Television

Subterms

    More stories

    • 125 Shares179 Views

      in Theater

      Tony Lo Bianco, ‘French Connection’ Actor, Is Dead at 87

      by

      Once labeled a “natural-born heavy,” he shined onscreen and especially onstage, securing a Tony nomination and winning an Obie Award.Tony Lo Bianco, an actor whose film roles included villains in “The French Connection” and “The Honeymoon Killers” and whose stage career earned him stellar reviews for an Arthur Miller tragedy and an Obie Award for a baseball drama, died on Tuesday at his home in Poolesville, Md. He was 87.The cause was prostate cancer, his wife, Alyse Lo Bianco, said.Mr. Lo Bianco made a vivid impression in “The Honeymoon Killers” (1970), a low-budget black-and-white film, based on a true story, that came to be regarded as a cult classic. With a heavy Spanish accent and serious sideburns, he played Raymond Fernandez, a con man who courted, married and murdered lonely women for their bank accounts, passing off his real lover (Shirley Stoler) as his sister. The British newspaper The Guardian called the film the movies’ first “super-realist depiction of the banality of evil.”Mr. Lo Bianco in “The Honeymoon Killers” with Mary Jane Higby, left, and Shirley Stoler. In that film, which was based on a true story, he played a serial killer.Roxanne Company, via Everett CollectionA United Press International writer once labeled Mr. Lo Bianco “a natural-born heavy” because of his dark hair, bushy eyebrows and sharp features. In “The French Connection” (1971), moviegoers saw him as the owner of a modest Brooklyn diner, Sal and Angie’s, dressed to the nines and driving a Lincoln with European plates, courtesy of international drug money. In “The Seven-Ups” (1973), he was a mortician at one of the Mafia’s favorite funeral homes.But Mr. Lo Bianco was a stage actor at heart. He won an Obie Award in 1975 for “Yanks 3, Detroit 0, Top of the Seventh,” in which he played Duke Bronkowski, a baseball player with age and time breathing down his neck who is trying to pitch a perfect game during his 14th season in the major leagues.Eight years later, he triumphed on Broadway in Arthur Miller’s “A View From the Bridge” (1983) as a Brooklyn longshoreman destroyed by his obsession with his 17-year-old niece. The performance brought him a Tony Award nomination for best actor in a play.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

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      West Wilson of ‘Summer House’ Discusses His First Taste of Infamy

      by

      When Mr. Wilson was accused on the reunion of misleading Ciara Miller, his castmate and former romantic interest, fan backlash was swift.When a 28-year-old unemployed journalist named Westling Wilson, who goes by West, was enthusiastically embraced by Bravo fans during his first season on the reality TV show “Summer House” this year, it made some wonder: Could he keep the good vibes going?Last week many viewers issued a resounding answer to that question: No. Over the course of the first episode of the “Summer House” reunion on Thursday, Mr. Wilson went, in some viewers’ eyes, from fan favorite to villain, due largely to the way he handled a breakup with his co-star, Ciara Miller.Ms. Miller, a 28-year-old nurse and model from Atlanta who has been on the show for several seasons, is known for not warming easily to new people, which made it all the more surprising when she and Mr. Wilson seemed to hit it off almost immediately.By the middle of the latest season, the two were cuddling, sleeping in the same bed at their shared Hamptons house and going on dates in New York City. Their will-they-or-won’t-they tension was a main story line, and audiences were fervently rooting for them to make it official.Their romantic fate wasn’t revealed until last week, when Mr. Wilson and Ms. Miller said in the first episode of a two-part reunion that, after several months of dating — during which Mr. Wilson took her to Missouri to visit his parents — he told Ms. Miller in December that he wasn’t ready to commit to a monogamous relationship.Fans were rooting for the relationship between Mr. Wilson and Ms. Miller, center, a nurse and model from Atlanta.BravoWe 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

