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      The Long, Strange Road to Alec Baldwin’s Manslaughter Trial

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      On the afternoon of Oct. 21, 2021, Mary Carmack-Altwies, the district attorney for New Mexico’s First Judicial District, was driving along a lonely stretch of the mountain highway connecting Santa Fe and Taos when her cell service abruptly returned and her phone started pinging — message after message. She pulled over to the side of the road and began scrolling: Alec Baldwin had accidentally shot two people on a movie set in her jurisdiction. Carmack-Altwies had planned to spend the next couple of days alone in the mountains before celebrating her 43rd birthday with her wife, a retired investigator for the state, and their two children. Clearly that was not going to happen.Listen to this article, read by Pete SimonelliThe shooting occurred at 1:46 p.m. that day at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a family-owned Old West movie set about 20 miles southeast of Santa Fe that had been rented out by “Rust,” an independent film that Baldwin was both starring in and producing. The bullet he inadvertently fired passed through the upper body of the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, and lodged near the spine of Joel Souza, the director. Souza was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Santa Fe; Hutchins was airlifted to a trauma center in Albuquerque and died a short time later.Carmack-Altwies was nearing the end of her first year in office. She had been an assistant district attorney specializing in violent crimes when her boss made a bid for Congress. She ran to succeed him — her first foray into electoral politics — and won easily, inheriting a jurisdiction that covers three counties: Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Santa Fe. She’s a Democrat in a Democratic district, though the label connotes something very different in New Mexico, a rural hunting state whose voters tend to place a high value on the Second Amendment, than it does in, say, New York or California. Carmack-Altwies turned around and went back to her office in Santa Fe, where she spent most of the night on the phone with the local police, trying to make sure that the movie set, now a potential crime scene, was properly secured. In the days that followed, reporters from all over the world descended on Santa Fe. Carmack-Altwies held her first news conference about the incident six days later outside the Sheriff’s Department. She was asked if she intended to prosecute anyone. “I do not make rash decisions, and I do not rush to judgment,” she said. “All options are on the table at this point.”Bonanza Creek Ranch, the movie set where Alec Baldwin fatally shot the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a prop gun in October 2021, leading to his indictment on charges of involuntary manslaughter.Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal, via ZUMA/AlamyWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Jonathan Majors Is Cast in First Movie Role Since Assault Conviction

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      Mr. Majors, who was sentenced to a year of domestic violence programming and was dropped by Marvel, is set to star in the independent thriller “Merciless.”Jonathan Majors will lead a feature film for the first time since he was found guilty of assaulting and harassing his girlfriend, a conviction that doomed a lucrative contract with Marvel Studios and imperiled his status as one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood.Mr. Majors, who starred in “Creed III” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” last year, has been cast in “Merciless,” a supernatural thriller about a C.I.A. interrogator out for revenge. The movie will be directed by Martin Villeneuve and produced by Christopher Tuffin, an executive producer of the films “Sound of Freedom” and “Peppermint.”Mr. Tuffin said he believed in second chances and had decided to work with Mr. Majors because he was a “generational talent.”“We live in a culture that treats people as disposable, on both sides,” he said. “I believe that this matter has been adjudicated in the courts and he has a right to go back to his career.”A representative for Mr. Majors declined to comment.Mr. Majors was convicted of a reckless assault misdemeanor and a harassment violation in December, months after an altercation inside an S.U.V. that his girlfriend Grace Jabbari said turned violent. He was acquitted of two other charges that required prosecutors to prove he had acted with intent.A judge sentenced Mr. Majors to 52 weeks of domestic violence programming.In court testimony, Ms. Jabbari said she and Mr. Majors had gotten into an argument in Manhattan while they were dating. She said that he had twisted her arm and that she subsequently felt “a really hard blow across my head.” Mr. Majors did not testify but through his lawyer and in an interview on “Good Morning America,” he disputed Ms. Jabbari’s account and denied assaulting her.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon’ Is Debuting Friday. Will Audiences Follow?

