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      The F.B.I.’s Giuliani Raids Warm Late Night’s Heart

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      Federal agents “made sure to show up in daylight, when Rudy was still asleep in his coffin,” Jimmy Kimmel said on Wednesday.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. We’re all stuck at home at the moment, so here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.‘Sweating Grecian Formula’Late-night hosts couldn’t resist mocking Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday after the F.BI. searched his apartment and his office in Manhattan.“The F.B.I. showed up with search warrants at 6 o’clock this morning. They made sure to show up in daylight, when Rudy was still asleep in his coffin,” Jimmy Kimmel said.“Come on, that’s way too early! Rudy’s not himself until he’s had his first cup of hot breakfast wine.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“They took the former mayor’s electronic devices; they were seized. I think it’s safe to assume none of those electronic devices were toothbrushes.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“I know Rudy Giuliani is a high-powered lawyer, mayor of New York City, adviser to the president of the United States, but I still picture his office above a repair shop right next to a palm reader’s.” — JAMES CORDEN“But Rudy’s lawyer — very upset. He called the raid ‘legal thuggery.’ He said, ‘Why would you do this to anyone, let alone someone who was the associate attorney general, U.S. attorney, mayor of New York City and the personal lawyer to the 45th president of the United States?’ Who would dare to show up unannounced and take his beloved Jitterbug phone? It’s just not American.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Investigators are reportedly conducting a criminal investigation into Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine to try to dig up dirt on the Bidens on behalf of Donald Trump. And if you think he was sweating Grecian Formula before, you should see him now.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“When the agents walked in, Rudy got so nervous, he started sweating hair dye and tucking all the evidence down his pants.” — JIMMY FALLON“Oh no, they took his cellphone. Now he’ll have to butt-dial reporters on a landline.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Yeah, Rudy panicked and called his lawyer, then when his own phone starting ringing, he panicked even more.” — JIMMY FALLON“But lucky for Rudy, wives can’t testify against their cousins.” — SETH MEYERSThe Punchiest Punchlines (New Address Edition)“Well, guys, earlier tonight, President Biden delivered his first joint address to Congress on the eve of his 100th day in office. Last time someone in their 70s got that much applause, they were doing ‘Da Butt.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Biden was the first president to deliver the speech in front of a mask-wearing audience. If you don’t count Bill Clinton’s last State of the Union, whose theme was ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’” — STEPHEN COLBERT“President Biden tonight laid out the specifics for his ‘American Families Plan.’ Trump had a family plan, too, but his was to give jobs to everyone in his family.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“That’s right, the Capitol took center stage tonight, and I got to be honest, it was nice to see someone behind the podium who wasn’t wearing deer antlers and a pelt.” — JIMMY FALLON“Yeah, it was a fun night for Democrats. On the other hand, Republicans didn’t seem too thrilled. They looked like they just heard their best hope in 2024 is Randy Quaid.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Bits Worth WatchingOn Wednesday’s “Full Frontal,” Samantha Bee urged the Biden administration to step up improvements to the country’s border policies.What We’re Excited About on Thursday NightLeslie Jordan will promote his new book, “How Y’all Doing? Misadventures and Mischief From a Life Well Lived,” on Thursday’s “Late Night.”Also, Check This OutFlorence Welch is part of a formidable team enlisted to bring “The Great Gatsby” to the stage.Rob Grabowski/Invision, via Rob Grabowski, via Invision, via Associated PressFlorence Welch of Florence + the Machine will write the lyrics for the new “Great Gatsby” stage musical. More

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      Jimmy Fallon: Vaccinated Americans Are ‘Flashing Their Mouths Like It’s Mardi Gras’

