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Most of us have a fixed image of Ed Sullivan. He is the man with the posture of a lamppost and a famously stiff on-air presence, the master of ceremonies for a “really big shew.” He feels like a relic from a black-and-white era, a cultural gatekeeper who introduced America to Elvis and The Beatles.

The documentary Sunday Best, from the late director Sacha Jenkins, takes this familiar photograph and develops it into something far more profound. The film argues that behind the awkward demeanor was a quiet and determined revolutionary.

It reframes Sullivan’s legacy not around his most famous bookings, but around his persistent, decades-long decision to feature Black performers. In a deeply segregated America, his Sunday night broadcast became an unlikely vessel for a message of equality, using the power of entertainment to challenge the nation’s conscience. The film uses a rich collection of performance clips...

Long before HBO turned Sunday night into TV-monoculture ground zero, there was Ed Sullivan. Born in Harlem and raised in Port Chester, New York, the sportswriter, syndicated columnist and radio-program personality was tapped by CBS to host a weekly variety show for the television network. The master of ceremonies had a few ideas about what he wanted to do. For starters, there were a handful of old-timey vaudeville acts that, by 1948, had no place left to perform. Sullivan felt they deserved a home, and this new medium would provide it.

Spoilers for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" to follow.

All of the previous Fantastic Four films started with the team's superheroic origin. (The sequel "Rise of the Silver Surfer" being the obvious exception.) To avoid any rehashing, however, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" does something different and begins its story years into the Four's careers as heroes.

Not to worry, though, because the film doesn't leave out all context. One of the first scenes is the Fantastic Four guest-starring on "The Ted Gilbert Show." Its Ed Sullivan-esque host (Mark Gatiss) narrates a montage walking viewers (both within the movie and those watching in the real-world) on the Four's history, showing that they were astronauts dosed in cosmic rays that gave them incredible powers and are already celebrated as scientists, diplomatic leaders, and superheroes ... and what's a hero without a villain?

The primary villain of "First Steps" is Galactus...

The Hollywood premiere of The Fantastic Four: First Steps was a real family affair... and not just for the cast members playing Marvel Comics' First Family in the new Marvel Studios blockbuster.

While the current super-quartet of of Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bacharach were present and accounted for, an earlier version of the Ff also walked the blue carpet. Thanks to First Steps director Matt Shakman, the lead performers from legendary producer Roger Corman's ill-fated 1994 adaptation were on the guest list.

That famously never-released movie starred Alex Hyde-White and Rebecca Staab as team leaders Reed and Sue Richards aka Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman (now played by Pascal and Kirby), Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch (now played by Quinn), and Michael Bailey-Smith as Ben Grimm aka The Thing (now played by Moss-Bacharach). All those actors also make cameos in First Steps.

In 2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe changed forever.

One could argue that that statement would apply to any year since 2008, given the escalating stakes and scale of the largest media franchise in history. However, the release of Avengers: Endgame was something different. By way of “the Blip,” the five-year time jump where the universe grappled with the shocking disappearance of half of its inhabitants, Kevin Feige and the Russo Brothers constructed a seismic event that would change how everyone would interact with this property.

It was a bold storytelling swing, the likes of which seemed impossible for an entertainment genre that thrives on ephemerality and impermanence. It’s the kind of swing that deserves the film’s $2.8 billion worldwide box office gross.

Spoiler Alert !!!Minor spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps and WandaVision. The Narrative Risks of “The Blip”

It’s also the kind of swing that carries a lot of risk,...

Vince Calandra Sr., who as a longtime booker for CBS juggernaut The Ed Sullivan Show helped introduce The Beatles to America’s TV audience, has died. He was 91. According to a local mortuary’s obit, he died Saturday at his home in Woodland Hills, CA.

Calandra was just 23 when he landed a job on Sullivan’s talent showcase, which already had been a Sunday night staple for nearly a decade. Starting in the mailroom, he graduated to holding the cue cards and eventually to talent booker. At the dawn of the British Invasion of U.S. radio airwaves and record players, he was instrumental to bringing Liverpudlian upstarts John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to the Ed Sullivan Show stage, creating a landmark moment in TV and music history.

