Movies/TV category, Page 66
New streaming app to ‘Max’ programming from HBO, Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled a streaming service Wednesday combining iconic HBO programming such as “The Sopranos” with a mix of unscripted TV series in a push to reap more subscribers from what so far has been a muddled media merger. The $16-per-month service, called Max, will be released May 23...
TV Talk: Morningside woman talks about competing on ‘Jeopardy!’
For Morningside resident Laura Caton, it’s always been a goal to compete on the syndicated TV game show “Jeopardy!” and in January she did just that, flying to Los Angeles to film tonight’s episode (7:30 p.m. WPXI-TV) at the Sony lot in Culver City. “Jeopardy!” tapes a week’s worth of...
Jeremy Renner attends premiere, months after snowplow crush
LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Renner attended the premiere for his new series Tuesday, capping a remarkable recovery less than four months after the “Avengers” star was nearly killed in a snowplow accident. Renner was surrounded by family and supporters at the “Rennervations” premiere in Los Angeles, where he posed for...
TV Q&A: Is KDKA-TV’s Chris DeRose related to former anchor Gabrielle DeRose?
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: Is KDKA-TV’s Chris DeRose any relation to Gabrielle DeRose? — Jim, Brookville Rob: I have to admit, reading quickly I first thought this was another...
Why are there so many good TV shows to watch right now?
Picture May 17, 2001. In the final seconds of the season seven finale of “Friends,” Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel reveals she’s pregnant — but who’s the father? This was a classic May sweeps cliffhanger, luring viewers and reaping advertising dollars for NBC. Most shows used to kick off in the fall,...
As streamers cut costs, TV shows — and residuals — vanish
Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, it’s a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different. In December, Riva was floored when she found out that “Gordita Chronicles,” her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from...
The anime hit ‘Suzume’ and Shinkai’s cinema of cataclysmVideo
NEW YORK — Makoto Shinkai was never the same filmmaker after the 2011 earthquake stuck Japan. When the tsunami and quake ravaged the Tōhoku region of northern Japan and prompted a nuclear meltdown, Shinkai, a now 50-year-old director and animator of some of the most popular anime features in the...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: ‘Succession’ shocker, ‘Unscripted’ book, new ‘Star Wars’ slate, ‘Ahsoka’ trailer
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss pop culture news of the moment, including Sunday’s surprising turn on HBO buzz magnet “Succession.” Spoilers included! Owen also discusses the new book “Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and...
‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ is a box office smash
Audiences said let’s go to the movie theater for ” The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” this weekend. The animated offering from Universal and Illumination powered up with $204.6 million in its first five days in 4,343 North American theaters, including $146.4 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates...
‘A Thousand and One’ is Teyana Taylor’s answered prayer
NEW YORK — Pulpits across America this Easter Sunday are sure to be filled with pastors preaching the longtime adage that “God may not be there when you want Him, but He’s always on time.” If they’re in need of a witness, Teyana Taylor would surely testify. “I just have...
3 new ‘Star Wars’ movies coming, including Rey’s return
LONDON — For “Star Wars” lovers, new entertainment is a little less far, far away — Lucasfilm announced three new live-action films in the franchise Friday. The news, which includes the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey in one of the films, was revealed at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023...
TV Talk: Kathryn Hahn, Carnegie Mellon grad share a role in Hulu’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Based on author Cheryl Strayed’s collection of “Dear Sugar” advice columns, Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things,” now streaming, follows aspiring writer Clare (Kathryn Hahn, “WandaVision”), who lucks into a role as an advice columnist that allows...
TV Talk: ‘Jury Duty’ is ‘Joe Schmo’ redux; it’s game on for Pirates on AT&T SportsNet PittsburghVideo
Amazon Freevee’s “Jury Duty,” streaming Friday, is “The Joe Schmo Show” by another name. Pittsburghers played the Schmoes in several seasons of “Joe Schmo,” but the “Jury Duty” schmo, Ronald Gladden, is a solar contractor from San Diego. Gladden thinks he’s been picked for jury duty but it turns out...
