Arts & Entertainment

Madonna to direct film on dancer Michaela DePrince’s life

Published by admin on Wed, 03/14/2018 - 12:00am

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Madonna is pirouetting back into the director’s chair. MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman said Tuesday that the pop music icon will direct a film based on ballet dancer Michaela DePrince’s memoir “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina.”

DePrince overcame a childhood in war-stricken Sierra Leone to become a world class ballerina. She made her debut at age 17 in South Africa’s Joburg Ballet and also appeared in Beyonce’s “Lemonade.”

Fired FBI director Comey to appear on ‘The View’

Published by admin on Wed, 03/14/2018 - 12:00am

NEW YORK (AP) — Fired FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to appear on ABC’s “The View.” Comey will participate in his first daytime talk show interview on April 18. Goldberg says they’ll have a lot to talk about. The appearance will come after an April 15 interview on the network’s “20/20” program before Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty,” is released. Republican President Donald Trump fired Comey last May.

Larry Flynt loses appeal for information on executions

Published by admin on Wed, 03/14/2018 - 12:00am

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled against Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt in his bid for information on how Missouri executes prisoners.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday to uphold a lower court’s 2016 ruling that allows the state to not release information about the medical qualifications of some members of the Missouri Department of Correction’s execution team.

Flynt’s interest in capital punishment in Missouri began when the state was preparing to execute the man who shot and paralyzed him in 1978.

Man charged with theft of Frances McDormand’s Oscar

Published by admin on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:00am

LOS ANGELES — A 47-year-old man was charged Tuesday with stealing Frances McDormand's Academy Award at an Oscars afterparty.

Los Angeles County prosecutors said that Terry Bryant was charged with one felony count of grand theft for stealing the statuette McDormand won for best actress for her performance in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" on Sunday night.

Bryant faces up to three years in prison if convicted. Jail records show that he is still being held on $20,000 bail. It is not clear whether he has retained an attorney who can comment.

Entertainment Briefs

Published by admin on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:00am

Weeks after school shooting, band performs at Carnegie Hall

Experts: Prosecutors get edge if accusers testify vs. Cosby

Published by admin on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:00am

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Letting jurors hear from Bill Cosby's dozens of accusers would strengthen prosecutors' hesaid-she-said case by showing the one criminal case against him fits an alleged five-decade pattern of sexual misconduct, legal experts said Tuesday.

Prosecutors are eager to widen the scope of Cosby's April 2 retrial as they attempt to portray the once-beloved entertainment icon as a serial predator who made a sadistic habit of drugging and molesting women.

Nielsen’s: ‘The Walking Dead’ has worst showing in years

Published by admin on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:00am

NEW YORK (AP) — It wasn't so long ago that zombies, and "The Walking Dead," were all the rage. This week's ratings show how that's faded.

The latest episode of the AMC series was seen by 6.82 million viewers on Sunday, the drama's smallest audience since 2012. For the youthful 18-to-49-year-old demographic, it was the worst showing since 2010.

"The Walking Dead" this week competed directly against the Oscars, which themselves had a record low viewership.

Box Office Top 10: ‘Black Panther’ No. 1 with $66.3 million

Published by admin on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:00am

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disney and Marvel's "Black Panther" held the No. 1 spot at the box office for the third week in a row by a wide margin over new openers "Red Sparrow" and "Death Wish." "Black Panther" added $66.3 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to a staggering $501.7 million.

The R-rated Jennifer Lawrence spy thriller "Red Sparrow" finished a distant second with $16.9 million, while the Bruce Willis action movie "Death Wish" opened in third place with $13 million.

‘Shape of Water’ triumphs at an Academy Awards ceremony awash in change

Published by admin on Mon, 03/05/2018 - 12:00am

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Against all odds, love won out at the 90th Academy Awards.

Guillermo del Toro’s lavish, full-hearted monster romance “The Shape of Water” swam away with best picture at an Oscar ceremony flooded by a sense of a change for a movie business confronting the post-Harvey Weinstein era. The ceremony, held Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, exorcised some demons — like last year’s envelope fiasco — and wrestled with other, deeper problems in Hollywood, like gender equality and diversity.

‘Black Panther’ tops Box Office Top 20

Published by admin on Wed, 02/28/2018 - 12:00am

NEW YORK (AP) — "Black Panther" scored $111.7 million at the North American box office in its second week according to final studio figures Monday, putting Ryan Coogler's Marvel sensation on a trajectory that could ultimately land it among the highest grossing films.

Disney again revised up the weekend performance of "Black Panther," after estimating that it grossed $108 million on Sunday. The strong second week sales pushed the film's cumulative domestic gross past $400 million and its worldwide haul above $700 million.