”

    “I used to think that my stuff had a lot of variety. But I realized that for the first twenty years or so, most of the characters I played were outsiders, strangers to their environment, foreigners in one way or another,” he told The Associated Press in 2007.

    “As I started to get more and more comfortable with myself, that started to shift. I got one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten from someone a few days ago. They said that they thought my characters were very often the heart, the moral center of a film. I didn’t particularly understand it, but I liked it; it made me happy.”

    Other recent credits included “Going in Style,” a 2017 remake featuring fellow Oscar winners Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, and “The Kominsky Method.” He played a Hollywood talent agent and friend of Douglas’ character, a once-promising actor who ran an acting school after his career sputtered.

    Arkin also directed the film version of Jules Feiffer’s 1971 dark comedy “Little Murders” and Neil Simon’s 1972 play about bickering old vaudeville partners, “The Sunshine Boys.” On television, Arkin appeared in the short-lived series “Fay” and “Harry” and played a night court judge in Sidney Lumet’s drama series “100 Centre Street” on A&E. He also wrote several books for children.

    Born in New York City’s borough of Brooklyn, he and his family, which included two younger brothers, moved to Los Angeles when he was 11. His parents found jobs as teachers, but were fired during the post-World War II Red Scare because they were Communists.

    “We were dirt poor so I couldn’t afford to go to the movies often,” he told the AP in 1998. “But I went whenever I could and focused in on movies, as they were more important than anything in my life.”

    He studied acting at Los Angeles City College; California State University, Los Angeles; and Bennington College in Vermont, where he earned a scholarship to the formerly all-girls school.

    He married a fellow student, Jeremy Yaffe, and they had two sons, Adam and Matthew.

    After he and Yaffe divorced in 1961, Arkin married actress-writer Barbara Dana, and they had a son, Anthony. All three sons became actors: Adam starred in the TV series “Chicago Hope.”

    “It was certainly nothing that I pushed them into,” Arkin said in 1998. “It made absolutely no difference to me what they did, as long as it allowed them to grow.”

    Arkin began his entertainment career as an organizer and singer with The Tarriers, a group that briefly rode the folk musical revival wave of the late 1950s. Later, he turned to stage acting, off-Broadway and always in dramatic roles.

    At Second City, he worked with Nichols, Elaine May, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara and others in creating intellectual, high-speed impromptu riffs the fads and follies of the day.

    “I never knew that I could be funny until I joined Second City,” he said.

    ___

    The late AP Entertainment writer Bob Thomas provided biographical material for this story.

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  • Fox News unveils primetime lineup with Jesse Watters in Tucker Carlson’s former time slot

    Fox News unveils primetime lineup with Jesse Watters in Tucker Carlson’s former time slot

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    Jesse Watters will host an opinion show in the time slot formerly occupied by Tucker Carlson

    FILE – Jesse Watters appears on Fox News “The Five” in New York on Oct. 10, 2019. Watters will host an opinion show in the time slot formerly occupied by Tucker Carlson, Fox News Channel announced Monday. He will remain a co-host on “The Five,” an evening roundtable discussion show that is hugely popular on the network. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

    The Associated Press

    Jesse Watters will host an opinion show in the time slot formerly occupied by Tucker Carlson, Fox News Channel announced Monday.

    Watters will remain a co-host on “The Five,” an evening roundtable discussion show that is hugely popular on the network.

    “Jesse Watters Primetime” will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern on July 17 as part of a revamped weekly nighttime lineup on Fox News. Laura Ingraham’s show will air at 7 p.m., with Sean Hannity’s popular program remaining at 9 p.m. Greg Gutfeld’s late-night show will move up to the 10 p.m. hour that was previously Ingraham’s time slot.

    Watters’ show previously aired at 7 p.m. Eastern.

    The announcement comes roughly two months after Fox News fired Carlson shortly after settling a defamation lawsuit with the voting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems on the eve of trial. The case, which centered on the network’s airing of false claims following the 2020 presidential election, exposed a trove of private messages sent between Fox hosts including Hannity and Carlson in which they criticized peers at the network.

    Carlson has since moved his show to Twitter, although Fox is attempting to get him to stop the broadcasts.

    “The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement.

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  • What to stream this week: ‘The Bachelorette,’ Idris Elba, The Weeknd, Sarah Snook and ‘Jack Ryan’

    What to stream this week: ‘The Bachelorette,’ Idris Elba, The Weeknd, Sarah Snook and ‘Jack Ryan’

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    John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” a new album from Lucinda Williams and the debut of the mystery video game Crime O’Clock are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are Idris Elba on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+ and a horror movie starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life.

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — The film adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic coming-of-age novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” will be available on video on demand starting Tuesday — perfect for summer sleepovers or mother-daughter movie nights at home. Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”), Abby Ryder Fortson plays the 11-year-old narrator who is navigating a move to the suburbs, new friends, puberty, periods, first crushes and her faith. It is sweet, playful and reverential to its source material, which is hardly a requirement for enjoying the film. Like the book, it’s set in the early 1970s, because Blume did not want the characters to be texting. Rachel McAdams is also a standout as Margaret’s mother. It could make for a great double feature with the documentary “Judy Blume Forever,” which is available on Prime Video.

    — Netflix also has a new film perfect for the tween set in the animated “Nimona,” inspired by ND Stevenson’s graphic novel about a shapeshifting girl. Chloë Grace Moretz voices Nimona, a rebellious outsider with riot-grrrrl energy who lives in the shadows of a futuristic kingdom with medieval touches. She teams up with a disgraced knight, Ballister (Riz Ahmed), who is on the run after being accused of killing the queen. The film is vibrant and clever, with a fun soundtrack and LGBTQ+ themes that aren’t clumsily handled. “Nimona” starts streaming on Friday, June 30.

    — Also arriving on Netflix on Wednesday is “Run Rabbit Run,” a horror starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life. As if Shiv isn’t enough of a sell, Snook also gets to use her native Australian accent.

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — Fans of The Weeknd get a new album, thanks to the TV show “The Idol.” He plays a scheming Svengali in the Sam Levinson-directed HBO series, which has produced the awesome “Popular” with Playboi Carti and Madonna. “The Idol, Vol. 1” includes contributions from Suzanna Son, Moses Sumney, Mike Dean, Ramsey, Jennie Kim and Lily Rose-Depp, who fills the role of pop phenom Jocelyn and sings “World Class Sinner/I’m a Freak.” Still need a reason? Check out “Double Fantasy” featuring Future — and you’ll be hooked, even if, as The Weeknd sings, it’s wrong.

    — Counting Lucinda Williams out is a foolhardy option — always, but especially this week. The country star is back with “Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart,” despite suffering a stroke in 2021 that partially impaired some of her motor skills and took away her ability to play guitar. On the album, Williams pays tribute to rock legends Tom Petty (“Stolen Moments”) and Replacements’ co-founder Bob Stinson (“Hum’s Liquor”), to whom she dedicates the album. The single “New York Comeback” has Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen on backing vocals.

    — Charlie Watts is celebrated in a posthumous album of jazz recordings by the Rolling Stones drummer. “Anthology” spans 20 years of songs, including a live version of “Swindon Swing” from 1978, “Take the ‘A’ Train” from 2001 and ”Lover Man” live in Birmingham in 1991. Some of the collaborators are double-bassist Dave Green and saxophonists Peter King, Evan Parker and Courtney Pine, trumpeter Gerard Presencer, fellow drummer Jim Keltner and vocalist and Rolling Stones live band member Bernard Fowler. The set features liner notes by music journalist and broadcaster Paul Sexton.

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    NEW SERIES TO STREAM

    — Charity Lawson has 25 guys vying for her attention in the 20th season of the reality dating show, “The Bachelorette.” The 27-year-old therapist from Georgia was featured on the last season of “The Bachelor” when Zach Shallcross was handing out roses. Shallcross sent Lawson home in week eight when he visited the ladies’ hometowns and met their families, saying the feelings weren’t there. “The Bachelorette” returns Monday.

    — Idris Elba is stuck on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+. Elba plays Sam, a corporate negotiator whose flight from Dubai to London gets hijacked. Sam tries to employ his negotiating skills to defuse the situation on the seven-hour flight, so the passengers and crew make it home safely. The seven-episode series debuts Wednesday with two episodes. The remaining episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays. “Hijack” also co-stars Archie Panjabi.

    — John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” returning to Prime Video on Friday, June 30. The eight-episode season features Jack back in Washington, D.C. (for part of the time) and the return of Abbie Cornish as his love interest Cathy. Michael Peña also joins season four as well-known Clancy character Domingo “Ding” Chavez, a CIA special operative. Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly and Betty Gabriel also return.

    — A fun family show premiering Friday, June 30 on Netflix is “Is it Cake, Too?” based on the popular internet meme. The premise is simple: people guess whether very real-looking random objects like a handbag, a sewing machine and even a toilet are cake. Ten very talented baker artists compete for a cash prize. Guest judges include Joel McHale, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chloe Fineman, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Dixie and Charli D’Amelio.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

    — It’s a good week for gamers who crave a little mystery on their menu. Crime O’Clock, from French publisher Just for Games, takes on a centuries-spanning conspiracy in a sprawling European city. Your job is to study detailed black-and-white maps from five different eras, searching for anomalies as you try to seal up cracks in the space-time continuum. It’s like a time-traveling version of “Where’s Waldo?” in which your actions in one time zone may help you crack cases in the others. The mystery unfolds Friday, June 30, on Nintendo Switch and PC.

    — Also coming Friday is Capcom’s high-resolution remake of the 2011 cult classic Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. The protagonist is a freshly deceased man trying to figure out how he was killed and whodunit. The ghost can only possess a few objects in the land of the living, so he needs to carefully manipulate them to unearth clues and warn other potential victims. It’s a very clever puzzle, and the remake will be available on Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.

