Movies/TV category, Page 55
Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert film coming to theaters in October
NEW YORK — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to movie theaters. Swift announced Thursday that the concert film “Taylor Swift — The Eras Tour” will open in North American theaters Oct. 13. The theater chain AMC, anticipating high demand from Swift fans, said the film will play at least...
TV Talk: Uniontown High grad born to play Dyan Cannon on HBO’s ‘Winning Time’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” (9 p.m. Sunday) is all about the rise of sports as entertainment, which the 1980s Lakers took to a new level when they established a courtside...
TV Talk: Former Steeler Ryan Clark hosts CW’s ‘Inside the NFL;’ Channel 19 adds 8 p.m. local newscast
Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark will host The CW’s “Inside the NFL,” debuting at 8 p.m. Sept. 5 on Pittsburgh’s WPNT-TV, Channel 22, which will become a CW affiliate Friday. Clark will be joined by Channing Crowder, Jay Cutler, Chad Johnson and Chris Long as they “break down previously unseen...
TV Q&A: Why do so many meteorologists rotate through WPXI’s morning newscasts?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Why does WPXI constantly rotate their morning weather people? They have three to four different weather people on the morning news each week. — Rob,...
When it comes to the Hollywood strikes, it’s not just the entertainment industry that’s being hurt
LOS ANGELES — The company had struggled for years, tossed around by pandemic-induced production shutdowns that began in March 2020. Last year, though, business for Valentino’s Costume Group had finally picked back up. Hoping to capitalize on that good fortune, the shop moved in January to a North Hollywood space...
TV Talk: Adult animated comedy ‘Archer’ begins final seasonVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. In the streaming era where almost every conceivable genre, including adult animation, is in abundance, it’s easy to forget how much rarer adult-targeted animated comedies were before Netflix’s “BoJack Horseman” (2014-20) and “Big Mouth” (2017-present)...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: ‘Rustin’ trailer reveal, Damar Hamlin on ‘Secret Celebrity Renovation’
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including the sale of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh to the owner of the Penguins. Benz and Owen discuss this week’s feel-good episode of CBS’s “Secret Celebrity...
Penguins owner Fenway Sports Group to buy AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
The fate of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh appears to have been resolved: Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Pittsburgh Penguins, will buy the cable channel from Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal that’s expected to close in October, according to a report from Sports Business Journal. Terms of the deal were...
Saint Vincent professor wins award for film on Washington County park
A small plot of land in Washington County is in the spotlight, thanks to the work of Saint Vincent College faculty member David Safin. Safin, an associate professor of digital art and media and communications department chair, recently was awarded a Bronze Telly Award for his short film, “Up on...
Bob Barker, dapper ‘Price Is Right’ and ‘Truth or Consequences’ host and animal advocate, dies at 99
Bob Barker, the enduring, dapper game show host who became a household name over a half century of hosting “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right,” has died. He was 99. Barker — also a longtime animal rights activist — died Saturday morning at his home in Los Angeles,...
TV Talk: Damar Hamlin gifts grandmother with ‘Secret Celebrity Renovation;’ WTAE hires reporter
Damar Hamlin soaked in his return to Pittsburgh last month but the former Central Catholic High School student, 2020 University of Pittsburgh grad and current Buffalo Bills safety made a quieter return in May to film an episode of CBS’s “Secret Celebrity Renovation” (8 p.m. Sept. 1, KDKA-TV) where he...
Hall of Fame hardcore wrestler Terry Funk dies at 79: ‘Unbelievably Fearless’Video
The enduring memory of iconic pro wrestler Terry Funk is of him in a Tokyo ring screaming “forever” over and over, his face stained with blood, sweat and tears. It was Aug. 31, 1983 — nearly 40 years ago — and he was announcing his retirement from wrestling in Japan....
TV Talk: Channel 19 to rebrand as KDKA+, change call letters
Pittsburgh’s CBS-owned WPCW-TV, Channel 19, will become a fully independent station when it disaffiliates from The CW at the end of the day on Aug. 31. Channel 19 will also get new call letters and branding. As expected, WPCW will become WPKD-TV with KDKA+ as the channel’s colloquial name in...
