Thursday, February 27, 2025
White House Correspondents Association to Members: You’re On Your Own Against Trump
In response to the Trump administration sidelining the White House Correspondents Association and taking full control over which media outlets get White House access, on Wednesday WHCA denounced what it called a threat to “the independence of a free press in the United States,” and said it won’t cooperate. But if the group’s members expected there would follow a plan, or at least a call for a coordinated response to that threat, they likely came away disappointed. The WHCA has decided to stop distributing pool reports, effectively ceding control of the process to Trump without a fight. And its message…
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Jimmy Kimmel Says Under Trump and Elon Musk, America Is Run by a ‘Dick and a Tater’ | Video
Jimmy Kimmel isn’t a fan of the wrecking ball being taken to the American government by Elon Musk and Donald Trump, joking during his “Jimmy Kimmel” monologue on Monday that between the two of them, America is being controlled by a “dick and a tater.” Kimmel was of course referring to Musk’s “DOGE” team that has illegally fired thousands of government workers with no thought about what they do, and just as illegally has accessed private taxpayer information, among other crimes. “What an absolute mess these scoundrels are making of our country,” Kimmel said. The federal government is in unprecedented…
Monday, February 24, 2025
‘Maria’ Wins Top Award From American Society of Cinematographers
“Maria” cinematographer Ed Lachman has won the top feature-film award at the American Society of Cinematographers’ ASC Awards, which took place on Sunday evening in Los Angeles. The film, which charts the final week of opera diva Maria Callas’ life, is one of the five nominees in the Oscars Best Cinematography category and won in a category that also included fellow Oscar nominees “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “Nosferatu” and “Wicked,” as well as “Dune: Part Two” and “A Complete Unknown.” In the 38 years that the ASC has been giving out an award for feature-film cinematography, its winner has gone on…
Saturday, February 22, 2025
George Armitage, Director of ‘Grosse Pointe Blank,’ Dies at 82
George Armitage, the film director best known for the 1996 crime thriller/comedy “Grosse Pointe Blank” and the 1990 neo-noir “Miami Blues,” died Saturday, his son announced Friday. He was 82; no cause of death was made public. Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1942, Armitage moved with his mother to Beverly Hills at age 13 and attended UCLA. He began his career in entertainment working in the mail room at 20th Century Fox and, rising quickly, became an associate producer on “Peyton Place” in 1966 when he was still only 23 years old. He made the jump to films later in…
Friday, February 21, 2025
Section of PCH Closed Due to LA Wildfires, Floods, Partly Reopened
Though Los Angeles continues rebuilding from the devastating wildfires that gutted several local communities in January, a positive milestone was reached on Thursday when a second of Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Monica and Malibu was partly reopened. As of 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning, residents of areas in Santa Monica, Malibu and the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles burned by the Palisades Fire can now use that stretch of PCH. Owners and employees of essential businesses as well as school busses can also access that stretch. However, the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) has left several restrictions in effect….
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Stephen Colbert Roasts KFC for Moving Corporate HQ to Texas: ‘That Is Finger-Licking F—ed!’ | Video
Stephen Colbert is already exhausted by the onslaught of “news of yet another inexplicable, chaotic move seemingly bent on undermining everything we as Americans hold dear.” On Wednesday night, he was talking, of course, about fried chicken. “Today is no different because KFC is moving its corporate headquarters from Kentucky to Texas,” Colbert said. The “Late Show” audience hasn’t booed that fervently since earlier this month when he listed Donald Trump’s executive orders. And Colbert was extra crispy about it: “That — that is finger-licking f—ed,” he said. What is going on? What is happening? What’s next? Jersey Mike’s becomes…
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
3 Former FCC Bosses Condemn New Chairman’s Attacks on Press: ‘If We Lose the First Amendment We’ve Lost Everything’
Three former FCC chairs who served under Democratic and Republican presidents have broken with tradition in recent days to publicly criticize the organization’s current chairman, Brenden Carr, for actions they warn are direct attacks on the freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. Their concerns were made public on Tuesday in Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter. At issue are the politically motivated investigations Carr has ordered against several media organizations that President Donald Trump considers enemies. These include attacks on CBS based on conspiracy theories about the “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris and investigations against PBS and NPR literally pulled from the…
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Stephen Colbert Reacts to RFK Jr’s Confirmation: ‘Congrats, Polio!’ | Video
“The Late Show” took all of last week off, and as it turned out it was a very significant week in terms of Donald Trump’s unhinged actions and statements for host Stephen Colbert to miss. “He did a lot, and it’s hard to figure out among all the things he did, which is the most, the most, which is the most of what he did,” Colbert said during his monologue. “Each one of the things he did individually seem so criminal, so catastrophic, that sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees.” But he did manage to focus on…
Monday, February 17, 2025
‘SNL50’ Review: NBC’s Nostalgic but Irreverent Tribute to the Comedy Institution’s Legacy
“Saturday Night Live” celebrated its 50th anniversary with a three-and-a-half-hour Sunday night primetime special, because there were too many stars to fit into 90 minutes. Lorne Michaels’ sketch comedy institution has been part of the fabric of American culture for so long that it can be easy to take for granted how unique its run has been. “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” served as a star-studded reminder of how singular the show is — how long it’s been relevant, how many stars it has produced and how many catchphrases it has embedded into the collective vocabulary. The special was a cavalcade…
Sunday, February 16, 2025
‘Wicked,’ ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Conclave’ Win Film Awards From Art Directors Guild
“Nosferatu,”“Wicked” and “Conclave” have won the top feature-film awards at the Art Directors Guild’s Excellence in Production Design Awards, which took place on Saturday night in Los Angeles. “Nosferatu” won in the Period Feature Film category, where its competitors included its fellow Oscar nominee “The Brutalist”; “Wicked” won in Fantasy Feature Film against fellow nominee “Dune: Part Two,” among others; and “Conclave” won in the Contemporary Feature Film category. In the 18 years since the ADG separated its awards into period, fantasy and contemporary categories, one of the guild winners has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Production…
