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    ‘Freaks and Geeks,’ TV’s Least Likely to Succeed, Won by Losing

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    The high school cringe comedy was the undersung member of the Class of ’99. But its influence is everywhere.By the 25th reunion, you get a good sense of how time has treated a graduating class. This is certainly true of TV’s Class of ’99.There, in the center of the room, is “The West Wing,” that popular class president among dramas, holding court and reliving its glory days (even if some of its youthful luster is gone). There’s “The Sopranos,” the brooding film student that went on to big things, still exuding a sense of artsy danger. There are “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Family Guy,” still turning out new episodes, like classmates who stuck around and joined the faculty.And who’s that off in the corner? Oh, right: “Freaks and Geeks.” Weird, funny kid, never quite fit in. Used to hang out on the smoking patio, played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons. Whatever happened to them?In its freshman (and only) year, “Freaks and Geeks” spent a lot of time getting stuffed into lockers (or, at least, stuffed by NBC into undesirable time slots). An offbeat teen series about burnouts and nerds at a Michigan high school in the 1980-81 school year, it arrived on Sept. 25, 1999, with the praise of critics and a niche sensibility.That combo, in the days of mass network TV, tended to mark a new series as Least Likely to Succeed, and NBC axed it midyear. The complete season aired in 2000 on Fox Family Channel, a cable destination one step up from a test pattern.But like the homeroom wallflower who blossomed late, this bittersweetly brilliant one-season wonder aged well, into something influential, groundbreaking and — dare I say it — cool.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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      What to Know Before Seeing ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

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      Who is Caesar? And how did apes learn to talk, anyway? Your burning questions about the “Planet of the Apes” franchise answered.For some, the name “Planet of the Apes” might conjure memories of Charlton Heston in 1968. But the most recent incarnation of the sci-fi franchise has been going strong since 2011. These “Apes” movies feature no fuzzy costumes or heavy prosthetics, and instead are feats of computer generated performance capture technology.The latest one, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” (in theaters), is both a direct sequel to its predecessors and a bit of a reboot of the property. Whereas the first three films in this new series took place within a relatively compact timeline, “Kingdom” jumps centuries into the future. And yet, thematically, it is still deeply connected to what came before. So what should you know going in?Caesar is dead. Long live Caesar.Directed by Wes Ball, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” takes place “many generations” after the first trilogy of films in this monkey business: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (2011), “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014) and “War for the Planet of the Apes” (2017). Yet, those movies’s protagonist, Caesar, is perhaps the most important unseen character in “Kingdom.” He’s long dead — we see a glimpse of his funeral — but his legacy as a leader is debated and referred to throughout the plot.Caesar (Andy Serkis) and Will Rodman (James Franco) in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”20th Century StudiosSo who is Caesar?Caesar is a chimp, played by the performance capture king Andy Serkis. “Rise” (streaming on Hulu), directed by Rupert Wyatt, introduces Caesar as a baby. His mother was a lab chimp who is killed when she lashes out. The scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) takes Caesar in and raises him himself. (“Rise” is the only movie where humans are more central to the story than apes.) As Caesar grows up it is clear he is remarkably intelligent thanks to the drug that Will has been working on, which is meant as an Alzheimer’s cure. As Will and his team continue to develop the formula it eventually becomes clear that it makes apes smart but unleashes a deadly virus on the human race. (More on that later.) Caesar still has affection for Will and his human caretakers, but he leads an uprising of mistreated apes.In “Dawn” (on Hulu and Max), which was directed by Matt Reeves and takes place about “10 winters” after the events of “Rise,” humans encounter Caesar’s camp and ask him to help them restart a dam for their survival. Caesar, being the benevolent leader he is, obliges, but is met with resistance from Koba (Toby Kebbell), an ape who saw the worst of humanity in captivity before his escape. Koba plots to overthrow Caesar by making it look like humans murdered him, and therefore leads a crew of apes to attack the humans’ compound. Caesar, however, survives and must break one of his cardinal rules: “Ape not kill ape.”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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      Amber Heard Accuses ‘Belligerent’ Johnny Depp of Sexual Assault

