Month: June 2020

Former “Glee” star Amber Riley remembers the time early in her career when a producer told her that she and other actors of color were “a little more disposable, because that’s the way the world is.” As her professional trajectory continued, she witnessed her fair share of bad behavior, and knew who would — or

There’s a new publicity firm in town. A group of former BWR senior publicists has launched The Initiative Group, with offices in Los Angeles and New York. The partners include Cindy Guagenti, Paulette Kam, Gary Mantoosh, Christina Papadopoulos, Lisa Perkins, Jamie Skinner and Alex Spieller. Initiative’s roster of longtime clients and emerging talent includes Connie

Amy Schumer is serving up more of her new Food Network program to fans. The comedienne will return this summer after the Discovery-owned cable outlet agreed to order additional episodes of “Amy Schumer Learns to Cook,” a series in which Schumer and her husband, Chris Fischer, self-shoot culinary escapades. Their nanny, Jane, and dog and

Money is the only language that people in Hollywood understand. The only way we’ll see change in an industry that benefits from systems of inequality as they exist today is to hit people in their pockets. We need mandates for inclusion. The studios, networks and streamers all need to live by new rules, and if

Carl Reiner, the writer, producer, director and actor who was part of Sid Caesar’s legendary team and went on to create “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and direct several hit films, has died. He was 98. He died of natural causes on Monday night at his home in Beverly Hills, his assistant Judy Nagy confirmed

If exposing his life in the semi-autobiographical ABC comedy “Black-ish” wasn’t enough, Kenya Barris now plays a fictionalized version of himself in “#BlackAF.” The Netflix series — the first project under the $100 million overall deal that Barris signed with the streamer in August 2018 — is a satirical look at himself, his family (series

Johnny Mandel, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter of “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Emily” and the theme from “MASH,” has died. He was 94. “I was so sad to learn that a hero of mine, Johnny Mandel, passed away,” wrote Michael Buble on Twitter. “He was a genius and one of my favorite writers, arrangers,

On Monday morning, not that much more than 24 hours after “Global Goal: Unite for Our Future” wrapped up Saturday night, the chief force behind that worldwide broadcast/streaming event, Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans, was still moving like a jack-rabbit. Before it even hit the air, “Global Goal” had helped raise $6.9 billion from governments,

Hollywood studios and unions have asked Congress to revive the battered entertainment industry with a legislative package including hiring incentives, federal insurance and enhanced expensing of production costs. “These policies would help jumpstart domestic film and television production, encourage hiring and ameliorate the higher costs that must be undertaken to protect our industry’s workforce,” the letter

In today’s TV news roundup, Apple TV Plus released the trailer for its sport docuseries “Greatness Code,” and Disney Channel announced a crossover special featuring “Raven’s Home” and “Bunk’d.” CASTING Freeform has announced Leslie Odom Jr, Nicolette Robinson, Tommy Dorfman, Rainey Qualley, Gil Bellows, Rya Kihlstedt, Ava Bellows and L. Scott Caldwell will be joining

WarnerMedia plans to sell off its venerable CNN Center, the longtime hub of its flagship cable-news network, as more media companies look to divest long-held real estate assets at a moment when they are navigating through a challenging operating environment. In a note sent to Atlanta staffers Monday, WarnerMedia Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches said