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Robert Towne, the screenwriter as superstar whose Oscar-winning work on the 1974 classic Chinatown is widely recognized as the gold standard for movie scripts, has died. He was 89.

Towne died Monday at his home in Los Angeles, publicist Carri McClure announced.

He also received Academy Award nominations for The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975) in the years surrounding his most famous work.

His takes on Los Angeles were etched with melancholy and painted the city as one of beauty and sadness. In Chinatown and Shampoo, gumshoe J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) and Beverly Hills hairdresser George Roundy (Warren Beatty) end up alone. (Towne collaborated often with those actors.)

This squinty vantage on Southern California, as a temptress who dashes hopes, also was evident in his script for Tequila Sunrise (1988), which starred Mel Gibson as a retired drug dealer, Kurt Russell as a cop and Michelle Pfeiffer as the femme fatale.

Towne also...

It's the doggone truth: A canine was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 57th Academy Awards for his work co-writing 1984's Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. And, no, co-nominee Michael Austin (certified human) did not just do all the writing while the credited dog, P.H. Vazak, simply sat beside him admiring his work. Nor was this a matter of some ingenious canine or the Academy willingly recognizing a dog for being a good boy. Rather, P.H. Vazak (a very real dog) was a front for a disappointed screenwriter. And while this is the first time a dog ever got nominated for an Oscar, it's not unheard of for Oscar nominees to be not exactly as they appear.

With Donald Trump running for president again, and with his Republican rivals preparing to throw their hats into the ring, it is worth asking: how did the wholly unqualified reality TV star defeat sixteen GOP rivals — from governors to senators to CEOs — in his first race for his party’s presidential nomination back in 2016? Was it by besting them on policy? By raising more money? Or was it . . . by taunting and diminishing them with childish nicknames?

Liddle Marco. Lyin’ Ted. Low-Energy Jeb.

The pundits derided Trump for his “use of vitriolic,...

The great Fred Zinnemann's last feature is a very personal story, a fairly uncomplicated drama with a mountain climbing backdrop. Sean Connery plays older than his age as a Scotsman on an Alpine vacation, toying with social disaster. With excellent, non- grandstanding performances from Betsy Brantley and Lambert Wilson. Five Days One Summer DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1982 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 108 96 min. / Street Date July 12, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Sean Connery, Betsy Brantley, Lambert Wilson, Jennifer Hilary, Isabel Dean, Gérard Buhr, Anna Massey, Sheila Reid, Emilie Lihou. Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno Film Editor Stuart Baird Original Music Elmer Bernstein Written by Michael Austin from the story 'Maiden Maiden' by Kay Boyle Produced and Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Fred Zinnemann is a filmmaker that I've come to admire, as much for his personal integrity as for the movies he made. He could be inconsistent and...

Australian actress Wendy Hughes dead at 61 (photo: Wendy Hughes in ‘Newsfront’) Australian film, television, and stage actress Wendy Hughes, best known internationally for the big-screen dramas My Brilliant Career and Careful, He Might Hear You, died of cancer early today, March 8, 2014, in Sydney. Hughes (born on July 29, 1952, in Melbourne) was 61. Wendy Hughes’ film career kicked off in the mid-’70s, with Tim Burstall’s psychological drama ‘Jock’ Petersen / Petersen (1974), in which she plays the wife of a college professor who becomes romantically involved with a married student (Jack Thompson). "I spent a lot of the time naked and doing sex scenes," Hughes would later recall about her work in ‘Jock’ Petersen, "because in the seventies you all had to do that." In 1979, Hughes landed a key supporting role in the international arthouse hit My Brilliant Career, Gillian Armstrong’s late 19th-century-set tale of an independent-minded young woman (a Katharine Hepburn...

What an odd little episode of this show of ours. Nothing particularly noteworthy happened. No battles were won or lost with any panache. The whole thing approached an almost dreamlike boringness, a Last Year at Marienbad for the 21st century. And where was our resident Carl Jung, Carson Daly? If I had my druthers, I would give the whole miserable pantomime only one star. Oh gosh. Let's embark on this sleepy journey together. Michael Austin vs. Warren Stone, "My Kinda Party" Michael and Warren are some of the only country singers on Adam's team, so naturally he put them together even though they have totally different voices that are actually quite hard to compare. Adam is a genre essentialist, but I like it! He did, however, give them a miserable polka to sing. Man, I had not heard "My Kinda Party" before, but it is a wretched song. I felt...

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes during the taping of a reality show like "The Voice"? Well, you're in luck. Zap2It was on the scene for night two of the NBC hit's battle rounds, and we've got the six things you'd never guess was going on when the cameras stopped rolling.

1. New coaches Shakira and Usher had a difficult time sending home one of their own

While it's old hat for Adam Levine and Blake Shelton to crush someone's dream at this point, the two newbies struggled with this part of the competition. If Usher's deliberation on one of his battles had aired unedited, it would have taken half the show. Seriously.

