Social distancing protocols have made actions such as exposing oneself to horrified observers more difficult, if not impossible. But if nothing else, the pandemic is testament to the indefatigability of the human spirit, and when there is a will, there is a way. Famed legal analyst, The Run of His Life author, and New Yorker staff writer Jeffrey Toobin is proof of this, per reporting from Vice.
Details about what was referred to by Vice as the “Zoom Dick Incident” are few, but continue to emerge. Initially, the article reported...
Details about what was referred to by Vice as the “Zoom Dick Incident” are few, but continue to emerge. Initially, the article reported...
- 10/19/2020
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
Welcome To Chechnya HBO Documentary Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: David France Writers: David France, Tyler H. Walk,inspired by the New Yorker article “Forbidden Lives: The Gay Men Who Fled Chechnya’s Purge” by Masha Gessen Cast: Olga Baranova, David Isteev, Maxim Lapunov Screened at: Critics’ link, […]
The post Welcome to Chechnya Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Welcome to Chechnya Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/25/2020
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
You can do anything with a face on screen these days, whether it’s shaving decades off with a digital scalpel or deepfaking it into unrecognizable oblivion. Usually this wizardry has the air of a stunt, a transformation pulled off merely because it’s possible. Never, however, have such effects proven as chillingly essential as they are in “Welcome to Chechnya,” a vital, pulse-quickening new documentary from journalist-turned-filmmaker David France that urgently lifts the lid on one of the most horrifying humanitarian crises of present times: the state-sanctioned purge of Lgbtq people in the eponymous southern Russian republic. Closely charting multiple missions to extract and protect brutalized victims of the regime, France collects the candid first-person perspectives that have proven difficult to come by in this climate of terror — thanks in large part to face-altering technology that keeps their identities hidden, but not their searing truth.
Premiering in competition at...
Premiering in competition at...
- 1/28/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
NBC’s “Meet the Press” is focusing on “alternative facts” Sunday just days after moderator Chuck Todd became a trending Twitter topic for a recent interview in which he admitted he was initially “naive” about the campaign of “disinformation” he said has come from the Trump administration and top Republicans.
The show’s team is splitting the hour up into sections: “Politics and Journalism in an Era of ‘Alternative Facts'” with New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet and the Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron; “Anatomy of a Lie” with NBC News national security analyst Clint Watts; and “Borrowing the Russian Disinformation Playbook” with New Yorker staff writer Masha Gessen and former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.
Also Read: NBC News' Chuck Todd Admits He Was 'Naive' About Gop's 'Misinformation' Campaign
The show will also include a roundtable with Recode co-founder and editor-at-large Kara Swisher, MSNBC anchor Joshua Johnson,...
The show’s team is splitting the hour up into sections: “Politics and Journalism in an Era of ‘Alternative Facts'” with New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet and the Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron; “Anatomy of a Lie” with NBC News national security analyst Clint Watts; and “Borrowing the Russian Disinformation Playbook” with New Yorker staff writer Masha Gessen and former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.
Also Read: NBC News' Chuck Todd Admits He Was 'Naive' About Gop's 'Misinformation' Campaign
The show will also include a roundtable with Recode co-founder and editor-at-large Kara Swisher, MSNBC anchor Joshua Johnson,...
- 12/27/2019
- by Lindsey Ellefson
- The Wrap
Chuck Todd has had a front-row seat for the spread of disinformation while hosting NBC’s Meet the Press. Whether it was Kellyanne Conway using the phrase “alternative facts” to dispute media reports about the crowd size at Trump’s inauguration, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) blatantly using Russian talking points to blame Ukraine for interfering in the 2016 election, or Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spreading Russian conspiracy theories, Todd has seen it all. I spoke with Todd about this erosion of truth ahead of an upcoming Dec. 29th special edition of...
- 12/20/2019
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
At times it may have felt like late-night talk shows were completely dominated by political talk this year, from biting commentary by way of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” However, quite a few shows did what they could to keep it light — and perhaps go viral for their takes on pop culture instead. Think: the three-way call between Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon, as well as Paul McCartney’s appearance on “Carpool Karaoke.” With such varied bits, late-night provided a lot of distractions for the craziness of daily life.
Here, Variety breaks down the most memorable moments in late-night for 2018:
“Conan”
TBS announced in May that O’Brien’s hour-long late-night show would be reduced to 30 minutes in January and signal the departure of O’Brien’s long-time band, Jimmy Vivino & The Basic Cable Band. In the last...
Here, Variety breaks down the most memorable moments in late-night for 2018:
“Conan”
TBS announced in May that O’Brien’s hour-long late-night show would be reduced to 30 minutes in January and signal the departure of O’Brien’s long-time band, Jimmy Vivino & The Basic Cable Band. In the last...