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  • What to stream this week: ‘The Bachelorette,’ Idris Elba, The Weeknd, Sarah Snook and ‘Jack Ryan’

    What to stream this week: ‘The Bachelorette,’ Idris Elba, The Weeknd, Sarah Snook and ‘Jack Ryan’

    [ad_1]

    John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” a new album from Lucinda Williams and the debut of the mystery video game Crime O’Clock are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are Idris Elba on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+ and a horror movie starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life.

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — The film adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic coming-of-age novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” will be available on video on demand starting Tuesday — perfect for summer sleepovers or mother-daughter movie nights at home. Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”), Abby Ryder Fortson plays the 11-year-old narrator who is navigating a move to the suburbs, new friends, puberty, periods, first crushes and her faith. It is sweet, playful and reverential to its source material, which is hardly a requirement for enjoying the film. Like the book, it’s set in the early 1970s, because Blume did not want the characters to be texting. Rachel McAdams is also a standout as Margaret’s mother. It could make for a great double feature with the documentary “Judy Blume Forever,” which is available on Prime Video.

    — Netflix also has a new film perfect for the tween set in the animated “Nimona,” inspired by ND Stevenson’s graphic novel about a shapeshifting girl. Chloë Grace Moretz voices Nimona, a rebellious outsider with riot-grrrrl energy who lives in the shadows of a futuristic kingdom with medieval touches. She teams up with a disgraced knight, Ballister (Riz Ahmed), who is on the run after being accused of killing the queen. The film is vibrant and clever, with a fun soundtrack and LGBTQ+ themes that aren’t clumsily handled. “Nimona” starts streaming on Friday, June 30.

    — Also arriving on Netflix on Wednesday is “Run Rabbit Run,” a horror starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life. As if Shiv isn’t enough of a sell, Snook also gets to use her native Australian accent.

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — Fans of The Weeknd get a new album, thanks to the TV show “The Idol.” He plays a scheming Svengali in the Sam Levinson-directed HBO series, which has produced the awesome “Popular” with Playboi Carti and Madonna. “The Idol, Vol. 1” includes contributions from Suzanna Son, Moses Sumney, Mike Dean, Ramsey, Jennie Kim and Lily Rose-Depp, who fills the role of pop phenom Jocelyn and sings “World Class Sinner/I’m a Freak.” Still need a reason? Check out “Double Fantasy” featuring Future — and you’ll be hooked, even if, as The Weeknd sings, it’s wrong.

    — Counting Lucinda Williams out is a foolhardy option — always, but especially this week. The country star is back with “Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart,” despite suffering a stroke in 2021 that partially impaired some of her motor skills and took away her ability to play guitar. On the album, Williams pays tribute to rock legends Tom Petty (“Stolen Moments”) and Replacements’ co-founder Bob Stinson (“Hum’s Liquor”), to whom she dedicates the album. The single “New York Comeback” has Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen on backing vocals.

    — Charlie Watts is celebrated in a posthumous album of jazz recordings by the Rolling Stones drummer. “Anthology” spans 20 years of songs, including a live version of “Swindon Swing” from 1978, “Take the ‘A’ Train” from 2001 and ”Lover Man” live in Birmingham in 1991. Some of the collaborators are double-bassist Dave Green and saxophonists Peter King, Evan Parker and Courtney Pine, trumpeter Gerard Presencer, fellow drummer Jim Keltner and vocalist and Rolling Stones live band member Bernard Fowler. The set features liner notes by music journalist and broadcaster Paul Sexton.

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    NEW SERIES TO STREAM

    — Charity Lawson has 25 guys vying for her attention in the 20th season of the reality dating show, “The Bachelorette.” The 27-year-old therapist from Georgia was featured on the last season of “The Bachelor” when Zach Shallcross was handing out roses. Shallcross sent Lawson home in week eight when he visited the ladies’ hometowns and met their families, saying the feelings weren’t there. “The Bachelorette” returns Monday.

    — Idris Elba is stuck on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+. Elba plays Sam, a corporate negotiator whose flight from Dubai to London gets hijacked. Sam tries to employ his negotiating skills to defuse the situation on the seven-hour flight, so the passengers and crew make it home safely. The seven-episode series debuts Wednesday with two episodes. The remaining episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays. “Hijack” also co-stars Archie Panjabi.

    — John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” returning to Prime Video on Friday, June 30. The eight-episode season features Jack back in Washington, D.C. (for part of the time) and the return of Abbie Cornish as his love interest Cathy. Michael Peña also joins season four as well-known Clancy character Domingo “Ding” Chavez, a CIA special operative. Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly and Betty Gabriel also return.

    — A fun family show premiering Friday, June 30 on Netflix is “Is it Cake, Too?” based on the popular internet meme. The premise is simple: people guess whether very real-looking random objects like a handbag, a sewing machine and even a toilet are cake. Ten very talented baker artists compete for a cash prize. Guest judges include Joel McHale, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chloe Fineman, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Dixie and Charli D’Amelio.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

    — It’s a good week for gamers who crave a little mystery on their menu. Crime O’Clock, from French publisher Just for Games, takes on a centuries-spanning conspiracy in a sprawling European city. Your job is to study detailed black-and-white maps from five different eras, searching for anomalies as you try to seal up cracks in the space-time continuum. It’s like a time-traveling version of “Where’s Waldo?” in which your actions in one time zone may help you crack cases in the others. The mystery unfolds Friday, June 30, on Nintendo Switch and PC.

    — Also coming Friday is Capcom’s high-resolution remake of the 2011 cult classic Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. The protagonist is a freshly deceased man trying to figure out how he was killed and whodunit. The ghost can only possess a few objects in the land of the living, so he needs to carefully manipulate them to unearth clues and warn other potential victims. It’s a very clever puzzle, and the remake will be available on Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.

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  • What to stream this week: ‘The Bachelorette,’ Idris Elba, The Weeknd, Sarah Snook and ‘Jack Ryan’

    What to stream this week: ‘The Bachelorette,’ Idris Elba, The Weeknd, Sarah Snook and ‘Jack Ryan’

    [ad_1]

    John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” a new album from Lucinda Williams and the debut of the mystery video game Crime O’Clock are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are Idris Elba on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+ and a horror movie starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life.

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — The film adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic coming-of-age novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” will be available on video on demand starting Tuesday — perfect for summer sleepovers or mother-daughter movie nights at home. Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”), Abby Ryder Fortson plays the 11-year-old narrator who is navigating a move to the suburbs, new friends, puberty, periods, first crushes and her faith. It is sweet, playful and reverential to its source material, which is hardly a requirement for enjoying the film. Like the book, it’s set in the early 1970s, because Blume did not want the characters to be texting. Rachel McAdams is also a standout as Margaret’s mother. It could make for a great double feature with the documentary “Judy Blume Forever,” which is available on Prime Video.

    — Netflix also has a new film perfect for the tween set in the animated “Nimona,” inspired by ND Stevenson’s graphic novel about a shapeshifting girl. Chloë Grace Moretz voices Nimona, a rebellious outsider with riot-grrrrl energy who lives in the shadows of a futuristic kingdom with medieval touches. She teams up with a disgraced knight, Ballister (Riz Ahmed), who is on the run after being accused of killing the queen. The film is vibrant and clever, with a fun soundtrack and LGBTQ+ themes that aren’t clumsily handled. “Nimona” starts streaming on Friday, June 30.

    — Also arriving on Netflix on Wednesday is “Run Rabbit Run,” a horror starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life. As if Shiv isn’t enough of a sell, Snook also gets to use her native Australian accent.

    — AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — Fans of The Weeknd get a new album, thanks to the TV show “The Idol.” He plays a scheming Svengali in the Sam Levinson-directed HBO series, which has produced the awesome “Popular” with Playboi Carti and Madonna. “The Idol, Vol. 1” includes contributions from Suzanna Son, Moses Sumney, Mike Dean, Ramsey, Jennie Kim and Lily Rose-Depp, who fills the role of pop phenom Jocelyn and sings “World Class Sinner/I’m a Freak.” Still need a reason? Check out “Double Fantasy” featuring Future — and you’ll be hooked, even if, as The Weeknd sings, it’s wrong.

    — Counting Lucinda Williams out is a foolhardy option — always, but especially this week. The country star is back with “Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart,” despite suffering a stroke in 2021 that partially impaired some of her motor skills and took away her ability to play guitar. On the album, Williams pays tribute to rock legends Tom Petty (“Stolen Moments”) and Replacements’ co-founder Bob Stinson (“Hum’s Liquor”), to whom she dedicates the album. The single “New York Comeback” has Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen on backing vocals.

    — Charlie Watts is celebrated in a posthumous album of jazz recordings by the Rolling Stones drummer. “Anthology” spans 20 years of songs, including a live version of “Swindon Swing” from 1978, “Take the ‘A’ Train” from 2001 and ”Lover Man” live in Birmingham in 1991. Some of the collaborators are double-bassist Dave Green and saxophonists Peter King, Evan Parker and Courtney Pine, trumpeter Gerard Presencer, fellow drummer Jim Keltner and vocalist and Rolling Stones live band member Bernard Fowler. The set features liner notes by music journalist and broadcaster Paul Sexton.

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    NEW SERIES TO STREAM

    — Charity Lawson has 25 guys vying for her attention in the 20th season of the reality dating show, “The Bachelorette.” The 27-year-old therapist from Georgia was featured on the last season of “The Bachelor” when Zach Shallcross was handing out roses. Shallcross sent Lawson home in week eight when he visited the ladies’ hometowns and met their families, saying the feelings weren’t there. “The Bachelorette” returns Monday.

    — Idris Elba is stuck on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+. Elba plays Sam, a corporate negotiator whose flight from Dubai to London gets hijacked. Sam tries to employ his negotiating skills to defuse the situation on the seven-hour flight, so the passengers and crew make it home safely. The seven-episode series debuts Wednesday with two episodes. The remaining episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays. “Hijack” also co-stars Archie Panjabi.