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      With graphic depictions of what she described as physical attacks, she sought to counter the actor’s testimony that she had been the aggressor.Amber Heard described in graphic detail on Thursday how, she said, her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, beat and sexually assaulted her during a trip to Australia, during which she experienced the worst fear of her life.Ms. Heard, testifying in the defamation case filed against her by Mr. Depp, said the couple took the trip in 2015, shortly after they were married, because the actor was needed for the filming of the fifth “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. But, while there, Mr. Depp took MDMA, became “belligerent” and attacked her, hitting her in the face, throwing her across the room, ripping off her nightgown and grabbing her by the neck, she said.“I’m looking in his eyes and I don’t see him anymore,” Ms. Heard, who sometimes broke into sobs during her testimony, said. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”Ms. Heard described the encounter during her second day of testimony in Fairfax County Circuit Court, where she and Mr. Depp are locked in a tense legal battle over just who defamed whom. In his own testimony, Mr. Depp denied hitting Ms. Heard and denied sexually assaulting her, accusing her of being the aggressor in the relationship.The incident in Australia has emerged as a key point of contention in a trial that has focused on competing, and contradictory, accusations of spousal abuse. At some point during the confrontation Ms. Heard described, part of the middle finger on Mr. Depp’s right hand had been severed, but the couple has presented differing accounts of how it actually happened and who was to blame.Ms. Heard, 36, said Mr. Depp, 58, was angry about several issues, including his suspicion that she had been having an affair with another actor and his contention that she had been unkind to his sister. She said his attack escalated from vulgar name-calling to threats and violence. In an argument over his drinking, she said, she had thrown a liquor bottle on the ground.“That really set him off,” she said.Ms. Heard testified that during the fight, Mr. Depp threw bottles at her, missing, and that later he sexually assaulted her with a bottle. She said that, though she could not see the bottle at the time, she was later able to deduce what the object had been.According to Ms. Heard’s account, Mr. Depp severed his finger when he picked up a phone from the wall and smashed it into pieces. She said that after the attack she returned to that area of the house and found messages written on the walls and objects in the room, in blood and paint.During his testimony earlier in the trial, Mr. Depp said his finger had been severed when Ms. Heard threw a handle of vodka at him that had shattered on his hand. He said she had been upset about a meeting she had with a lawyer over a potential postnuptial agreement, and described her following him around the house, screaming obscenities and “hammering me with brutal words.” He testified that when she discovered him drinking, she hurled a bottle of vodka at him, which missed, and then another, which made contact.As his hand bled “like Vesuvius,” Mr. Depp testified, he experienced a “nervous breakdown” and used his bloody finger to write on the walls messages that “represented lies that she told me.”Mr. Depp’s lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages and cites what it describes as damage done to his reputation and career by an op-ed piece written by Ms. Heard.Pool photo by Jim Lo ScalzoDuring her first day of testimony on Wednesday, Ms. Heard testified that Mr. Depp physically abused her throughout their relationship, recalling that his anger was triggered by suspicions she was being unfaithful, which would not abate despite her repeated denials.In his testimony, Mr. Depp had denied ever hitting Ms. Heard and accused her of being the person who resorted to violence by punching him, throwing objects at him and, once, kicking a bathroom door into his head. In court papers, Ms. Heard denied hitting Mr. Depp except in self-defense or in defense of her sister.Johnny Depp’s Libel Case Against Amber HeardCard 1 of 6In the courtroom. More

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      Johnny Depp’s Texts Shown to Jurors in Defamation Case

