Category: Entertainment

NEW YORK (AP) — “The Big Bang Theory” actor Mayim Bialik is teaming with DC Entertainment on a project that joins superhero power to the power of science.

DC Entertainment announced Thursday that Bialik will collaborate with popular comic writers and illustrators on a story collection that features Batman, Superman, the Flash and others in search of such mysteries such as why polar ice melts and what can be found at the bottom of the sea.

“Flash Facts” will come out in February and provide “a helpful bridge between the S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) lessons taught inside the classroom and how these principles affect our everyday lives,” DC announced.

Bialik herself is a neuroscientist and author whose previous books include “Beyond the Sling” and “Girling Up.”

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Disney is postponing the mid-July reopening of its Southern California theme parks until it receives guidelines from the state, the company announced Wednesday.

Disney had hoped to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim on July 17 after a four-month closure due to the coronavirus. But the state has indicated it won’t issue guidelines until after July 4, the company said.

“Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials,” Disney said in a statement.

The company didn’t provide a new reopening date. The parks closed on March 14 and the reopening requires government approval.

Gov. Gavin Newsom “appreciates Disney’s responsiveness to his concerns about reopening amid the recent increases in COVID-19 infections across many Southern California counties,” Newsom spokesman Nathan Click said. “The governor, the state and our public health experts continue to be in contact with the company and their workers — as well as other theme parks in the state — as we track and combat the spread of the virus.”

Disney also said it is still negotiating agreements with employee unions, some of which have raised safety concerns about the reopenings. Disney said it has signed agreements from 20 union affiliates representing more than 11,000 employees, detailing enhanced safety protocols.

Disney also will delay the planned July 23 reopening of its Grand Californian and Paradise Pier hotels.

The Downtown Disney District restaurant and shopping area will reopen on July 9 as previously planned “with health and safety protocols in place for our cast members and guests,” Disney said.

Disneyland fans normally can bank on the park being open regardless of what’s going on in the world around it. The park closed only a handful of times in 65 years. The last time was after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The company indicated it still planned to proceed with reopening Disney World in Florida on July 11. Disney resorts in Shanghai and Hong Kong already reopened.

California is seeing a COVID-19 spike, recording a 69% increase in new cases this week.

The virus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause pneumonia and death.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel apologized Tuesday for his 1990s blackface impressions of NBA player Karl Malone and other Black celebrities but said his delay in addressing the subject came in part to avoid handing a victory to his foes.

“I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke,” the ABC late-night star said in a statement.

It’s part of the entertainment world’s continuing reckoning triggered by the protests against police treatment of Black Americans. On Monday, four episodes of the comedy “30 Rock” were pulled from circulation because they featured characters performing in blackface.

Kimmel’s impersonation of Malone, which he started on radio and then brought to television on Comedy Central, was criticized by Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, among others. The two men feuded on air and online two years ago when Hannity objected to a Kimmel joke about Melania Trump’s accent.

Fox News’ website on Monday had a story about Kimmel using a common slur against Black people on a 1996 comedy song, and about times Kimmel had imitated the voices of Black personalities.

Kimmel said that he had never considered his Malone skits would be seen as anything other than an imitation of a fellow human being, “one that had no more to do with Karl’s skin color than it did his bulging muscles and bald head.”

He also said he didn’t consider his impersonations of Black people in racial terms.

“Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices,” Kimmel said.

He said he had long been reluctant to address the subject, “as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us.

“That delay was a mistake,” he said.

Kimmel also had a warning for critics who might use his past against him.

“I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me,” he said. “I love this country too much to allow that. I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.”

Kimmel made his announcement as he is beginning a summer-long vacation. He’s an important figure at ABC; he was just named host of this fall’s Emmy Awards and he has taken over Regis Philbin’s role for the network’s summertime remake of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

ABC had no comment about his statement.

Last weekend, Fox News Channel guest Kat Timpf mocked Kimmel’s explanation that he was taking the summer off to spend time with his family. Kimmel has a son born in 2017 with a rare heart defect; after Timpf was done, host Greg Gutfeld pointed out the condition.

“I had no idea,” Timpf said. “I’m very sorry and I’m an idiot.”

The “30 Rock” episodes were pulled at the request of series creator and star Tina Fey. While the comedy ended a seven-year run on NBC in 2013, television series never truly die, and episodes are still shown in television syndication and on streaming services including Hulu, Amazon Prime, iTunes and Peacock.

