Category: media

Although satellite television and video downloads have made the ban on commercial theaters all but moot, the announcement highlights the diminishing power of the kingdom’s conservative clerics. The grand mufti, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority, publicly called commercial films a source of “depravity” and opposed the opening of movie theaters as recently as a few months ago.

Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” and Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” led nominations on the movie front. On the TV side, HBO’s “Big Little Lies” picked up six nominations, while FX’s “Feud: Bette and Joan” followed with four. Meanwhile, “Fargo,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and “This Is Us” all landed three nods.

Actually, it might be more of the culmination of a change that began with Simba seeing his father die in The Lion King. That 1994 movie “is surprisingly frank about survivor’s guilt, remorse and reflection. It’s more honest about the experience of death than most Disney animated movies before it.”

Sometimes, inattention to accuracy can destroy credibility. Aged toy guns may work in the background, but something as simple as tape can leave the wrong impression. “If an actor’s taping up a flier and they’re using the wrong type of tape, like Magic Tape that hasn’t been invented yet,” then someone hasn’t done their job right.

And juggernaut it is – aside from all of its other moneymaking projects, and aside from toy and other licensing revenue, of course, the first two Disney films grossed more than $3 billion.

Just to be clear, this is in a consensual situation. “It’s a ridiculousness that nobody talks about. I was incredibly shocked and taken aback by the pace of sexual activity when I first experienced it, because you really think it’s going to be languorous, floatin

“It is impossible to say how many women might have been spared Mr. Weinstein’s alleged sexual aggression had more agents responded with the impulse to act. At C.A.A., at least eight agents had heard about Mr. Weinstein’s behavior, largely from actresses they represented, but several former senior C.A.A. agents said they were unaware of it or any formal agency response.”

Leonard Lopate, 77, who has hosted a popular midday talk show about books, culture and society for 32 years, was escorted from the building on Wednesday, about an hour before his program was to begin; he says management has refused to tell him what incidents led to his suspension. Also off the air is Jonathan Schwartz, who hosts weekend music shows and the online-only Jonathan Channel, both focused on the Great American Songbook. (includes audio)

Adaora Udoji, breaking her non-disclosure agreement: “Within months of the show’s launch in April 2008, my co-host John Hockenberry was yelling and screaming at me in the studio, at times when senior staff was present. … The more I complained, the more the focus became my lack of experience in radio. But they were fully aware of that when they hired me. I was even told one of the reasons for John’s explosions were his frustration with my ‘incompetence’. I was the problem.”

When Aleppo-born director Sam Kadi was making the documentary Little Gandhi, it was too dangerous for him to return to Syria from abroad, so he directed his cameramen via Skype as they tried to avoid sniper fire. And he says that if the film were shown inside Syria now, he would be executed.