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The appeal of Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) in Stephen Herek's 1989 sci-fi hit "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" is their persistent ability to remain upbeat and relaxed. The characters may be a pair of none-too-bright wastoids from San Dimas, California, more interested in playing in their crappy metal band than, y'know, reading books, but they seem completely comfortable with themselves, confident with their surfers' patois and thimble-deep perception of the world. The characters only come to appreciate world history when they're given a time machine and meet famous historical figures -- Joan of Arc, Sigmund Freud, Genghis Khan, et al -- in person. Through films like "Bill & Ted," mass audiences learned that metal fans weren't Satan-worshiping bullies, but affable, silly, generally nice dudes.

Bill & Ted spoke like L.A. surfers, but weren't part of the beach scene. As such, their costuming needed to denote their characters specifically,...

On Thursday afternoon, members of the Kennedy endorsed President Joe Biden at a campaign rally in Philadelphia.

Biden’s rally in Philadelphia is the last major stop in a three-day swing through Pennsylvania.

During this trip, he laid out his economic and tax agenda and attacked former President Donald Trump as an enemy of working people.

Kennedy family members approached the Biden team and requested a joint event for the endorsements.

Joseph Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy and Christopher Kennedy backed Biden during this rally.

The event is a further rejection of their family member and independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The president’s campaign released a list of 15 Kennedys scheduled to appear at this rally but also mentioned that other family members would endorse him.

Joe Kennedy III, a former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, introduced Biden at a second event.

“We can say today,...

Between Valentine’s Day and the long Presidents Day weekend, February is the perfect month to scoot out to Palm Springs for some fun in the desert sun.

The Modernism Week festival, which this year runs Feb. 15-25, is the centerpiece of the month’s events. “Modernism Week is the largest gathering of midcentury modern architecture and design enthusiasts in the US,” says Lisa Vossler-Smith, its CEO.

Highlights of its 19th year include tours of The Shag House, which brings to life the midcentury-inspired drawings of artist Josh Agle, better known as Shag; Wexler ’54, a post-and-beam home that represents one of the first collaborations between master architects Donald Wexler and Richard Harrison; and the city’s famous Villa Sierra “That Pink Door” house located near where the movie Don’t Worry Darling filmed. (The four-bedroom, 5,300-square foot Villa Sierra can be booked for stays through Natural Retreats, with some dates available for around $1,770 a night.

Short-format Drama

Ghy Culture & Media, a mainland China-focused entertainment company from Singapore, has launched a slate of short drama series that it says mirror the professionally-generated short format developed by Chinese platforms Douyin and Bilibili. Its first three are fantasy “Goddess Hotel,” urban fantasy-light comedy “Miss Tanya” and sci-fi comedy “Ability Bureau.” Each short drama series is slated to run for 2 or 3 seasons, with 12 to 16 episodes per season, and each episode delivered at approximately 3 minutes. Involving Singapore production teams and actors, each project is estimated to cost between S350,000 to S1.6 million to produce. Ghy describes the slate as Singapore-China collaborations, but it does not disclose if there is a Chinese co-producer. Instead, it reveals that they will be simultaneously released on Douyin and TikTok, Douyin’s global English counterpart, with versions in English, Bahasa Indonesian and Thai. Ghy says that it aims to establish a cultural bridge between Singapore,...

eOne Hires Universal International Studios’ Christopher Kennedy For Development Post

Entertainment One has hired Christopher Kennedy from Universal International Studios as Development Executive – UK, Television. In the new role, Kennedy will oversee development for the studio’s original scripted drama slate, with a focus on relationships with top-tier UK talent. He’ll be based in London and report to Sharon Hughff, eOne’s Creative Director, Scripted Television – UK, who joined in February from Left Bank Pictures to expand the producer-distributor’s slate of scripted content for buyers in Europe and Asia. At Universal International Studios, Kennedy oversaw development of series such as Everyone Else Burns for Channel 4 and the BBC’s Dodger and worked on Peter Kosminsky’s Channel 4 and Peacock co-pro Darkness Rising.

Networks Hook Sinking Ship’s ‘Odd Squad’ And ‘Annedroids’

Exclusive: Canadian kids series Odd Squad and Annedroids have secured new sales. Comedic maths series Odd Squad...