    — John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” returning to Prime Video on Friday, June 30. The eight-episode season features Jack back in Washington, D.C. (for part of the time) and the return of Abbie Cornish as his love interest Cathy. Michael Peña also joins season four as well-known Clancy character Domingo “Ding” Chavez, a CIA special operative. Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly and Betty Gabriel also return.

    — A fun family show premiering Friday, June 30 on Netflix is “Is it Cake, Too?” based on the popular internet meme. The premise is simple: people guess whether very real-looking random objects like a handbag, a sewing machine and even a toilet are cake. Ten very talented baker artists compete for a cash prize. Guest judges include Joel McHale, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chloe Fineman, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Dixie and Charli D’Amelio.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

    — It’s a good week for gamers who crave a little mystery on their menu. Crime O’Clock, from French publisher Just for Games, takes on a centuries-spanning conspiracy in a sprawling European city. Your job is to study detailed black-and-white maps from five different eras, searching for anomalies as you try to seal up cracks in the space-time continuum. It’s like a time-traveling version of “Where’s Waldo?” in which your actions in one time zone may help you crack cases in the others. The mystery unfolds Friday, June 30, on Nintendo Switch and PC.

    — Also coming Friday is Capcom’s high-resolution remake of the 2011 cult classic Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. The protagonist is a freshly deceased man trying to figure out how he was killed and whodunit. The ghost can only possess a few objects in the land of the living, so he needs to carefully manipulate them to unearth clues and warn other potential victims. It’s a very clever puzzle, and the remake will be available on Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.

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  • Billy Crystal and Queen Latifah headline this year’s class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients

    Billy Crystal and Queen Latifah headline this year’s class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients

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    WASHINGTON — You know you’ve made a cultural impact when Henry Kissinger quotes your own joke back to you. That’s what happened to Billy Crystal, one of five iconic artists selected for this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.

    The others selected for the lifetime artistic achievement award are rapper and actor Queen Latifah, opera singer Renee Fleming, 1970s music icon Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick. All will be honored with the traditional gala celebration at Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 3.

    Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter called this year’s crop of inductees “an extraordinary mix of individuals who have redefined their art forms.”

    Crystal, 75, came to national prominence in the 1970s playing Jodie Dallas, one of the first openly gay characters on American network television, on the sitcom “Soap.” He went on to a brief but memorable one-year stint on “Saturday Night Live” before starring in a string of movies, including massive hits like “When Harry Met Sally… ,” “The Princess Bride” and “City Slickers.”

    But the character he says seems to most resonate with fans is “SNL” talk show host Fernando Lamas.

    “After all these years, I still get ‘You look marvelous’ the most,” Crystal told The Associated Press, citing the character’s catchphrase. “I sat next to Henry Kissinger on a plane one time, and even he said it to me.”

    Crystal, who also received the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in comedy in 2007, joins an elite group of comedians to earn both the Twain prize and the Kennedy Center Honor: David Letterman, Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett and Neil Simon. Bill Cosby also received both honors, but they were rescinded in 2018 following his sexual assault conviction, which later was overturned.

    Warwick shot to stardom in the 1960s as the muse for the superstar songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. She said her pride at receiving the honor will be mixed with “a bit of sadness because Burt and Hal won’t be there.” Bacharach died in February, and David died in 2012.

    Warwick’s discography includes a multidecade string of hits, both with and without Bacharach, that includes “I Say a Little Prayer,” “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” and “That’s What Friends Are For.”

    At age 82, Warwick also cheerfully disregards a bit of Kennedy Center tradition: acting humble and shocked at receiving the honor. In an interview with the AP, Warwick said she absolutely deserved it and had wondered at times what was taking so long.

    “As my son said the other day, ‘Congratulations, and it’s about time,’” Warwick said. “I told him everything happens when it’s supposed to happen.”

    Fleming, 64, is one of the prominent sopranos of her generation, with a string of accolades that includes a National Medal of Arts bestowed by then-President Barack Obama, a Cross of the Order of Merit from the German government and honorary membership in England’s Royal Academy of Music. Kennedy Center Honors recipients receive personalized tributes and performances from their peers, and Fleming has performed at previous ceremonies honoring jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter and pianist Van Cliburn.

    “There’s nothing else like this in the U.S.,” she said of the Kennedy Center Honor. “I really was hoping one day to get one.”

    Fleming is also part of an obscure bit of Kennedy Center Honors trivia, having performed along with fellow 2023 honoree Queen Latifah at the 2014 Super Bowl. Fleming sang the national anthem while Latifah performed “America the Beautiful.”

    Latifah has been a star since age 19 when her debut album and hit single “Ladies First” made her the first female crossover rap star. She has gone on to a diverse career that has included seven studio albums, starring roles in multiple television shows and movies and an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for her role in the musical film “Chicago.”

    She also became an iconic presence for gay women of color, despite refusing to publicly comment on her sexuality or personal life for decades. But in 2021, while accepting a lifetime achievement award at the BET Awards, she acknowledged her partner, Eboni Nichols, and their son, Rebel, and ended her speech with the declaration, “Happy Pride!”

    Latifah, 53, received the news of her honor while on the set of her TV show “The Equalizer” and said she appreciates the Kennedy Center’s efforts to embrace hip-hop. The cultural center has established its own division of hip-hop culture and made LL Cool J a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2017.

    “It’s important because hip-hop is a uniquely American artform,” she said, “just like jazz, just like blues, just like rock and roll.”

    Gibb, 76, shot to global fame as part of one of the most successful bands in the history of modern music: the Bee Gees. Along with his late brothers Robin and Maurice, the trio launched a nearly unmatched string of hits that defined a generation of music.

    “I’ve thought about it from time to time,” Gibb said of the Kennedy Center Honor. “But it would have been arrogance to expect it. … I do wish my brothers were here for this, too.”

    Somewhat obscured at the time by the hairy chests and falsettos of their disco peak was the enduring brilliance of Gibb’s songwriting. He said he’s deeply gratified to find his songs living on in multiple covers by modern artists including Alison Krauss, Keith Urban and Jason Isbell.

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  • Hollywood writers at rally say they’ll win as strike reaches 50 days

    Hollywood writers at rally say they’ll win as strike reaches 50 days

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    Fifty days into a strike, and about 1,000 Hollywood writers and their supporters have marched across Los Angeles for a new contract with studios that includes payment guarantees and job security

    ByKRYSTA FAURIA and ANDREW DALTON Associated Press

    FILE -Picketers pass near a studio entrance during a Writers Guild rally outside Warner Bros. Studios, Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. As a strike drags on, about 1,000 Hollywood writers and their supporters have marched and rallied in Los Angeles for a new contract with studios that includes the payment guarantees and job security they say they deserve. Speakers at Wednesday’s event on June 21, emphasized the solidarity the Writers Guild of America has received from other unions. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

    The Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES — Fifty days into a strike with no end in sight, about 1,000 Hollywood writers and their supporters marched and rallied in Los Angeles for a new contract with studios that includes payment guarantees and job security.

    Speakers at the Writers Guild of America’s WGA Strong March and Rally for a Fair Contract on Wednesday emphasized the broad support for their cause shown by other Hollywood unions — including actors in their own contract negotiations — and labor at large.

    “We’re all in it together, we’re all fighting the same fight, for a sustainable job in the face of corporate greed,” Adam Conover, a writer and a member of the guild’s board and its negotiating committee, told a crowd at the end of the march at the La Brea Tar Pits. “We are going to win because they need us. Writers are the ones who stare at a blank page. We are the ones who invent the characters, tell the stories and write the jokes that their audiences love. They’d have nothing without us.”

    Talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group representing studios in negotiations, have not resumed since breaking off hours before the writers’ contract expired on May 1. The strike began a day later, with more and more productions shutting down as it has gone on.

    A similar deadline now looms for actors, whose union, SAG-AFTRA, is negotiating with the AMPTP on a contract that expires June 30. Members voted overwhelmingly to authorize guild leaders to call a strike if no deal is reached.

    Streaming and its ripple effects are at the center of the dispute. The guild says that even as series budgets have increased, writers’ share of that money has consistently shrunk.

    The AMPTP says writers’ demands would require they be kept on staff and paid when there is no work for them, and that its contract proposals have been generous.

    “We are here for the sake of the profession we love,” writer Liz Alper said at Wednesday’s rally. “The industry we work in, our audiences, our fellow sister unions in Hollywood, and all the workers across America who have been hurt and disenfranchised by Wall Street and big tech.”

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  • New On Netflix: The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming (and Leaving) in July 2023

    New On Netflix: The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming (and Leaving) in July 2023

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    Season 5 of Netflix’s hit dating show Too Hot To Handle returns to the streaming platform with a new crop of flirty singles getting a chance to win a $200,000 prize—if they can keep their hands off each other. 

    The full list of what’s coming to Netflix in July:

    Coming Soon

    The Dragon Prince: Season 5 (NETFIX FAMILY)

    Dream (NETFLIX FILM)

    Kohrra (NETFLIX SERIES)

    The Murderer (NETFLIX FILM)

    July 1

    The Days (NETFLIX SERIES) 

    Bridesmaids

    The Huntsman: Winter’s War

    Jumanji (1995)

    The Karate Kid (2010)

    The Karate Kid (1984)

    The Karate Kid Part II

    The Karate Kid Part III

    Kick-Ass

    Liar Liar

    ONE PIECE: Thriller Bark

    ONE PIECE: TV Original 2

    Pride & Prejudice (2005)

    Prom Night

    Ray

    Rush Hour

    Rush Hour 2

    Rush Hour 3

    Snow White & the Huntsman

    The Squid and the Whale

    Star Trek

    Star Trek Into Darkness

    The Sweetest Thing

    Titanic

    Uncle Buck

    Warm Bodies

    July 3

    Little Angel: Volume 3

    Unknown: The Lost Pyramid (NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY)

    July 4

    The King Who Never Was (NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY)

    Tom Segura: Sledgehammer (NETFLIX COMEDY)

    July 5

    Back to 15: Season 2 (NETFLIX SERIES) 

    My Happy Marriage (NETFLIX ANIME)

    WHAM! (NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY)

    July 6

    Deep Fake Love (NETFLIX SERIES)

    Gold Brick (NETFLIX FILM) 

    The Lincoln Lawyer: Season 2 Part 1 (NETFLIX SERIES)

    Wake Up, Carlo! (NETFLIX FAMILY) 

    July 7

    Fatal Seduction (NETFLIX SERIES) 

    Hack My Home (NETFLIX SERIES) 

    The Out-Laws (NETFLIX FILM) 

    Seasons (NETFLIX FILM) 

    July 10 

    Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

    StoryBots: Answer Time: Season 2 (NETFLIX FAMILY)

    Unknown: Killer Robots (NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY) 

    July 11 

    Nineteen to Twenty (NETFLIX SERIES)

    July 12

    Mr. Car and the Knights Templar (NETFLIX FILM)

    Quarterback (NETFLIX SERIES)

    Record of Ragnarok: Season 2: Episodes 11-15 (NETFLIX ANIME)

    Sugar Rush: The Baking Point (NETFLIX SERIES)

    July 13

    Burn the House Down (NETFLIX SERIES)

    Devil’s Advocate (NETFLIX SERIES) 

    Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

    Sonic Prime: Season 2 (NETFLIX FAMILY) 

    Survival of the Thickest 

    July 14

    The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem: Season 2 (NETFLIX SERIES).