Fey, who portrayed Liz Lemon in the series about the backstage world of a television show, said in a note to distributors that “I understand now that ‘intent’ is not a free pass for white people to use these images.”

“I apologize for the pain they have caused,” Fey wrote. “Going forward, no comedy-loving kid really needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness.”

Other examples of how the Black Lives Matter protests have impacted entertainment include cancellation of the long-running TV show “Cops” and temporary removal of “Gone With the Wind” from the HBO Max service.

Two of the four eliminated “30 Rock” episodes originally aired in 2010, with the others first shown in 2008 and 2012. Series regular Jane Krakowski and guest star Jon Hamm appeared in blackface.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Comedian D.L. Hughley announced he tested positive for COVID-19 after collapsing onstage during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee.

The stand-up comedian, 57, lost consciousness while performing at the Zanies comedy nightclub on Friday night and was hospitalized, news outlets reported. On Saturday, Hughley posted a video on Twitter in which he said he was treated for exhaustion and dehydration afterward.

“I also tested positive for COVID-19, which blew me away,” he says in the video. “I was what they call asymptomatic. I didn’t have any symptoms, the classic symptoms.”

Hughley plans to quarantine in his Nashville hotel room for 14 days. The remaining two nights of his four-night engagement at Zanies were canceled, according to the club’s online calendar.

“Our friend D.L. Hughley had a medical emergency while performing on Friday and was hospitalized overnight. According to his publicist, he was suffering from exhaustion after working & traveling this week,” the club posted on Facebook. “Love ya, D.L. and we’ll look forward to seeing this King of Comedy back in Nashville soon!”

Hughley said he still hasn’t exhibited any of the typical symptoms associated with the coronavirus, including shortness of breath and fever. However, fatigue is listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as among symptoms of the disease.

“So, in addition to all the other stuff you have to look out for,” Hughley advises in the video, if you “pass out in the middle of a show, onstage, you probably need to get tested.”

In addition to stand-up comedy, Hughley is also an actor, author and radio and television host. He starred in Spike Lee’s 2000 concert film, “The Original Kings of Comedy,” alongside Steve Harvey, Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer.

Hughley also produced and starred in “The Hughleys,” which aired on ABC and UPN from 1998 to 2002 and hosted a CNN talk show. He currently hosts the radio show “The D.L. Hughley Show,” which is syndicated in dozens of markets.

“Thank you for your prayers and your well wishes — and a few more of them wouldn’t hurt,” Hughley says in the video.

NEW YORK (AP) — The couch is still in storage, but the morning team on “Fox & Friends” returned for the first time Monday to the midtown Manhattan studio vacated in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A few blocks west, there was a similar welcome for two-thirds of the “CBS This Morning” hosts, who had taken brief trips to Washington and a New York theater before settling in at home after being chased out on March 18.

“I can’t even tell you how good I feel today,” said CBS’ Gayle King, who made little secret of her distaste for working at home.

Monday represented a key phase in New York City’s reopening, with many offices bringing employees back for the first time. Despite the CBS and Fox moves, most news employees continue to work remotely, and the television programs that originate here have a patchwork of approaches that have quickly become familiar.

For instance, ABC’s “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir has remained in his upper West Side studio, since he has no guests to interact with on-set. NBC “Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt works from home, while “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell works out of the network’s Washington bureau.

Although journalists are exempt from stay-at-home orders, most networks have a skeleton crew of behind-the-scenes workers in the office.

CNN’s evening lineup, including Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon, do their shows from “flash studios” in New York’s Hudson Yards office complex, where they are the only people in the room as they work. Chris Cuomo is similarly back after several weeks confined to his basement with COVID-19.

A majority of the show hosts on MSNBC — including Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist of “Morning Joe” — work remotely.

Fox News’ prime-time anchors — Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham — work out of home studios. Martha MacCallum returned to Fox’s offices last week, while daytime hosts Bill Hemmer and Ed Henry never left.

While Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade of “Fox & Friends” were in the same studio Monday, they may as well have been in different zip codes: they were stationed behind different desks.

“To be in the building, you need to have a mask on,” Doocy said. “We’re free not to wear it on the air because we’re socially distant.”

Doocy last month said that he and his colleagues were not in the same room “because the government won’t let us.” He later corrected himself to say Fox was simply following government protocols and guidelines.