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      “I’ve got to be honest: I’m going to miss wearing a mask.” Fallon joked on Tuesday. “The adult acne made me feel young, you know?”Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. We’re all stuck at home at the moment, so here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Mask OffPresident Biden announced on Tuesday new coronavirus guidelines that would allow vaccinated Americans to forgo wearing masks when participating in outdoor activities or when not in a crowd.“When people heard that, people in the street started flashing their mouths like it was Mardi Gras,” Jimmy Fallon joked.“I’ve got to be honest: I’m going to miss wearing a mask. The adult acne made me feel young, you know?” — JIMMY FALLON“Aw, yeah! Take it off, baby! Show daddy them nostrils!” — STEPHEN COLBERT“That’s good news. Where are we on pants; are those still required?” — JIMMY KIMMEL“This is great news for people who love fresh air, but a little late for those who already have the tan lines.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Now we can go back to the good old days of giving each other dirty looks because of racism, classism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and those people who wear Adidas pants with Nike shoes.” — TREVOR NOAH“You see, we never needed masks; we already knew how to hate each other.” — TREVOR NOAH“On the bright side, now we can stop weirdly opening our eyes to greet people on the street.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Punchiest Punchlines (Who Charted Edition)“I’m also glad because now, according to the C.D.C. charts, if you’re vaccinated, you can go eat outdoors now without a mask on, as opposed to before, when you had to wear a mask while you were eating.” — TREVOR NOAH“The chart ranks activities from safest to less safe to least safe. It’s the same chart people use when deciding between Delta, United and Spirit Airlines.” — JIMMY FALLON“Because what better way to get people to remember something than a 14-row, three-column, color-coded document with loads of text?” — JAMES CORDEN“Who designed this chart, the same people who designed those parking signs in L.A.?” — TREVOR NOAH“I love, as well, if you look, exercise class is the last thing on the list. It’s even like the list going, ‘Look, we both know you’re not going to do it.’” — JAMES CORDEN“It’s unreadable. You don’t see the forest service putting out flow charts like: ‘No fires, unless the fires are in stone pits, or you come from a long line of firefighters, or you watch the weather and you know a rainstorm is coming in a few minutes.’ No, they say: ‘No fires or this bear is going to eat your [expletive] family.’” — TREVOR NOAH“And, yes, I know the C.D.C. is just trying to cover all the bases, because maybe there’s a tiny chance you could get corona, even if you’re vaccinated. But if that messaging ends up convincing people that there’s not much of a reason to get vaccinated at all, then we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, which is not something we should do. Or, as the C.D.C. would put it: ‘masked guy in an indoor red zone.’” — TREVOR NOAHThe Bits Worth WatchingCorrespondent Dulcé Sloan delved into the history of female hip-hop M.C.s on Tuesday’s “The Daily Show.”What We’re Excited About on Wednesday NightMike Lindell, the chief executive of My Pillow, will appear Wednesday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”Also, Check This OutNichole ShinnVaccine fan fiction is getting users hot on TikTok. More

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      Ziwe Endorses Box Braids and ‘Real Housewives’