TV Talk: Where are these former Pittsburgh TV news personalities now?
Every now and then I like to check in with TV news folks who were once mainstays on local newscasts. This time I caught up with Jim Lokay, Sheila Hyland and Ellen Gamble. Jim Lokay A 1998 East Allegheny High School grad, Jim Lokay worked at KDKA-TV from 2005-11 as...
Judge clears the way for a civil case to proceed against Alec Baldwin and ‘Rust’ producers
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico judge on Wednesday rejected a request by Alec Baldwin ‘s attorneys to dismiss a civil lawsuit by three “Rust” crew members who allege cost-cutting endangered the cast and crew as the actor-producer skipped his own safety training. Chief District Judge Bryan Biedscheid also declined...
TV Talk: The CW programming moves to WPNT-TV
Although it’s yet to be officially announced, as expected, WPNT-TV Channel 22.1 is poised to become Pittsburgh’s new CW affiliate. The station’s own online listings confirm the change in affiliation from My Network TV, a channel that airs reruns of broadcast network series (“Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Law Order: SVU,”...
‘Their Stories’ documentary to explore lives of Sewickley’s early Black residents
Filmmaker Rueben Brock was taken by surprise when asked to direct a documentary about the early Black residents of Sewickley. “I said, ‘Wait a minute, there’s a Black community in Sewickley?’” he recalled. Those first Black settlers were important to the success of the community, and it’s high time their...
TV Q&A: Will KDKA-TV’s Erica Mokay be back at the anchor desk?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: I would like to know what will happen to Erica Mokay since Lindsay Ward is back from maternity leave on KDKA-TV’s morning newscasts. Erica Mokay...
TV Talk: Mt. Lebanon native’s ‘Star Wars’ series ‘Ahsoka’ premieresVideo
Created by Mt. Lebanon native Dave Filoni and essentially a live-action sequel to Filoni’s animated “Star Wars” series “Rebels,” the two-episode premiere of “Ahsoka,” streaming tonight at 9 p.m. on Disney+, gets off to a slow start. Set in the post-“Return of the Jedi” part of the “Star Wars” timeline,...
‘Blue Beetle’ unseats ‘Barbie’ atop box office, ending four-week reign
NEW YORK — The DC superhero film “Blue Beetle” led weekend ticket sales with a modest $25.4 million opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, dethroning “Barbie” from the top spot after a record-setting run that left movie theaters colored pink for a month. The “Barbie” phenomenon is far from over....
Ron Cephas Jones, ‘This Is Us’ actor who won 2 Emmys, dies at 66
LOS ANGELES — Ron Cephas Jones, a veteran stage actor who won two Emmy Awards for his role as as a long-lost father who finds redemption on the NBC television drama series “This Is Us,” has died at age 66, a representative said Saturday. Jones’ manager, Dan Spilo, said in...
Amazon Prime Video cancels its renewal of ‘A League of their Own’
Amazon’s Prime Video reversed course today and canceled its renewal of “A League of their Own,” which filmed its first season in Pittsburgh. Although a filming location for season two had not been announced, “League” was expected to return to Pittsburgh. Variety reported the nonrenewal, noting it was the second...
TV Talk: Contestant from South Fayette reflects on his ‘Bachelorette’ journey
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. As ABC’s “The Bachelorette” comes to the end of its Charity Lawson- starring season Monday (8-11 p.m., WTAE-TV), South Fayette native Tanner Courtad is not in the running to become Lawson’s husband. He’s made peace with...
TV Talk: Strikes’ impact, ‘Suits’ surge, ‘Babylon 5’ returns
It’s time to take stock of the impact of the “hot labor summer” that engulfed the entertainment industry with dual writers’ and actors’ strikes. Across the country, including in Pittsburgh, cameras did not roll on productions from struck companies. That meant anticipated new seasons of “A League of Their Own”...
TV Q&A: Why don’t HGTV designers include TVs in their home makeovers?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: I wonder why most designers on HGTV shows refuse to put the homeowners’ TVs back after they redesign the home. They usually put a painting...