Other morning shows have varied approaches. ABC’s “Good Morning America” has been back in its Times Square studio, but without a live audience and without the immune-compromised Robin Roberts, who works out of her home. Hoda Kotb of NBC’s “Today” show has worked out of that show’s Rockefeller Center studio, but most of her colleagues are at home.

“CBS This Morning” isn’t fully back. Although King and Anthony Mason sat at the same desk on Monday, colleague Tony Dokoupil remained in Brooklyn, where he shares a home studio with his wife, MSNBC’s Katy Tur.

“We’re all being extra, extra, extra safe,” King said. “But we are really thrilled to be here.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Sarah Ramos hasn’t let being stuck in quarantine stop her from acting.

Ramos, whose TV credits include “American Dreams” and “Parenthood,” has spent her downtime recreating popular TV and movie scenes and posting them to social media. She calls them quarantscenes and aims to release one a week.

Sometimes a friend such as Dylan O’Brien, Aubrey Plaza or Elle Fanning appear, but Ramos usually acts out all the parts herself, like when she played both Jughead and Betty in a scene from “Riverdale.”

Last month, Ramos had a great 29th birthday. On that day, Andrew Garfield sent word about a video she posted online of herself and actor Dylan O’Brien recreating a scene from Garfield’s film “The Social Network.” O’Brien played Garfield’s character Eduardo Saverin and Garfield’s reaction was, “If I had Twitter I’d let him know he MURDERED it.”

Ramos said she’s long been the kind of fan who will watch things over and over and memorize lines.

“I definitely am a person who reads, watches and listens to something obsessively. And I grew up obsessed with pop culture,” she said.

When she was on the NBC series “American Dreams” she got invited to the premiere of the 2002 movie “Blue Crush” starring Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez. She couldn’t believe how attending a red carpet event put her in close proximity to some of her favorite stars.

“Somebody told me and my mom that we could hire a publicist to go to more premieres. And I was just like, ‘Done.’ I had no sense of what a publicist actually did. I was just like, ‘I need to be at more of these, more red carpets, more free popcorn and more early screenings of movies.’ And that is really where I would get pictures with celebrities.” (Some of those photos are posted to her Instagram account.)

Ramos used to keep her inner-fan a secret but making so-called quarantscenes has helped her to think differently.

“I’ve had moments where I’m like, ‘Oh, I can’t really be a fan. You won’t take me seriously if I’m a fan.’ But I’ve really come around to the other side of that where I feel like everyone in this industry got into it because we were fans of other people. And remembering that keeps it fun and exciting,” she said.

Ramos gets help behind-the-scenes, too. Her hairdresser has lent his collection of wigs to use during quarantine, which she calls “game-changing.” Her fiance, director Matt Spicer, also helps out when needed, like tipping her off on where to find an orange jumpsuit to film an upcoming quarantscene of “Legally Blonde.”

“He’s very talented and very opinionated, so we have had some interesting collaboration conversations where I’m like, ’OK, I’m in charge. Stop it.′ But he is definitely the director of photography, a gaffer, an acting consultant. I run everything by him and sometimes I disregard his opinion.”

Ramos is tracking the suggestions from online followers for upcoming quarantscenes. “I’m here for the enthusiasm. I want this to be a dialog,” she said.

The videos are a fun way to pass the time and Ramos says if a casting director takes note, even better.

“The world of how talent is discovered has changed so much,” she said. “I’m kind of like, ‘Fine, if people really discover me as an actor from these videos instead of the many TV shows I’ve been on or or whatever, who cares how they find it?’”

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Americans have never been more ready to get out of the house and bask in the sun. Warm-weather beach destinations are the most popular vacation searches, with Florida — particularly Key West — Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and San Diego among the top considerations.

According to Tripadvisor, 50% of travelers are looking to book a one- to five-day trip this month, suggesting massive pent-up demand for sand and surf. But the craving for a beach getaway coincides with recent spikes in coronavirus cases in nearly half the states, including beach havens like Florida, Texas and the Carolinas.

The good news for beachgoers is that 83% of beaches are now open — up from only 56% two weeks ago, according to the National Recreation and Park Association. Experts agree that outdoor activities are relatively low risk because the air helps disperse virus particles, as long as you follow basic precautions.