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      The 29-year-old comedian brings her Instagram and YouTube antics to a prime time Showtime series, “Ziwe,” which premieres May 9.Ziwe, the mononymic master of the viral “gotcha!” moment, swears she isn’t out to get anyone.Sure, the 29-year-old Nigerian-American comedian’s largely white guests on her YouTube and Instagram Live show, “Baited With Ziwe,” have a proclivity to make cringe-worthy comments when it comes to race. (The Instagram influencer Caroline Calloway couldn’t correctly identify the Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton, and the cookbook author Alison Roman was nearly stumped when asked to name five Asian people.)But Ziwe doesn’t set out to embarrass her guests. “The goal is not to hurt anyone or get them canceled,” explained the Northwestern University graduate, who cut her teeth working on “The Colbert Report.” “The goal is to have a really thoughtful, productive conversation.”The confrontational questions — often about race — and uncomfortable pauses are, she said, intended to be a learning experience. “They’re all willing,” she said of her guests, though even she isn’t exactly sure why they agree to come on the show. “They’re open to looking silly for a greater discourse beyond both of us.”Ziwe, who uses only her first name professionally — her last name, Fumudoh, proved too tricky for comedy club hosts to announce — will bring her punch lines to a bigger screen when her new late-night sketch comedy series, “Ziwe,” which rhymes with “freeway,” premieres on Showtime on May 9.With six episodes, the series will feature guest interviews, musical numbers and field pieces, and will draw from her go-to brand of humor, which she describes as “highly satirical” and “bombastic.” (Her dream guest? Kim Kardashian. “I’d love to get her perspective on race in America as one of the most famous women in world history,” she said.)In a phone conversation from her Brooklyn apartment, Ziwe shared her cultural essentials, including how watching “The Real Housewives” counts as homework (hear her out), the benefits of box braids and why fuzzy rugs are bringing her all kinds of joy amid her claustrophobic work-from-home existence.1. “The Real Housewives”At first, I looked down at “Real Housewives.” I was like, “I never watch reality TV, I read books.” And then, in college, I started watching “Beverly Hills,” which is like this horrid, dark underbelly of reality TV — I’d never seen this type of storytelling before. Like, on “Orange County,” pretending to have cancer on national television for attention — who does that? As a writer and performer I’m constantly engaging with different characters and I’ll rewatch episodes trying to figure them out. I’ve watched full seasons in a day, from eyes open to eyes shut.2. Emma Brewin HatsThese faux fur, fuzzy bucket hats are my emotional support animals. Rihanna wore a green one in 2017, and I always was thinking about it, but never took the dive to purchase one. But then the pandemic happened and I just needed something to make me feel anything, so I bought a blue hat, and then a green one and an orange one and a black one and a wide-brimmed dark red one … I wear them every day, in a different color to fit my mood. They’re also great for Zoom calls when I don’t want to do my hair. I’m wearing one right now, actually!3. Nicholas Britell SoundtracksI’m writing a book and can’t listen to songs with lyrics when I write, and so I often turn to Nicholas Britell soundtracks, whether it’s “Succession” or “If Beale Street Could Talk” or “The King,” with Timothée Chalamet and Robert Pattinson. I love the way he uses strings and piano chords. “Moonlight” was his breakout moment for me, but he’s a really good composer with a wide range of work. I’ve listened to his entire catalog.4. DocumentariesI like to learn passively, and documentaries are a perfect vehicle for that. “Varsity Blues” is fantastic. The lack of impulse control to photoshop your picture as a coxswain for crew is beyond comprehension. It’s like “Real Housewives” where it’s stranger than fiction you could ever imagine. And they affect me viscerally! After watching the James Baldwin and Toni Morrison documentaries, I go to my computer and start writing furiously because it’s like, “These are great American authors, OMG, I want to be just like them.”5. Blood Orange San PellegrinoI ordered San Pellegrino at the beginning of the pandemic thinking it was seltzer, but I was surprised — and delighted — to learn it was actually juice. I had to cut myself off at one point, though, because I was drinking a lot of these. My friend was like, “You know there’s sugar in that, right?” I was like, “Oh no, it’s just juice, it’s cool,” and then I checked the can and there was sugar. But it’s so delicious. I have one San Pellegrino blood orange left in my fridge — if it’s just a really bad day, I get to drink that.6. CandlesI think every woman hits a certain age and you’ve got to buy a couple of candles. Frères Branchiaux ones, which are made by three young brothers of color who also do sprays for your linens, are really nice, and the profits go to homeless shelters. There’s a candle for every occasion — lavender for the winter, citrus for the summer, or a smoggy oak wood for fall. I have three on my coffee table, multiple in my room and a drawer full of them.7. “Clueless”I would argue my entire personality is based on this film, which was written and directed by Amy Heckerling and should have been nominated for an Oscar. It’s one of the best American satires of the 21st century. I’m so influenced by the schoolgirl outfits, the matching plaid sets, the mixing patterns and textures, the box braids. The fur cuffs — I love a fur cuff. Mona May was the costume designer for “Clueless,” and she was so forward-thinking setting trends for this definitive ’90s girl style.8. Box BraidsWhen I was a kid, my mom made me get box braids, and I’d be like, “Oh, God” — what kid wants to sit for eight hours to get their hair braided? And then I saw Dionne, a character in “Clueless” who had box braids, and I was like, “OK wow, this wasn’t just my parents forcing their culture on me.” It really helped me come into myself. The nice thing about box braids is once you’ve sat down for eight hours to do them, you’re free. It’s like “I never have to brush my hair for eight weeks,” you just get to whip your hair back and forth like Willow Smith. I started wearing box braids again the past two years and every summer, I’m like, “It’s box braid season.” I get 34 inches and I’m walking around like I’m Nicki Minaj knocking things over with my braids like a whip.9. Fuzzy RugsI love to sit on the floor. Maybe it’s this infantile thing with fuzzy hats and fuzzy rugs, but I am moved by textures. On my set for my new show, I have a chair upholstered with a fuzzy rug that I do all my interviews out of. And at home, I have a white fuzzy rug. I haven’t been to a beach in years so I have to replace the idea of sand with a rug. It’s just how it feels on your toes.10. “Oceans” By Jay-Z Ft. Frank OceanI’m a huge fan of Jay-Z as a rapper and Frank Ocean’s musicality, so the song is a really good marriage of two things I love. The melody is really, really calming, but then it has lines like “Only Christopher we acknowledge is Wallace/I don’t even like Washingtons in my pocket.” It’s just really audacious and bold and counterculture. More