    • 113 Shares149 Views

      in Television

      What to Know Before ‘Bridgerton’ Season 3, Part 2

      by

      Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington are on their way to a happy ending — but Lady Whistledown is still a huge barrier in this “friends to lovers” story.The first half of “Bridgerton” Season 3 left viewers on a cliffhanger — and a little hot and bothered — with Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington finally giving in to their desires in the very climactic Carriage Scene.With that will they/won’t they out of the way, plenty of questions still remain. Will Penelope and Colin actually get married? Will Eloise spill Penelope’s big secret? Can Lady Whistledown continue to hide her true identity? With the second half of Season 3 upon us, here’s a quick refresher on where things stand in Netflix’s version of Regency-era London.Colin and Penelope’s FlirtationBecause the series more or less follows the plot of the novels, many fans knew that a Colin-Penelope (Polin, if you’re on BridgertonTok and have listened to “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter too many times) romance was in the works from the beginning. Throughout the first two seasons of the show, Colin and Penelope were relatively close friends connected by Eloise Bridgerton, Colin’s sister and Penelope’s bestie. In the “Bridgerton” universe, where the separation of unmarried men and women is mandated, the familial tie gave them occasion to interact.At the end of Season 2, Penelope overheard Colin telling his friends he “would never dream of courting” her. When Season 3 picked up, we learned that Colin traveled around Europe by himself during the summer and that he wrote letters to Penelope — a tradition they had maintained since Season 1 — but that she didn’t respond. When Colin confronted her about the letters, she told him she had overheard his insult.Penelope’s New GroovePreparing for courting season, Penelope underwent a makeover moment, the so-called “Bridgerton glow-up,” changing her hair and clothing in the hopes of landing a marriage proposal.In an attempt to repair their friendship, Colin offered to teach Penelope how to flirt. To nobody’s surprise, Colin become attracted to Penelope — but he wasn’t the only one.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

    • 100 Shares149 Views

      in Television

      Late Night Riffs on Hunter Biden’s Guilty Verdict

      by

      “Wow, frankly, I’m shocked — we’re actually enforcing gun laws in America,” Jordan Klepper said on Tuesday’s “Daily Show.”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. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Check Out These GunsHunter Biden was convicted on three counts tied to a 2018 handgun purchase on Tuesday.On “The Daily Show,” Jordan Klepper referred to President Joe Biden’s son as “one of the most dangerous criminal masterminds in American history.”“He’s gotten away with being Joe Biden’s son for years, but today he faced Delaware justice.” — JORDAN KLEPPER“Wow, frankly, I’m shocked — we’re actually enforcing gun laws in America.” — JORDAN KLEPPER“What has been wild is watching how eager Republicans have been to hold a gun owner accountable. Of course, it’s only because he’s Joe Biden’s son, but that’s an opportunity: All we need is for Joe Biden to adopt every single person in America, and we can finally have some responsible gun control in this country.” — JORDAN KLEPPERThe Punchiest Punchlines (Gun Show Edition)“Hunter Biden was found guilty today on all counts in his federal gun trial and now faces up to 25 years on ‘Hannity.’” — SETH MEYERS“Evidently, in America, there is a wrong way to buy a gun.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“He was found guilty on all three counts. His father did a terrible job of rigging this.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Hunter was convicted on three felony gun charges, which means he’s now only 31 felonies away from being the Republican nominee for President.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Trump heard and was, like, ‘I’ve always said our legal system is fair and just.’” — JIMMY FALLON“What was Hunter guilty of — lying about being on drugs while buying a gun? I mean, when did that become a crime?” — JIMMY FALLONThe Bits Worth WatchingJulia Louis-Dreyfus joined Seth Meyers for another installment of day drinking on Tuesday’s “Late Night.”What We’re Excited About on Wednesday NightThe pop singer Tinashe will perform her hit single “Nasty” on Wednesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”Also, Check This OutThe Bluestockings Cooperative bookstore in New York City provides, among other free services, food to homeless people and English lessons to asylum seekers.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesFrom Los Angeles to Baltimore, bookstores with a social mission are finding success as collective-run community spaces after the pandemic. More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Television