“It is not going to be your typical summer at the shore. Most beaches are going to have restrictions around physical distancing,” said Allison Colman, director of health for the National Recreation and Park Association.

Common changes include parking restrictions to control crowds, limits on leisure activities like sunbathing, and nixing coolers, chairs, umbrellas and other gear. Beach rules vary widely by city and county, and visitors should check their destination’s regulations before heading out.

In New York City and its suburbs, state beaches are fully open with swimming, though some picnic areas remain off limits, and parking areas on the busiest days may close early to reduce crowds. Beaches run by the city itself are also open, but swimming is barred.

State beaches are open for swimming and sunbathing in Connecticut, where officials have urged people to keep 15 feet (4.5 meters) between blankets, and many parking lots are at reduced capacity. New Jersey’s public beaches also reopened at reduced capacity and some are not selling daily badges.

In California, most beaches, including popular ones in Los Angeles County, are now allowing sunbathing and swimming. Some are maintaining bans on staying in one place, but allow exercise or crossing the sand to reach the water.

Beaches also reopened in Miami this month banning groups of more than 10 people, requiring social distancing of 10 feet (3 meters) or more and forbidding canopies. Masks must be worn when social distancing might be difficult.

In many areas, “beach ambassadors” are strolling the sand to enforce social distancing. Nearly 50% of agencies are using park rangers, law enforcement or other staff to disperse crowds, Colman said.

If you’re downwind from groups of people, even if you’re more than 6 feet (2 meters) apart, respiratory droplets can be blown, putting you at greater risk, said Dr. Shawn Nasseri, a Beverly Hills, California, ear, nose and throat specialist.

If it’s not crowded, it might be safe to enjoy a beach day without a mask with a small group, and ideally bring your own towels, toys, chairs and food. If you need to rent equipment, just make sure to use a disinfectant wipe.

“The caveat is that people cannot be packed like sardines on the beach. They can’t be sitting on top of each other,” Nasseri said.

If the parking lot is full or the beach looks packed, experts advise picking another beach or coming back at off-peak hours like weekday mornings and evenings.

Trickiest to navigate are high-traffic areas like parking lots and narrow ramps to and from the water. Wearing a mask is advised.

“People have that quarantine fatigue in LA and other coastal cities, and literally they’re saying, ‘forget it’ … that’s when we’re seeing bumps,” Nasseri said.

Nivek Divincci has been to Miami Beach a half dozen times since it reopened more than two weeks ago and calls it a natural stress reliever.

“The breeze, the ocean, the sound of the waves, the sand — everything about it makes it feel like you’re in a better place,” said the 20-year-old real estate agent.

On most visits, he’s gone with his roommate or a few other people, practiced social distancing and felt safe, except once.

“It was crowded and people were breaking the guidelines … no masks,” he said, noting that the groups starting getting larger. “They were touching each other 24/7 and they were even sharing drinks at one point.”

Nasseri says a car-ride getaway is safe as long as vacationers follow social distancing at fuel stops, stay at hotels following CDC guidelines for sanitation, and stick to takeout meals to avoid crowds.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With cries for equality and justice ringing in the streets, a petition drive to rescue a canceled television series may seem inconsequential.

But among the advocates for ABC’s “The Baker and the Beauty,” felled by its ratings after one season, are those who value it as an entertaining and affirmative depiction of family life in general and a Latino family in particular — long a TV rarity and, they say, especially vital now.

“We have so many shows on TV and so little shows that are actually relatable and appeal to everyone,” said viewer Dana Pulsinelli. She launched the online effort to find the “dramady” a new home after she connected with other fans and kept hearing the same question: Why would “this amazing show, with this fantastic cast that touched on so many relatable subjects, be canceled in a time where diversity and inclusion is so important?”

It should be celebrated instead of “tossed away like it means nothing,” the New Jersey resident said in an email, lauding “The Baker and the Beauty” for celebrating both Cuban American culture and depicting a young character struggling with her sexuality amid family resistance.

The change.org petition, with 133,000 signatures and counting as of Monday, calls for a streaming or cable platform to give the series “the shot it deserves!” In their comments, fans lauded it as lighthearted fare that’s “much-needed during these challenging times,” “witty and endearing,” and a welcome depiction of “hardworking immigrants” that also “tenderly represents” LGBTQ youth.

