From the classic To Kill a Mockingbird to blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds, the Oscar-winning actor’s films spanned a remarkable range
Robert Duvall, the veteran actor who had a string of roles in classic American films including Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, M*A*S*H and To Kill a Mockingbird, has died aged 95.
“Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort,” wrote his wife, Luciana Duvall, in a message on Facebook.
Continue reading...Former NFL quarterback facing battery charge
Fox analyst released from hospital after treatment
Former NFL star Mark Sanchez says he is “focused on my recovery” after being booked and released from jail over an incident last weekend during which he was stabbed and another man was left with significant injuries.
Sanchez was processed at Marion County Jail on Sunday after his release from hospital. A judge ruled Sanchez had to undergo the processing before he is allowed to leave Indiana.
Continue reading...New York mayoral candidate had withdrawn from WABC event in protest at network’s suspension of talkshow host
Zohran Mamdani, the New York Democratic mayoral candidate, said on Monday evening he was willing to appear at a town hall hosted by a local ABC station after the national network said it would reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show.
Mamdani had announced his withdrawal from the televised town hall hosted by a local ABC station in protest of the network’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s talkshow.
Continue reading...Oscar winner’s comments come days after suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC and Disney, a decision heavily criticised by major stars including Pedro Pascal and Olivia Rodrigo
Angelina Jolie has said “I don’t recognise my country” amid the threats to free speech in the US, saying “anything anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms from anyone, I think, is very dangerous”.
At Spain’s San Sebastián film festival on Sunday, the Oscar winning actor was asked by a journalist: “What do you fear as an artist and an American?”
Continue reading...Dan Rather laments ‘sad day for journalism’ after company settles for $16m over 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview
A former CBS News anchor and 60 minutes correspondent, Dan Rather, has blasted the $16m settlement between Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, and Donald Trump, calling it a “sad day for journalism”.
“It’s a sad day for 60 Minutes and CBS News,” Rather, a veteran journalist who was a CBS News anchor for over 20 years, told Variety in an interview published on Wednesday. “I hope people will read the details of this and understand what it was. It was distortion by the president and a kneeling down and saying, ‘yes, sir,’ by billionaire corporate owners.”
Continue reading...California governor accuses network of falsely claiming he lied about a phone call with Donald Trump
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has sued Fox News for defamation and demanded $787m, almost exactly the same amount Fox paid in a previous defamation case over election misinformation.
In the new lawsuit, filed on Friday, Newsom accuses the Fox host Jesse Watters of falsely claiming Newsom lied about a phone call with Donald Trump, who recently ordered national guard troops into Los Angeles.
Continue reading...Music executive claims defamation in suit seeking $20m from the film-makers and distributors of On the Record
Russell Simmons is suing HBO and the film-makers of a 2020 documentary detailing allegations against the music mogul of sexual abuse, claiming that together they defamed him and ignored his version of events.
On The Record, directed by Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, expanded on reporting by the New York Times, the Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times and other publications on numerous allegations against Simmons. It featured the testimony of several women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Simmons in the 1980s and 90s, when he was at the height of his influence as the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, the hip-hop label behind LL Cool J, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and other top acts.
Continue reading...Despite owners and networks forsaking journalistic independence, Trump continues to threaten journalists
In the telling of Donald Trump and his Republican colleagues, the US media is fake news, stocked with “radical-left monsters” who are guilty of “illegal” reporting on the president.
The reality is different.
Continue reading...Scott Pelley castigated network over independence pending sale to Skydance Media requiring Trump’s approval
A host of CBS’s 60 Minutes flagship news show rebuked the show’s corporate owners on Sunday evening, part of a dispute over journalists’ independence amid a lawsuit from Donald Trump and attempted sale.
For decades, the broadcast news program has been a destination for investigative journalism and home to America’s most venerated broadcast journalists – including Sunday evening’s host Scott Pelley.
Continue reading...President’s tensions with CBS show barely scratch surface of crusade against media he calls ‘enemy of the people’
Donald Trump’s battle with a US media he considers an “enemy of the people” has been a signature fight of his second term in office, sparking warnings of an erosion of press freedoms in America and fears over the independence of key publications owned by billionaires seeking to become close to the president.
But one struggle has now taken center stage that puts one of the most prestigious brands in US journalism in a direct legal fight with the White House, which has also dragged in a gigantic multibillion-dollar Wall Street deal by the corporate owners of one of America’s main broadcast networks.
Continue reading...HBO renewed Mike White’s hit drama before third season aired and rumours abound about luxury settings and return of stars
You’ve only just got home from a holiday when you start planning the next one. So it is with the super-rich spa satire The White Lotus. The gunsmoke is still clearing from the finale of the third season but speculation is rife about where the HBO hit will head next.