Review: Arty movie ‘Showing Up’ about artists fails to sparkVideo
Michelle Williams plays a sculptor whose hot water heater has irritatingly busted in the languid “Showing Up.” That’s about it, plot-wise. Talk about nobody showing up. Director Kelly Reichardt, who also penned the film with her regular screenwriter, Jonathan Raymond, has created a tiresome bubble inside a bubble, focusing their...
A duo once more, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon come up for ‘Air’
NEW YORK — While Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were writing “The Last Duel,” their first screenplay together since their 1997 breakthrough, “Good Will Hunting,” they noticed that something in their winding and usually separate careers had been missing. “I remember my wife said to me one day: ‘I haven’t...
TV Q&A: What’s up with Channel 11’s helicopter?
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’m not a usual WPXI-TV viewer, but I did catch a commercial promoting Chopper 11. I remember they got rid of Chopper 11. Did they...
Movie review: Nintendo’s favorite plumbers return in frenetic ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’Video
Thirty years ago, the very first cinematic adaptation of a video game hit theaters. “Super Mario Bros.” based on the 1985 Nintendo game created by Shigeru Miyamoto didn’t exactly bring the game to life as much as it extrapolated a nightmarish cyberpunk world from its characters. “Max Headroom” directors Rocky...
Women run the fictional world of ABC’s ‘General Hospital’Video
As “General Hospital” marks its 60th anniversary, much remains the same for the longest-running scripted series in production in the United States. A hospital is still the backdrop for the soap opera, many of the veteran characters remain, the wealthy Quatermaine family looms large and the stories are about love,...
KDKA, WTAE anchors welcome new babies
A pair of Pittsburgh television news anchors welcomed new family members in the past few days. KDKA-TV morning anchor Lindsay Ward had a baby girl on Monday. Ward, who joined KDKA as a reporter in 2019, announced on Facebook the birth of Aurora Marie, who weighed in at 8 pounds,...
Bringing Lolita home: How to release a long-captive orca?Video
SEATTLE — An ambitious plan announced last week to return Lolita, a killer whale held captive for more than a half-century, to her home waters in Washington’s Puget Sound thrilled those who have long advocated for her to be freed from her tank at the Miami Seaquarium. But it also...
‘Air’ follows Trafford native’s pursuit of Michael Jordan for NikeVideo
Most people won’t get a chance to see a movie made about their lives — much less see themselves portrayed by A-list Hollywood leading man Matt Damon. Trafford native John “Sonny” Vaccaro is about to get both. “Air: Courting a Legend” premieres Wednesday in theaters nationwide. Directed by Ben Affleck,...
TV Talk: Another local TV news anchor will depart Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh continues to show its colors as a steppingstone TV news market: KDKA-TV weekend morning anchor Briana Smith is the latest to announce her departure. She posted to Twitter that she’s leaving KDKA after two years to become a reporter at the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia. Her last day at...
‘General Hospital’ turns 60: A behind-the-scenes look
ABC’s “General Hospital” marks its 60th anniversary this week, making it the longest-running scripted show currently in production on American television. The soap is marking the milestone with a fan favorite storyline, the Nurses Ball, a gala that raises money for charity. This week the residents of the fictional city...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Another WPXI-TV departure, Rob Lowe stars in ‘Unstable,’ NFL telecast theorizing
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 another WPXI-TV departure with meteorologist Jessica Faith exiting for a forecaster job in Washington, D.C. The pair also discuss how local stations prioritize weather...
TV Talk: Musicals ‘Schmigadoon,’ ‘Grease’ return on streaming servicesVideo
Just a few weeks ago, Hulu released the musical romcom “Up Here,” and now we have two more musical series. Don’t get used to it. While streaming has opened the door to more unusual and/or experimental genres, it’s mostly happenstance that these three musicals debuted within a few weeks of...
