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With its 50th season currently airing, Saturday Night Live has seen its share of ups, downs and humiliations. It, too, has seen well over 150 cast members take the stage throughout its history, and that includes plenty that you either forgot about or had no idea were even on SNL. We’re talking people like Gilbert Gottfried, Laurie Metcalf, Joan Cusack, Julia Louis-Dreyfus – you probably could have guessed these were all in the ‘80s…Far removed from her brutal days on SNL in the mid-’80s, Louis-Dreyfus remembers where it all started – and not in a good way.

Appearing on the Wiser Than Me podcast, Julia Louis-Dreyfus recalled being spotted at a Chicago-based theater and being invited, along with what she called fellow “complete and total unknowns”, to perform part of the show in New York. Unfortunately, the setting and circumstances didn’t lend to the environment Louis-Dreyfus and company were...

Warning: This article contains descriptions of domestic violence

Comedian and breakfast pastry auteur Jerry Seinfeld made headlines this week for admitting that the “extreme left” didn’t actually kill comedy, as he had suggested earlier this year. Seinfeld conceded that his prior statement is “not true,” then compared comedians navigating evolving cultural sensitivities to an Olympic skiing competition. `

Seinfeld made this confession during an episode of the Breaking Bread podcast, hosted by his friend (and former Marriage Ref collaborator) Tom Papa. While Seinfeld’s mea culpa attracted a lot of online attention, not much notice was paid to another moment in the show, in which Seinfeld addressed another dumb thing he said during the Unfrosted press tour.

Back in May, Seinfeld publicly proclaimed that he longs for the days of “dominant masculinity,” adding, “I get the toxic thing, but still, I like a real man.” While a lot of people...

Despite being born and spending much of my life on the other side of the Atlantic, I’ve always been a fan of Saturday Night Live. The live format, which not only allows for constant improvisation but also for countless memorable moments of actors breaking character, is immensely appealing, as is the show’s structure – a collection of distinct sketches with musical performances. So naturally, a film based on the pilot episode, specifically the 90 minutes leading up to the broadcast, caught my attention.

Saturday Night is the title of the movie and was also the name of the original show due to a conflict with another late-night program, Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. After that show was canceled, SNL adopted the title it’s known by today, becoming a cultural phenomenon that, despite having its greatest impact in its home country, still crossed borders and reached audiences everywhere. Naturally,...

The passing of John Amos has been a reminder of his historic starring role in one of the more unlikely Disney live-action hits ever!

The news that John Amos died in August at the age of 84 has led to some looks back at his long acting career. Breaking out as weatherman Gordy Howard on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Amos took the lead role in the hit comedy Good Times. After leaving the show following a beef with the producers, Amos starred in the Emmy-winning mini-series Roots. 

After that, Amos was a familiar face on TV and in movies, with notable appearances in Coming To America, Die Hard 2, The West Wing, Men in Trees, and more. Yet amid all that, it's easy to forget Amos' starring role in one the weirder Disney films of a weird period.

The World's Greatest Athlete. 

This 1973 film was notable, with Amos in his...

Even if the first season had been its only season, “Saturday Night Live” still would have earned a place in TV history. The series’ original cast, know as “The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players,” launched the careers of John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman. In the almost 50 years since, “SNL” has jumpstarted the careers of many of the greatest comedians of each generation, including Bill Murray (who joined in Season 2), Dana Carvey, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Kristen Wiig, and Tina Fey – just to name a few – and led to films based on sketches from the series, such as “The Blues Brothers” (1980) and “Wayne’s World” (1992).

SEEEddie Murphy movies: 13 greatest films ranked worst to best

In 1975, Lorne Michaels (with Dick Ebersol and Herb Schlosser) created a variety sketch series that focused on satirical and high-concept comedy sketches performed live by young unknown comedians,...

Even if the first season had been its only season, “Saturday Night Live” still would have earned a place in TV history. The series’ original cast, know as “The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players,” launched the careers of John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman. In the almost 50 years since, “SNL” has jumpstarted the careers of many of the greatest comedians of each generation, including Bill Murray (who joined in Season 2), Dana Carvey, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Kristen Wiig, and Tina Fey – just to name a few – and led to films based on sketches from the series, such as “The Blues Brothers” (1980) and “Wayne’s World” (1992).

In 1975, Lorne Michaels (with Dick Ebersol and Herb Schlosser) created a variety sketch series that focused on satirical and high-concept comedy sketches performed live by young unknown comedians, as well as live musical performances,...

