Deep Purple guitarist refused to promote album, label claims
A Deep Purple guitarist blew off promoting his latest album, tanking sales, his Italian record label claims. Richard Blackmore, who helped pen the hit “Smoke on the Water,” signed a three-year deal to...
View Article‘Idol’ alum Daughtry: Live musical ‘Passion’ offers much-needed ‘love and hope’
The Passion Sunday, 8 p.m., Fox Once a novelty, the live musical has become a TV mainstay. First there was “The Sound of Music,” then “Peter Pan,” “The Wiz” and “Grease.” Now everybody wants in on the...
View ArticleThe weird way Jamie Kennedy met his ‘Heartbeat’ co-star D.L. Hughley
NBC’s new medical drama “Heartbeat” features two unlikely stars in stand-up comics D.L. Hughley and Jamie Kennedy. The actors — who both had their own TV comedies back in the late ’90s/early 2000s —...
View Article‘The Walking Dead’ delivers another shocking casualty
Warning: Spoilers ahead. There was some good news in Sunday’s episode of “The Walking Dead”: Daryl recovered both his bike and his crossbow. The man is complete again! The bad was everything else. Most...
View Article‘The Passion’s’ bizarre music choices were the best and worst part of live...
Near the end of “The Passion” Sunday night on Fox, Seal wailed “Mad World” by Tears for Fears at a sobbing audience. The British musician, who played Roman governor Pontius Pilate, was right. It’s a...
View Article‘DWTS’ pro: How I kicked my pack-a-day smoking habit
At its highest level, ballroom dancing is quite a workout: Do you think those high-flying acrobatics and fleet-footed shimmies are easy to pull off? Yet somehow pro Mark Ballas — back for the 22nd...
View ArticleSarah Palin wants to be the next ‘Judge Judy’
Now presiding — Judge Palin? Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has signed a deal to develop a “Judge Judy”-style courtroom show, a publicist for the production company confirmed. The project, first...
View ArticleEdward Albee finally gets on the wall at Sardi’s
A few months ago while lunching at Sardi’s, Broadway press agent Sam Rudy looked around at the caricatures of theater people lining the walls and wondered if there was one of his longtime client Edward...
View ArticleBen Affleck unsuccessfully dons the Batsuit in bloated ‘Batman v Superman’
Threatened in some form or other since 2002, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’’ finally arrives to kick off the ever-lengthening “summer” movie season — and a long series of planned DC superhero...
View ArticleJohn Krasinski and Claire Danes could do better than predictable ‘Dry Powder’
It’s always nerve-wracking to watch TV stars venture out onstage. Can they manage without multiple takes and craft services? Does the magic happen in the editing room? Happily, Claire Danes...
View ArticleBarbara Hershey is possessed by evil ‘Damien’ role
Chances are that if you went to the movies in the last 50 years, you’ve encountered Barbara Hershey. She was Mary Magdalene for Martin Scorsese, made women cry their eyes out in “Beaches” and played...
View ArticleAustralian PM’s actual campaign slogan was a joke on ‘Veep’
HBO’s political satire “Veep” may now be influencing actual politics. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and one of his deputies were both using the phrase “continuity and change” on Monday — a...
View ArticleHow ‘Rocky Horror’ became one of the top grossing movie musicals ever
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show’’ has been running continuously in theaters longer than any other movie in history — 40 years — and is among the top-grossing musicals ever released in North America. Not...
View ArticleYou won’t believe this is David Letterman
David Letterman is nearly unrecognizable as he gets in a morning work out around the Caribbean islands.Photo: Spread Pictures/AKM-GSI Guess David Letterman really didn’t like shaving every day! The...
View Article‘The Catch’ star on new found fame, Shonda Rhimes
For four seasons on “The Killing,” Mireille Enos worked in a damp wool sweater and a pair of jeans to shoot the AMC series, set in rainy Seattle and filmed in Vancouver. As Det. Sarah Linden, she was...
View Article‘Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’ not worth the weight
Some things, like ouzo and flaming cheese, are best left at single servings. It’s understandable that creator/writer Nia Vardalos would come back for seconds with “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” — after...
View ArticleMeandering ‘I Saw the Light’ is a poor man’s ‘Walk the Line’
“I write what I write and I sing what I sing because that’s what I do,” explains Hank Williams (Tom Hiddleston) in “I Saw the Light,” clearing up any confusion you may have had. That line sums up the...
View Article‘Get a Job’ is a crass, unfunny comedy about entitled millennials
Before they broke through in “The Spectacular Now” and “Pitch Perfect,” respectively, Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick starred in this crass and painfully unfunny satirical comedy shot four years ago....
View ArticleMixed bag ‘Jane Wants a Boyfriend’ explores romance and autism
A young woman (Louisa Krause) with Asperger’s ventures into the dating world despite the skepticism of her actress older sister (Eliza Dushku) in this indie billing itself as “not your neurotypical...
View ArticleSoulful ‘Born To Be Blue’ is a poignant Chet Baker biopic
In “Born To Be Blue,” Ethan Hawke plays the heroin-addicted jazz trumpeter Chet Baker as a kind of guy version of Marilyn Monroe — breathy, fragile, a country naif struggling to stay anchored in this...
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