    Bird Box Barcelona (NETFLIX FILM) 

    Five Star Chef (NETFLIX SERIES) 

    Love Tactics 2 (NETFLIX FILM) 

    Too Hot to Handle: Season 5 

    July 15 

    Country Queen (NETFLIX SERIES) 

    Morphle 3D: Season 1

    My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale: Season 1

    July 16 

    Ride Along

    July 17

    Unknown: Cave of Bones (NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY)

    July 19

    The (Almost) Legends (NETFLIX FILM) 

    The Deepest Breath (NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY) 

    July 20

    Supa Team 4 (NETFLIX FAMILY)

    Sweet Magnolias: Season 3 (NETFLIX SERIES)

    July 21

    Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

    They Cloned Tyrone (NETFLIX FILM)

    July 24

    Big Eyes

    Dew Drop Diaries (NETFLIX FAMILY)

    Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine (NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY) 

    July 25 

    Mark Normand: Soup to Nuts (NETFLIX COMEDY)

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  • Television veteran Geraldo Rivera says he’s quitting Fox News’ political combat show ‘The Five’

    Television veteran Geraldo Rivera says he’s quitting Fox News’ political combat show ‘The Five’

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    NEW YORK — Geraldo Rivera has quit as one of the lonely liberal voices on Fox News’ popular political combat show “The Five,” saying Wednesday that “a growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences” made it no longer worth it to him.

    The last scheduled appearance on “The Five” for the television veteran, whose 80th birthday is on July 4, is next week.

    “It has been a rocky ride but it has also been an exhilarating adventure that spanned quite a few years,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I hope it’s not my last adventure.”

    Rivera said that it was his choice to leave “The Five,” but that Fox management “didn’t race after me to say, ‘Geraldo, please come back.’” There was no immediate comment from Fox.

    Despite airing in the late afternoon instead of prime time, “The Five” has become Fox’s most-watched program, with an average of more than 3 million viewers last year. Its conceit is simple — five people, four of them conservative and one liberal — kick around the issues of the day.

    Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino and Jeanine Pirro are the regular conservatives. Rivera has rotated as the liberal voice with Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., a former congressman from Tennessee.

    Rivera said he planned to remain as a “correspondent at large” at Fox, with a contract that expires in January 2025.

    He said he’d been suspended a handful of times, most recently in early May. He had tweeted shortly after Fox fired Tucker Carlson on April 24 that he found Carlson’s theories about the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to be “bullshit,” leading Gutfeld to respond via tweet, “You’re a class act Geraldo, a real man of the people.” Carlson had downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, calling people who invaded the Capitol “sightseers.”

    Rivera and Gutfeld had a handful of particularly contentious exchanges. In late April, Rivera told him “stop pointing at me” when they argued over electric vehicles. He called Gutfeld “an arrogant punk” on the air last year during a fight about abortion.

    Rivera would not comment directly about Gutfeld.

    “There has been a growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences and personal annoyances and gripes,” he said. “It’s not worth it to me.”

    Rivera, once a friend of Donald Trump who split with him over the former president’s false claims of winning the 2020 election, said that “under no circumstances do I think Donald Trump should be president of the United States again and that’s an important message I am committed to bringing to the American people between now and November 2024.”

    Although “The Five” and its large viewership would seem a prominent place for him to deliver that message, he said “you can imagine the friction that role by definition” would provoke.

    “I’m 80 years old,” he said. “I don’t want the friction. ‘The Five’ is too intimate a place and it gets too personal.”

    The argument over electric vehicles illustrated the challenge faced the liberal voice on “The Five.” As he talked, onscreen chyrons below him read “Biden pushing pricey electric cars on Americans” and “Americans not buying Biden’s EV hype.”

    Rivera had a colorful syndicated talk show that aired from 1987 to 1998, and hosted an evening news and interview show at CNBC in the late 1990s. He was brought to Fox shortly by then-chairman Roger Ailes after the September 2001 to be a war correspondent at first and has remained. On Wednesday he expressed some regret, in retrospect, for not leaving the network after the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011.

    He said his relationship with his colleagues on “The Five” is “a reflection of what the country is going through. … It’s not an easy job if you take it as personally as I do.”

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  • Why So Many TV Shows Have Viral Dance Numbers

    Why So Many TV Shows Have Viral Dance Numbers

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    On Netflix, Wednesday went goth with The Cramps’ “Goo Goo Muck” and Umbrella Academy got loose with Kenny Loggins’s “Footloose.”

    Hulu’s The Great rocked out with AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” while Reservation Dogs celebrated ’90s R&B with Brandy’s “Sittin’ Up In My Room.”

    Also: Pete Davidson spotlighted Jimmy Soul’s “If You Wanna Be Happy” on his semi-autobiographical Peacock series, Bupkis; Prime Video’s comic book series The Boys went old-school Hollywood musical with George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm”; and Showtime’s Yellowjackets brought in avant-garde theater legend John Cameron Mitchell for its own bird-brained idea. And though these scenes might be scripted to look like they come out of nowhere, a more premeditated moment in the season finale of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso saw football team AFC Richmond channeling The Sound of Music to say “so long, farewell.”

    In this post-needle-drop, anything-can-go-viral world of prestige TV, it’s great to have good acting, writing, and directing. But sometimes it’s even better to have a good beat you can dance to. The Great star Elle Fanning says there’s power to the medium of dance because it “can describe things and convey emotions that we all feel…especially when it’s wild and free.” Fanning, who has a background in ballet, worked with choreographer Polly Bennett to give her character, Catherine the Great, the cathartic release she needs after a particularly trying 10 episodes that include the death of her husband, Peter (Nicholas Hoult).

    “It’s almost like an exorcism out of her body because she’s put up with so much this season,” Fanning says.

    Make Your Own Kind of Music

    Jason Orley, who directed all but two episodes of Davidson’s Bupkis, says that show was always going to find ways to celebrate music simply because “Pete is obsessed with music.” In collaborating with the comedian and series showrunner/co-creator Judah Miller, they wanted “this undercurrent of joy” to thread through a series that is otherwise about heavy topics like depression and death. (The series was originally meant to open with the song “Maybe” from the musical Annie, and the first episode includes costar Joe Pesci playing The Drifters’ “This Magic Moment,” a scene that grew out of an unscripted jam session).

    In the sixth episode, “ISO,” which Orley cowrote with Davidson and Miller and features the Jimmy Soul dance, the character is lonely because he’s away from his family for the winter holidays. After scoring some drugs from teens working at a local bowling alley, he feels momentary relief. A spotlight shines on him in an otherwise dark set and the dancing starts.

    Orley says it was Davidson’s idea for the number, which came together in a mere 45 minutes after a long day of filming; otherwise, the scene felt too sad and the character’s motivation for the drugs is that he wants them so that he doesn’t feel sad. Though they recorded the dance to Irving Berlin’s “Putting on the Ritz,” Orley says it was changed in post to “If You Wanna Be Happy” because the latter song starts with lots of enthusiastic clapping and a “chorus of people talking,” so that it felt like the character wasn’t alone.

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    Whitney Friedlander

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  • Jane Krakowski’s Bells and Whistles

    Jane Krakowski’s Bells and Whistles

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    Jane Krakowski has never been in a Broadway production of Chicago, as much as Broadway fans may wish for it. And yet, her flashy number in this season of Schmigadoon!, inspired by the seedy, fishnet world created by Bob Fosse, John Kander, and Fred Ebb, was a bit of a full-circle moment. “Those were the musicals—when I was, eight, nine years old and coming to see every Broadway show with my parents, dreaming of possibly doing that at some point—that influenced me so much,” Krakowski says of the gritty 1960s and ’70s musicals lovingly parodied in this season of the Apple TV+ series.

    She remembers sitting wide-eyed and mesmerized at the original 1975 production of Chicago starring Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon, but it wasn’t until the 1996 Encores! revival at City Center that she put it all together. “I realized that those were the women that influenced me,” she says. “All of those shows where women were sexy and used dance as their vocabulary and weren’t ingenues. Women singing alto roles and using their sexuality intelligently to get what they wanted, on their own two feet—or in their own two character shoes—that was the first time I felt there were women more like me who could be leads in musicals.”

    This season of the wonderfully silly Schmigadoon!, called Schmicago, gave Krakowski a unique, clever entry point into the razzle-dazzle. While the first season parodied hokey Golden Age musicals like Oklahoma! and The Music Man and saw her in a small but memorable role as an evil baroness, the series’ return set its sights on the later decades’ darker, sexier shows—think Cabaret and Sweet Charity in addition to Chicago. She wouldn’t be taking on either of Chicago’s scintillating sinners, Roxie or Velma, but rather the musical’s sleazy lawyer, now gender-swapped and renamed Bobbie Flanagan. Armed with the one-liners and double entendres the actor knows how to triple-sell, Krakowski gets the season’s flashiest number: an all-out courtroom aria titled “Bells and Whistles,” where she pulls out all the stops to win her client’s case.