- 12/20/2018
- by Rachel Yang
- Variety Film + TV
Samantha Bee has a few changes in store for “Full Frontal.”
During Wednesday night’s broadcast of the TBS satire program, Bee and a motley crew of characters will bid farewell- during a sketch – to the show’s set. The move could be the first of several refinements viewers will see when the program returns on September 12 after a late-summer hiatus. At TBS, the transformation is being billed as “Full Frontal 2.0,” and is being made to accommodate coverage of the 2018 midterm elections. TBS declined to elaborate.
The redesign would come about two and a half years and 88 episodes into the show’s tenure, and suggests Bee and her producers are ready to shake things up as the nation shifts its focus to an event that could serve as a game-changer for national politics. Indeed, “Full Frontal” producers are also readying the launch of a mobile app called “This Is Not A Game: The Game,...
During Wednesday night’s broadcast of the TBS satire program, Bee and a motley crew of characters will bid farewell- during a sketch – to the show’s set. The move could be the first of several refinements viewers will see when the program returns on September 12 after a late-summer hiatus. At TBS, the transformation is being billed as “Full Frontal 2.0,” and is being made to accommodate coverage of the 2018 midterm elections. TBS declined to elaborate.
The redesign would come about two and a half years and 88 episodes into the show’s tenure, and suggests Bee and her producers are ready to shake things up as the nation shifts its focus to an event that could serve as a game-changer for national politics. Indeed, “Full Frontal” producers are also readying the launch of a mobile app called “This Is Not A Game: The Game,...
- 8/15/2018
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Full Frontal’s Samantha Bee turned to the very-hot-these-days car-based comedy format in a desperate effort to get viewers focused on the crumbling of democratic norms under President Donald Trump.
“I know exactly how to get an audience’s attention in 2018,” Samantha Bee says pluckily.
She’s in a 1984 Russian car, it’s tiny, ugly, and a relic of the Soviet era – “the Vladimir Putin of obvious car metaphors!” she enthuses as she begins driving around Manhattan with Russian dissident and Friend of Show Masha Gessen.
“What’s the deal with democracy?” Bee asks, doing her best – which is to say not very good – Jerry Seinfeld imitation for a segment called Comedians in Cars with Dissidents Getting Coffee.
Democracy is very bad now, Gessen says, what with Trump continuing to pull us out of international institutions and treaties, blanket detentions, and a “denaturalization task force” in place.
The Obama administration laid the groundwork for Dtf,...
“I know exactly how to get an audience’s attention in 2018,” Samantha Bee says pluckily.
She’s in a 1984 Russian car, it’s tiny, ugly, and a relic of the Soviet era – “the Vladimir Putin of obvious car metaphors!” she enthuses as she begins driving around Manhattan with Russian dissident and Friend of Show Masha Gessen.
“What’s the deal with democracy?” Bee asks, doing her best – which is to say not very good – Jerry Seinfeld imitation for a segment called Comedians in Cars with Dissidents Getting Coffee.
Democracy is very bad now, Gessen says, what with Trump continuing to pull us out of international institutions and treaties, blanket detentions, and a “denaturalization task force” in place.
The Obama administration laid the groundwork for Dtf,...
- 7/26/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Samantha Bee knows the way to get an audience's attention in 2018.
So when she wanted to get viewers to pay attention to the political journalism of The New Yorker's Masha Gessen, she decided to incorporate some car-based comedy into her episode of Full Frontal.
The segment began as a Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee parody, titled "Comedians in Cars with Dissidents Getting Coffee," starting off with a familiar close-up of the car they'll be driving, as well a narration explaining the vehicle. "This is a 1984 Russian Lada. It's tiny, ugly and a relic of ...
So when she wanted to get viewers to pay attention to the political journalism of The New Yorker's Masha Gessen, she decided to incorporate some car-based comedy into her episode of Full Frontal.
The segment began as a Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee parody, titled "Comedians in Cars with Dissidents Getting Coffee," starting off with a familiar close-up of the car they'll be driving, as well a narration explaining the vehicle. "This is a 1984 Russian Lada. It's tiny, ugly and a relic of ...
- 7/26/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Ava DuVernay, Samira Wiley, and “Call Me by Your Name” were honored at the Hilton Midtown in New York Saturday night at the second half of the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Ross Mathews hosted the event and Melissa Etheridge and Adam Lambert opened the show with a duet to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of Etheridge’s album “Yes I Am.” The duo performing a new arrangement of her song “The Only One.”