      ‘Presumed Innocent’ Review: Jake Gyllenhaal Steps In for Harrison Ford

      by

      Jake Gyllenhaal steps in for Harrison Ford in a new, highly strung adaptation of Scott Turow’s legal thriller for Apple TV+.Scott Turow’s first novel, the 1987 best seller “Presumed Innocent,” is a clever murder mystery and courtroom drama with an 11th-hour twist. Before that denouement, it throws out red herrings to distract us, paralleling the strategy of its protagonist, Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor accused of killing the female colleague with whom he was having an affair. The 1990 film adaptation starring Harrison Ford necessarily condensed Turow’s plot but stayed true to its outlines and to the identity of the killer, a closely guarded secret through most of the story.It’s possible that the new “Presumed Innocent,” premiering Wednesday on Apple TV+ and starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Sabich, ends up at the same place, with the same killer. But after watching seven of its eight episodes, I didn’t really care. The claustrophobic atmosphere, the emphasis on psychology and trite family drama over well-made mystery and, especially, the crescendoing melodrama that makes a mockery of Turow’s courtroom credibility (even though he is credited as a co-executive producer) had done me in.The book is narrated in the first person by Sabich, and its most striking stylistic feature is his continual, detailed analyses of his professional and personal lives. Those passages are not there just for their own sake — Turow uses them to ground us in the milieus and the motivations of the courtroom and the prosecutors’ office. He cares about the inner life of Sabich, but he cares just as much about providing the framework for a page-turning mystery.Onscreen, the emphases have been different. Alan J. Pakula’s film was a chilly affair, elegantly assembled (with cinematography by the great Gordon Willis) but lacking the juice of a real thriller. It was more interested in the ethical and philosophical ramifications of Sabich’s situation, favoring judgment over action. (It was fun to watch once the case got into the courtroom, though, thanks to the performances of Raul Julia and Paul Winfield as defense lawyer and judge.)David E. Kelley, the veteran television writer who created the “Presumed Innocent” series, has the opposite temperament from Pakula — he’s all about the juice. He’s a master of taking material with a lurid or sensational edge and slickly packaging it for a mainstream TV audience. When he’s in his relaxed mode, on “The Lincoln Lawyer” for Netflix or the risibly pulpy “Big Sky” for ABC, the results can be entertaining, summoning distant memories of his days as chief writer on “L.A. Law.”When he takes things more seriously, though, he gets in trouble (though it doesn’t necessarily affect his success, as “Big Little Lies” demonstrated). Like Pakula, he makes “Presumed Innocent” more about Sabich than about the presumably less interesting question of whether Sabich is guilty of murder. But all he has to offer are tortured psychology and transgression, presented slickly and repetitively, with head-scratching surprises in place of new ideas. Meant to be provocative, it’s just wearying.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

    • 113 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      Late Night Rips Trump’s First Meeting With Probation Officer

      by

      “Things got off to a rough start when Trump offered the probation officer $130,000,” Jimmy Fallon joked.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. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.First ImpressionsOn Monday, former President Donald Trump met with his New York probation officer for the first time after his conviction last month.“Things got off to a rough start when Trump offered the probation officer $130,000,” Jimmy Fallon joked.“Unlike the vast majority of felons out there, Trump was allowed to do his interview at Mar-a-Lago over a video conference call. Must make the mandatory drug test kind of difficult — hard to get the pee right into the USB port.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Trump met with his probation officer over Zoom, which was great because Trump’s lawyer could hit mute whenever he started talking.” — JIMMY FALLON“Let’s make something clear: If a probation officer is basing their sentencing guidelines on remorse, mental state and character, and the recommendation is a day less than 1,000 years, Donald Trump is getting off easy. And if the probation officer meets with Trump and their takeaway is, ‘He seemed really sorry, supersharp and an all-around good person,’ that should be their last day at work.” — SETH MEYERS“The final probation report will remain sealed, but one thing probation folks usually ask convicts is about their employment. [imitating probation officer] ‘OK, Mr. Trump, it says here you got fired from your last job for being, uh, terrible at it and for — is this correct? This is right here — and for trying to kill a Mr. Mike Pence? Oh, but I see down here you are actually currently applying for a new job, which is the same job. OK. Have you thought about learning to code?’” — STEPHEN COLBERTThe Punchiest Punchlines (Hot in Vegas Edition)“Former President Trump held an outdoor rally yesterday in Las Vegas, and temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. It was so bad, Trump began exhibiting symptoms of heat stroke 10 years ago.” — SETH MEYERS“It was, by his own report, 110 degrees, so, naturally, Trump held an outdoor rally at noon.” — STEPHEN COLBERTWe 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