Illustrations by Maddie Fischer.To participate in the Toronto International Film Festival Scavenger Hunt, simply take a selfie with each of the eight “landmarks” around Festival Street—the three-block stretch of King Street where you’ll find key festival venues, food trucks, and brand activations—then enter a raffle to win a prize. I wondered what a “landmark” would look like as I began my search one evening, killing time before Roberto Minervini’s existentialist war movie The Damned (all films 2024). I imagined informational placards on the festival’s main theaters—maybe I could learn something about the architecture of Roy Thomson Hall, the distinctive concert hall that resembles a mirrored funnel? Or some bizarre trivia about the Reitman family, that cinematic dynasty who developed the Lightbox Theater?I spotted the first landmark: a black square of poster board, affixed to a crowd-control barricade. It was adorned with plain white text,...

Columbia Pictures is shifting the release of “SNL” dramatization “Saturday Night” two weeks up to a limited platform release, ahead of the film’s wide release, the studio announced on Friday.

Sony is now giving Jason Reitman’s period comedy a three-tier rollout: it will first release the film in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto on Sept. 27, followed by a limited release on Oct. 4, before going wide on Oct. 11.

The film recently premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and garnered critical acclaim. The historical project currently holds an 85% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

In her review of the film, TheWrap’s Carla Renata wrote, “At 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television and pop culture forever. ‘Saturday Night’ is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of what was...

One of the buzziest films of the 2024 Telluride Film Festival has been the upcoming Sony feature based on the first ever live performance of the pop culture staple “Saturday Night Live.” What no one saw coming was that one of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, Bill Murray, would introduce the film alongside director Jason Reitman, who were both welcomed with a standing ovation of massively supportive fans and industry insiders.

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television and pop culture forever. “Saturday Night” is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of what was originally called “NBC’s Saturday Night” (because a competing show with Howard Cosell had the “Saturday Night Live” title). Full of humor, chaos, and the magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t,...

The story of the horrifying crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where militant Palestinian terrorists known as Black September took the entire Israeli team hostage, killing all, has been told many times via TV movies, as well as a different perspective in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated Munich. That widely praised 2005 film followed the hunt for the terrorists. Now comes a completely different and absolutely riveting account in September 5, a docudrama set almost entirely in the ABC control booth where the network’s sports crew was headquartered to cover the games as a live TV event. No one could have foreseen the drama that would unfold over 22 tense hours as this group of television professionals, inexperienced in hard news, would have to switch gears and bring these tragic, unfolding events in real time to billions around the globe.

Swiss-born director Tim Fehlbaum, working from a screenplay he wrote with German writer Moritz Binder,...

On Aug. 23, 1985, the Warner Bros. teen comedy Better Off Dead, starring John Cusack, hit limited release. The film, written and directed by Savage Steve Holland, grossed $10 million domestically in theaters. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:

As a title, Better Off Dead doesn’t give one much of a clue as to what the movie’s about. It does, however, reflect a likely audience reaction to this crude, cartoonish comedy. Not surprisingly, Warner Bros. has been doing a lot of research — sneaking Dead in places like Denver — to figure out what to do with this one, other than to stamp D.O.A. on its opening.

John Cusack stars as a myopic high schooler smitten with a perky blonde (Amanda Wyss) who leaves him for the school’s obnoxious ski team captain (Aaron Dozier). While plot structure may seem like just an other faded away August release, the...

John Turturro is to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia, which runs from Aug. 16 to 23. The award is in recognition of his contribution to the film industry and his talent as an actor, director and screenwriter.

Jovan Marjanović, director of Sarajevo Film Festival, said: “With a career spanning over four decades, he has delivered unforgettable performances in a diverse range of roles. His dedication to his craft, versatility, and ability to bring depth and authenticity to every character he embodies have made him a joy to look at every time he enters the scene.”

Turturro studied at Suny New Paltz and the Yale School of Drama. He has worked with a number of acclaimed filmmakers, appearing in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and “Jungle Fever,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Color of Money,” Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show,” Francesco Rosi’s “La Tregua,...

Who is the best male TV star of all time? Our photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 50 greatest actors and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?

With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.

In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...

Jerry Seinfeld opened up about the negative reception of his latest Netflix movie, Unfrosted. Seinfeld shared that he didn’t care about the critical opinion and commented that he wanted to read the negative reviews since he found them to be funny. The film is loosely based on the invention of Pop-Tarts toaster pastries, and Seinfeld played Bob Cabana, a character based on William Post who created them.

Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted poster | Netflix

Seinfeld brought together his writing team — Barry Marder, who writes for his stand-up shows, and Seinfeld show writers Spike Feresten and Andy Robin. The ensemble cast of the film included Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Melissa McCarthy, and Amy Schumer.

Jerry Seinfeld Defends Negative Reviews Of His Netflix Film Unfrosted

Jerry Seinfeld with Melissa McCarthy and Jim Gaffigan in Unfrosted | Netflix

During his latest appearance on the Honestly with Bari Weiss podcast, Jerry Seinfeld made numerous controversial statements that shocked fans.

Comedian and director Jerry Seinfeld, 70, shared his thoughts on evolved perceptions of masculinity.

Seinfeld, who just released his directorial debut film Unfrosted, which is set in the 1960s, expressed his fascination with the “agreed-upon hierarchy” that he believes has been “vaporized” in the present day. He suggested that this loss of a clear social structure has contributed to the erratic and chaotic behavior he observes in modern society, such as aggressive driving.

“I think that is why people lean on the horn and drive in the crazy way that they drive: because we have no sense of hierarchy,” Seinfeld said in a new interview on the Honestly with Bari Weiss podcast. “And as humans, we don’t really feel comfortable like that.”

“If you want to talk about nostalgia, that is part of what makes that moment attractive looking back,” Seinfeld remarked about the period of his childhood. He fondly described figures from that era,...

Jerry Seinfeld’s latest comments on ‘dominant masculinity’ and ‘sense of hierarchy’ have irked some fans on social media. The comedian’s TV show, Seinfeld, included a plethora of jokes that mocked these topics back in the 1980s and ’90s. However, he shared in a recent podcast interview that he missed real masculinity due to his career as a comedian, which he said was a childish pursuit.

Jerry Seinfeld in Seinfeld | NBC

Seinfeld made a massive amount of money from his career as a comedian despite not becoming his idolized version of a masculine man. According to reports, he recently entered the billionaire club with his earnings on Seinfeld and other TV projects.

Jerry Seinfeld Misses ‘Dominant Masculinity’ and ‘Sense of Hierarchy’

Jerry Seinfeld with Melissa McCarthy and Jim Gaffigan in Unfrosted | Netflix

Jerry Seinfeld made some controversial statements during his latest appearance on the Honestly with Bari Weiss podcast.

George Maksian, who spent 44 years as a film and TV columnist for the New York Daily News at a time when it had the largest circulation in the U.S., died at 94 on May 23. No cause was given.

Working out of the newspaper’s former home on E. 42nd St. in Manhattan, Maksian covered the celebrity beat and was widely syndicated.

His interview list included Ed Sullivan, Howard Stern, Johnny Carson, Barbara Walters, David Letterman and Bette Midler.

But Maksian held a special reverence for Mike Connors of TV’s Mannix, a fellow Armenian-American. Both were born of parents who escaped the Armenian genocide.

Maksian once said sportscaster Howard Cosell wrote a four-page letter to the editors complaining about his boxing coverage.

Maksian reported that Cosell had complained about being forced by ABC to continue covering boxing, objecting to the brutality. But Maksian found out that Cosell’s contract allowed...

Jerry Seinfeld got nostalgic in a recent interview and says he misses “dominant masculinity.”

In a sit down with Bari Weiss for The Free Press’s podcast Honestly, Seinfeld reminisced about growing up and wanting to become “a real man,” joking that he never “made it.”

“I really thought when I was in that era, again, it was [John F. Kennedy], it was Muhammad Ali, it was Sean Connery, Howard Cosell, you can go all the way down there. That’s a real man,” he said.

Seinfeld said he grew up admiring these figures, but as a comedian, he didn’t become that because it is a “childish pursuit.”

He continued, “But I miss a dominant masculinity. Yeah, I get the toxic thing. Thank you, thank you. But still, I like a real man.”

The topic arose after Weiss discussed watching Seinfeld’s Netflix movie Unfrosted, set in the 60s.

Jerry Seinfeld appeared on the “Honestly With Bari Weiss” podcast and said he’s always found his bad reviews to be funny. The comedian recently released his first feature directorial effort, the Pop-Tart movie “Unfrosted,” on Netflix to largely negative critical reviews. “Unfrosted” boasts a weak 43% on Rotten Tomatoes from 120 reviews. But Seinfeld appears to be unbothered by the critical reception, as he never intended to make something that would be liked by everyone anyway.