Senator Cory Booker presented DuVernay with the Excellence in Media award, and Wiley’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” co-star Alexis Bledel presented her with the Vito Russo award. Jay-z’s mother, Gloria Carter, was present to accept her special recognition. Screenwriter James Ivory, who won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for “Call Me by Your Name,” accepted the outstanding film award for the romantic drama.
Celebrities sported blue “&” pins to show their support for GLAAD’s...
Ross Mathews hosted the event and Melissa Etheridge and Adam Lambert opened the show with a duet to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of Etheridge’s album “Yes I Am.” The duo performing a new arrangement of her song “The Only One.”
Senator Cory Booker presented DuVernay with the Excellence in Media award, and Wiley’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” co-star Alexis Bledel presented her with the Vito Russo award. Jay-z’s mother, Gloria Carter, was present to accept her special recognition. Screenwriter James Ivory, who won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for “Call Me by Your Name,” accepted the outstanding film award for the romantic drama.
Celebrities sported blue “&” pins to show their support for GLAAD’s...
- 5/6/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
The 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards revealed the remainder of this year’s winners in New York at a ceremony hosted Ross Mathews. The Academy Award-winning Call Me By Your Name won Outstanding Film while Handmaid’s Tale actress Samira Wiley was honored with the Vito Russo Award and trailblazing filmmaker Ava DuVernay received the Excellence in Media Award.
The Special Recognition Award was given to Gloria Carter, the mother of Jay Z, for the rapper’s song “Smile,” a groundbreaking track where she came out as a lesbian. Other winners of the evening included Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as well as the documentary Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric.
This year’s ceremony kicked off with a performance of new rendition of “I’m the Only One” from Melissa Etheridge and Adam Lambert to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of Etheridge’s breakthrough album Yes I Am.
The Special Recognition Award was given to Gloria Carter, the mother of Jay Z, for the rapper’s song “Smile,” a groundbreaking track where she came out as a lesbian. Other winners of the evening included Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as well as the documentary Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric.
This year’s ceremony kicked off with a performance of new rendition of “I’m the Only One” from Melissa Etheridge and Adam Lambert to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of Etheridge’s breakthrough album Yes I Am.
- 5/6/2018
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Masha Gessen compared President Donald Trump t0 his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on MSNBC Friday, arguing that while Putin has long established a "mafia state" in his country, Trump is working to set up his own.
- 7/7/2017
- by Aidan McLaughlin
- Mediaite - TV
Samantha Bee is going full frontal with Hillary Clinton. The “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” host has been tapped to introduce Clinton at Tina Brown’s annual Women in the Word summit, which is set to take place April 5 – 7 at Lincoln Center in New York City. Clinton will be on hand for a conversation with New York Times columnist and author Nicholas Kristof. Also Read: Samantha Bee Edits Trump Tweet to Call President a 'Giant Baby' Other participants at this year’s summit include Tracee Ellis Ross, Lena Dunham, Cecile Richards, Scarlett Johansson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Masha Gessen, Dr. Annie Sparrow,...
- 3/23/2017
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
The Politics of Funny: Comedians Grapple with Their Approach After The Gloom of Trump’s Inauguration
Journalists aren’t the only ones struggling with how to approach the Donald Trump administration. Comedians also find themselves debating their role in a world that seems more frightening and irrational by the day.
Fight truth to power? Call out the hypocrisy? Or have fun with the absurdity and serve as a respite to the headlines?
“It’s hard to do comedy when what’s happening is so weird, and what’s happening just keeps coming at you,” said producer Judd Apatow. “It’s such a frantic pace. We’ve really passed the point where daily events would be logical if I was writing a movie. Everything in this is now weirder than the movie ‘Network.’ And so it’s hard to be funny. You could talk about what you’re frustrated about, but life has gotten very scary and absurd. It’s a whole new ball game.”
As Trump...
Fight truth to power? Call out the hypocrisy? Or have fun with the absurdity and serve as a respite to the headlines?
“It’s hard to do comedy when what’s happening is so weird, and what’s happening just keeps coming at you,” said producer Judd Apatow. “It’s such a frantic pace. We’ve really passed the point where daily events would be logical if I was writing a movie. Everything in this is now weirder than the movie ‘Network.’ And so it’s hard to be funny. You could talk about what you’re frustrated about, but life has gotten very scary and absurd. It’s a whole new ball game.”
As Trump...