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      To make “Horizon,” he put his own money on the line and left “Yellowstone,” the series that revived his career — all with little Hollywood support.Oh, to have the self-confidence of Kevin Costner.There are few actors in the final chapter of their career who would turn down a consistent $1 million-an-episode payday to pursue the vagaries of the Wild West. Yet there are few actors who are as single-minded as Costner.For the 69-year old star and director, who has made a career of taking the road less traveled, has embarked on what many would call a foolhardy quest to turn his long-percolating story of the settling of the West post-Civil War into four theatrical films. It’s an endeavor he’s undertaking without the true support of Hollywood: No legacy studio wanted to finance his sprawling epic. And it’s one that comes at great personal cost, both financially, with Costner investing $38 million of his own money, and professionally, with his commitment to the films causing a schism with the producers of “Yellowstone,” the television franchise that revitalized his career.There is no guarantee his grand experiment will succeed. “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” is set to debut Friday. And in an unprecedented move, “Chapter 2” will hit theaters less than two months later, on Aug. 16. Both features cost in the $100 million range. Warner Bros. is releasing the films in the United States, Canada and some international territories in a service deal calling for Costner to pay for the marketing costs while collaborating with the studio on the creation of the marketing materials. (Warner Bros., according to a representative who was not permitted to speak on the record, has a small financial stake in the production of the first two films.) The deal’s structure means that should the movies backfire, there will be little financial downside for the studio but much risk for Costner himself.Abbey Lee, left, with Costner, in the first of four films envisioned by the star-director.Richard Foreman/Warner Bros.But as he has put it, letting go was never an option. He first commissioned the script back in 1988. He almost made it with Disney, but the two parties couldn’t agree on a budget and the movie didn’t go forward. Then, instead of retooling one movie to fit the parameters of potential buyers, he and the screenwriter Jon Baird turned it into four. To partly finance the films, he mortgaged a 10-acre piece of undeveloped coastline in Santa Barbara that he’s owned since 2006.“It’s hard to fall out of love for me. I don’t do that,” he told journalists during the online debut of his teaser trailer in February, and added, “There’s a lot of people out there that know I’m a little bit of a hard-head or something. When no one wanted to make the first one, I got the bright idea to make four. So I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” (Costner declined to be interviewed for this story.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘The Lion King’ at 30: Jason Weaver Sang for Simba but Few Knew It

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      The actor was playing a young Michael Jackson when Elton John spotted him. Three decades later, the new attention to his legacy is “gratifying.”When Jason Weaver arrived at his middle school in Chicago wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with “The Lion King” logo in 1993, his classmates sneered. The apparel had been a gift from Disney when Weaver recorded the singing voice of young Simba, but the blockbuster animated film had yet to be released.“They were like, ‘What the hell is ‘The Lion King’?” Weaver, 44, recalled in a recent video interview. “They didn’t believe in any way shape or form I would be involved with a Disney film — not a kid from the South Side.”Until then, Weaver had mostly done print and commercial work in Chicago. He’d landed a small role in the civil rights drama “The Long Walk Home” and played a young Michael Jackson in the ABC mini-series “The Jacksons: An American Dream.” But for kids, a Disney theatrical movie was on another level.During an hour-and-a-half “Lion King” recording session in 1992, Weaver, who was turning 13, had sung the lead vocals for “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” the braggadocious anthem belted by the lion cub Simba as he fantasizes about inheriting the pridelands from his father, Mufasa.Opening in June 1994, “The Lion King” would go on to become the highest grossing traditionally animated film of all time. Its soundtrack eventually sold more than 7 million copies, and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” was certified double platinum.According to Weaver, his mother, Marilyn “Kitty” Haywood — a former jingle singer and recording artist who worked with Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield — turned down Disney’s initial offer and negotiated a fee of $100,000 plus lucrative royalties for her son.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Russell Crowe’s in 2 Exorcism Films? Yes, and Here’s Why the Roles Work