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      Late Night Wraps Up This Year’s Academy Awards

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      “The ratings for the Oscars plummeted from 23 million last year to less than 10 million this year. How can something so woke put so many people to sleep?” Jimmy Kimmel joked on Monday.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. We’re all stuck at home at the moment, so here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Are You Still Watching?On Monday, late-night hosts weighed in on Sunday night’s Oscars ceremonies, which, despite some historic firsts and funny moments, brought in a much smaller audience than last year’s awards.“The ratings for the Oscars plummeted from 23 million last year to less than 10 million this year. How can something so woke put so many people to sleep?” Jimmy Kimmel asked.“The ceremony was watched by a record-low 9.9 million people. Yeah, 9.9 million. That’s like taking everyone who watched ‘Mank’ and adding 9.8 million.” — JIMMY FALLON“I guess most people thought the show was a little sluggish and, at times, a bit uncomfortable. It was as if the whole ceremony had just gotten its second Pfizer shot.” — JIMMY FALLON“This was the Oscars that finally answered the question, ‘What happens when you don’t cut off acceptance speeches?’ Turns out, they go on for a very long time.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“For whatever reason, the awards were held at Union Station downtown, which is the closest many of these stars have ever been to public transportation.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Well, I guess the train station made sense ’cause I fell asleep 30 minutes in. When I woke up, I had no idea where I was.” — JIMMY FALLON“Now, despite the pandemic shaking everything up, the Oscars pulled off a lot of cool moments last night. I mean, we got to see an awards show in a train station, right? We saw Regina King get her steps in. And we even got to see Glenn Close audition to be in Cardi B’s next video.” — TREVOR NOAH“But we also got a lot of history made last night. Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to win Best Director, Yuh-Jung Youn was the first Korean actor to win an award, and Daniel Kaluuya, my friend, became the first person to get an Oscar and a beatdown from his mama on the same night.” — TREVOR NOAH“You can’t be saying ‘sex’ in front of African parents. In fact, I’m sure the only reason she didn’t whip Daniel’s [expletive] right there was just because there were too many white people in attendance.” — TREVOR NOAH“His mom was like, ‘This is so embarrassing’ and he was like, ‘Relax, no one saw it.’” — JIMMY FALLON“It was an historic evening. You know, before last night, an Oscar had never been given to a still photo of Anthony Hopkins before.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“There were some surprises, notably in the category of Best Actor. Everyone thought that would go to the late Chadwick Boseman. They even saved that category for the end of the show, assuming it would be a big emotional moment to wrap it up. But instead of Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for playing a man with dementia in ‘The Father,’ and he was so committed to his role, he forgot to show up for the Oscars.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“And this is true. He was reportedly asleep when he won, which is not a great sign for network television when they say, ‘Hey, Anthony, you know you might win tonight’ and he’s like, ‘Eh, I’ll just watch it on YouTube tomorrow.’” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Missed Shots Edition)“Apparently, some people are refusing the second shot because they feared the side effects, which can include flulike symptoms. Unlike the coronavirus side effects, which can include deathlike death.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“One interesting group of people refusing to get the vaccine: people who have gotten the vaccine. Because millions of people are skipping their second doses of Covid vaccines. I can’t believe it — Americans are saying no to seconds?” — STEPHEN COLBERT“I mean, just a few weeks ago we were scrambling for appointments — refresh, refresh, refresh. Now you can pick up Moderna shots in the two-for-one bin at Walmart.” — TREVOR NOAHThe Bits Worth WatchingJustin Bieber joined Jimmy Fallon and the Roots for a stripped-down version of his new single “Peaches.”What We’re Excited About on Tuesday NightThe “Pose” star Billy Porter will appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Tuesday.Also, Check This OutAnthony Hopkins as the dementia-stricken patriarch in “The Father.”Sean Gleason/Sony Pictures ClassicsAnthony Hopkins had to accept his Best Actor Oscar via social media because producers denied him an opportunity to go live via Zoom during the ceremony on Sunday night. More

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      Tyler Perry Speaks Against Hate in Moving Oscars Speech