The support has buoyed cast members Lisa Vidal, who plays matriarch Mari, and Nathalie Kelley, who stars as the title character, Noa, an Australian supermodel and entrepreneur who finds unlikely love with Daniel, a Cuban American (Victor Rasuk) working in his family’s Miami bakery. Belissa Escobedo plays Daniel’s younger sister, who comes out as lesbian.

The series, whose nine episodes aired from April to June on ABC, was adapted from a Israeli TV hit of the same title that streamed on Netflix.

“This show is important because it represents, first and foremost, family. It represents a beautiful, healthy, functional family,” Vidal said. “But I also feel that it’s important because it’s a Latin family, because it speaks to the positive stereotype of being a Latin family. It speaks to the beautiful parts of who we are as a Latin community, loving and encouraging and hard-working and passionate. … It speaks to all those wonderful truths that are not actually perpetuated on TV and film enough.”

Produced by the NBCUniversal, Keshet and ABC studios with Dean Georgaris as executive producer, the series is also well-made, Kelley said.

“The writing is sophisticated, the characters are three-dimensional. We packaged, with ABC’s help, this beautifully timed show that was delivered in such a nuanced, authentic way,” she said. “And we did grow our audience, which is why the ultimate decision to not give us a second chance of second season to continue to grow (the ratings) was disappointing, because we really had checked all the boxes.”

The series showed small upticks in both total viewers and the advertiser-favored young adult audience from its first to last episodes.

While she doesn’t want to point fingers, Vidal said, it could have been better served with more vigorous promotion, a more suitable time slot for family viewing — 10 p.m. Monday wasn’t it, she contends — and the recognition that an unusual program deserves more careful handling and time to prove itself.

Karey Burke, president of ABC Entertainment, called dropping the show “a huge disappointment.”

“It was an incredible cast and a very sweet show. And I was frustrated that we were not able to find it an audience. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to keep trying,” Burke said. “And it’s critical, frankly, from a business standpoint that we continue to evolve and reflect what our audience looks like.”

Fan lobbying helped the Latino-led reboot of “One Day at a Time” survive its cancellation, moving from Netflix to the Pop channel. As with that effort, “The Baker and the Beauty” has support from stars including Zoe Saldana, Gabrielle Union and Eva Longoria, who posted on social media: “Representation matters on television!”

Showrunner Georgaris, whose credits include “Bluff City Law” and “The Meg,” said the romantic comedy’s fate is in the hands of the studios seeking a new deal to continue it.

“I think that actually there is a legitimate chance. And I think, truthfully, the public support and celebrity support, those things do make a difference at a time like this,” he said, given the expanding number of steaming services that offer the chance of a new home.

NEW YORK (AP) — Joel Schumacher, the journeyman director who dressed New York department store windows before shepherding the Brat Pack to the big screen in “St. Elmo’s Fire” and steering the Batman franchise into its most baroque territory in “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin,” has died. He was 80.

A representative for Schumacher said the filmmaker died Monday in New York after a yearlong battle with cancer.

A native New Yorker, Schumacher was first a sensation in the fashion world after attending Parsons School of Design and decorating Henri Bendel’s windows. As a director, he established himself as a filmmaker of great flare, if not often good reviews, in a string of mainstream films in the ’80s and ’90s.

The success of his first film, “St. Elmo’s Fire,” with Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez and Ally Sheedy, not only helped make a name for the Brat Pack but made Schumacher in demand in Hollywood. He followed it up with the 1987 vampire horror comedy “The Lost Boys.”

After films including “Flatliners” and “A Time to Kill,” Schumacher inherited the DC universe from Tim Burton. His garish take on Batman resulted in two of the the franchise’s most cartoonish movies in 1995′s “Batman Forever” and 1997′s “Batman & Robin.”

Schumacher also directed the thrillers “Tigerland” and “Phone Booth,” as well as “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Most recently, he directed two episodes of Netflix’s “House of Cards” in 2013.

Schumacher was raised in Queens by his mother after his father died when he was four-years-old. As a teenager, he quickly became enmeshed in the city’s nightlife.

“The street was my education,” Schumacher told New York magazine earlier this year. “You could ride your bike over the 59th Street Bridge then. So I rode my bike everywhere. I was in Manhattan all the time and all over Queens. If you’re a kid on a bike, anything can happen, and predators come out of the woodwork, my God. I looked very innocent, but I wasn’t.”