It was February 9, 1964, when The Beatles made the first of three appearances on the show within two weeks.

Fourth time’s the charm. First there was the low-budget version of “The Fantastic Four,” produced by Roger Corman, which Marvel managed to bury before it hit theaters (though bootlegs abound). The comic-book company was far more enthusiastic about a pair of early-2000s adaptations at Fox, which boasted a fun cast — including Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis — but couldn’t get the tone right, skewing corny in both the dialogue and effects departments. Then came the 2015 reboot, which was a bomb, turning the characters into sullen, moody versions of themselves (and Doctor Doom into an emo megalomaniac).

As live-action adaptations of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s pulp quartet go, Marvel’s back-to-the-drawing-board “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” succeeds where earlier attempts have faltered — and good thing, too, since the studio has a lot more riding on this franchise now. At their peak, Marvel movies earned upwards...

I’m writing this on a state-of-the-art touch-screen gizmo that took Norwegian scientists six years and $50 million to develop. The gadget looks a bit like any other tablet — a simple, almost monastic slab of glass and metal — but unlike an iPad or Galaxy Tab, it doesn’t have a web browser, won’t stream TV shows and doesn’t let you Zoom or FaceTime or even text with friends.

It does just one thing — and obsessively, exquisitely well.

It almost perfectly mimics the experience of doodling on paper with a No. 2 pencil.

It’s called reMarkable, retails for about $400, and it neatly encapsulates a recent, head-scratching trend in the tech sector: companies big and small shoveling hundreds of millions of dollars and devoting petabytes of R&d bandwidth into making the future feel more like the past.

Call it analog nostalgia. Or high-tech regression therapy. Across the gadget-verse, there’s...

The inductees for the Television Academy's 27th Hall of Fame have officially been announced. In the past 40 years, the Hall of Fame has recognized over 150 honorees, from actors, directors, and producers to hosts, comedians, journalists, musicians, tradesmen, and more, for their extraordinary work in the TV industry. This year's chosen few will be inducted into the hallowed Hall of Fame during the Televerse Festival on August 16.

The six new honorees are Viola Davis, Conan O'Brien, Ryan Murphy, Henry Winkler, Mike Post, and Don Mischer. The latter is being honored posthumously for his work as a live-event producer, having sadly passed away at age 85 in April. Mike Post is a legendary TV composer, credited with scoring well over 1000 episodes in the Law & Order franchise. Murphy has created and written some of the biggest TV dramas of the 20th century, while Davis, O'Brien, and Winkler are legends in front of the camera.

Hollywood is paying tribute to Sly Stone after news of the funk-rock pioneer’s death was announced Monday.

Stone died after a “prolonged battle with Copd and other underlying health issues,” his family said Monday.

“Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend, and his extended family,” his family wrote in a statement. “While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.”

Sly shot to prominence in the music industry in 1968 alongside his band Sly and the Family Stone with their hit “Dance to the Music,” which landed in the top 10 on both the pop and R&b charts. The group continued to deliver a series of crossover tracks, including “Summer of Love,” including “Stand!,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Runnin’ Away,” “If You Want Me to Stay” and “Time...

It’s not news that the documentary market continues to be in flux, particularly for political documentaries, with many filmmakers complaining about a lack of distribution channels. So it’s good news that Netflix has closed a hybrid licensing deal for six documentary films that played well at festivals over the past year, but were not acquired by any distributor. Rather than leave the orphans in limbo, Netflix opted to give this group of diverse titles a distribution home.

The films include Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s “The White House Effect” and “In Waves and War,” Chris Smith’s “Devo,” Kimberly Reed’s “I’m Your Venus,” Matthew O. Henderson’s “A King Like Me,” and the late Sacha Jenkins’ “Sunday Best.”

This out-of-the-box Netflix deal gives the docs Netflix Original status in English-speaking territories the U.K., United States, and Canada. In territories outside the English language, they are available non-exclusively.

“Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” documentarian Sacha Jenkins is dead. His wife Raquel Cepeda confirmed his passing on Instagram in a post asking for privacy for their family at this time.

Hailing from Philadelphia and born in 1971, Jenkins began his career as a journalist before becoming an acclaimed documentarian. He founded Graphic Scenes & Xplicit Language, an early magazine devoted to graffiti art, and co-founded hip-hop magazine Beat Down as well as the alt-culture magazine Ego Trip.

Jenkins was the kind of journalist for whom making the transition to documentary filmmaking was a natural one, and a hip-hop sensibility infused his film work — either directly as in his 2015 directorial debut “Fresh Dressed” about hip-hop fashion or the 2019 miniseries “Wu-Tang: Of Mics and Men,” for which he was Emmy nominated, or more in terms of attitude, such as having Nas narrate Satchmo’s letters in Apple TV+’s “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues.

Roku has hundreds of channels that are free to watch — here’s how to tune in.

Roku streaming devices are a great option for turning your home entertainment system into a streaming hub. They pack a staggering amount of content into a small, easy-to-use device, delivering your favorite shows and movies on streaming apps. Along with the content you may already pay for every month, Roku also includes a variety of free channels, including its own free ad-supported streaming (Fast) TV platform the Roku Channel.

If you cut the cord years ago, you may have missed out on live programming for years, opting to watch when shows eventually hit the streaming services you subscribe to. Roku aims to give you a better option; right out of the box, your new Roku device has access to hundreds of channels broadcasting programming around the clock. With options that include new, sports, movies,...

Making a buck in the TV business isn’t as easy as it used to be. As a result, the glitzy showcases that networks put on for their advertisers aren’t as much fun as they once were, either.

TV’s annual “upfront” has been a staple of the Madison Avenue calendar for decades. Since the 1960s, executives from at least one TV network have put on, as Ed Sullivan once said, “a really big show” for the top spenders from General Motors, Coca-Cola and Apple in hopes of securing millions of dollars ahead of the next programming season. Attendees regularly visited New York City, dined on chilled shellfish, drank free booze, collected TV-star autographs and met up with TV ad-sales executives and media buyers from their current agency of record.

Now this spectacle is decidedly less spectacular.

Upfront Week once played out over four days, but has recently been scaled down to three.

Comedian Amber Ruffin says she’s “glad” she got canceled from hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last Saturday.

“I had said that it would be impossible to make jokes about both sides,” Ruffin told The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night. “We are at a point now where one side is snatching people up off the street and putting them on a plane, and the other side is, you know, not doing that. So I just thought it would be impossible to make jokes about both sides.”

And on Wednesday, Ruffin, in the wake of her canceled Whcd appearance, also sounded an alarm about President Donald Trump as he marks 100 days in the White House during an appearance on ABC’s The View. “People are saying that Trump did a bad job 100 days in. I strongly disagree. This man has done everything he has set out to do.

This spring, the art gallery Gagosian LA will exhibit 36 of Paul McCartney’s recently rediscovered photos, including some that featured in the former Beatle’s Eyes of the Storm book and many that have never been shown before.

The photos were taken between December 1963 and February 1964. And the exhibition, titled “Rearview Mirror: Photographs, December 1963–February 1964,” opens April 25 and runs through June 21.

One never-before-circulated shot (above) is an artistic view of Ringo Starr in a loose-fitting white shirt, drumming at Miami Beach’s Hotel Deauville ahead of the the Beatles’ second Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

It’s official: the Beatles movie project is really happening. Director Sam Mendes announced this week he’s making four films about John, Paul, George, and Ringo, opening in theaters in April 2028. After months of rumors, he finally confirmed the cast at Cinema Con in Las Vegas. Paul McCartney is Paul Mescal from Normal People; Ringo Starr is Barry Keoghan from Saltburn. George Harrison is Joseph Quinn, who played Eddie Munson in Stranger Things and the Human Torch in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. John Lennon is Harris Dickinson, last...