- 2/2/2017
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Each month, Boris Kachka offers nonfiction and fiction book recommendations, and you should read as many of them as possible. The Brothers, by Masha Gessen (Riverhead, April 7)The fearless Russian-American journalist brings equal parts sympathy and skepticism to the task of tracking the Tsarnaev family, from Russia’s Chechen enclaves to Cambridge and the Boston Marathon bombing. In her worldview, the shortcomings of the American system have as much to do with the atrocity as Russia’s brutality — to the extent that either can be held accountable for a senseless mass murder perpetrated by idiots. You don’t have to believe all of Gessen’s conclusions to find the journey both fascinating and illuminating on the hardships of life on the cultural margins. The Children’s Crusade, by Ann Packer (Scribner, April 7)Packer’s third novel forsakes the dramatic plot twists of her first two (The Dive From Clausen’s...
- 3/31/2015
- by Boris Kachka
- Vulture
Pen American Center and nearly 50 distinguished novelists, playwrights and authors are the latest group imploring Sony to release “The Interview,” in an open letter posted Monday.
“Pen is appalled at the intrusive, criminal and profoundly menacing reprisals and threats that Sony Pictures has endured as a result of producing and planning to distribute ‘The Interview,'” said the letter, which was signed by the likes of Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, Jennifer Egan and Tony Kushner.
See photos: Sony Hack Attack Timeline: From First Cyberbreach and Leaks to ‘The Interview’ Dropped (Photos)
“Pen has long stood with writers and creators who...
“Pen is appalled at the intrusive, criminal and profoundly menacing reprisals and threats that Sony Pictures has endured as a result of producing and planning to distribute ‘The Interview,'” said the letter, which was signed by the likes of Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, Jennifer Egan and Tony Kushner.
See photos: Sony Hack Attack Timeline: From First Cyberbreach and Leaks to ‘The Interview’ Dropped (Photos)
“Pen has long stood with writers and creators who...
- 12/23/2014
- by Linda Ge
- The Wrap
Birthday shoutouts go to Sir Kenneth Branagh (above), who is 53, Bobby Flay is 49, Raven Symone is 28, Susan Dey is 61, and Gloria Loring is 67. In addition to siring Robin Thicke and singing The Facts of Life theme song, she also gave us one of the greatest duets of the 80′s, which peaked at #2 in 1986.
Happy Endings is returning to TV! Calm down … not with new episodes. Vh-1 has announced that they’ve acquired all three seasons of the late, lamented series, and will air them starting with “a marathon of every episode beginning December 31 at 8 Pm running through New Year’s Day before settling into its new home on Wednesday nights from 7-9 Pm, beginning January 8.”
Agnieszka Holland will direct NBC’s four-hour miniseries remake of Rosemary’s Baby. No word on casting yet.
Megan Mullaly and Sean Hayes will reunite on Sean Saves The World next year. Megan will play Sean’s … sister.
Happy Endings is returning to TV! Calm down … not with new episodes. Vh-1 has announced that they’ve acquired all three seasons of the late, lamented series, and will air them starting with “a marathon of every episode beginning December 31 at 8 Pm running through New Year’s Day before settling into its new home on Wednesday nights from 7-9 Pm, beginning January 8.”
Agnieszka Holland will direct NBC’s four-hour miniseries remake of Rosemary’s Baby. No word on casting yet.
Megan Mullaly and Sean Hayes will reunite on Sean Saves The World next year. Megan will play Sean’s … sister.
- 12/10/2013
- by snicks
- The Backlot
Jared Leto draws raves for Dallas Buyers Club, Colby Keller reflects on being an introverted porn star, Ricky Martin to record FIFA World Cup theme song
After several days of outrage over Batwoman not being allowed to marry in the comics, DC has finally come out with a reason of sorts. DC co-publisher Dan Didio spoke at the panel at DC Nation in Baltimore, and addressed the elephant in the room. “Heroes shouldn’t have happy personal lives. They are committed to being that person and committed to defending others at the sacrifice of their own personal interests. That’s very important and something we reinforced. People in the Bat family their personal lives basically suck. Dick Grayson, rest in peace—oops shouldn’t have said that,—Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon and Kathy Kane. It’s wonderful that they try to establish personal lives, but it’s equally...
After several days of outrage over Batwoman not being allowed to marry in the comics, DC has finally come out with a reason of sorts. DC co-publisher Dan Didio spoke at the panel at DC Nation in Baltimore, and addressed the elephant in the room. “Heroes shouldn’t have happy personal lives. They are committed to being that person and committed to defending others at the sacrifice of their own personal interests. That’s very important and something we reinforced. People in the Bat family their personal lives basically suck. Dick Grayson, rest in peace—oops shouldn’t have said that,—Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon and Kathy Kane. It’s wonderful that they try to establish personal lives, but it’s equally...
- 9/9/2013
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
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