2. Blake and Adam are Bff, for real

Every time the cameras stopped rolling, Adam hopped out of his chair and made his way down the row to bestie Blake, gabbing away like school girls.

The ladies stole the show for the second night in a row on The Voice Tuesday. And an epic steal showdown between coaches Adam Levine and Usher ensured that two of the youngest singers in the competition – unassuming singer-songwriter Caroline Glaser, 18, and wholesome high school country powerhouse Danielle Bradbery, 16 – would not go home.

Coach Blake Shelton paired the two shy young singers together to perform "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae.

Shakira praised their performances "as refreshing as tangerine ice cream," while Levine called himself an "imbecile" for not turning his chair for Glaser during the blind auditions.

The ladies stole the show for the second night in a row on The Voice Tuesday. And an epic steal showdown between coaches Adam Levine and Usher ensured that two of the youngest singers in the competition - unassuming singer-songwriter Caroline Glaser, 18, and wholesome high school country powerhouse Danielle Bradbery, 16 - would not go home. Coach Blake Shelton paired the two shy young singers together to perform "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae. Shakira praised their performances "as refreshing as tangerine ice cream," while Levine called himself an "imbecile" for not turning his chair for Glaser during the blind auditions.

It's night two of battle rounds in Season 4 of "The Voice" and things are only going to get more intense. Coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Shakira and Usher continue to pit two members of their teams against one another, eliminating one in favor of the other, but as the number of saves left available dwindle, we're looking at a lot more sad goodbyes.

After night one, Shakira is completely out of saves and Blake has only one left. It's time to get picky.

First battle of the night:

Team Adam: Michael Austin vs. Warren Stone

For his first battle of the night, Adam pairs up his two country singers, proving he's only got room for one on his team. The Battle of the Civil Servants, as Warren calls it. He's a fireman, Michael's a deputy sheriff.

Adam tasks them to tackle Jason Aldean's "My Kinda Party." Right off the bat,...

Don’t make Usher angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.

Indeed, during Night 2 of The Voice‘s Season 4 Battle Rounds, the “U Got It Bad” singer took a stern approach to his coaching role, getting offended when an underperforming contestant dared to laugh mid-rehearsal. “What’s funny?” “Why you smilin’?” “This is funny to you?” Usher asked with increasing levels of irritation.

Another reason not to make Usher angry? Dude is responsible for discovering Justin Bieber, so if you’re an aspiring music star/selfie-Tweeter, it’s probably best to stay on his good side anyhow.

Sasha Allen completely blew us away on ‘The Voice’ on Monday, April 8! Watch the performance that took her from backup vocalist to star — and see which judge she chose!

Season four of The Voice is bringing the big talent! And one talented woman’s dreams came true on Monday when all four judges turned their chairs — Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher and Shakira all had to fight for 30-year-old Sasha Allen.

Season 4 Highlights Country & Rock Stars

From singer Jeff Lewis who dared to sing Usher’s “You Got It Bad” to Rock Mafia alum Shawna P‘s rockin’ version of ”She Talks To Angels,” the stage was filled with talent on Monday night.

Caroline Glaser‘s soft but strong voice turned the chairs of both Blake and Shakira, and it was not surprising. The 18-year-old who is used to singing in coffee shops absolutely nailed ”Tiny Dancer.”

Her adorable dimples...

The talent pool got a bit deeper on The Voice Monday, when a new crop of artists of all ages had chairs turning on another night of blind auditions.

Ryan Innes, who performed last, impressed all four judges with his righteous yet controlled soul bend on John Mayer's bluesy "Gravity."

He picked Usher as his coach but not without mounds of praise from the competition.

"This is the most fun I've had listening all day," Blake Shelton told Innes, a rounded and bearded blue-eyed soul singer from Thatcher, Ariz.

"You shook this room, man," Usher said, calling it a...

The talent pool got a bit deeper on The Voice Monday, when a new crop of artists of all ages had chairs turning on another night of blind auditions. Ryan Innes, who performed last, impressed all four judges with his righteous yet controlled soul bend on John Mayer's bluesy "Gravity." He picked Usher as his coach but not without mounds of praise from the competition. "This is the most fun I've had listening all day," Blake Shelton told Innes, a rounded and bearded blue-eyed soul singer from Thatcher, Ariz. "You shook this room, man," Usher said, calling it a...

Season 4 of The Voice is a leaner — although by no means meaner — kind of party.

Where last year’s competition found each of the show’s four coaches choosing a somewhat distended 16 vocalists apiece, the show’s current incarnation has trimmed the fat to a more reasonable (and easier-to-follow) 12 singers per team.

Related | American Idol‘s Ratings Woes: 8 Common-Sense Ways to Salvage Season 12

You might expect these tightened constraints to spur Blake Shelton and Adam Levine — if not neophyte coaches Shakira and Usher — to adopt cutthroat measures as they court contestants, but I’ll be danged* if the Season...