    Krakowski is one of many returning cast members from the first season of Schmigadoon!, including straight-faced leads Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key. In a neat echoing of high school drama kids waiting for casting sheets to be posted on a bulletin board, Krakowski says the cast didn’t know whom they would be playing, or what the script even entailed, until not too long before shooting began. “I was like, Could I still be [Cabaret’s] Sally Bowles?” Krakowski says with a laugh. “[I figured] I might be in Chicago, but I thought I’d be a Roxie or Velma type. I had never seen Bobbie Flanagan coming.” Appropriate for a project as heavily influenced by theater as this one, the season was shot at a breakneck pace, with Krakowski often consulting showrunner Cinco Paul and choreographer Chris Gattelli to make character decisions almost on the fly. (“I think it helps when you have an innate understanding of the musical we’re covering or the moment in the musical we’re covering.”)

    For those who know her only as 30 Rock’s meme queen Jenna Maroney, or for her roles in Ally McBeal or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Krakowski is a bona fide stage superstar. The Museum of Broadway displays her roller skates from her 1987 debut, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s baldly preposterous Starlight Express, directly under Patti LuPone’s Evita wig. Growing up in a family of community theater aficionados in New Jersey, she started dancing at three years old, took her first Broadway bows at 18, and never stopped booking. She hit her breakthrough in 2003, in the first revival of Nine, one of the very shows full of sex and shadows she’d grown up adoring. Flying in from the ceiling, belting half naked on aerial silks, won her a Tony for best featured actress, and playing Guys and Dolls showgirl Adelaide in London’s West End won her an Olivier just three years later.

    For the most part, her best-known projects have found a way to incorporate her full-throated performance skills. (If a Jane Krakowski character can’t break out into “The Music and the Mirror,” what’s the point?) Krakowski has relished those opportunities, and feels drawn to the sense of community in theater, down to hyping up her Schmigadoon! castmates’ performances on their group chat whenever their big numbers air. As a pandemic production, the first season was not exactly the return of Broadway, but it was maybe as close as anyone could come. As Krakowski puts it, “There was no live theater, but here was this little gem of a piece that came along…and we were suddenly able to get to live in that heightened reality of musical theater, and our audience had a place to go and watch it.”

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    Juan A. Ramirez

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  • What to stream this week: ‘And Just Like That’ back, Kelly Clarkson sings, Robert Downey Jr. drives

    What to stream this week: ‘And Just Like That’ back, Kelly Clarkson sings, Robert Downey Jr. drives

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    Albums from Kelly Clarkson and Portugal. The Man, as well as the new season of “And Just Like That” are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are “The Bear” back for a second helping, Gabrielle Union leading “The Perfect Find” and the Criterion Channel delving into the cliche of the gay best friend.

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — In “The Perfect Find,” Gabrielle Union stars as a 40-year-old fashion editor who hits it off with a young man (Keith Powers) only to find out later that he’s the son of her new boss, a media mogul played by Gina Torres. The film, which premieres Friday on Netflix, is directed by Numa Perrier and based on Tia Williams’ novel of the same name.

    — Last year saw a number of excellent memory-drenched autobiographical dramas, like Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” and Richard Linklater’s “Apollo 10 1/2.” Best of the bunch, though, may have been James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” an acutely observed tale of 1980s Queens, New York. Rather than a wistfully nostalgic film, Gray’s movie interrogates his own past, sifting through societal currents of politics and privilege. Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway play the parents of 11-year-old Paul (Banks Repeta), whose schooling experience vastly differs from that of his Black friend (Jaylin Webb). Anthony Hopkins also radiantly co-stars as his grandfather. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called the film “essential.” It streams on Prime Video beginning Tuesday.

    — The gay best friend has a times been dismissed as a familiar trope of Hollywood. But a new film series on the Criterion Channel finds much to appreciate and lament in a queer movie legacy that existed only on the margins for much of the 20th century. “Queersighted: The Gay Best Friend” pulls together films from seven decades of American film, from 1937’s “Easy Living” to 1996’s “Irma Vep” to trace the evolution of a stereotype that, as curator and author Mark Harris discuss in an accompanying conversation, offered both relief and dismay for gay moviegoers.

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — Kim Petras caps a remarkable few months with her debut album, “Feed the Beast,” out Friday, June 23. She was just on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Unholy” with Sam Smith, performed at the Grammys and “Saturday Night Live,” attended the Met Gala, and made the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The new 15-track album includes the buzzy single “Alone” featuring Nicki Minaj, the body-positive “Coconuts” and the beat-heavy single “Brrr.” “Feed the Beast” also includes a collaboration with alt-pop star Banks.

    — Portland-based Portugal. The Man return with an album touched by loss. “Chris Black Changed My Life,” due out Friday, June 23, is dedicated to Portugal. The Man’s late friend and honorary band member, Chris Black, who died in May 2019. Singles include the dance-floor ready “Dummy” and the mid-tempo wistful groove “Plastic Island,” with the lyrics “Is it the end, my friend/Or is it coming around/Around again?” Collaborators include Paul Williams, Sean Leon, Asa Taccone, Black Thought, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Jeff Bhasker and Natalia Lafourcade.

    — Loss also informs “Chemistry,” Kelly Clarkson’s post-breakup album. “You can take my money drag my name ’round town/I don’t mind I changed it anyway,” she sings in the kiss-off single “Red Flag Collector.” Clarkson previously released “Favorite Kind of High” and “I Hate Love,” which both feature on “Chemistry,” an album where she gets a little help from comedian and banjoist Steve Martin. “This album takes you down every path that chemistry could lead you down,” she wrote on Instagram.

    — Summer and Big Freedia were made to be together and she’s offering us the 16-track “Central City” just in time for backyard parties. The New Orleans-raised queen of Bounce music has brought along some friends — collaborators include Lil Wayne, Faith Evans, Ciara and Kelly Price — and promises a new sound. “My new album is something I call Bigga Bounce. Welcome to Central City, y’all, where I pay homage to my city, my roots, hip-hop, and to the art of creating a new sound.” Singles include the breezy ”$100 Bill” and aggressive “Bigfoot.”

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    NEW SERIES TO STREAM

    — Max has already publicized two big reveals for season two of “And Just Like That”: the return of John Corbett as Aidan Shaw and Kim Cattrall filmed a scene as Samantha Jones. Although details around each are scarce, we do know Cattrall declined involvement in a third “Sex & the City” film and reportedly wasn’t included in plans for the spinoff series. Fans likely won’t mind how they see Samantha as long as she appears. See how the new episodes of “And Just Like That” unfold beginning Thursday.

    — Robert Downey Jr. combines two of his passions, classic cars and fighting climate change in the new Max docuseries “Downey’s Dream Cars.” Viewers go along for the ride as experts help the actor make his vintage car collection not only functional, but environmentally-friendly. The show premieres Thursday with two episodes.

    — Actor-comedian Anthony Anderson is a proud mama’s boy and loves to dote on his mother, Doris. Cameras rolled as the “black-ish” star took his mom on a six-week dream vacation to Europe visiting England, France and Italy. “It’s the best and worst decision I’ve ever made,” declares Anderson in the trailer. “Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris” debuts Thursday on E!

    — The critically-acclaimed series “The Bear,” which debuted last summer and was an immediate word-of-mouth hit, is back for a second helping. The show stars Jeremy Allen White as a classically trained chef named Carmy who returned home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich spot called The Beef. In season two, debuting Thursday on FX on Hulu, Carmy and his staff are tasked with leveling up The Beef to become a fine dining establishment named The Bear. Carmy’s changes will require adjustment for all the characters. A central theme for season two, says creator Christopher Storer, is what happens when you get what you want?

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

    — Final Fantasy XVI, the new chapter in the groundbreaking role-playing series, takes place in a land fueled by magic crystals whose light has begun to fade. Publisher Square Enix is hoping it can prevent such a fate from befalling its marquee franchise, whose previous installment in 2016 was met with mixed critical reaction (though it still sold millions of copies). The most significant change to the formula is in the combat: Protagonist Clive Rosfield fights mostly on his own, rather than assembling the usual party of warriors and spellcasters, and the turn-by-turn skirmishes that once defined Final Fantasy have been replaced by zippier swordplay. Trailers promise a darker storyline — the producer has acknowledged the influence of “Game of Thrones” — but fans can still expect dazzling scenery and epic sweep. Your latest chance to save the world begins Thursday on PlayStation 5.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.

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  • What to stream this week: ‘And Just Like That’ back, Kelly Clarkson sings, Robert Downey Jr. drives

    What to stream this week: ‘And Just Like That’ back, Kelly Clarkson sings, Robert Downey Jr. drives

    [ad_1]

    Albums from Kelly Clarkson and Portugal. The Man, as well as the new season of “And Just Like That” are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are “The Bear” back for a second helping, Gabrielle Union leading “The Perfect Find” and the Criterion Channel delving into the cliche of the gay best friend.

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — In “The Perfect Find,” Gabrielle Union stars as a 40-year-old fashion editor who hits it off with a young man (Keith Powers) only to find out later that he’s the son of her new boss, a media mogul played by Gina Torres. The film, which premieres Friday on Netflix, is directed by Numa Perrier and based on Tia Williams’ novel of the same name.

    — Last year saw a number of excellent memory-drenched autobiographical dramas, like Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” and Richard Linklater’s “Apollo 10 1/2.” Best of the bunch, though, may have been James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” an acutely observed tale of 1980s Queens, New York. Rather than a wistfully nostalgic film, Gray’s movie interrogates his own past, sifting through societal currents of politics and privilege. Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway play the parents of 11-year-old Paul (Banks Repeta), whose schooling experience vastly differs from that of his Black friend (Jaylin Webb). Anthony Hopkins also radiantly co-stars as his grandfather. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called the film “essential.” It streams on Prime Video beginning Tuesday.

