Let no one deny it: Rupert Murdoch is clever like a fox. He’s slyer than his adversaries in mainstream media. They still think in real-world terms. But Murdoch thinks in terms of the world that he’s created — the world of fake news, of lies that play because they carry the ring of vengeful mythology (life as a Charles Bronson film that never ends). The world that Fox News pretends is reality.
You could make a case that in recent weeks, Murdoch’s circus of happy-talk dystopian propaganda (otherwise known as any random half hour of Fox News) took a major hit. The release of documents subpoenaed during the Dominion Voting System’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News revealed something that was, or should be, profoundly embarrassing to the network: that there are moments when its star huckster, Tucker Carlson, actually tells the truth (at least in private). The revelation that Carlson,...
You could make a case that in recent weeks, Murdoch’s circus of happy-talk dystopian propaganda (otherwise known as any random half hour of Fox News) took a major hit. The release of documents subpoenaed during the Dominion Voting System’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News revealed something that was, or should be, profoundly embarrassing to the network: that there are moments when its star huckster, Tucker Carlson, actually tells the truth (at least in private). The revelation that Carlson,...
- 4/19/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
"Animal House" was the first movie ever created under the name of National Lampoon. It made the humor magazine a household name, but not everybody on the staff was interested in venturing into the movie business. In fact, some of the writers and editors at the magazine felt that the film brought on an unwelcome shift that would eventually render them obsolete.
The film arrived in 1978, eight years after National Lampoon was founded, and achieved instant success. The magazine went on to attach its name to a number of other films, including 1983's "Vacation," which was so popular it exploded into its own movie franchise.
The success of "Animal House" brought a lot of new readers to the magazine, and it also brought a lot of the magazine's writers into the entertainment business. One of the magazine's founders, Henry Beard, had warned the staff against going into film and television before he moved on.
The film arrived in 1978, eight years after National Lampoon was founded, and achieved instant success. The magazine went on to attach its name to a number of other films, including 1983's "Vacation," which was so popular it exploded into its own movie franchise.
The success of "Animal House" brought a lot of new readers to the magazine, and it also brought a lot of the magazine's writers into the entertainment business. One of the magazine's founders, Henry Beard, had warned the staff against going into film and television before he moved on.
- 2/13/2023
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
It was another difficult year in 2022, and the sadness extended to many beloved and groundbreaking people in the show business and media worlds who died during the past 12 months.
Scroll through a photo gallery above, which also includes the obituaries.
The acting world lost giants including Sidney Poitier and Angela Lansbury, along with such big names as James Caan, Anne Heche, Bob Saget, Kirstie Alley, Ray Liotta, Nichelle Nichols, William Hurt, Louise Fletcher, Robert Clary, Emilio Delgado, Sally Kellerman, Robbie Coltrane, Monica Vitti, Leslie Jordan, John Aniston, Tony Sirico, Charlbi Dean, Tony Dow, Irene Papas, Howard Hesseman and Seinfeld moms Estelle Harris and Liz Sheridan.
We also pay tribute to directors including Ivan Reitman, Peter Bogdanovich and Marvin J. Chomsky.
Musicians who left us this past year include Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Olivia Newton-John, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector, Naomi Judd, Ramsey Lewis, Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Coolio. Many key...
Scroll through a photo gallery above, which also includes the obituaries.
The acting world lost giants including Sidney Poitier and Angela Lansbury, along with such big names as James Caan, Anne Heche, Bob Saget, Kirstie Alley, Ray Liotta, Nichelle Nichols, William Hurt, Louise Fletcher, Robert Clary, Emilio Delgado, Sally Kellerman, Robbie Coltrane, Monica Vitti, Leslie Jordan, John Aniston, Tony Sirico, Charlbi Dean, Tony Dow, Irene Papas, Howard Hesseman and Seinfeld moms Estelle Harris and Liz Sheridan.
We also pay tribute to directors including Ivan Reitman, Peter Bogdanovich and Marvin J. Chomsky.
Musicians who left us this past year include Jerry Lee Lewis, Loretta Lynn, Olivia Newton-John, Meat Loaf, Ronnie Spector, Naomi Judd, Ramsey Lewis, Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Coolio. Many key...