Beginning in the 1920s and occurring almost annually since 1941, the White House Correspondents Association (the Whca) has held a fundraising dinner that brings together Republicans and Democrats for one evening, and features performers who traditionally lambaste both sides of the aisle. The dinner supports journalists and students, and has generally been the D.C. equivalent of the Met Gala or the Academy Awards. Many great comedians, musicians, and others have performed at the event, including Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, James Cagney, Duke Ellington, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Peter Sellers, Chevy Chase, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Ray Romano, Aretha Franklin, Cedric the Entertainer, Ray Charles, Drew Carey, Seth Meyers, and more. Amber Ruffin was supposed to perform at the April 26 dinner this year. That won't be happening, apparently.

Ruffin is an Emmy- and Tony-nominated comedian and writer known for writing and performing for Late Night with Seth Meyers,...

Amber Ruffin is no longer performing at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this year.

The upcoming event, which is being held on April 26th, will move continue without a featured performer this year, according to THR.

Back in February, Amber was announced as the performer, with the White House Correspondents’ Association president saying she was at the top of his list for this year.

Keep reading to find out more…

“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” White House Correspondents’ Association president Eugene Daniels said in a note to members of the association.

THR reports that members of the White House team have expressed criticism of Amber being picked, suggesting they should rethink the decision. The decision...

This year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner will go forward without a featured entertainer.

White House Correspondents’ Association president Eugene Daniels told members Saturday that the organization has opted to cancel comedian Amber Ruffin’s scheduled performance at this year’s gala, which is set to be held April 26.

“At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,” Daniels wrote in a note to Whca members.

Members of the White House team have expressed criticism of the decision to pick Ruffin as the performer and suggested that organizations should rethink sponsoring the event. Daniels however said that the decision of the Whca board was “unanimous,” and that the decision has been in the works for a few weeks as...

One of the most popular Super Bowl Lix commercials featured The Muppets in an ad for Booking.com. Despite airing late in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided, the commercial had fans talking and the consensus was, the beloved franchise needs to return, and it needs to be done right.

As with many Super Bowl Lix commercials, the one featuring The Muppets debuted about nine to ten days before the big game. As of this writing, it has garnered 93 million views and there is an overall feeling of nostalgia attached to seeing Jim Henson's famous creations again, even if it's a 30-second commercial for a travel booking website.

One fan said it best on X, formerly Twitter (via ComicBook):

"The Muppets doing a Super Bowl ad and yet Still no news of a new Muppets film in the works [is where we have] gone wrong as a nation."

While another made an interesting point,...

For better or worse, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien are forever linked in television history. And while it hasn't always been roses between the two former Tonight Show hosts, that isn't keeping Leno from weighing in on O'Brien's upcoming Oscars gig.

It's been 15 years since NBC created the Tonight Show debacle that ensnared Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and even Jimmy Fallon. The network promised the iconic late-night show to O'Brien, only to pull the rug out from under him in less than a year.

Thankfully, O'Brien landed on his feet and remains as busy as ever. Meanwhile, Leno has remained active on the stand-up circuit (injuries and all) and even has a movie role upcoming. He'll play another late-night legend, Ed Sullivan, in Midas Man.

On the topic of movies, the New York Post caught up with Leno and asked his opinion on O'Brien hosting the 2025 Academy Awards.

"I think he’ll be great,...

If any backstage pop institution deserves a biopic of his or her own, it would be Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ tragic manager, champion, and supporter through rough and giddy times alike. Epstein has been portrayed here and there in films, but Midas Man (available on streaming services starting today) is the first full feature devoted to him. According to a report in Variety, the making of the film was fraught, encompassing multiple directors, distribution issues, and a bigger budget than expected. But in light of music-biopic mania and the ongoing...

Despite having famous comedians as parents — Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller were regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show — Ben Stiller didn’t want to follow in their footsteps. “I wanted to be a serious director,” he told The New York Times. “It was more just wanting to individuate from my father, wanting to be my own person, not being into their comedy.”