“The only thing I want to read are the absolute worst reviews the movie received because there is nothing funnier to me than people complaining that [they] didn’t laugh,” Seinfeld said. “They want to laugh. I related to it. I get it. I think it’s funny that you hated it because you wanted to laugh and you didn’t laugh.”

“It’s funny! It doesn’t matter what you think of me,” Seinfeld continued.

When Saturday Night Live began, it wasn’t even called Saturday Night Live. That honor belonged to a rival variety show hosted by Howard Cosell that launched the same year on ABC primetime. Hence why the young, hungry, and immensely talented sketch comedians assembled in 1975 were dubbed the “Not Ready for Primetime Players.”

That earliest and now quasi-mythical first class of SNL alumni remain the only ones to hold that title. Perhaps this is because the joke stopped working after many of them proved more than capable of carrying a primetime television series. In fact, most of them went on to have successful careers on TV, the Broadway stage, and for the precious and most spectacular few… in the movies.

Ever since Chevy Chase exited SNL after its first season, the series has been viewed—sometimes to creator and producer Lorne Michaels and NBC executives’ consternation—as a launchpad for movie stardom.

Chicago – Bill Murray is a son of Chicagoland, born and raised in the area and beginning his career at The Second City. To honor his friend and collaborator Harold Ramis, Murray made an appearance on February 2nd, 2024, on Chicago’s Navy Pier on behalf of Harold Ramis Day and of course his classic film “Groundhog Day.”

Bill Murray Back in his Home Land

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

William James “Bill” Murray was born in Chicago-adjacent Evanston and grew up in nearby Wilmette. After an attempt at college, he followed his brother Brian Doyle Murray to The Second City and found his performance niche. He moved to New York City when fellow Second City vet John Belushi recruited him for “The National Lampoon Radio Hour.” After missing out on the original cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 1975, he did a stint on Howard Cosell’s...

Because "Futurama" is set 1,000 years in the future, show creators David X. Cohen and Matt Groening had to invent a sci-fi conceit that would provide an organic reason to include celebrity cameos. Thanks to a special fluid, human heads can be kept alive in jars more or less indefinitely. In the very first episode, the head of Dick Clark hosted a televised New Year's Eve special to ring in the year 3000. Clark played himself. Since then, multiple other celebrities have played their own severed heads, including the Beastie Boys, the cast of "Star Trek," Al Gore, Conan O'Brien, Beck, Lucy Liu, Penn Jillette, and most recently, Bill Nye. 

Of course, Cohen and Groening were more creative than merely storing severed heads in jars, and multiple other notable actors have continued to appear on "Futurama" as robots, aliens, space deities, and other sci-fi creatures. John Goodman, for instance, played the homicidal...

"Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" That's the catchphrase that concludes the cold open sketch of every single episode of the iconic late-night sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live." Soon you'll learn about all the chaos and panic that went into the debut of "SNL," launching a pop culture powerhouse that has lasted nearly 50 years. 

Deadline reports that "Up in the Air" and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" director Jason Reitman will be at the helm of a movie telling the behind-the-scenes story about how the premiere of "SNL" actually came together. The report touts the movie as "the true story of what happened that night behind the scenes in the moments leading up to the first 'SNL' broadcast, retelling chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn't, counting down the minutes in real time to the infamous words, 'Live From New York, it's Saturday Night.'" 

Before all the fame and laughs,...

The full title of the George Foreman biopic provides a not-so-subtle clue as to the film’s prosaicness. The movie about Jake Lamotta vividly signaled the personality of its lead character with Raging Bull. The one about Rocky Graziano jauntily indicated its upbeat nature with Somebody Up There Likes Me. So what does Foreman merit? Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World. It sounds like the title of a biography for young readers, and that’s pretty much how the by-the-numbers film plays.

It’s not surprising that Affirm Films is one of the film’s producers, since Foreman famously underwent a religious epiphany and became a born-again Christian. He retired from boxing for many years and became a minister, preaching first on street corners before becoming working at a Houston church. He also opened a youth community center, and, as the film portrays it,...