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      Special-achievement Oscars are seemingly straightforward. Film industry person gets gold-plated bronze dude for doing notable thing.Beneath the surface, however, more is usually going on than meets the eye.The academy sometimes uses them to right wrongs, as when Debbie Reynolds was awarded one in 2015. She was ostensibly recognized for founding a mental-health charity. But it was also a way for the academy to apologize for ignoring her pleas for help in preserving costumes from Hollywood’s golden age. She also never won a competitive Oscar despite appearing in films for seven decades.Since the #OscarsSoWhite debacles of 2015 and 2016, honorary Oscars have gone to Spike Lee, Cicely Tyson, Jackie Chan, the Indigenous actor Wes Studi and other people of color. Geena Davis was recognized in 2019 for her continuing effort to correct gender inequality in Hollywood.In selecting Tyler Perry to receive a special-achievement Oscar this year, the academy cited a “cultural influence extending far beyond his work as a filmmaker.” Some people saw the academy’s move as a corrective — a tacit apology for looking down its nose all those years at the lowbrow Madea and thus, Perry’s fan base.No matter. Perry spoke movingly in his speech on Sunday night, saying, “When I set out to help someone, it is my intention to do just that. I’m not trying to do anything other than meet somebody at their humanity.”He continued:“My mother taught me to refuse hate. She taught me to refuse blanket judgment. And in this time, and with all of the internet and social media and algorithms and everything that wants us to think a certain way, the 24-hour news cycle, it is my hope that all of us will teach our kids … just refuse hate. Don’t hate anybody.“I refuse to hate someone because they are Mexican or because they are Black or white or LGBTQ. I refuse to hate someone because they are a police officer. I refuse to hate someone because they are Asian. I would hope that we would refuse hate.“And I want to take this Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and dedicate it to anyone who wants to stand in the middle, no matter what’s around the walls. Stand in the middle, because that’s where healing happens. That’s where conversation happens. That’s where change happens. It happens in the middle So anyone who wants to meet me in the middle, to refuse hate, to refuse blanket judgment, and to help lift someone’s feet off the ground, this one is for you, too.“God bless you, and thank you, academy. I appreciate it, thank you.”Perry started his entertainment career as a playwright. Since ending his popular “Madea” film series in 2019, Perry has focused on making television shows like “Bruh,” “Sistahs” and “The Oval” for BET. He owns a studio in Atlanta. He is also developing a “Madea” prequel for Showtime called “Mabel” that is set in the 1970s. More

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      What’s on TV This Week: ‘United Shades of America’ and a Presidential Address