Young Stiller wasn’t into that Ed Sullivan stuff — he favored Saturday Night Live. But when Stiller found himself an actual cast member on SNL, he discovered he wasn’t cut out for live sketch comedy after all. In fact, he lasted only four episodes before he called it quits. “I knew that I couldn’t do well there because I wasn’t great at live performing,” Stiller said. “My mom would have been better on that show. I got too nervous, I didn’t enjoy it, and...

Beatles '64 repeats the bold declaration that when the Beatles first appeared on American TV, crime across the US stopped for an hour, but the truth is not quite as magical. The Beatles undoubtedly sparked a new wave in music when they began to climb in popularity during the 1960s. The band may have been four young boys from Liverpool, but their lyrics, bold style, and witty interactions earned them a spot in the hearts of millions of fans all around the globe.

Initially, the boys became a music sensation around the UK, and shortly thereafter their music began picking up speed across Europe. However, it wasn't until 1964, two years after the band began to make a name for themselves, that they visited America for the first time. Their reputation preceded them, and they were met with thousands of adoring fans upon their arrival, but that was nothing compared to...

If there’s any chapter of the Beatles’ saga that Beatles fans the world over feel they know in their bones, it’s the early months of 1964, when the Beatles first came to America — a happening that shook the world, and that changed it profoundly. “Beatles ’64” is a documentary that chronicles the three weeks the Beatles spent in the U.S. starting in February of that year. They came to New York to perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” (their first appearance on the show was Feb. 9). They then took a train to Washington, D.C., to give a concert at the Washington Coliseum, then flew to Miami Beach, where they did their second “Ed Sullivan” appearance.

“Beatles ’64” opens with an extended sequence devoted to the early-’60s reign of John F. Kennedy — because, as has been noted so often, JFK was assassinated just a little over two months before their arrival,...

The Beatles invaded America in early 1964, and the nation was never the same. Even as their plane was landing in New York, mobs of screaming fans stormed the airport. The night they played The Ed Sullivan Show, on February 9, they blew the minds of 73 million viewers. Beatlemania gripped the whole country. That moment is captured in Beatles ’64, a new documentary produced by Martin Scorsese. It’s directed by David Tedeschi, who has worked on many Scorsese docs, include the great George Harrison bio Living in the Material World.

Beatles ’64...

Martin Scorsese is expanding his music documentary empire to include The Beatles.

Disney+ feature “Beatles ’64” is directed by David Tedeschi, with Scorsese producing. The film centers on the iconic British band’s first visit to America, which began the stateside phenomenon of Beatlemania.

The official synopsis reads: “On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. ‘Beatles ’64’ presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.”

“Beatles ’64” includes never-before-seen footage, which was filmed by pioneering documentarians Albert and David Maysles. The clips were restored...

The trailer and key art for Beatles ’64, an all-new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, is available now. Beatles ’64 will stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning November 29, 2024. The film captures the electrifying moment of The Beatles’ first visit to America. Featuring never-before-seen footage, the film gives a rare glimpse into when The Beatles became the most influential and beloved band of all time.

On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ’64 presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.

"We were kinda normal and the rest of the world was crazy." Disney+ has revealed the official trailer for a music history documentary called Beatles '64, about the time they came to America in 1964 and caused an uproar. Journey back to 1964 and experience Beatlemania like never before. From producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, stream Beatles '64 starting at the end of November on Disney+. The doc film captures the band's electrifying 1964 US debut amid chaotic frenzy. With rare behind-the-scenes footage, it chronicles their unprecedented rise to global superstardom after performing on The Ed Sullivan Show (in Feb 1964). The film includes rare footage filmed by pioneering documentarians Albert & David Maysles, beautifully restored in 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand. The live performances from The Beatles' first American concert at the Washington, DC Coliseum and also their Ed Sullivan appearances were demixed by WingNut Films and remixed by Giles Martin.

Producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi are showing The Beatles‘ first visit to America like never before in “Beatles ’64,” streaming exclusively on Disney+ on Nov. 29, 2024.

On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. “Beatles ’64” presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.

