Category: Film & TV

Joanne Linville, Actress Known for Her Appearances in ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Twilight Zone,’ Dies at 93

By Brandon Sapienza From New York Daily News Actress Joanne Linville, best known for her appearance as a Romulan commander in a 1968 episode of “Star Trek,” has died. She was 93. Linville began her career with appearances on shows like “Studio One,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Kraft Theatre” and “Playhouse 90.” She also made appearances…


How China is Shaping American Minds

News Analysis The United States spends about $700 billion a year on military and defense to keep the country safe. For a fraction of that amount, China has been fighting a different war with great success: a war to change American minds from within. Today, media and entertainment are two major forces that shape the…


Steven Spielberg’s Studio to Make Films for Netflix

LOS ANGELES—Netflix added acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg to its roster with a joint announcement on Monday of a deal for his Amblin Partners production company to supply multiple movies a year for several years. The Academy Award-winning director of big-screen classics such as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan” will continue to…


Left Foot In, Children’s TV Is Doing the Wokey Pokey

When a PBS station featured “Lil Miss Hot Mess” reading from the performer’s new book “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish” last month, on a program aimed at children ages 3 to 8, the backlash was immediate, with a video of the reading going viral on conservative social media. “If American…


The Unanswered ‘Jeopardy!’ Question: Who’s the New Host?

LOS ANGELES—“Jeopardy!” needed a host, and Lucille Ball had an enthusiastic suggestion for creator Merv Griffin: The smooth-voiced, debonair emcee of the “High Rollers” game show. That was 1984. Decades later, filling the void left by the late Alex Trebek involves sophisticated research and a parade of guest hosts doing their best to impress viewers…


Chris Harrison Permanently Leaves ‘The Bachelor’ Franchise

LOS ANGELES—Chris Harrison, the original host of ABC’s “The Bachelor” and its spinoffs, is leaving the long-running franchise. His departure comes four months after he defended contestant Rachael Kirkconnell against criticism over 2018 photos showing her at a fraternity formal with an Old South plantation theme. Harrison is “stepping aside as host of ‘The Bachelor’…


‘Gone Girl’ Actor in Critical Condition After Hit-and-Run

NEW YORK—“Gone Girl” and “Cocktail” actor Lisa Banes remained hospitalized in critical condition Saturday night after being injured in a hit-and-run accident in New York City, her manager said. Banes, 65, was struck by either a scooter or a motorcycle in the Upper West Side of Manhattan near Lincoln Center on Friday evening as she…


‘Andy Griffith Show’ and ‘Mayberry R.F.D.’ Actress Arlene Golonka Dead at 85

By Peter Sblendorio From New York Daily News Actress Arlene Golonka, who appeared on “The Andy Griffith Show” ahead of an expanded role on the spinoff series “Mayberry R.F.D.,” has died at age 85. Golonka battled Alzheimer’s disease, her niece told Variety. The longtime actress died Monday in Los Angeles. “She lived and breathed being…


Fallout from John Cena’s Apology Is Chance to Turn Tide on Hollywood’s Kowtow to CCP: Movie Executive

Hollywood executive Chris Fenton said John Cena’s controversial apology to China after he called Taiwan a country during a promotional interview for “Fast & Furious 9” alienated both his fans in the West and in China, inadvertently providing the star with an opportunity to lead the charge against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censorship of the U.S….


Flickering Flames: The Primordial Power of the Movies

Night. Somewhere in Northern Europe. (8,000 B.C.) Picture a cave with a fire burning just outside its mouth. Prehistoric men, women, and children are seated on the cave floor, every face alit with awe and wonder, under the spell of a master storyteller. Before them, an elder, dressed in animal skins and a headdress with…