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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Movie review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back, and maybe better than ever 
There are some good gags and clever innovations in the animated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” but there is one brilliant idea: casting Ice Cube as the voice of the movie’s mutant insect supervillain Super Fly. It might have once been hard to foresee the value of having the...
SAG-AFTRA members rally in Pittsburgh as Hollywood strike drags on
Randy Kovitz is a middle-class actor. It’s a title he says he’s proud of, with a resume showing credits from film, television and commercials. His first role was in George Romero’s cult classic and genre-defining movie “Dawn of the Dead,” a cult classic, filmed at Monroeville Mall. He received $50...
Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman, dead at 70 
Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural phenomenon through films and TV shows, has died. Reubens died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement. “Please accept my apology for not going...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Lando,’ Emmys and the prospect of a localized ‘Lake Placid’
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment, including whether that alligator in the Kiski River might spawn a “Lake Placid” sequel. Benz and Owen discuss the latest on the dual actors’ and writers’...
‘Barbie’ bonanza continues at the box office, ‘Oppenheimer’ holds the No. 2 spot
NEW YORK — A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom has not abated. Seven days after Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” conspired to set box office records, the two films held unusually strongly in theaters. “Barbie” took in a massive $93 million in its second weekend, according to studio...
Emmy Awards are postponed due to the Hollywood actors and writers strike
The 75th Emmy Awards are the latest production to be postponed due to the Hollywood strikes and will not air as planned in September. A person familiar with the postponement plans but not authorized to speak publicly pending an official announcement confirmed the delay Friday. No information about a new...
Record-breaking ‘Barbie’ brings in over half a billion dollars in 1 week
“Barbie” mania has resulted in a global box office that has soared past the half billion dollar mark. Warner Bros. Pictures said the film, which had a “record-shattering opening weekend” on July 21, 2023, “has surpassed the half-billion dollar mark at the global box office, taking in a staggering worldwide...
TV Talk: ‘Dark Winds’ roars back on AMC 
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Viewers may feel the impact of the concurrent writers and actors strikes in a few months, but this summer’s TV premieres continue apace, and the latest provides additional good news for crime drama fans. Already...
‘Jackass’ star Bam Margera to stand trial on assault charge in fight with brother, judge rules
WEST CHESTER, Pa. — “Jackass” star Bam Margera must stand trial on charges that he punched his brother during an altercation at their home near Philadelphia, a judge ruled Thursday while ordering him to get a drug and alcohol screening to remain free on bail. Margera, 43, has pleaded not...
TV Talk: Action comedy ‘Twisted Metal’ twists expectations for post-apocalyptic storytelling 
Post-apocalyptic stories can entertain and provoke thought – see HBO’s “The Last of Us” – but they also tend to be major downers. Along comes Peacock’s bonkers “Twisted Metal” to say, “Not always!” Like “The Last of Us,” “Twisted Metal” is based on a video game, this time a 1995...
TV Q&A: Will DISH and WPXI-TV’s parent company ever settle?
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 a DISH Network customer. We haven’t had NBC’s WPXI-TV for more than seven months and I’m still paying the same amount. Is there something...
Venice Film Festival unveils A-list lineup with ‘Priscilla,’ ‘Ferrari,’ ‘Maestro’ amid strikes
Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein drama “Maestro,” Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla Presley movie, Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” David Fincher’s “The Killer” and Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” will make their world debuts at the Venice International Film Festival this fall. Organizers announced the lineup Tuesday for the 80th edition of the festival, which — despite...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking ‘Barbie,’ Shark Week, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
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 what the future might hold for AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. Benz and Owen discuss the double hits of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” (and the failures of...
With ‘Barbie,’ Greta Gerwig breaks a box office record for female directors
“Barbie” didn’t just break the opening weekend record for 2023; It also shattered the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman. With $162 million in ticket sales from North American theaters, according to studio totals Monday, “Barbie” catapulted past both “Captain Marvel,” which was co-directed by Anna...
Jury deliberates in Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial in London
LONDON — Jurors in the sexual assault trial of Kevin Spacey retired to begin deliberations Monday on allegations against the actor by four men that date back two decades. Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a...
The results of ‘Barbenheimer’ weekend are in. Here’s who took the box office crown
“Barbenheimer ” didn’t just work — it spun box office gold. The social media-fueled fusion of Greta Gerwig’s ” Barbie ” and Christopher Nolan’s ” Oppenheimer ” brought moviegoers back to the theaters in record numbers this weekend, vastly outperforming projections and giving a glimmer of hope to the lagging...
Pleasant Hills woman’s passion for Barbie dolls inspired by her late mother
Dressed in bold red, bright green and shimmery pink ball gowns, Kim Bennear Fancsali’s Barbies are perched atop two shelves in the corner of the room. Some have sparkling tiaras, others are adorned with colorful capes and puffy faux fur. Fancy necklaces and earrings complete the look. They are from...
Vanna White to reportedly get paid $100K per episode of ‘Celebrity Wheel’ in partial contract agreement
Vanna White apparently will keep her job on “Wheel of Fortune” when Ryan Seacrest begins hosting next year — but with a caveat. The longtime letter-turner has reportedly agreed to be paid $100,000 an episode for “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.” While White is said to have requested half of the...
TV Talk: ‘Lioness’ fills the ‘SEAL Team’ void on Paramount+ 
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. As it looks like we’re in for a long haul with the writers’ and actors’ strikes, fans of Paramount+ series “SEAL Team” will be waiting a while to see that show’s seventh season — writing...
Think pink: Barbie-mania takes over Western Pennsylvania
Sorry, Taylor Swift, you’re old news. This week, it’s all about Barbie. The long-awaited, first live-action movie about the world’s best-selling fashion doll arrives in theaters this weekend with Margot Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as her perpetual boyfriend, Ken. “Barbie” finds the pair kicked out of...
Fans of martial arts legend Bruce Lee fondly remember his life philosophy 50 years after his death
HONG KONG — Fans of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who broke negative stereotypes around Asian men in films, gathered in Hong Kong this week to commemorate their idol’s death half a century ago, remembering his legacy and his life philosophy on persistence. Lee, who was born in San...
TV Talk: ‘Shark Week’ goes inside ‘Belly of the Beast’ to get close-up views of sharks 
“Shark Week 2023” kicks off this weekend on Discovery Channel and streaming service Max with “Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy” (8 p.m. Sunday), which is a prototypical “Shark Week” entry. Part science, part derring-do for the purposes of entertainment, cameras follow marine biologist and “Shark Week’ mainstay Austin Gallagher...
Movie Review: A bomb and its fallout in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is a kinetic thing of dark, imposing beauty that quakes with the disquieting tremors of a forever rupture in the course of human history. “Oppenheimer,” a feverish three-hour immersion in the life of Manhattan Project mastermind J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), is poised between the shock and...
Movie review: She’s Perfect Barbie. He’s Scene-Stealing Ken. Their life in plastic looks fantastic 
For someone who’s 11.5 inches tall and weighs under 8 ounces, poor Barbie’s had to carry an awfully heavy load over the years on that slender, plastic back of hers. Welcomed as a trailblazer in 1959 — An adult doll! With actual breasts! — she was nonetheless branded an anti-feminist...
‘Am I crossing picket lines if I see a movie?’ and other Hollywood strike fan questions answered
You watch movies. You watch TV. And now you’re wondering how the dual Hollywood strikes — a pitched battle with actors and writers on one side, and studios and streaming services on the other — will affect you. We have answers. Do the strikes mean “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” aren’t coming...


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