Walt Disney Studios states film includes rare footage filmed by pioneering documentarians Albert and David Maysles, beautifully restored in 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand. The live performances from The Beatles’ first American concert at the Washington,...

The trailer and key art for Beatles ’64, an all-new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, are available now. Beatles ’64 will stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning November 29, 2024.

The film captures the electrifying moment of The Beatles’ first visit to America. Featuring never-before-seen footage, the film gives a rare glimpse into when The Beatles became the most influential and beloved band of all time.

On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country.

Their thrilling debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ’64 presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.

While Martin Scorsese has pushed back plans for most of his upcoming projects, he’s still lending his hands to others. He’s produced Beatles ’64, helmed by long-time collaborator director David Tedeschi, and capturing the electrifying moment of The Beatles’ first visit to America. Featuring never-before-seen footage, the first trailer has now arrived ahead of Disney+ release on November 29.

Here’s the synopsis: “On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ’64 presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.”

The film...

CBS’ John Dickerson fantasized on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” about a silver lining to Trump’s incoming presidency.

Dickerson – the chief political analyst for CBS News – was initially asked who the leader of the Democratic Party is, now that President Joe Biden is on his way out of the White House and Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election. He told Colbert that the race to figure that out might bring back a “working democracy” to America.

“I think it’s a footrace to try and figure out who’s going to speak for the party. Bernie Sanders, I don’t know if you saw it, issued a scathing press release that basically said, ‘Yeah, the Democratic Party has ignored working people, and so, of course this is the outcome that would happen.’”

He continued, “And just if you want to fantasize for me for a moment about a working...

Jay Leno may not be Donald Trump’s biggest fan, but he’s praising the election as “a great day for democracy.”

During an appearance Wednesday morning on “The Talk,” the comedian addressed Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris. “The nice thing about this election is, it was fair, it was honest. Ok, I was not a fan, but that’s Ok, it’s the President of the United States — let’s all get together, thank you very much,” he said as the crowd applauded.

“You know, my fear is they’re going to be watching this, and there are 1,100 votes out of 300 million between, and it’s going to be name calling about, ‘Ok, here’s the answer, Ok? This is the thing.’ And it was done professionally — there was no cheating. Everybody says it was honest. I mean, it’s a great day for democracy,” Leno added.

We probably don’t need to tell you that these are tense times in America.

After a decade of simmering tensions that some have described as a “cold civil war,” we now face what promises to be an ultra-dramatic conclusion to a historically bonkers election season.

How did we get to this point? Can we ever rebuild what we’ve lost? And if so, how do we keep it from falling apart again?

(Copyright 2017, FX Networks. All rights reserved.)

These are profound and important questions — and we’re not even gonna attempt to answer them here.

What we will do, however, is explore a familiar patch of common ground in an effort to remind our fellow Americans of what still unites us.

We’re talking, of course, about the wonderful world of television.

Yes, TV — the most American of all mediums.

Obviously, it exists in every country on the planet,...

Robert Zemeckis’ Here isn’t a movie. It’s a carousel. From his fixed point of view, the film travels around and around and back home again. Here is an ambitious project filled with technical innovation and formal know-how that, like Megalopolis, has a reach that extends beyond its grasp.

“Here” is here.

And Robert Zemeckis’ latest technologically innovative drama stars his “Forrest Gump” team of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, this time embodying a couple living in a house. The angle of the shot never changes – it’s inside the living of a stately home, as time unfolds (and sometimes bends) around Hanks and Wright’s characters. It’s sort of like Disney’s Carousel of Progress attraction – we watch as their relationships change, time changes, devices change – all from a fixed vantage point.

And as you can imagine, there’s a ton of music. There are hardly better indicators of where we are than what music is playing in the radio or out of somebody’s personal music player.

There’s also one great Zemeckis Easter egg for the fans – at one point, somebody leaves the television on. What’s playing? The Beatles’ monumental performance on Ed Sullivan’s show.