    — The gay best friend has a times been dismissed as a familiar trope of Hollywood. But a new film series on the Criterion Channel finds much to appreciate and lament in a queer movie legacy that existed only on the margins for much of the 20th century. “Queersighted: The Gay Best Friend” pulls together films from seven decades of American film, from 1937’s “Easy Living” to 1996’s “Irma Vep” to trace the evolution of a stereotype that, as curator and author Mark Harris discuss in an accompanying conversation, offered both relief and dismay for gay moviegoers.

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — Kim Petras caps a remarkable few months with her debut album, “Feed the Beast,” out Friday, June 23. She was just on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Unholy” with Sam Smith, performed at the Grammys and “Saturday Night Live,” attended the Met Gala, and made the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The new 15-track album includes the buzzy single “Alone” featuring Nicki Minaj, the body-positive “Coconuts” and the beat-heavy single “Brrr.” “Feed the Beast” also includes a collaboration with alt-pop star Banks.

    — Portland-based Portugal. The Man return with an album touched by loss. “Chris Black Changed My Life,” due out Friday, June 23, is dedicated to Portugal. The Man’s late friend and honorary band member, Chris Black, who died in May 2019. Singles include the dance-floor ready “Dummy” and the mid-tempo wistful groove “Plastic Island,” with the lyrics “Is it the end, my friend/Or is it coming around/Around again?” Collaborators include Paul Williams, Sean Leon, Asa Taccone, Black Thought, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Jeff Bhasker and Natalia Lafourcade.

    — Loss also informs “Chemistry,” Kelly Clarkson’s post-breakup album. “You can take my money drag my name ’round town/I don’t mind I changed it anyway,” she sings in the kiss-off single “Red Flag Collector.” Clarkson previously released “Favorite Kind of High” and “I Hate Love,” which both feature on “Chemistry,” an album where she gets a little help from comedian and banjoist Steve Martin. “This album takes you down every path that chemistry could lead you down,” she wrote on Instagram.

    — Summer and Big Freedia were made to be together and she’s offering us the 16-track “Central City” just in time for backyard parties. The New Orleans-raised queen of Bounce music has brought along some friends — collaborators include Lil Wayne, Faith Evans, Ciara and Kelly Price — and promises a new sound. “My new album is something I call Bigga Bounce. Welcome to Central City, y’all, where I pay homage to my city, my roots, hip-hop, and to the art of creating a new sound.” Singles include the breezy ”$100 Bill” and aggressive “Bigfoot.”

    — AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

    NEW SERIES TO STREAM

    — Max has already publicized two big reveals for season two of “And Just Like That”: the return of John Corbett as Aidan Shaw and Kim Cattrall filmed a scene as Samantha Jones. Although details around each are scarce, we do know Cattrall declined involvement in a third “Sex & the City” film and reportedly wasn’t included in plans for the spinoff series. Fans likely won’t mind how they see Samantha as long as she appears. See how the new episodes of “And Just Like That” unfold beginning Thursday.

    — Robert Downey Jr. combines two of his passions, classic cars and fighting climate change in the new Max docuseries “Downey’s Dream Cars.” Viewers go along for the ride as experts help the actor make his vintage car collection not only functional, but environmentally-friendly. The show premieres Thursday with two episodes.

    — Actor-comedian Anthony Anderson is a proud mama’s boy and loves to dote on his mother, Doris. Cameras rolled as the “black-ish” star took his mom on a six-week dream vacation to Europe visiting England, France and Italy. “It’s the best and worst decision I’ve ever made,” declares Anderson in the trailer. “Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris” debuts Thursday on E!

    — The critically-acclaimed series “The Bear,” which debuted last summer and was an immediate word-of-mouth hit, is back for a second helping. The show stars Jeremy Allen White as a classically trained chef named Carmy who returned home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich spot called The Beef. In season two, debuting Thursday on FX on Hulu, Carmy and his staff are tasked with leveling up The Beef to become a fine dining establishment named The Bear. Carmy’s changes will require adjustment for all the characters. A central theme for season two, says creator Christopher Storer, is what happens when you get what you want?

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

    — Final Fantasy XVI, the new chapter in the groundbreaking role-playing series, takes place in a land fueled by magic crystals whose light has begun to fade. Publisher Square Enix is hoping it can prevent such a fate from befalling its marquee franchise, whose previous installment in 2016 was met with mixed critical reaction (though it still sold millions of copies). The most significant change to the formula is in the combat: Protagonist Clive Rosfield fights mostly on his own, rather than assembling the usual party of warriors and spellcasters, and the turn-by-turn skirmishes that once defined Final Fantasy have been replaced by zippier swordplay. Trailers promise a darker storyline — the producer has acknowledged the influence of “Game of Thrones” — but fans can still expect dazzling scenery and epic sweep. Your latest chance to save the world begins Thursday on PlayStation 5.

    — Lou Kesten

    ___

    Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.

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    Source link

  • Netflix hypes ‘The Last Airbender,’ ‘One Piece’ at starry fan event

    Netflix hypes ‘The Last Airbender,’ ‘One Piece’ at starry fan event

    [ad_1]

    Netflix gave audiences first looks at some planned and upcoming projects including “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “One Piece” and the third season of “Bridgerton” at a fan event on Saturday

    FILE – The Netflix logo is displayed on the company’s website, Feb. 2, 2023, in New York. Netflix gave audiences first looks at some planned and upcoming projects including “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “One Piece” and the third season of “Bridgerton” at a fan event on Saturday, June 17. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

    The Associated Press

    Netflix gave audiences first looks at some planned and upcoming projects including “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “One Piece” and the third season of “Bridgerton” at a fan event on Saturday.

    The event, called “Tudum,” was live-streamed from São Paulo, Brazil with the participation of talent like Kevin Hart, Chris Hemsworth, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Boyega and Gal Gadot.

    The streamer announced the addition of Linda Hamilton to the “Stranger Things” season 5 cast, a third “Extraction” movie and more of the cast for “Squid Game” season two, including Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon and Yang Dong-guen. They will join returning cast Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-Hun, Wi Ha-jun and Gong Yoo.

    Lily Collins also teased some details about the fourth season of “Emily in Paris,” which she said will bring her ex-pat to Rome.

    The live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is one of the most eagerly anticipated series in the bunch. It stars Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, and Dallas Liu as Zuko, who were seen in their character costumes for the first time.

    Another series that had people talking was “One Piece,” a live-action pirate adventure based on the popular manga, which is wrapped and due for its premiere on Aug. 31.

    But specific release dates for many are still to be determined as the Hollywood Writers’ Strike continues and uncertainty looms about whether actors will be joining the picket lines after their SAG-AFTRA contract expires on June 30. Netflix is one of the studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (or AMPTP), the bargaining arm negotiating with the major guilds over issues such as residuals, minimum pay and the use of artificial intelligence.

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  • Central Park birder Christian Cooper is turning his viral video fame into a memoir and TV show

    Central Park birder Christian Cooper is turning his viral video fame into a memoir and TV show

    [ad_1]

    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, a relative rarity for the pastime. The dog owner is Amy Cooper, who is white and no relation. His video of her pleading with a 911 operator to “send the cops” because, she falsely claimed, an African American man was threatening her life has been viewed more than 45 million times on social media.

    Much has happened to each Cooper since.

    She was fired by an investment firm and a judge tossed her lawsuit challenging the dismissal. Later, a misdemeanor charge against her was dropped after she completed a program on racial bias.

    He scored a memoir, out this week, and has his own series on Nat Geo Wild, traveling the U.S. doing what he loves most: birding. “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper” premieres Saturday.

    Something else happened the day the two Coopers clashed. Just hours later, George Floyd was killed under the knee of a white police officer more than 1,000 miles away in Minneapolis. They had no way of knowing that, of course, but Christian Cooper told The Associated Press in a recent interview he had another Black man, Philando Castile, on his mind when he flipped his phone camera to record.

    Castile was fatally shot in the Minneapolis area in 2016 by an officer who wrongly thought the 32-year-old was reaching for a gun during a traffic stop. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, had the presence of mind to hit record on her phone, and her livestream on Facebook touched off protests around the country. (The officer who shot Castile was acquitted by a jury.)

    Christian Cooper’s decision to record was personal but routine for birders trying to convince park officials to do something about dogs off leashes where signs clearly prohibited it to protect plantings in The Ramble and leave the birds undisturbed. He was polite but firm as he spoke off-camera while Amy Cooper raged.

    “I thought to myself, you know what? They’re going to shoot us dead no matter what we do. And if that’s the case, I’m going out with my dignity intact,” he told the AP.

    For a second, he added, “I was like, oh, yeah, when a white woman accuses a Black man, I know what that means. I know what trouble that can mean in my life. Maybe I should just stop recording and maybe this will all go away in a split second. Then I thought, nah, I’m not going to be complicit in my own dehumanization.”

    Amy Cooper never apologized directly to him, though she issued a statement of regret. And since then, Christian Cooper has done some soul-searching on what it must be like, at least sometimes, for women to feel unsafe in public outdoor spaces.

    “I would hate to think that I would go through a situation like that and not learn something myself. And so I try to keep in mind now that, yes, I’m perfectly comfortable in The Ramble. It’s my happy place. But that’s not necessarily true of everyone,” he said.

    Amy Cooper demanded he stop recording, upset when he offered her cocker spaniel, Henry, a dog treat. It’s a tactic controversial among birders frustrated by unleashed dogs in The Ramble. “It’s a very in-your-face move. You know, no bones about that. I haven’t done it since,” he said.

    He declined to cooperate with prosecutors in the criminal case against Amy Cooper. It was an election cycle, he said, so it felt performative. But also, he felt, she had been punished enough through public disgrace.