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      W. Kamau Bell’s documentary series returns with an episode on policing. And President Biden addresses a joint session of Congress.Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, April 26-May 2. Details and times are subject to change.MondaySESAME STREET: 50 YEARS OF SUNNY DAYS 8 p.m. on ABC. This two-hour special looks at the ways in which “Sesame Street” has addressed social issues over the decades, centering the show’s recent efforts to diversify its lineup of muppets. Guests in the special include Gloria Estefan, Whoopi Goldberg, Lucy Liu and John Legend; the program would make a natural double feature paired with “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street,” a recent feature-length documentary that looks at the making of the show.TuesdayTANGLED (2010) 6 p.m. on Freeform. Rapunzel got revamped in this Disney adaptation, which updates the look and pacing of that princess tale, and adds music. The result is a “lavish, romantic musical fairy tale,” A.O. Scott wrote in his review for The New York Times, adding that the film “has a story that takes some liberties with the genre; a nimble, kinetic visual style; and a willingness to marry complex psychology with storybook simplicity.”WednesdayPresident Biden speaking to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate on April 23.Evan Vucci/Associated PressPRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS TO THE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS 9 p.m. on ABC, CBS, NBC and other networks (check local listings). President Biden will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, in keeping with the tradition of presidents to give such addresses, rather than an official State of the Union, in their inauguration year. The speech may address climate change and racial justice initiatives — particularly given that Biden will be speaking less than a week after he vowed that the United States would cut its global warming emissions at least in half by the end of the decade, and just over a week after the former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis.EMMA (2020) 5:20 p.m. on HBO Signature. Anya Taylor-Joy was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance as the “handsome, clever and rich” title character in this latest movie adaptation of the Jane Austen novel “Emma.” The story, about romantic entanglements among members of the upper class in the Georgian-era English countryside, is given a candy coating here by the director Autumn de Wilde, whose carefully-crafted, striking color palette may bring to mind another filmmaking confectioner. “It initially seems that de Wilde has adapted the material using Wes Anderson software,” Manohla Dargis wrote in her review for The Times. But, Dargis, added, “after a while, the Anderson-ish tics become less noticeable, and both the emotions and overall movie more persuasive. Much of this has to do with the pleasure of watching people fall on their faces — and in love — and with the suppleness of the largely note-perfect cast.”ThursdayA scene from “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”Sony Pictures AnimationSPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018) 8 p.m. on FX. Spider-Man took his best-received swing through New York in years with “Into the Spider-Verse,” an animated action movie that reimagines the web-spewing hero as Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a Brooklyn middle schooler who learns that he’s one of many Spider-Man heroes from different dimensions. A.O. Scott called the movie “fresh and exhilarating” in his review for The Times. “The story,” Scott wrote, “is clever and just complicated enough, moving quickly through silly bits, pausing for moments of heart-tugging sentiment, and losing itself in wild creative mischief.”FridayINTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). This year’s International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert, with Herbie Hancock, Andra Day and many others, will be broadcast online in a livestream on YouTube and other sites beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday. On TV, PBS will air this compilation of archival performances from International Jazz Day concerts from the past decade. Selections include performances by Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox and Hugh Masekela.SaturdayJohn David Washington, left, and Robert Pattinson in “Tenet.”Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros.TENET (2020) 8 p.m. on HBO. Christopher Nolan’s latest sci-fi brain tickler was technically released in theaters late last summer, but most people didn’t take the pandemic-era risk involved in watching it — so Saturday’s HBO release should stoke fresh discussion among new audiences about what the labyrinthine, time-bending plot is actually about. The film stars John David Washington as a C.I.A. agent tasked with taking down a villainous businessman, Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh). Doing so requires working with an ally played by Robert Pattinson and Sator’s younger wife (Elizabeth Debicki), an art dealer who is undervalued by her husband. Washington’s character, Jessica Kiang wrote in her review for The Times, is “basically James Bond, forward and backward, a kind of 00700, right down to the occasional wry one-liner.” The movie itself, Kiang added, “is undeniably enjoyable, but its giddy grandiosity only serves to highlight the brittleness of its purported braininess.”INSPIRING AMERICA: THE 2021 INSPIRATION LIST 8 p.m. on NBC and Telemundo. The NBC anchors Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will host the first edition of this new annual event, which recognizes influential people who have used their platforms in positive ways. This year’s honorees include Bubba Wallace, José Andrés and Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, who are slated to be interviewed during Saturday night’s broadcast.SundayUNITED SHADES OF AMERICA 10 p.m. on CNN. The comedian W. Kamau Bell’s documentary series returns for a sixth season on Sunday night, with a timely episode about the history of policing in America. Bell, who was born in the Bay Area, focuses on Oakland, Calif., and the surrounding area, speaking with politicians, organizers and members of law enforcement about the state of policing in the country.THE APU TRILOGY (1955-1959) 8 p.m. on TCM. The Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s much-acclaimed trilogy about a Bengali boy becoming a man — Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of Apu (1959) — are best viewed together. TCM is showing them back-to-back on Sunday night, starting at 8 p.m. (All three films are also available to stream on the Criterion Channel, for those who don’t want to stay up late to catch “The World of Apu.”) More

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      Overdue VHS Tape of 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' Prompts Arrest Warrant