    • 150 Shares149 Views

      in Television

      What’s on TV This Week: Celine Dion and the Stanley Cup Finals

      by

      The pop star does her first interview on NBC since her stiff person syndrome diagnosis. And the Oilers and the Panthers compete in the pro hockey championship.For those who still enjoy a cable subscription, here is a selection of cable and network TV shows, movies and specials that broadcast this week, June 10 — 16. Details and times are subject to change.MondayTHE STANLEY CUP FINALS GAME 2 8 p.m. on ABC. Hockey season is ending with a championship between not just two teams but two countries: the Edmonton Oilers (Canada) and the Florida Panthers (U.S.). The last time the Oilers won the silver cup was in 1990, three years before the Panthers’s team was even formed. The Panthers have never won the cup but were in the finals in last year. Either way, one of the teams will celly in the barn after a gino, eh?SIX SCHIZOPHRENIC BROTHERS 8 p.m. on Discovery. Based on the 2020 nonfiction book “Hidden Valley Road” by Robert Kolker, this documentary series follows the Galvin family, whose six of the 12 siblings developed schizophrenia. Over four episodes, this documentary details the family life, casting it as a case study of how the psychotic disorder runs in families.TuesdayFrom left, Caroline Brooks, Sara Al Madani and Saba Yussouf on “The Real Housewives of Dubai.”Yasmin Hussain/BravoTHE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DUBAI 8 p.m. on Bravo. The reality network’s first international iteration of the Housewives franchise is back for a second season. Taking place in Dubai, this series ups the stakes, and the drama, of course, with fights and parties taking place on private islands and private planes. With Nina Ali not returning for a second season, though, we won’t get to hear as many tales about the Burj Khalifa.CELINE’S STORY: AN NBC NEWS SPECIAL WITH HODA KOTB 10 p.m. on NBC. In a 2022 Instagram post, the Canadian singer revealed she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes muscle stiffness, painful muscle spasms and slurred speech. Because of this, Dion canceled the rest of her 2023 tour and made her first post-diagnosis public appearance at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Now, she gives an in-depth interview, revealing she almost died amid this diagnostic process.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

    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in Movies

      The Animosity Tour and Other Promotional Movie Campaigns We Love

      by

      For Jennifer Lopez, Sterling K. Brown, Dakota Johnson and others, the standard publicity push isn’t so standard anymore.In the 1999 rom-com “Notting Hill,” the sheepish bookseller played by Hugh Grant goes to a hotel expecting a date with the megawatt star played by Julia Roberts. He is surprised to find he has arrived at a press junket and looks adorably flustered as he’s shuffled from room to room, pretending to be a reporter from Horse & Hound to interview the stars of her space movie.The sequence is a handy introduction to this strange custom of film publicity: actors sitting in sterile suites for a parade of brief interviews. But these days that almost seems quaint. The press tour has taken on a life of its own, with stars like Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Lopez and Zendaya making news for the tour itself with quippy sound bites, inscrutable looks and fashion moments.It can be grueling for celebrities. Lupita Nyong’o recently described junkets as a “torture technique” in an interview with Glamour. But these cycles can be more entertaining than the movies themselves. Grant’s bookseller would be baffled to learn that you can categorize the tours as follows:The Animosity TourFlorence Pugh was pointedly not at the Venice Film Festival news conference for “Don’t Worry Darling” in 2022.Jacopo Raule/Getty ImagesThe promotion stops for nothing, not even cast members who appear to hate being in one another’s company. This seemed to be the case during the cycle for “Atlas,” Netflix’s new sci-fi flick starring Jennifer Lopez and Sterling K. Brown.During joint interviews, Brown seemed unable to help himself from making fun of Lopez. In one viral moment, he feigned surprise when she said she was Puerto Rican, before repeating her comfort meal of “rice and beans and like, you know, chicken” in overemphasized Spanish. In another moment, he jumped in and helped her out when her own Spanish failed her. After supplying the right word, he did a little dance. That clip prompted social-media users to wonder what J. Lo did to Brown. During these interactions Lopez looked perturbed, leaving plenty of room for observers to jump to conclusions.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