    “I decided I kind of have to err on the side of mercy, particularly weighing with that a sense of proportionality because I had not been harmed. I had not been thrown to the ground by the police or, God forbid, worse. I had never even had to interact with the police. I’m sure my opinion would be different if I had,” he said.

    Now, Cooper is all about spreading the gospel of birding once again. His book, “Better Living through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World,” opens with the Central Park encounter, and then launches into his life:

    How birding helped him connect to the world as a closeted gay child in his predominantly white Long Island hometown. How all things Star Trek, science fiction and Marvel Comics have sustained him to this day, at age 60.

    “The cure to my outsider status was to go outside, outside of myself, outside of my own head, outside into nature. Because you can’t go looking for birds without really focusing on what you’re doing, and focusing on the natural world around you,” he said.

    “And when you do that, you can’t be preoccupied anymore about, ‘Oh my God, I feel so horrible.’”

    As a longtime board member of the New York City Audubon Society, Cooper has seen the ranks of Black birders increase, and he has participated in a movement among National Audubon Society chapters to cast off the name of John James Audubon. The 19th-century artist and naturalist known for his paintings of North American bird species was an anti-abolitionist who owned, purchased and sold enslaved people.

    Cooper’s chapter of the society is in the process of coming up with a new name, though the parent organization declined to do the same.

    With his book, Cooper said, “I hope to reach a whole mass of people who have never really thought about birds or maybe haven’t engaged with nature on that level. If I can communicate some of my passion for birding, for birds, and get them to sort of open their awareness just a little bit more to these creatures around them, because they are spectacular, then the book will have achieved its goal.”

    On Nat Geo (the series hits Disney+ on June 21), Cooper serves as host and was a consulting producer. He’s a kid in a wonderful, winged candy shop.

    The six episodes have him scaling a Manhattan bridge tagging peregrine falcon chicks, navigating volcanic terrain in Hawaii in search of elusive honeycreepers, and trekking rainforests in Puerto Rico to check on fertility issues among parrots. He also shot in Palm Springs, California, and Washington, D.C., as well as Selma, Alabama, where members of his father’s family once lived.

    Cooper has spent time in public schools teaching kids about birding. He wants to reach even more with the fame he earned the hard way.

    “I’m hopeful that a lot of young Black kids will see maybe one of the first big birding shows on TV with a black host leading the show and think, ‘Oh, maybe that’s something I can do, too.’ That would be awesome.”

    ___

    Find Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

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  • Central Park birder Christian Cooper is turning his viral video fame into a memoir and TV show

    Central Park birder Christian Cooper is turning his viral video fame into a memoir and TV show

    [ad_1]

    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, a relative rarity for the pastime. The dog owner is Amy Cooper, who is white and no relation. His video of her pleading with a 911 operator to “send the cops” because, she falsely claimed, an African American man was threatening her life has been viewed more than 45 million times on social media.

    Much has happened to each Cooper since.

    She was fired by an investment firm and a judge tossed her lawsuit challenging the dismissal. Later, a misdemeanor charge against her was dropped after she completed a program on racial bias.

    He scored a memoir, out this week, and has his own series on Nat Geo Wild, traveling the U.S. doing what he loves most: birding. “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper” premieres Saturday.

    Something else happened the day the two Coopers clashed. Just hours later, George Floyd was killed under the knee of a white police officer more than 1,000 miles away in Minneapolis. They had no way of knowing that, of course, but Christian Cooper told The Associated Press in a recent interview he had another Black man, Philando Castile, on his mind when he flipped his phone camera to record.

    Castile was fatally shot in the Minneapolis area in 2016 by an officer who wrongly thought the 32-year-old was reaching for a gun during a traffic stop. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, had the presence of mind to hit record on her phone, and her livestream on Facebook touched off protests around the country. (The officer who shot Castile was acquitted by a jury.)

    Christian Cooper’s decision to record was personal but routine for birders trying to convince park officials to do something about dogs off leashes where signs clearly prohibited it to protect plantings in The Ramble and leave the birds undisturbed. He was polite but firm as he spoke off-camera while Amy Cooper raged.

    “I thought to myself, you know what? They’re going to shoot us dead no matter what we do. And if that’s the case, I’m going out with my dignity intact,” he told the AP.

    For a second, he added, “I was like, oh, yeah, when a white woman accuses a Black man, I know what that means. I know what trouble that can mean in my life. Maybe I should just stop recording and maybe this will all go away in a split second. Then I thought, nah, I’m not going to be complicit in my own dehumanization.”

    Amy Cooper never apologized directly to him, though she issued a statement of regret. And since then, Christian Cooper has done some soul-searching on what it must be like, at least sometimes, for women to feel unsafe in public outdoor spaces.

    “I would hate to think that I would go through a situation like that and not learn something myself. And so I try to keep in mind now that, yes, I’m perfectly comfortable in The Ramble. It’s my happy place. But that’s not necessarily true of everyone,” he said.

    Amy Cooper demanded he stop recording, upset when he offered her cocker spaniel, Henry, a dog treat. It’s a tactic controversial among birders frustrated by unleashed dogs in The Ramble. “It’s a very in-your-face move. You know, no bones about that. I haven’t done it since,” he said.

    He declined to cooperate with prosecutors in the criminal case against Amy Cooper. It was an election cycle, he said, so it felt performative. But also, he felt, she had been punished enough through public disgrace.

    “I decided I kind of have to err on the side of mercy, particularly weighing with that a sense of proportionality because I had not been harmed. I had not been thrown to the ground by the police or, God forbid, worse. I had never even had to interact with the police. I’m sure my opinion would be different if I had,” he said.

    Now, Cooper is all about spreading the gospel of birding once again. His book, “Better Living through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World,” opens with the Central Park encounter, and then launches into his life:

    How birding helped him connect to the world as a closeted gay child in his predominantly white Long Island hometown. How all things Star Trek, science fiction and Marvel Comics have sustained him to this day, at age 60.

    “The cure to my outsider status was to go outside, outside of myself, outside of my own head, outside into nature. Because you can’t go looking for birds without really focusing on what you’re doing, and focusing on the natural world around you,” he said.

    “And when you do that, you can’t be preoccupied anymore about, ‘Oh my God, I feel so horrible.’”

    As a longtime board member of the New York City Audubon Society, Cooper has seen the ranks of Black birders increase, and he has participated in a movement among National Audubon Society chapters to cast off the name of John James Audubon. The 19th-century artist and naturalist known for his paintings of North American bird species was an anti-abolitionist who owned, purchased and sold enslaved people.

    Cooper’s chapter of the society is in the process of coming up with a new name, though the parent organization declined to do the same.

    With his book, Cooper said, “I hope to reach a whole mass of people who have never really thought about birds or maybe haven’t engaged with nature on that level. If I can communicate some of my passion for birding, for birds, and get them to sort of open their awareness just a little bit more to these creatures around them, because they are spectacular, then the book will have achieved its goal.”

    On Nat Geo (the series hits Disney+ on June 21), Cooper serves as host and was a consulting producer. He’s a kid in a wonderful, winged candy shop.

    The six episodes have him scaling a Manhattan bridge tagging peregrine falcon chicks, navigating volcanic terrain in Hawaii in search of elusive honeycreepers, and trekking rainforests in Puerto Rico to check on fertility issues among parrots. He also shot in Palm Springs, California, and Washington, D.C., as well as Selma, Alabama, where members of his father’s family once lived.

    Cooper has spent time in public schools teaching kids about birding. He wants to reach even more with the fame he earned the hard way.

    “I’m hopeful that a lot of young Black kids will see maybe one of the first big birding shows on TV with a black host leading the show and think, ‘Oh, maybe that’s something I can do, too.’ That would be awesome.”

    ___

    Find Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

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  • Heléne Yorke Is Undeniably Good in ‘The Other Two’

    Heléne Yorke Is Undeniably Good in ‘The Other Two’

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    Like Brooke, her deliciously misguided character on The Other Two, Heléne Yorke is just trying to do some good. Or at least order something good. We’re at Buvette in Manhattan’s West Village, where she’s considering steak tartare—a favorite, but one that “seems very aggressive” for 1 p.m. We consider sharing the hearty waffle sandwich, but it drips with enough sunny-side egg and maple syrup to intimidate us. “Don’t ever come to lunch with me,” Yorke quips. “We’re fucked…. You check the menu before you go so that you don’t have an existential crisis.”

    Thanks to a few gentle steers from our server, Yorke and I wind up splitting the croque-madame and a soft-scrambled-egg toast topped with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, plus carrots on the side. With our order settled, she makes a confession about where we’re seated. “I had a very controversial conversation at this table with a friend,” Yorke says, leaning in. “She was basically trying to convince me to get out of my relationship—a relationship that was new and not a good idea. I’m having post-traumatic stress about it. She ended up being right. They always are.” Before I can ask if she’d prefer to move, Yorke declares that someone close to her called the day prior with news that their on-and-off relationship was finally over. “I was very nice on the phone,” she says proudly. “I was like, ‘I’m sorry.’ I wasn’t like, ‘Ha!’ Which I thought was very big of me.”

    Yorke is well aware that this sounds a lot like dialogue from an episode of The Other Two. I ask her if, by season three, she and her character, Brooke, have fully converged. “Sadly, yes,” she admits. “I’ll have gotten through 15 takes trying something, and instead I just do it the way I would say it.”

    The Max comedy, created by former SNL writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, follows Yorke’s Brooke and Drew Tarver’s Cary as they navigate their professional identities and ambitions beside their Justin Bieber-esque brother, Chase (Case Walker), and their daytime-television-mogul mother, Pat (Molly Shannon).

    In this postpandemic season, talent manager Brooke tries to swap her shallow showbiz career for a life in service. For Brooke, “doing good” means putting “she/her” and “Black Lives Matter” in her Instagram bio; briefly dying her hair a mousy shade of brown; and in the standout eighth episode, hosting a Chase-fronted mental health awareness telethon.