- 12/31/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a last-minute change brewing at “60 Minutes.”
When the venerable CBS newsmagazine launches its 55th season this Sunday, viewers may notice a twist at the end of the hour. The show is debuting a new end segment, something that its top producer hopes will resonate with crowds as much as previous codas like “Point/Counterpoint” or the musings of Andy Rooney did in their respective eras.
“We have tried different things to fill the space, and they felt a little unsatisfying,” executive producer Bill Owens tells Variety. “There wasn’t a consistency to it. I ended up giving that time back to the stories and the correspondents, so they would each have 20 to 30 seconds more. They were all very happy to have that time, but it felt like something was missing.”
The new final piece to the show, “The Last Minute,” will allow for updates to past “60 Minutes” stories...
When the venerable CBS newsmagazine launches its 55th season this Sunday, viewers may notice a twist at the end of the hour. The show is debuting a new end segment, something that its top producer hopes will resonate with crowds as much as previous codas like “Point/Counterpoint” or the musings of Andy Rooney did in their respective eras.
“We have tried different things to fill the space, and they felt a little unsatisfying,” executive producer Bill Owens tells Variety. “There wasn’t a consistency to it. I ended up giving that time back to the stories and the correspondents, so they would each have 20 to 30 seconds more. They were all very happy to have that time, but it felt like something was missing.”
The new final piece to the show, “The Last Minute,” will allow for updates to past “60 Minutes” stories...
- 9/15/2022
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Almost fresh out of college and still fairly newly arrived to New York City, I spent the early 1990s working at what I called — when I puffed my chest out a bit — “an assistant editor on the national affairs and foreign affairs desks at Rolling Stone.”
Here’s what I actually did: I answered phones for a couple of the other editors who did the actual editing and assigning. I plotted out, with legal pads and pencils, complicated travel itineraries for our writers and reporters, put through their expenses, made sure they got paid,...
Here’s what I actually did: I answered phones for a couple of the other editors who did the actual editing and assigning. I plotted out, with legal pads and pencils, complicated travel itineraries for our writers and reporters, put through their expenses, made sure they got paid,...
- 2/16/2022
- by Corey Seymour
- Rollingstone.com
P.J. O’Rourke, the political satirist and journalist who served as foreign-affairs desk chief at Rolling Stone until 2005 and wrote for numerous publications, has died. He was 74. His death was confirmed by NBC News.
“Our dear friend and cherished Grove Atlantic author P.J. O’Rourke passed away this morning from complications of lung cancer,” Deb Seager, a vice president and spokeswoman at his publisher Grove Atlantic, said in a statement to NBC.
Respected for his wit and storytelling by people across the political spectrum, O’Rourke’s early essays suggested...
“Our dear friend and cherished Grove Atlantic author P.J. O’Rourke passed away this morning from complications of lung cancer,” Deb Seager, a vice president and spokeswoman at his publisher Grove Atlantic, said in a statement to NBC.
Respected for his wit and storytelling by people across the political spectrum, O’Rourke’s early essays suggested...
- 2/15/2022
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
P. J. O’Rourke, the political satirist, NPR panelist and bestselling author whose early work with National Lampoon included contributions to the influential Lemmings show, died today of lung cancer. He was 74.
His death was confirmed by his publisher Grove Atlantic, United Talent Agency and by Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me program. O’Rourke served as a regular panelist on the NPR program.
O’Rourke, who began his journalism career as a left-leaning Gonzo journalist before moving toward conservative libertarianism during the 1980s, wrote for such publications as Playboy, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, where he served for a time as foreign-affairs desk chief. In 1996, he was the conservative commentator in the point-counterpoint segment of 60 Minutes.
In 2008, O’Rourke covered the presidential election as a “Real Time Real Reporter” for HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
In recent years, O’Rourke wrote for The Atlantic Monthly,...
His death was confirmed by his publisher Grove Atlantic, United Talent Agency and by Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me program. O’Rourke served as a regular panelist on the NPR program.
O’Rourke, who began his journalism career as a left-leaning Gonzo journalist before moving toward conservative libertarianism during the 1980s, wrote for such publications as Playboy, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, where he served for a time as foreign-affairs desk chief. In 1996, he was the conservative commentator in the point-counterpoint segment of 60 Minutes.