Biopics about star athletes or artists tend to have the same broad shape: the rise to achievement and fame, the fall from triumph (often fueled by some combination of addiction and ego), the restoration to a harder-won glory. A great biopic, like “Get on Up” or “I, Tonya,” will tease a profound portrait of the subject out of that form; a middling one will oversimplify the subject just to hit the right beats. But then there’s a film like “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.” That’s not a movie title — it’s the title of a parable. And it’s well chosen, since “Big George Foreman” is about a life that feels so outlandishly ready-made for the ups and downs, the lessons and inspirations, of the superstar biopic genre that you don’t even have to mess with it.

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel has amassed three dozen Sports Emmys during its 29 seasons, and now its host is getting the career treatment. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said today that Bryant Gumbel with receive the 2023 Sports Emmys Lifetime Achievement.

He will be honored at the 44th annual Sports Emmy Awards ceremony on May 22 at Rose Hall in New York.

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“Bryant has a storied career, from his start as a sportscaster in Los Angeles to five decades of celebrated work — every bit cementing him as an icon and trailblazer in sports and entertainment,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO of NATAS. “Bryant‘s incredible resume spanning Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, NBC Sports, NBC News, CBS News, PBS and many...

Sports journalist and former “Today” show anchor Bryant Gumbel has been selected to receive a Lifetime Achievement award at the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards. The event takes place on Monday, May 22, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall in New York.

The honor was announced Tuesday morning by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which administers the Sports Emmys.

“Bryant has a storied career, from his start as a sportscaster in Los Angeles to five decades of celebrated work — every bit cementing him as an icon and trailblazer in sports and entertainment,” said NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp. “Bryant‘s incredible resume spanning ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,’ NBC Sports, NBC News, CBS News, and many other projects has brought dramatic and human news and sports stories to life for audiences throughout his career making him a clear front runner for this distinct honor.”

Gumbel is...

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced today that award-winning journalist Bryant Gumbel will be honored with the lifetime achievement award at the 44th annual Sports Emmy Awards ceremony, which will be held at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall in New York City on May 22.

“I’m humbled by this announcement and grateful to the folks at NATAS for this prestigious award,” said Gumbel in a statement. “After 50 years in the business, sharing the same honor with men like Jim McKay, Howard Cosell and Vin Scully is heady stuff indeed.”

“Bryant has a storied career, from his start as a sportscaster in Los Angeles to five decades of celebrated work — every bit cementing him as an icon and trailblazer in sports and entertainment,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO of NATAS. “Bryant‘s incredible resume spanning Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, NBC Sports, NBC News, CBS News and many other...

As the American treasure himself says in the opening credits, Mel Brooks is a hero to some, and merely a legend to others. He broke ground in irreverent social commentary with Blazing Saddles, and rewired the knobs in the monster’s brain for Young Frankenstein. Brooks’ Hulu TV-sketch-series-masquerading-as-a-film-sequel throws more jokes at the viewer than almost any comedy in the History of The World, Part II. Not all of them land squarely, though the ricochets inflict sufficient comic collateral damage.

There is a lot we can learn from an anthology sketch series. All of which is graded on a curveball. Like History of the World, Part I, the series is made up of short gags, like Marco Polo’s (Jake Johnson) impromptu gift-exchange on his first trip to China, longer one-off sequences, and a few continuing stories. The eight-episode series is Brooks’ first creative project since composing the score to...

On December 8, 1980 — just hours before he was murdered by a deranged fan near the entranceway to his New York apartment building — John Lennon welcomed photographer Annie Leibowitz into the home so she could take his photo for the cover of Rolling Stone. “The session took place in a bright, sunny room overlooking the park,” Yoko Ono recalled in 2004. “We were feeling comfortable because it was Annie, whom we respected and trusted, so John seemed not to have any problem taking off his clothes.”

The image of a naked, vulnerable Lennon...

Better Off Dead is one of two 1985 movies that marked John Cusack’s debut as a leading man. After small roles in Sixteen Candles and Class, Cusack, at only eighteen, nabbed the lead in Rob Reiner’s The Sure Thing, and Savage Steve Holland’s Better Off Dead followed immediately afterward. While Cusack has often praised The Sure Thing and Reiner’s direction, his feelings on Better Off Dead have always been controversial. Holland says that while Cusack attended the dailies, when he saw the cut-together version, he felt humiliated and told him that he would never trust him again as a director. This was problematic as they were in the middle of shooting a follow-up, One Crazy Summer, whose shoot would be more fraught than the collegial Better Off Dead.

So what made Cusack so angry? Better Off Dead is an absurdist comedy that, among other things, includes a...

Who is the best male TV star of all time? Our photo gallery above takes on the tough task of ranking the 50 greatest actors and performers. Agree or disagree with our choices?

With over 70 years of television to consider, we had to provide ourselves with a few rules to help simplify things. One of those was that every man in our gallery must have been an ongoing leading star at some point, preferably more often than not. That’s why you will not see such classic supporting actors as Art Carney, Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Peter Dinklage and more. We also do not include any news/sports anchors or journalists such as Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings, Howard Cosell since they are not performers.

In order to place them in the rankings, we were looking at a combination of quality (top rated shows with the public or critics...

Following a 20-year run as an announcing team for Fox, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have signed multiyear agreements to join ESPN as the new voices for Monday Night Football, as well as contribute content to ESPN+.

Aikman and Buck will make their regular-season Mnf debut on Sept. 12.

More from TVLineJoe Buck Leaving Fox Sports, Heading to ESPN -- ReportTV Ratings: Monday Night Football Opener Dominates for ABCRachel Nichols Removed From ESPN's NBA Coverage; The Jump Cancelled

Buck (who in 2020 received the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award) said in a tweeted video (below) that he...

ESPN confirmed Wednesday that it has signed longtime Fox broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to multi-year deals, securing their roles as the new voices of the network’s Monday Night Football. The deal takes effect with the upcoming season, which will mark the pair’s 21st season in the booth together — the first 20 years at Fox.

As part of the deals, the network said Buck and Aikman will both contribute content to ESPN+. Contract details were not provided, but the move shores up ESPN’s NFL team as it will boost it coverage over the next few years. It also leaves a hole at Fox Sports, which must find a new No. 1 team for its Sunday coverage as well as a new World Series announcer, a role Buck has held for the network over his 30-plus years at Fox.

Aikman’s departure was first reported last month, while news...

The Critics Choice Assn. has selected Billy Crystal to receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony on March 13.

A Billy Crystal life achievement reel might look a lot like a history of American showbiz. Crystal’s family roots are embedded in the greatness of American music via his father and his uncle Milt Gabler’s Commodore Records, home to recordings by blues and jazz greats such as Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke and, most stunningly, Billie Holiday. How many showbiz family trees include Holiday’s landmark 1939 record, “Strange Fruit,” named by Time magazine as best song of the century?

In his 20s, Crystal worked his share of 1970s comedy club stages, first as part of a comedy trio known as “3’s Company,” then as a solo act. Variety caught the trio in 1973 and it’s clear from the review that Crystal’s trademark skills as the...

There will be a lot of music in Sunday’s Super Bowl Lvi telecast, and no, we’re not talking about the halftime show — rather, the music at the start of the show and throughout the game itself.

John Williams’ “Sunday Night Football” march is expected to open the broadcast. “That’s our theme,” says Super Bowl executive producer Fred Gaudelli. “There’s a grandeur to it, an importance, that lets you know that a big game is about to begin. And there is no bigger game than the Super Bowl.”

But, Gaudelli adds, a great deal of other music will be heard as the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams take to the field, much of it in the tradition of televised sports themes dating back to the 1960s: appropriately muscular music to accompany modern-day gladiators into the arena for battle.

“It’s all storytelling,” says Adam Taylor, president and CEO of Apm,...

Les McKeown, who sang lead for Scottish ’70s hitmakers Bay City Rollers during its heyday, died Tuesday at home, his family announced. He was 65. No cause of death was revealed.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved husband and father Leslie Richard McKeown, his family posted on the singer’s Twitter account. “We are currently making arrangements for his funeral and ask privacy after the shock of our profound loss.”

pic.twitter.com/YgZLzuGbM1

— Les McKeown (@LesMcKeownUK) April 22, 2021

Considered a progenitor of the modern boy band, the Edinburgh quintet saw McKeown join in 1973. He replaced original singer Gordon “Nobby” Clark two years after the group had broken through with a top 10 single in the UK. In 1974, Bay City Rollers scored a second British hit with the McKeown-sung “Remember (Sha La La),” which began a streak of nine consecutive Top 10 hits for the Bell label in the UK.

As a Japanese-American kid growing up in Los Angeles, Glenn Kaino was drawn to the image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing with arms raised on the podium of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, during the medal presentation for the 200-meter dash. Not that he saw “the salute” live; he wasn’t yet born. But that’s how iconic the image of the two track-and-field stars had become. As an artist and the co-director of “With Drawn Arms” — streaming now — Kaino took that memory, sought Smith out and began a collaboration that led to a 2018 art exhibit and to this moving and relevant documentary.