This week’s climax of Mike White’s drama might have divided critics, but it was still group chat-dominating, column inch-gobbling TV, notching its highest ratings yet. The show was renewed for a fourth trip before the third had even aired, with White reportedly pitching HBO execs his next idea while still filming in Koh Samui. Buzz is now building about the next chapter, expected on our screens in late 2026.
Continue reading...Majority of producers on Maddow and Joy Reid’s shows let go with option to re-apply amid network shake-up
MSNBC has told the majority of the employees who produce Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid’s primetime evening news shows they are being let go as part of the network’s programming overhaul with the option to apply for new roles, according to two people directly familiar with the matter.
Maddow, the biggest star and highest-rated anchor at MSNBC, will get to keep her executive producer, Cory Gnazzo, and several other senior producers, the people said.
Continue reading...Holt to step down as anchor as Katie Phang and Jonathan Capehart, whose shows also canceled, to remain at MSNBC
NBC’s Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of its Nightly News show, and MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin is stepping down from a similar role at his namesake weekend evening show as the networks’ owners continue a major programming shake-up on Monday.
Others at MSNBC affected by changes revealed on Monday include Katie Phang and Jonathan Capehart, the New York Post reported.
Continue reading...Morning Joe host accuses critics of being disconnected from ‘the real world’ amid outcry over Mar-a-Lago visit
The Morning Joe star Joe Scarborough brushed off criticism of last week’s meeting with Donald Trump in Florida amid reports that the get-together was motivated by the liberal news network show host’s fear of retribution from the US president-elect.
Scarborough, along with his co-host, Mika Brzezinski, revealed during Monday’s broadcast that they personally met with Donald Trump last week to “restart communications” following their unrelenting opposition to his campaign for the White House.
Continue reading...Fubo TV accuses Venu Sports – which also involves Hulu and Warner Bros Discovery – of anti-competitive practices
The launch of Venu Sports will be delayed after a federal judge granted FuboTV’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the planned sports streaming venture by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery.
US district judge Margaret M Garnett in New York said in her 69-page ruling that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving during a trial that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws, and Fubo and consumers would “face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction”.
Continue reading...Fox News host recently had his show canceled after joining in the false narrative of 2020 election being stolen
Lou Dobbs, a longtime cable news anchor known in recent years for supporting Donald Trump and for spreading misinformation, has died at age 78, according to statements posted on his social media accounts.
Trump paid tribute to Dobbs as “a friend, and truly incredible Journalist, Reporter, and Talent” in a post on his social media site, writing: “He understood the World, and what was ‘happening,’ better than others.”
Continue reading...Will Stewart’s satire still cut through in a post-pandemic world of disinformation, polarisation and fragmented media?
Barack Obama was US president. Britain was a lynchpin of the European Union. Harvey Weinstein was a powerful movie mogul. Meghan Markle was starring in Suits. “TikTok” did not mean anything and fake news meant a satirical TV program with pretend reporters.
That was the world Jon Stewart left behind when he hosted his last episode of The Daily Show on the Comedy Central network on 6 August 2015, denying a legion of fans his lacerating take on the election, presidency, impeachment, defeat, impeachment again and comeback of Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Network says role will be recast after Ukraine hit out over casting of Serbian for new season
The makers of hit TV show the White Lotus have dropped actor Miloš Biković from the upcoming series after criticism from Ukraine over the Serbian native’s ties to Russia.
Biković, who was cast for the third season of the award-winning dark comedy just weeks ago, has protested against HBO’s decision as “the triumph of absurdity and the defeat of art”.
Continue reading...Mark Levin called Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper ‘self-hating Jews’ on syndicated radio show, prompting furious response
For the second time in two days, the White House denounced Fox News over remarks by a host relating to the Israel-Hamas war, following condemnation of Jesse Watters’ apparent incitement of violence against Arab Americans with condemnation of Mark Levin for calling two CNN anchors “self-hating Jews”.
Andrew Bates, a spokesperson, said: “President Biden believes in an America where we come together against hate and don’t fan its flames. But not only is Fox News aligning with those who fan the flames of hate – Fox is paying their salaries.”
Continue reading...Former president vows to investigate TV networks for ‘country-threatening treason’ should he win US election next year
Donald Trump said Comcast, the owner of NBC and MSNBC, “should be investigated for its ‘Country Threatening Treason’” and promised to do so should he be re-elected president next year.
In response, one progressive group said the former US president and current overwhelming frontrunner in the Republican 2024 presidential nomination race had “gone full fascist”.
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