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Weeknights at Seven: How the Best Interviewer in America Got Shafted by Hollywood (via the Pasadena Freeway)

Terry Gross is the Adele of conversation, the Lady Gaga of talk. Her exchanges get to the emotional heart-of-the-matter, and she’s not afraid to look at the darkness to get to the light. Terry Gross is the Michael Jordan of…

Dec 7, 2015

Something Familiar, Something Peculiar, Something for Everyone — Though Nothing Sacred: The WGA Picks Its 101 Funniest Screenplays

Something familiar, Something peculiar, Something for everyone: A comedy tonight! Something appealing, Something appalling, Something for everyone: A comedy tonight! Nothing with kings, nothing with crowns; Bring on the lovers, liars and clowns! Old situations, New complications, Nothing portentous or…

Nov 17, 2015

Jon Favreau, the Farrelly Brothers, Robert Townsend, Buck Henry, Jennifer Westfeldt, Rob Reiner and Many Others Join to Celebrate the WGA’s Newly Released List of 101 Funniest Screenplays of All Time

EDITOR’S NOTE: A list of the 101 funniest screenplays of all time has been released by The Writers Guild of America (East and West). According to the Nov. 11 press release, the list was “voted on by members of both…

Nov 17, 2015

Treat Yourself on This Veterans Day By Watching One of the Most Poignant Programs Ever Broadcast on TV. In Fact, It’s Already the Most-Watched Scripted Program in TV History

War is Hell. Or, more accurately, to quote William Tecumseh Sherman, speaking about the Civil War, “I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard…

Nov 11, 2015

Documentary Series Attracts Top Hollywood Players

Ron Howard. Brett Ratner. Akiva Goldsman. The names of these major Hollywood players are not normally associated with documentaries about science. But all three, along with Peter Berg and actors Angela Bassett and Paul Giamatti, have each directed an episode…

Oct 29, 2015

Adjusting to Life in an On-Demand World: Top TV Execs Talk About the Changing Landscape

The global business of television and the changes that have occurred in the past year took center stage as the Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS) put on its annual State of the Industry newsmaker luncheon with top executives from…

Oct 20, 2015

Comedy Legends on Comedy Legends: Dishing With Mel Brooks and David Steinberg

The black and white clip rolled, and in short order the audience at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills was rolling in the aisles with laughter. The segment was from “The David Susskind Show” and…

Oct 9, 2015

Big Change for Critics’ Choice Awards

For 20 years now, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards have bestowed prestigious honors on the best filmmaking of the previous year. Coming in early January, they have also historically served to set a path forward for the anointed into the…

Oct 2, 2015

Stephen Moyer on Playing ‘The Bastard Executioner’s’ Chamberlain

Stephen Moyer is practically unrecognizable in his new role on FX’s “The Bastard Executioner” from his previous turn as vampire Bill Compton on “True Blood.” Except for the bad teeth. Moyer, a classically trained English actor, plays Milus Corbett, a…

Sep 29, 2015

‘Peaceful Invasion’ Is Focus of New Documentary — Who Made ‘The List’?

First, there was “The Black List,” then “The Latino List” and “The Out List.” Then there came “The Boomer List.” Now, director and producer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is coming out with a new documentary, ”The Women’s List.” The concepts for these…

Sep 25, 2015