PROFILE
FROM Kaitlin Parker
'Will & Grace' returns to NBC, along with its original creators When Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick went to his long-time writing partner David Kohan with the idea of reuniting the cast for a one-off web video, Kohan humored him. Little did he know the reunion would end up going far beyond that one short video. Will, Grace, Karen and of course, just Jack -- are now coming back to NBC for two new seasons.
When healthcare became personal, Jimmy Kimmel got political Prior to this year, Jimmy Kimmel was the last late night host you'd expect to take on a political issue. Then, he had a son who needed open heart surgery. Now, Kimmel is loudly speaking out against the newest healthcare bill.
Mike White on 'Brad's Status,' social media and ambition In writer-director Mike White's new movie Brad's Status, Ben Stiller plays a man consumed with jealousy of friends from college, based on their social media. White tells us why he wanted to make a movie about ambition in the age of Instagram, and the challenge of making humanist movies when the studios only want the next superhero franchise.
In ‘The Deuce,’ David Simon follows the money of the porn industry When David Simon started shopping his new show The Deuce--about the rise and legalization of the porn industry--he quickly realized a lot of networks didn’t quite grasp his seriousness of purpose. The creator of The Wire and Treme tells us how The Deuce ended up back at his longtime TV home, HBO, and why he ended up making a show about porn in the first place.
Another dispatching of a 'Star Wars' director Colin Trevorrow is out as director of Episode IX. This comes after the firing of Josh Trank and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller on other Star Wars movies. At this point, people are starting to wonder about the Lucasfilm approach of hiring less proven directors to work on such a massive franchise.
Revisiting Shawn Levy: 'Stranger Things' & redefining his career Director Shawn Levy built a career on the Night at the Museum franchise, but wanted to break out of his box. He set out to produce, and this past year scored with the Netflix mega-hit Stranger Things, now up for 18 Emmys. He tells us how he went about getting the industry to reconsider him.
Ed Skrein departs 'Hellboy' after fans call out whitewashing Actor Ed Skrein announced he'd be dropping out of Hellboy after being cast as a character who in the original source material is Asian. It's the first time an actor has ever stepped down in response to an outcry over whitewashing. Skrein has been praised for his elegant handling of the situation.
Chuck Lorre branches out with 'Disjointed' and 'Young Sheldon' TV writer-producer Chuck Lorre has created some of the most successful multi-camera broadcast sitcoms ever, including Two and a Half Men, and The Big Bang Theory. Now he's entering a new stage in his career with two projects -- the Netflix pot comedy Disjointed and the single camera show Young Sheldon for CBS--that are pushing him outside his previous purview.
Bummer of a summer at the box office The domestic box office is stuck the summer doldrums this year. Ticket sales are down 15 percent compared to last year, and for the first time in 25 years, there's no new wide releases landing on Labor Day Weekend.
For Billy Eichner, his time 'On the Street' got him an Emmy nom Billy Eichner has had recent roles in Hulu's Difficult People, Netflix's Friends from College, and in the upcoming season of American Horror Story on FX. But it's through his truTV game show, Billy on the Street, that he's in the Emmy race. He tells us about the evolution of his person-on-the-street antics and why not every celebrity is a good fit for the show.
Stunt community asking tough questions after 2 recent deaths A motorcycle racer named Joi "SJ" Harris died on the set of Deadpool 2 this week while attempting a stunt for the film. Harris was an accomplished racer, but did not have stunt experience. Some in the stunt community are asking why she was hired in the first place, and saying that her death could have been prevented.
Producer Gigi Pritzker on 'Genius,' her first foray into TV Gigi Pritzker didn't plunge headlong into the movie business -- her original life plan was to run an NGO in Nepal. An accidental journey to film school set her on a path to producing lots of films, including the Oscar-nominated Hell or High Water. But she'd never done television until Genius, on the life of Albert Einstein, demanded to be made as a series. The first season of the National Geographic anthology series is now up for 10 Emmys.
Disney pulls out of Netflix to launch its own streaming service Disney announced this week that it will pull its content from Netflix and launch two streaming services of its own -- one for sports and one for Disney properties. There are some caveats, but there's no questions that this represents a fundamental realignment of the media world.
How the doping doc 'Icarus' morphed into a real life thriller Bryan Fogel's original plan for his documentary Icarus was to investigate pervasive doping in cycling by becoming a human guinea pig. He recruited chemist Grigory Rodchenkov in Moscow to guide him. Then Rodchenkov was revealed as the architect of Russia's state-run doping program -- and he was ready to blow the whistle. Fogel helped Rodchenkov flee, and then things got really scary.
Tough times for indie film producers and distributors Business in Hollywood can be boom or bust, and for independent film studios, it's more of the latter at the moment. The problem is exemplified by two struggling companies, Open Road and Broad Green Pictures.
'Girls Trip' breakout Tiffany Haddish & director Malcolm D. Lee Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish is having a star-is-born moment with the raunchy comedy Girls Trip. Haddish says the movie has already changed her life, and she has big plans for where her career goes from here. Haddish and Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee tell us about filming during the actual Essence Festival and yes, a certain scene involving a grapefruit.
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Claudio Magris: Blameless In Claudio Magris' Blameless, a museum of the implements of war and destruction is created to inspire peace. But this conversation is not just about war and peace.
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."
Why did Jared Kushner want a back channel with Russians? News broke Friday that President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, tried setting up a back channel between the Trump transition team and the Russian government. What are the consequences for Kushner, President Trump, and the investigation into Russian meddling?
How do Trump supporters feel about the Paris Accord? Globally and around the U.S., there are strong opinions whether or not the Paris Climate Accord is a good idea. The American exit is either a horrifying abdication of American leadership or a forceful and long overdue statement about U.S. sovereignty.