In 2008, O’Rourke covered the presidential election as a “Real Time Real Reporter” for HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
In recent years, O’Rourke wrote for The Atlantic Monthly,...
- 2/15/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
There seems to be an idea floating about in the ether that my review of John Scalzi's new novel, Redshirts (posted late yesterday) is negative, and that I don't like Scalzi's books. Both are untrue. Redshirts didn't strike me as laugh-out-loud hilarious, as it has been billed [1], but it's a pleasant, quick entertainment -- and Scalzi is reliably entertaining, which is why I keep grabbing his novels as soon as I see them. None of those books has been perfect, though, so when I've written about them the most interesting (and, I think, useful) tactics have been to poke at the bits that don't work as well. [2] Writing otherwise -- focusing only on the things a book does well -- is certainly enjoyable for the author, but I don't think it's as effective for everyone else in the world. My reviewing mode tends to be more negative than positive, I know,...
- 7/4/2012
- by Andrew Wheeler
- Comicmix.com
Great news for fans of cacophonous political discourse, railing against the right-wing "bubble," and an annual opportunity to see P.J. O'Rourke undo any lingering National Lampoon goodwill: HBO has renewed Real Time With Bill Maher for two more years, keeping the roundtable talk show on the air through 12 seasons and at least 2014. That’s long enough for Maher to offer commentary and "can you believe this shit?" raised eyebrows throughout all of the upcoming presidential election and at least two years of—let's say for argument's sake—Romney's first term or Obama's ...
- 4/24/2012
- avclub.com
Bill Maher's Friday night salon will see his old conservative friend and frequent guest P.J. O'Rourke along with "The Corrections" novelist Jonathan Frazen on October 7. The show continues its ninth season (10:00-11:00 p.m. live Et/tape-delayed Pt), exclusively on HBO, with an instant replay at 11:00 p.m. following the live presentation. Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show includes an opening monologue, roundtable discussions with panelists, and interviews with in-studio and satellite guests. The roundtable guests this week are novelist Jonathan Franzen, former Fla. Rep. Alan Grayson and commentator Nicole Wallace; journalist P.J. O.Rourke is an interview guest. Last week on Bill Maher's "New Rules" segment on Friday's edition of "Real Time" on HBO...
- 10/5/2011
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Yesterday, over on Facebook, our own C. Rob asked the question, "I would like a comprehensive list of all romantic comedy movies that include a climax involving an airport." One of the many responses came from Joanna, who wrote: "If we're counting On A Plane and sorta discarding romcom, then Almost Famous has a huge emotional climax on a plane. Also, I *will* find a way to shoehorn Almost Famous onto Almost Any List."
It's true. Almost Famous had a huge influence on a lot of writers, especially those who grew up idolizing Rolling Stone, Hunter S. Thompson, and P.J. O'Rourke, only to grow up and discover Pink on the cover of the magazine and the top story, "Dead Juggalo found in a River." Because Almost Famous has had such an enormous influence on writers, and because writers often are tasked with coming up with list, Almost Famous has a...
It's true. Almost Famous had a huge influence on a lot of writers, especially those who grew up idolizing Rolling Stone, Hunter S. Thompson, and P.J. O'Rourke, only to grow up and discover Pink on the cover of the magazine and the top story, "Dead Juggalo found in a River." Because Almost Famous has had such an enormous influence on writers, and because writers often are tasked with coming up with list, Almost Famous has a...
- 8/16/2011
- by Dustin Rowles
Last night's Bill Maher show "Real Time" was fascinating. Senior conservative panelist P.J. O'Rourke, a respected friend and mentor of Maher, seemed to be off-topic more often than not, and vexed another panel guest, Andrew Ross Sorkin to no end. Sorkin is seen at one point looking at the audience putting up his hands in the "where is this guy going" display of exasperated body language. First up was Biologist Richard Dawkins, who tsked-tsked on how dim Tea party "I'm You" Christine O'Donnell was regarding her naive evolution remarks. Maher then introduced his panel, and had two fiscal conservatives this week, atheist and columnist S.E. Cupp; political humorist P.J. O.Rourke; and rounding out the panel was financial...
- 10/9/2010
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.