Richard McGuire’s Here, though all of six pages long, is a classic of the 1980s alternative comics movement. Three dozen black-and-white panels depict the same corner of an anonymous living room at different points in time, as its inhabitants read the newspaper, listen to the radio, pose for pictures.

How does one honor the legacy of a man who helped shape music history? Such was the ambitious task undertaken by the makers of Midas Man in recounting the story of Brian Epstein. Known as the “fifth Beatle” for his crucial role in the band’s success, Epstein spotted musical talent like few others. Behind bright eyes and a disarming smile lay a quietly complex soul, and navigating the turbulent currents of the 1960s music industry demanded drive, flair, and nerves of steel.

Epstein first glimpsed possibilities beyond small-town Liverpool after discovering a ragtag foursome called the Beatles. Charmed as much as impressed, he resolved to share their gift with the world against all odds.

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd brings our hero to life with warmth and subtlety, inviting us into Epstein’s hopes, doubts, and inner fortitude. We cheer his triumphs alongside sorrow over challenges that, even decades later, remain deeply unfair.

Check out Disney+ Hotstar’s lineup for November! ( Photo Credit – YouTube; Instagram )

Come November, Disney+ Hotstar will leave you spoilt for choices regarding its varied lineups of exciting content. It is all set to spread the festive magic with its thrilling offerings. Let us look at what Disney+ Hotstar has in store for us in November.

Music by John Williams (November 1) (English)

His unforgettable scores have been an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams’s own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.

Endurance (November 3) (English)

In a legendary feat of leadership and perseverance, Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton kept his crew alive for over a year despite losing their ship in frigid pack ice. A century later,...

Exclusive: America’s Got Talent is losing one of its longest-tenured talents.

Jason Raff, who has served as showrunner of the long-running NBC hit for 19 seasons, has left the show.

After 482 original episodes including 140 hours of live episodes, Raff told Deadline that he was informed that he was being let go the day after season 19 finished at the end of September due to budget cuts.

Raff also developed and served as showrunner for all of the show’s spinoffs including America’s Got Talent: The Champions, AGT: Extreme, America’s Got Talent: All-Stars and America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League.

Sam Donnelly, who has served as showrunner alongside Raff, will continue as solo showrunner on Season 20 show, which is produced by Fremantle and Syco Entertainment, and will likely air in May 2025.

Raff told Deadline that nearly 20 years ago, he was handed a DVD of a presentation for British broadcaster ITV called Paul’s O’Grady’s Got Talent.

Beatles ’64, an all-new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, about the band’s first visit to America, will stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning November 29.

The film features never-before-seen footage of the band, including rare footage filmed by documentarians Albert and David Maysles and restored in 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand. The live performances from The Beatles first American concert at the Washington, DC, Coliseum and their Ed Sullivan appearances were demixed by WingNut Films and remixed by Giles Martin.

The music and footage are augmented by newly filmed interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as fans whose lives were transformed by The Beatles.

The synopsis: “On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their...

Biopic of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein Midas Man needed a lot of Help! to get over the finish line. Here’s the trailer.

Rock biopics, it seems, are a difficult genre to navigate. Bohemian Rhapsody originally had Bryan Singer at the helm before Dexter Fletcher finished the film, for instance.

A similar fate has befallen Midas Man, a biopic of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. It began production in 2021 with Jonas Åkerlund directing, only for Sara Sugarman to take over later that year. When Sugarman departed, Joe Stephenson eventually took the reins to finally get the film over the finish line. In each case, the directors are said to have left over “creative differences”.

Midas Man wrapped production in 2023, and just over a year later, the once troubled movie is only a few weeks away from release.

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars as Epstein, Ed Speleers as Tex Ellington, Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan,...