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      Mr. Depp was questioned on the stand by lawyers for his ex-wife Amber Heard, whom he is suing for defamation.Lawyers for Amber Heard worked on Thursday to point out inconsistencies in Johnny Depp’s testimony in the defamation trial between the formerly married actors, presenting text messages sent by Mr. Depp and audio recordings of the couple’s arguments.Ms. Heard has asserted in court papers that Mr. Depp repeatedly assaulted her throughout their marriage, including during a fight in 2015 in which she said he “reeled back” and head-butted her in the face, “bashing” her nose. Mr. Depp has testified that he never struck Ms. Heard during their relationship and accused her of being the aggressor.Mr. Depp said on the stand Thursday that he vehemently disagreed that he had head-butted Ms. Heard that night, saying that he was only trying to restrain her and that it was “not impossible for them to bump.”Confronted with a recording of himself saying, “I head butted you in the forehead,” using an expletive, and “That doesn’t break a nose,” Mr. Depp said he had been trying to placate Ms. Heard by repeating her version of events.“There was not an intentional head butt,” the actor said, “and if you want to have a peaceful conversation with Ms. Heard, you might have to placate just a little bit.”The trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court revolves around an op-ed Ms. Heard wrote in 2018 for The Washington Post in which she said she was a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”But the trial testimony has gone well beyond an analysis of what Ms. Heard wrote. It includes a lengthy review of physical altercations between the actors, the differing accounts they have given about each and an extensive review of Mr. Depp’s use of drugs and alcohol.On Thursday, a lawyer for Ms. Heard, Ben Rottenborn, had Mr. Depp recall how he wrote bloody messages on the wall and other objects after part of his finger was severed in 2015.In his testimony, Mr. Depp affirmed that he had written a message on a mirror with his injured finger that referred to Ms. Heard — then his wife — as “easy Amber” and another, on a lampshade that said, “Good luck and be careful at top.”“I thought it was good advice,” Mr. Depp replied.But what the two sides disagree on is how Mr. Depp’s finger was severed, while the couple were in Australia for the filming of fifth “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.Mr. Depp has testified that Ms. Heard threw a handle of vodka, which shattered on his hand and severed his finger. In court papers, Ms. Heard has said he severed his own finger when smashing a phone “to smithereens” amid a bout of physical violence against her.Ms. Heard — who is countersuing Mr. Depp for defamation after his former lawyer called her accusations a hoax — has written in court papers that Mr. Depp’s drug and alcohol use was central to the cycle of abuse, writing, “Johnny would become volatile and violent when under the influence of drugs and alcohol, then contrite and apologetic when he would sober up.”Amber Heard has countersued Mr. Depp and is expected to testify later in the trial.Pool photo by Jim Lo ScalzoMr. Depp testified on Tuesday that Ms. Heard’s depiction of his drug and alcohol use was “grossly embellished” and that he was once addicted to an opioid but had successfully detoxed.Parts of the cross-examination from Ms. Heard’s lawyer sought to show that Mr. Depp had misrepresented his drug use.Mr. Rottenborn questioned Mr. Depp about a particular incident in 2014 on which the actor’s account diverges from Ms. Heard’s. She has written in court papers that Mr. Depp had been “drinking heavily” on a private flight and threw objects at her, screamed obscenities and kicked her in the back. He was angry, she said, about a romantic scene she had been filming with the actor James Franco. She said he then locked himself in the plane’s bathroom and passed out, according to court papers.Mr. Depp testified on Wednesday that he had taken opioids and had perhaps had a glass of champagne on that flight, adding that he had locked himself in the bathroom because Ms. Heard had been “actively searching for a way to instigate a fight with me.” Ms. Heard has said in court papers that she has never struck Mr. Depp except in self-defense or in defense of her sister.Johnny Depp’s Libel Case Against Amber HeardCard 1 of 6In the courtroom. More

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      Settlement Reached in Suit Accusing James Franco of Sexual Misconduct

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storySettlement Reached in Suit Accusing James Franco of Sexual MisconductTwo former students of Mr. Franco’s have agreed to drop their claims that he had intimidated them into performing explicit sex scenes. Mr. Franco has denied the allegations.James Franco. Two former students withdrew their allegations about him.Credit…Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFeb. 21, 2021Updated 4:57 p.m. ETTwo former students who filed a lawsuit in 2019 accusing the actor and filmmaker James Franco of subjecting them to sexually exploitative auditions and film shoots at an acting and film school that he founded have agreed to drop their claims against him as part of a settlement reached earlier this month.A joint status report that was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 11 said that the two women who brought the suit, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, had agreed to drop their individual claims against Mr. Franco Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.Details of the Feb. 11 filing were reported Saturday by The Associated Press. On Sunday, lawyers for the plaintiffs confirmed the settlement, which they said would be formalized in a court filing at a later date. They did not provide further details.Ms. Tither-Kaplan and Ms. Gaal said in a 2019 filing that Mr. Franco had intimidated them into performing gratuitous sex scenes while denying them the protections of nudity riders when they were students in a master class on sex scenes at his school, Studio 4, which operated from 2014 to 2017 and had branches in Los Angeles and New York.According to the suit, Mr. Franco “sought to create a pipeline of young women who were subjected to his personal and professional sexual exploitation in the name of education.” The two women said those who cooperated were led to believe that doing so would land them roles in Mr. Franco’s films.Lawyers for Mr. Franco did not respond to an email seeking comment on Sunday. Mr. Franco has previously denied the allegations.Mr. Franco’s production company, Rabbit Bandini, and his partners, who include Vince Jolivette and Jay Davis, are also named as defendants. The two parties had been discussing a settlement for several months, according to the filing, and the lawsuit’s progress had been paused while they did so. Lawyers for Mr. Jolivette did not respond to an email seeking comment.The claims of other plaintiffs in the class-action filing will be dismissed without prejudice under the terms of the settlement, according to the report, which means they could be refiled at a later date.Before she filed the 2019 lawsuit, Ms. Tither-Kaplan and several other women had accused Mr. Franco of sexual misconduct in a Los Angeles Times story after he won a Golden Globe for his performance in “The Disaster Artist” in January 2018. Other women discussed their experiences with Mr. Franco in social media posts they shared during and after the broadcast, which came amid the #MeToo movement.Mr. Franco continued to appear in public in the days following the allegations, in which he explained that he supported the rights of women to call out acts of sexual misconduct but said the specific claims about him were inaccurate.Mr. Franco denied the allegations in an appearance on “The Late Show,” but told the host, Stephen Colbert: “If there’s restitution to be made, I will make it. I’m here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it’s off.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More