    Despite its branding as “A Night of Undeniable Good,” the event seems like it’s being punished at every turn—by COVID-19 diagnoses, a sexually predatory mental health counselor, and a particularly brutal technical error. (“Insert Name of Parkland Survivor We Can Get,” the screen reads at one point.) “When I read the episode, I thought that they were waiting for the name,” says Yorke. “And when I did ADR, I was like, ‘Wait, guys, this is the joke? You little fuckers.’” Adding insult to the evening’s derailment? At episode’s end, Brooke discovers that her do-gooder ex, Lance (Josh Segarra), has been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, gracing the magazine’s cover alongside other attractive nurses.

    From here on out, “it gets really dark for Cary and Brooke. That jealousy, that desperation, that self-doubt, is universal in all of us,” Yorke says. “And if you say it isn’t, you’re a liar. I’m not above seeing that somebody got a cover and losing my goddamn mind.” And Lance isn’t completely absolved in this, either. “We all kind of suck. He kind of sucks. Anybody too good, that’s annoying,” she says in defense of her character. “So to give Brooke flak is like, What the fuck? You’re so good? Maybe you just need somebody who meets you where you’re at. My husband does that.”

    Between being cast on the show and now, Yorke married her partner, Bary Dunn, and gave birth to their now one-year-old son, Hugo. “I did my entire life in between seasons,” she says. “I highly recommend marriage and babies. If there was something I could be the face of, it would be that.” But Yorke didn’t always feel that way. “I was a New York girl and I loved dating. I loved being single. I loved being a ho. I loved being Brooke Dubek,” she says. “And then I met my husband, and he’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen in my life. I was like, All right, I’ll do forever with this.”

    “We got married, and I was like, I’m old. Who knows how long it’ll take to get pregnant? And I got pregnant immediately,” Yorke adds. Production was shifted from June to September to accommodate her maternity leave. “I had a hard time full-time momming. It was almost like, not that I forgot who I was, [but] I was becoming somebody else.” Gradually, that changed, though there have obviously been growing pains. “I realized, in going back to work, that I could be me and a mom at the same time…. I was pumping milk out of my titties on the corner of 53rd and Lexington, under a rain tower, before making out with somebody who wasn’t my husband. So it was bizarre in that, and trying to figure out how to finagle a pump in a costume with no bra. But it felt good.”

    Yorke, who was born in Canada and raised largely in Los Angeles, pictured Gwyneth Paltrow—specifically, Paltrow clutching her Oscar in that iconic pink dress—as the quintessential actress. “And that seemed so far away to me, to a point where I was like, I should really do musical theater.” And she did just that—making her Broadway debut in the 2007 revival of Grease before originating a role in the musical version of American Psycho in 2016. In between, Yorke played Glinda the Good Witch on the second national tour of Wicked.

    “When you meet people that are not in the biz, they ask for a list of your credits. Oftentimes, my mother-in-law will introduce me to people and be like, ‘She played Glinda in Wicked,’ because that’s the thing that’ll mean something to them,” Yorke says. “You often get comments like ‘Good for you,’ because, certainly, if they don’t know who you are, that means you’re broke.” For a while, Yorke says, even she didn’t realize “that you could have a full career and [yet] be niche…. I used to think you had to be Gwyneth Paltrow to make a living—literally feast or total famine.”

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    Savannah Walsh

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  • Fox News says it ‘addressed’ onscreen message that called Biden a ‘wannabe dictator’

    Fox News says it ‘addressed’ onscreen message that called Biden a ‘wannabe dictator’

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    NEW YORK — Fox News appeared to express regret Wednesday for showing an onscreen message that called President Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator” who had his political rival arrested.

    On the day he was arraigned on federal charges for hoarding classified documents, former President Donald Trump illustrated his continued role as a lightning rod for the media. PBS second-guessed one of its own messages about Trump, and his primetime speech showed a policy change at CNN following the ouster of its former leader.

    The Fox News Channel chyron appeared beneath split-screen video boxes that showed Trump addressing supporters live in New Jersey, and Biden speaking at the White House earlier in the day.

    The message read, “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.”

    Fox said in a statement Wednesday that “the chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed.” The website Mediaite reported that the message was onscreen for 27 seconds. It was also not removed when the telecast was rerun late at night.

    Fox did not explain how the message made it onto the screen and how the matter was addressed.

    The White House has said Biden has had no contact with Attorney General Merrick Garland about the indictment by special counsel Jack Smith, which accuses Trump of illegally hoarding classified documents. Biden has not commented on the case.

    Two months ago, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the news organization of telling lies about the 2020 presidential election.

    “There are probably about 787 million things that I can say about this,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked Wednesday about the chyron. “That was wrong — about what we saw last night — but I don’t think I’m going to get into it.”

    It’s not hard to find Republican politicians or commentators on Fox to suggest the indictment was politically motivated — Trump attorney Joe Tacopina made the same charges on Sean Hannity’s show within a half-hour after Trump’s speech.

    Yet some on Fox have spoken to the seriousness of the case against Trump, most notably his former attorney general, William Barr, during an appearance over the weekend, and legal analyst Jonathan Turley.

    Fox has seen its primetime ratings tumble sharply since it fired Tucker Carlson shortly after the Dominion case was settled. Carlson posted another video commentary on Twitter Tuesday night, despite Fox’s lawyers demanding that he stop doing that because it violated the terms of a contract that runs until early 2025.

    Meanwhile, PBS used the lower third of its screen to post fact-checks when it streamed Trump’s New Jersey speech on its YouTube channel Tuesday night.

    The final one was eye-catching: “Experts warn that inflammatory rhetoric from elected officials or people in power can prompt individual actors to commit acts of violence.”

    While the statement is true, PBS officials are questioning whether or not that was the right forum, said Sara Just, senior executive producer at “NewsHour.” Other messages PBS used onscreen mentioned how federal officials have attested to the security of the 2020 presidential election, and how prosecutors say that some documents discovered at Trump’s home pertained to U.S. nuclear programs and defense capabilities.

    “We are discussing whether or not we might phrase that better,” Just said.

    While Fox News aired Trump’s speech live, MSNBC did not. Neither did CNN. That’s in contrast to when Trump was indicted on separate charges in New York in April, when CNN aired most of a similar Trump address the night of his arraignment. That was before former CNN chief executive Chris Licht, who had been making efforts to appeal to GOP viewers, was ousted.

    “We’re not carrying his remarks live because, frankly, he says a lot of things that are untrue and, frankly, potentially dangerous,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said.

    After the speech was over, CNN aired a nearly two-minute clip of Trump that Tapper followed with several fact-checks.

    “In terms of trying to destroy American democracy, we all know who tried to actually undo an election,” he said. “It’s not Joe Biden. It’s Mr. Trump.”

    MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow made a similar pronouncement before that network chose not to air Trump’s speech live. Clips from the remarks were shown later.

    “There is a cost to us as a news organization to knowingly broadcast untrue things,” Maddow said.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • Tom Holland describes ‘The Crowded Room’ as his ‘hardest’ and ‘most rewarding’ job so far

    Tom Holland describes ‘The Crowded Room’ as his ‘hardest’ and ‘most rewarding’ job so far

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    The words “Tom Holland” and “spoilers” can immediately illicit snickering. There are compilation videos on YouTube of the “Spider-Man ” star accidentally revealing too much about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His slip-ups and near-giveaways have become a running joke among his co-stars and filmmakers. The actor found himself in familiar territory with his new twisty, surprise-laden series “The Crowded Room,” now streaming on Apple TV+ — and says by comparison, keeping quiet about Marvel is a piece of cake.

    “With Marvel… it’s all about the villain, the costume, the locations, the end result. They’re relatively easy to keep those things a secret,” said Holland in a recent interview. “I know that sounds stupid coming from me because I spoil everything, but with ‘The Crowded Room’ there are so many twists and turns in this show that people won’t be expecting. It really is a puzzle.”

    The limited-series takes place in 1970s New York with Holland as Danny, a young man arrested in connection with a crime. His accomplices are nowhere to be found and an investigator assigned to the case (played by Amanda Seyfried) conducts a series of interviews with Danny to piece together his involvement.

    Holland and Seyfried filmed their scenes — out of order — “for almost three weeks straight” in an interrogation room.

    “It sometimes was confusing. I needed to know exactly where I was in the process with Danny, how much we knew or how much the audience knew and how much (Seyfried’s character) Rya knew,” she explained. “It was tricky.”

    Holland credits Seyfried for keeping him on track as they “did over 100 pages of dialogue at that one table in that one room.”

    “Amanda is so talented, she’s so professional. She’s able to keep it light when it’s dark,” he said. “There were certain times in that room where we were both just losing our minds, just scenes after scenes, after scenes after scenes. We were just a great team.”

    Holland describes his work on ‘The Crowded Room’ as “the hardest job I’ve ever had, but equally probably the most rewarding.

    “Danny is an exhausting character. Going to those places on a daily basis, having that haircut, shooting on the streets of New York, it was tough. It was not an easy show to make,” but says watching the end result made him “happy that I dug my heels in and stuck with it.”

    “It was a really, really tough experience without a shadow of a doubt.” He says halfway through filming he “was counting down the days that I could take … off and have some time to myself.”

    He also served as a co-executive producer for the first time, which helped him to finally understand what the job entails.

    “I spent the first 15 years of my career on set being like, ‘What do all of these people do? They’re all just sitting there.’ But having been a producer now myself, it is one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done. You’re shooting in a car and the car breaks down and all of a sudden you’re trying to figure out how to get a new car or how to turn the scene into a walking scene and all that sort of stuff.”

    Since beginning his performing career at 11 in “Billy Elliott the Musical,” in London’s West End, Holland says his formal education has been “somewhat non-existent” so he appreciates the learning opportunities he gets from working.

    With “The Crowded Room” Holland says “I learned a lot about myself. I learned about my capabilities as an actor. I learned about things that I can put up with. I feel like I’m much more capable at dealing with adversities and fighting against things that are going wrong on set. I learned a lot about mental health. I learned a lot about the power of the human mind and the amazing things we can do to protect ourselves, to heal and to survive.”

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