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      In a three-decade career, he’s developed an impressive range without forgetting how to have fun.Russell Crowe is going through a religious phase.In 2023, “The Pope’s Exorcist” showcased the actor as — you guessed it — the Vatican’s official exorcist. In “The Exorcism,” released Friday, he’s at it again, this time playing a washed-up movie star cast in the role of an exorcist. The set is cursed and Crowe’s Tony, an emotionally tormented single father and recovering addict, is ripe for demonic possession.Aside from the obvious, the two unrelated movies couldn’t be more different. “The Pope’s Exorcist” leans into schlock, with Crowe sporting a delightfully hammy Italian accent. “The Exorcism” is a relatively somber affair, generating thrills by relying on Crowe’s explosive, fevered performance. In both cases, he fits seamlessly into the world of satanic menace, which, per the genre’s blueprint, trades in questions of faith and repentance, and sees imperfect yet noble souls waging spiritual warfare against supernatural forces of evil. Why is Crowe so suited to these ungodly movies?In “The Pope’s Exorcist,” Crowe, with Daniel Zovatto, is an emissary from the Vatican.Jonathan Hession/Screen GemsOne might ask why Crowe is starring in these B-movies in the first place. In the 2000s, Crowe was nominated for a best actor Oscar three years in a row, but at the height of his fame he was associated with the kind of midbudget adult dramas that have become endangered in today’s theatrical landscape. He is getting older, too. At 60, he’s not the strapping It Boy who rallied the Roman masses in “Gladiator” (2000), or the same hunk who made headlines for his on-set romance with Meg Ryan, his “Proof of Life” (2000) co-star. Like many actors of his generation, he’s now playing showbiz with a different set of cards in an industry that looks radically different than when he started out.Crowe’s exorcism-themed movies may seem like lesser gigs. In both “The Pope’s Exorcist” and “The Exorcism,” he’s convincingly loony, playing it straight within the films’ unrealistic conceits while also, somehow, never losing sight of the ridiculousness that makes a good horror movie fun. At the same time, this pocket of horror makes surprisingly inventive use of his dramatic powers and the range he’s developed over the past 30-plus years.Crowe’s Hollywood breakout role, as Bud White, a gruff policeman with his own moral code in “L.A. Confidential” (1997), established him as a dramatic heavyweight; a quintessentially masculine leading man who infused real angst and vulnerability into brutish characters. Just look at the concentration in Crowe’s eyes when White raids a rapist’s home and shoots him dead, planting a gun in his hand to make it look like self-defense.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kevin Costner Will Not Return to ‘Yellowstone’

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      The actor and director is turning his attention to his ambitious film series about post-Civil War America.It’s official: Kevin Costner will not be returning to television’s hit neo-western “Yellowstone” for its final episodes or for any future “Yellowstone” offshoot, ending speculation about his involvement with one of TV’s biggest hits in recent years.In a video posted to social media on Thursday evening, Costner said that after a year-and-a-half working on his upcoming multi-film epic “Horizon” and thinking about “Yellowstone,” which he called a “beloved series that I love that I know you love,” he realized that he would not be able to continue. The second half of Season 5, the show’s last, is set to debut on Nov. 10.“It was something that really changed me,” Costner said about “Yellowstone,” which premiered on Paramount Network in 2018 and became an instant and durable standout. It was TV’s highest-rated drama of the 2021-22 TV season, and its Season 4 finale was the most-watched scripted prime-time telecast in 2022, Variety reported.“I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning,” Costner, 69, continued, telling fans that he has loved the relationship they have been able to develop. “I’ll see you at the movies,” he added.A representative for Costner did not immediately reply to a request for further comment on Friday.The announcement comes after will-he-or-won’t-he rumors about whether Costner would continue in the role of the ruthless Montana rancher John Dutton, which earned Costner a Golden Globe for acting in 2023. Tensions between Costner and the show’s creative team had been reported for more than a year — to the point that it was largely expected that Costner would not be involved in the conclusion of “Yellowstone.”In an emailed statement on Friday, a representative for Paramount Network said that those at the network wished him the best with the film series and that they had hoped that they would continue working with him. “Unfortunately,” the statement read, “we could not find a window that worked for him, all the other talent and our production needs in order to move forward together.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Taylor Wily, ‘Hawaii Five-0’ and ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ Actor, Dies at 56