"What I saw on that stage – I shall never forget it." Signature Ent. in the UK has revealed an official trailer for the film titled Midas Man, a British biopic about the music manager & entrepreneur Brian Epstein. This isn't the first film about him - there's also The Hours and Times - this is more of a straightforward look at his short life. On Thursday, November 9th in 1961, a man named Brian entered a cellar in Liverpool and changed the world forever. The film tracks how Brian Epstein rose to prominence by managing a series of popular artists including The Beatles, Cilla Black and Gerry and the Pacemakers before his sudden death in 1967 at the age of 32. The movie stars Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Epstein, Ed Speleers as Tex Ellington, Eddie Izzard, Jay Leno (!!) as Ed Sullivan, with Eddie Marsan, Emily Watson, Blake Richardson as McCartney, Jonah Lees as Lennon, Leo Harvey-Elledge as Harrison,...

In honor of Foreigner’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction this fall, the band opened the vault for “Turning Back the Time.”

Featuring Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, the previously unreleased rocker is a nostalgic reflection of the past. Gramm drops references to the Beatles’ legendary 1964 performances on Ed Sullivan (“I saw the Beatles on my black and white TV/It changed everything deep down inside of me”) and Foreigner’s late Seventies streak (“Those ‘Double Vision’ days”).

In an interview with Billboard, Jones revealed that “Turning Back...

Sketch comedy duo McCall and Brill thought they were about to have their big break, getting booked on the star-making platform of their time: “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The only problem: it turned out that they were one of the acts performing in between sets from the Beatles making their American debut.

Mitzi McCall, who died this week, shared the tale of woe alongside her partner and husband Charlie Brill on a classic episode of NPR’s iconic show “This American Life.”

“If you got a shot on ‘Ed Sulivan,’ you had a shot at stardom,” Brill said.

They figured out what they wanted to perform, rehearsing their sketches repeatedly and performing them at a Santa Monica club to what Brill called “a lovely, lovely reaction. And we told everybody. In fact, I think I sky-wrote it over Hollywood. We’re on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’ Yoo-hoo!”

The pair were...

If you had to pinpoint the start of the 1960s — that is, the counterculture revolution — two events are almost universally agreed on as the era’s formative earthquakes. One was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The other (the real spark to the tinderbox) was the first appearance of the Beatles on “Ed Sullivan,” which happened only 11 weeks later, and which all but answered the assassination by saying, “Here is joy. Here is hope. Here’s a new way to be.”

Yet there was another global media phenomenon that took place over a slightly longer period of time, and it was one that was just as defining of the era’s new energy. That was the scandalous romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. We tend to think of that saga as, simply, the apotheosis of celebrity gossip. Yet as it plays out in Nanette Burstein’s luscious and enveloping...

June Walker Rogers, a singer, dancer and comedian who performed on Broadway and television and wrote several musicals and a book about how to survive in show business, has died. She was 97.

She died July 8 at her home in Westport, Connecticut, her family announced.

Born in Steubenville, Ohio, and raised in Queens, June L. Walker started dancing at age 5 and soon had a nightclub act, appearing on bills with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Prima, Don Rickles, Rodney Dangerfield and, when he was known as the singer “Calypso Gene,” Louis Farrakhan.

After being placed in an accelerated pilot program for gifted children in the New York school system, she graduated from high school at 15. She accepted a scholarship to Columbia University but left college to make her Broadway debut in 1944 in the comedy revue Laffing Room Only, starring Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson.

The platinum blond returned...

We spoke with British filmmaker Joe Stephenson amid the release of his new Hammer Films release Doctor Jekyll, which sees the great Eddie Izzard tackling the famed dual role in modern perfection. Stephenson has kept busy with another buzzy British-centric project of late: Midas Man, the highly anticipated biopic about Beatles manager Brian Epstein.

"The cast is fantastic," Stephenson told MovieWeb. "We have Emily [Watson] and Eddie [Marsan] playing Brian's parents, and we have Jacob [Fortune-Lloyd], who's a star in the making. I don't know how much people know; Jacob has been in some great stuff, on some terrific shows and things, and he's really wonderful. His performance [as Brian] is outstanding and so beautiful... It was a joy to be around everybody. They were all fantastic."

Jay [Leno] has a really cute cameo. He just pops in. We have that sort of little moment of Brian with Ed Sullivan [played by Leno].

Stephenson also detailed his...