It’s easy to see why the artist was taken with the image. There is sculptural beauty in that still life of Black protest. Smith’s black-gloved hand and right arm are raised; Carlos’s gloved hand and left arm are raised, creating, as Smith recounts,...

Eli Goree stars as Cassius Clay, a.k.a. Muhammad Ali in the new film “One Night in Miami,” directed by Academy Award winner Regina King. The film is developing major Oscar buzz, with King earning a directing bid at the Golden Globes and the film’s ensemble earning a nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Goree recently spoke with Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria about what made him interested in “One Night in Miami,” how he thoroughly researched for the role and how the boxing scenes were physically demanding. Watch the exclusive webchat above and read the transcript below.

SEEBarry Robison interview: ‘One Night in Miami’ production designer

Gold Derby: What drew you to this project? I mean, it’s so exciting to be able to play a legend and to work with people like Regina King but was there one thing in particular that really made you...

Exclusive: It took almost four years — and the death of George Floyd and ensuing protests — for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to acknowledge how badly football fumbled a chance to support the concerns of its players of color over police brutality, poverty and economic disparity in America, when Qb Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem. Kaepernick and players who followed his lead were excoriated by President Trump, with Kaepernick not being offered a place on a team after he left the San Francisco 49ers.

The duration of Kaepernick’s hardship hardly compares to the 52 years of adversity endured by Tommie Smith. After winning the gold medal in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith stunned the crowd in Mexico City — and the world watching on live TV — by thrusting his black-gloved right fist in the air during the playing of the national anthem (bronze medal-winning teammate John...

Muhammad Ali’s bark was as formidable as his bite, and “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali” pays tribute to both, allowing the three-time heavyweight champ to narrate his own story via a combination of audio and video archival material. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, this 165-minute documentary uses copious interview soundbites to highlight the pugilist’s unparalleled gift of gab — and, consequently, the way it served as his means of defiant self-definition. Debuting on HBO in two parts (after premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival), it’s a celebration that, if not quite definitive, proves a stirring work of nonfiction assembly.

Comprised of old photos and film, TV, and radio clips, Fuqua’s project (executive-produced by LeBron James) does its best to approximate an autobiographical authorship, allowing “the greatest” to be his own storyteller. That approach, along with a narrative focus that remains almost exclusively on his public...

Billy Crystal turned 70 years old in March, but don’t think that means the actor-writer-director-comedian is slowing down. “I remember when they asked George Burns if he would ever retire. He said, ‘To what? What would I do?’” Crystal says with a laugh. “That’s how I feel.”

Far from retiring, Crystal is “busier than I’ve been in a long time,” he says, with projects including a movie premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, a musical version of his film “Mr. Saturday Night” and plans to step behind the camera to direct his first film since 2001’s acclaimed drama “61*.”

One can forgive those who want to reflect on Crystal’s long and storied career, as he is set to receive the quintessential Hollywood honor on April 12, when he imprints his hands and feet at the Tcl Chinese Theatre alongside other screen greats (check back here on Friday to...

Lou Weiss, chairman emeritus of the William Morris Agency and one of the last vestiges of the old guard of a bygone era in the entertainment business, passed away at 9:30 Am on April 8, due to complications from an appendectomy. He was 101.

Weiss retired in 2007 after 70 years at Wma. During his tenure, which tracked the rise of the television medium, Weiss became one of the most powerful agents in the TV industry.

Born on March 22, 1918 in New York City’s lower east side, Weiss started in the mailroom at the New York William Morris agency in 1937, with the help of his comedian/actor uncle and Wma client, George Burns.

With the advent of World War II, Weiss was drafted into the Us Army and became a 2nd lieutenant with the 10th Mountain Division serving in Italy. Upon returning from the war to his job, Weiss reported to the legendary Abe Lastfogel (“Mr.

When We Were Kings, the Oscar-winning documentary about Muhammed Ali and George Foreman’s legendary “Rumble in the Jungle,” is being adapted into a Broadway musical.

Held in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1974, the Rumble in the Jungle remains one of the most famous boxing bouts of all time with Ali knocking out Foreman, who was up until then the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. Leon Gast directed When We Were Kings, which was released in 1996 and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

When We Were Kings...

The legendary “rumble in the jungle” between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire, Africa brings to mind images of two bloodied fighters pushing themselves beyond the limits of endurance. However, the boxing match does not exactly scream musical.