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      He spent his early career as a professional sumo wrestler.Taylor Wily, who played a shrimp truck vendor and police informant on the television reboot of “Hawaii Five-0,” and who in his earlier years was an acclaimed professional sumo wrestler, died on Thursday. He was 56.Paul Almond, a legal representative for Mr. Wily, confirmed his death. A location and cause of death were not immediately available.Mr. Wily starred as Kamekona in more than 170 episodes of “Hawaii Five-0,” a reimagining of the 1970s crime drama that followed the escapades of state police officers on the island. His character became a fan favorite, gradually morphing into the show’s resident entrepreneur, running a shaved ice business and a helicopter tour company alongside his shrimp venture.“‘Hawaii Five-0’ could become ‘Kamekona Five-0,’” Masi Oka, who played Dr. Max Bergman on the series, said in a 2012 interview with CBS.The series, which ran from 2010 to 2020, followed a fictional state police unit that seemed to routinely crave shrimp. Mr. Wily’s character was a warm and comedic presence onscreen that resonated with fans across the world as well as with residents in Hawaii.Peter Lenkov, a producer of the series, said on social media that he was drawn to Mr. Wily from his first audition, and that he was impressed enough with Mr. Wily to write in his character as a recurring role.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      15 Donald Sutherland Movies to Stream: ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘M*A*S*H’ and More

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      Whether in the lead or a supporting role, the actor’s immense talent and range were apparent in six decades of performances.A lithe and seductively charming actor who worked consistently for more than six decades in Hollywood, often as a leading man, Donald Sutherland died on Thursday at 88. As a thinking man’s sex symbol whose versatility made him equally persuasive in irreverent comedies and heart-rending dramas, Sutherland worked with major directors across multiple eras, including Robert Altman, Federico Fellini and Clint Eastwood and looked comfortable in both modern dress and period garb. His unusual height — he was 6-foot-4 — and sonorous voice gave Sutherland an authoritative gait, but he was given more toward gentle-giant sensitivity than masculine swagger. Narrowing his great performances down to 15 films is no easy task — there’s at least another 15 where these came from — but this selection of streamable titles is a testament to his immense talent and range.1970‘M*A*S*H’Rent it on Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Google Play and YouTube.Kicking off a decade in which counterculture rebellion would seep into American studio movies — and a decade in which, not unrelatedly, Sutherland would become a big star — Robert Altman’s irreverent comedy about a medical unit during the Korean War doubled as a stealth commentary on the then-ongoing quagmire in Vietnam. Sutherland and Elliott Gould embody the film’s coarse iconoclasm and soul as two skilled combat surgeons who fill the downtime between harrowing emergencies with pranks, sarcastic quips and a fair bit of womanizing, often at the expense of the head nurse (Sally Kellerman). A hit in theaters, “M*A*S*H” was a popular long-running TV comedy, but the film remains significantly pricklier.1970‘Alex in Wonderland’Rent it on Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Google Play and YouTube.The central joke of Paul Mazursky’s clever riff on Fellini’s “8 ½” is that “Alex in Wonderland” was only the second film Mazursky had directed, following “Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice,” and thus he had not nearly the mileage Fellini had accumulated when his onscreen alter ego suffers a nervous breakdown after eight films and major international success. Here, Sutherland has the comic humility to play Mazursky’s hyper-neurotic surrogate, who is rendered nearly catatonic in his panic over his future in Hollywood and whether he should shift to a more commercial direction. It’s an unusual role for Sutherland, whose gravitas makes him more naturally assured, but he’s counterbalanced nicely by Ellen Burstyn as his wife, who manages his ego while exerting a subtle influence over his decision-making.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More