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      The charge was related to a “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” tape that had been rented from a video store in Norman, Okla. Prosecutors dismissed the case on Wednesday.They once dotted shopping plazas in America with ubiquity, beckoning binge watchers with shelves of VHS cassettes, microwave popcorn and boxes of candy — and a reminder to “Be Kind, Rewind.”Video rental stores, pushed closer to the brink of extinction by streaming services like Netflix and changing technology, may be a thing of the past but an overdue rental became an issue of the present for a Texas woman.The woman, who was identified in court records as Caron Scarborough Davis, recently learned that there was a 21-year-old outstanding warrant for her arrest in Oklahoma.Her offense?Prosecutors said that Ms. Davis had failed to return a copy of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” a television sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2003. She rented the tape of episodes from a video store in Norman, Okla., in 1999, according to court documents.Court papers valued the unreturned tape of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” episodes at $58.59.Randy Holmes/Walt Disney Television, via Getty ImagesShe was charged with embezzlement of rented property, and a warrant was issued for her arrest in March 2000. The store where she rented the tape, Movie Place, closed in 2008, according to KOKH Fox 25 in Oklahoma.In a charging document, prosecutors said that Ms. Davis “did willfully, unlawfully and feloniously embezzle a certain One (1) Videocassette Tape, Sabrina the Teenage Witch of the value of $58.59.”Ms. Davis, 52, discovered the outstanding warrant for her arrest after she got married and tried to change her name on her driver’s license, KOKH reported on Thursday.“I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” she said.Ms. Davis said motor vehicle officials referred her to the district attorney’s office for Cleveland County, Okla., where a woman explained the charge against her.“She told me it was over the VHS tape and I had to make her repeat it because I thought, ‘This is insane,’” Ms. Davis said. “This girl is kidding me, right? She wasn’t kidding.”Ms. Davis could not be immediately reached on Sunday.On April 21, prosecutors dropped the embezzlement charge against Ms. Davis in consideration of the “best interest of justice,” according to court documents. KOKH Fox 25 had contacted prosecutors the previous day about the charge.Greg Mashburn, the district attorney for Cleveland, Garvin and McClain Counties in Oklahoma, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday, nor did Tim D. Kuykendall, who was the district attorney when the warrant was issued.Sandi Harding, the general manager of the world’s last Blockbuster video store, in Bend, Ore., said in an interview on Sunday that bringing criminal charges for an unreturned movie seemed overly punitive.“We’ve definitely not sent out a warrant for anybody for that,” she said. “That’s a little a bit crazy to me.”Blockbuster assesses daily late fees of 49 to 99 cents for overdue videos up to 10 days. After that, the store charges customers up to $19.99 to replace one of its DVDs or Blu-ray discs, Ms. Harding said.In some cases, the store, which does not rent VHS cassettes, will refer past-due accounts for collection, she said.“We would never charge someone $100 for a copy of ‘Scooby-Doo’ that they never returned,” she said.It was not immediately clear who owned the now-shuttered video store where Ms. Davis rented the tape or whether she owed any late fees. She told KOKH Fox 25 that she had no recollection of renting the video, saying that she lived with a man at the time who had two young daughters.“I’m thinking he went and got it and didn’t take it back or something,” she said. “I have never watched that show in my entire life — just not my cup of tea.” More

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      Elon Musk to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’

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      Musk, who runs Tesla and SpaceX, will become the rare “S.N.L.” host not from the worlds of entertainment, politics or sports.There have been some unexpected “Saturday Night Live” hosts over the years.Turn the clock back far enough and you will find that the long-running late-night comedy series has offered its stage to such unlikely candidates as Brandon Tartikoff, when he was the president of NBC’s entertainment division, and George Steinbrenner, the pugnacious owner of the Yankees.“S.N.L.” has drawn eyeballs and raised eyebrows by occasionally recruiting from the political world, too, including the New York mayors Ed Koch and Rudolph W. Giuliani and presidential hopefuls like Steve Forbes and John McCain. In 2015, it gave a platform to the then-candidate Donald J. Trump in an appearance that the show’s own cast members later said they had come to regret.Now it seems that “Saturday Night Live” is attempting its own moonshot of sorts. NBC said on Saturday that Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and chief engineer of SpaceX, would host the program on May 8. Miley Cyrus, the pop singer and a frequent performer on “S.N.L.,” will be the musical guest that night.The announcement was made a few hours after the Crew Dragon Endeavour, a SpaceX craft, had successfully docked with the International Space Station on Saturday morning, following its launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday.Musk, 49, has previously appeared on shows like “South Park,” “The Simpsons” and “Rick and Morty” and in films like “Iron Man 2” and has gained an online following for initiatives like his recent announcement that Tesla would accept the digital currency Bitcoin for payments.Musk has also been criticized for his treatment of his employees, and his companies and projects have come under close scrutiny.Last month, the National Labor Relations Board upheld a 2019 ruling that found that a tweet Musk had posted, which appeared to threaten workers with the loss of stock options for planning to unionize, was illegal. The board also ruled that Tesla had illegally fired a worker involved in union organizing.And more than 400 workers at a Tesla plant in Fremont, Calif., tested positive for the coronavirus last year after Musk reopened the plant, flouting guidelines from health officials, according to public health data released in March by the website PlainSite.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has confirmed that it is looking into nearly two dozen crashes involving vehicles that were using or may have used Tesla’s Autopilot technology. Musk has said that the technology makes Tesla cars safer than other vehicles.Previous “Saturday Night Live” hosts this season have included the actors Daniel Kaluuya, Carey Mulligan and Regé-Jean Page, the musicians Adele and Nick Jonas and the comedian Bill Burr. More