That’s not stopping one producer, David Sonenberg, from trying to put the swing into the sweet science. He is planning to make a musical version of his Academy Award-winning film “When We Were Kings,” a 1996 documentary that captured the ringside drama. The book for the musical will be adapted from the film and written by Shelley Marcus, and the songs will be fR&B classics from the 1974 Zaire music festival. The soundtrack will also include “Rumble In The Jungle”, which was written by The Fugees for the film. A workshop is scheduled for the spring of 2019 with plans for a full stage musical production the following year.

“Muhammad Ali was...

Could Muhammad Ali be headed to Broadway? Producer David Sonenberg is developing a musical stage adaptation of the 1996, Oscar-winning documentary “When We Were Kings,” it was announced Thursday.

“When We Were Kings” documents the legendary 1974 fight between Ali and George Foreman, better known as “The Rumble in the Jungle,” that was held in Zaire, Africa. Sonenberg, who executive produced the documentary directed by Leon Gast, is now bringing it to the stage with a workshop scheduled for spring 2019 and plans for a full stage musical production the following year.

The book for the musical is adapted from the film and is written by Shelley Marcus. The songs for the musical are R&B classics from the 1974 Zaire music festival, with the exception of “Rumble In The Jungle,” which was written by The Fugees for the film.

Also Read: CBS All Access Nabs Muhammad Ali Limited Series From Morgan Freeman

The...

Veteran live-tv helmer and former DGA national board member Don Mischer is set to receive the guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Television Direction. The honor will be handed out during the 71st annual DGA Awards on February 2 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.

Mischer has amassed 40-plus Primetime Emmys nominations and won more than a dozen — including two in the same year three different times — and won 10 DGA Awards. His long career ranges from directing the 1975 pilot for Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell and producing The Barbra Walters Summer Special the following year to producing and directing Mickey’s 90th Spectacular, which aired this month on ABC.

The San Antonio native has produced 15 Primetime Emmys telecasts, directed and produced the 2011 and 2012 Academy Awards and produced three consecutive Tony Awards among dozens of live awards-show credits. He also was director-producer of several Super...

General audiences know him best as the heroic Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars saga, but DC fans idolize Mark Hamill for his turn to the Dark Side. The actor has played Batman’s nemesis the Joker across numerous media for over 25 years now, beginning with the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. To many, his vocal performance perfectly captures all aspects of the supervillain: his charm and humour, yet also his monstrous, murderous side.

In an interview with Sway’s Universe, Hamill talked about where exactly his portrayal of the Joker comes from. The star revealed that, back when he started doing B:tas, he was influenced by a strange mix of inspirations, including classic black-and-white horror The Invisible Man and TV personalities like Howard Cosell and Jay Leno.

“I would imitate the old Universal horror films and I realize, in retrospect, I wasn’t doing it consciously, but Claude Rains as The Invisible Man…...

The spring movie “Isle of Dogs” marks the eighth pairing of actor Bill Murray and filmmaker Wes Anderson. In fact, Murray has participated in all of Anderson’s films except for his first project “Bottle Rockets” which he made with longtime friends Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson.

Murray first came to national attention when he joined “Saturday Night Live” in its second season to replace the departed Chevy Chase. Like many of his SNL colleagues of the era (Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd) Murray was able to parlay his television success into a film career. He first made his film mark in comedies but in later years would take on increasingly dramatic films as well. Murray would return to TV in 2015 for the HBO limited series “Olive Kitteridge,” for which he won an Emmy as Best Supporting Actor a suicidal man who becomes involved with the title character (Frances McDormand...

A gleeful Julia Roberts could hardly contain her excitement when announcing the Best Actor Oscar winner at the 2002 ceremony. After opening the envelope she declared, “I love my life” before saying the name of Denzel Washington for “Training Day.” Watch the video above.

Washington had presented an honorary Academy Award earlier in the ceremony to his acting idol Sidney Poitier. When accepting his second Oscar he said that he had been chasing Poitier for the past 40 years and he would “always be following in your footsteps.”

SEEOscars flashback: Denzel Washington beams in front of his mother winning Best Supporting Actor for ‘Glory’ [Watch]

Following his Oscar win for “Glory” at the 1990 ceremony, Washington went through the 1990s as an A-Lister making one hit movie after another. He added two more Oscar nominations to his record for the title role in “Malcolm X” (1992) and for playing wrongfully imprisoned boxer Rubin Carter in...