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‘The Pitt’ Bosses Unpack the Finale: Robby’s Breaking Point, Gun Violence and Season 2 Plans

Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Pitt” Episode 15.

“The Pitt” ended its triumphant first season with a welcome shift change, once the team of medical professionals worked through treating the victims of the devastating mass shooting at Pitt Fest.

Episode 15, taking place at 9 p.m., followed as Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) and the rest of the team wrapped up a heart-wrenching day of treating patients and plenty of interpersonal drama. He noted that the ER saw 112 mass casualty patients arrive in just four hours, and only six of them died. The impressive achievement did little to appease Robby’s inner turmoil, whose unresolved trauma from the COVID-era led to a breakdown after her failed to save the girlfriend of his almost stepson Jake (Taj Speights) from injuries sustained in the shooting.

After getting through the patient rush, Robby fought back tears as he delivered an impassioned speech to the staff for letting “the worst of humanity” inspire their best work. After that, Jake gave him the cold shoulder once again and Robby informed Jake’s girlfriend’s parents about her death, which led him back to the rooftop for a full-circle conversation with Dr. Abbott (Shawn Hatosy).

Noah Wyle and Shawn Hatosy in “The Pitt.” (Warrick Page/Max)

“In the beginning of the season, Robby seems to be the one who has everything under control and Abbott is literally on the edge. When Robby has his meltdown, he takes solace in the same place Abbott did, and there seems to be a booked element to that,” series creator R. Scott Gemmill told TheWrap. “I don’t think Abbott or Robby were ever going to jump, but he was in a bad place and needed some refuge.”

The conversation between the friends and colleagues takes a turn when Abbott reveals he’s been seeing a therapist. Robby asks if it helps, and Abbott jokes that it’s kept him from jumping off the roof thus far.

“I don’t think he can pretend to himself any longer that he’s OK,” Wyle said about Robby possibly seeking treatment himself. “I think he may put up a good facade and not be the most willing patient. No doctor makes a very good patient … But he likes a challenge, and him getting on the road to recovery may be the biggest one he’s had to face yet.”

For Gemmill and executive producer John Wells, who directed Episode 15, bringing to light the effects of gun violence on first responders was the key theme for the first season of “The Pitt.”

“The federal government did note that gun violence is a health crisis … Because of our policies, we ask medical professionals to clean up the mess,” Wells told TheWrap. “It’s very important for people to understand the emotional cost that our current policies require of the people we asked to take care of what happens. Thoughts and prayers will only go so far.”

“The Pitt” finale also left viewers with some big moments before saying goodbye. Robby and Langdon (Patrick Ball) had one last confrontation, where each called out the other for their unresolved issues. Dana (Katherine LaNasa) seemed to pack up her things with the intention of not returning, while Cassie (Fiona Dourif) left with the intention of dealing with her damaged ankle monitor in the morning. Mel ended the day picking up her sister, with promises of eating spaghetti and pizza and watching “Elf” despite arriving to get her later than expected. And Santos (Isa Briones) invited Whitaker (Gerran Howell) to move in with her after finding him in an unoccupied room at the hospital.

The season ended with Robby, Abbott — who viewers find out has a prosthetic leg — and some of the other doctors sharing a beer at the park outside the hospital. They all laugh when Javadi (Shabana Azeez) reminds them that this traumatic shift happened to be her first day on the job.

Patrick Ball and Katherine LaNasa in “The Pitt.” (Warrick Page/Max)

With Season 2 already in the works, Gemmill said the show will pick up 10 months later, revolving around Fourth of July weekend. He said the time jump allows for the characters’ lives to push forward, including giving Langdon the time to get through rehab and be back in the fold.

“I would think the majority of the characters will be back. There may be some who are not back because they’re working the night shift, and we might not see them til later … Kind of like we did with Abbott,” he added. “Most of your favorite characters will definitely be back in some capacity.”

Below, Gemmill and Wells reflect on the show being praised by the medical community and where the show will go next.

TheWrap: I have never seen the medical community rally behind a medical drama quite like it’s happened with “The Pitt.” How does it feel to see the show resonating with those viewers?

Gemmill: It’s great. That validation makes us feel like what we’re doing has some value beyond just entertainment. Those are the most important critics to us, the real frontline workers. If we can do good by them, then I think we’ve done a good job.

Wells: We worked really hard to try to both celebrate and show what our frontline workers, our medical personnel really go through for us. We put a lot of effort into it, but you never know if you’re actually getting there. So it’s really fantastic to see them responding to it and saying, “I can show this to my family and now they understand what I do, and why I’m tired when I get home and am sometimes emotionally spent.” That’s very gratifying.

Noah Wyle in “The Pitt.” (Warrick Page/Max)

Dr. Robby had this day-long panic attack, but the show wisely avoided building to some big breakdown where he unloaded all of his feelings on someone and “got better.” He leaned on Whitaker and Abbott when he reached a breaking point, but there was no “Here’s how we fix it” monologue, which feels true to life. How did you approach threading this arc for Robby over the course of the season?

Gemmill: At some point during his career and his life, what he has been avoiding and what he’s been swallowing for so long is going to come to the surface. It’s not a matter of if it happens, it was a matter of when. In Robby’s case, what is going to trigger that? What event or situation is going to be significant enough that he won’t have the ability to override it?

[The shooting] was one of those scenarios where it’s so overwhelming — even more so probably than COVID because in this case, it was so acute that he couldn’t get on top of it — and it finally just exploded and took him down.

Another thread throughout the season was the storyline with the mom worried about her troubled teen, who becomes the prime suspect in the Pitt Fest shooting. By the end of the season we learn he was not the shooter, which Robby believed from the start, but we still get that important conversation between David (Jackson Kelly) and Cassie. Why did you want to weave that conversation into the season, but then not have him be the killer?

Gemmill: When we look at some of the individuals who are responsible for these crimes in the real world, we have to figure out why it happened and it’s obviously always tied to mental health issues. The character of David was not our shooter this time. But could he have been it with the right stressors and over time if he didn’t get the help? This was basically giving you a glimpse into someone who could grow into that.

I don’t know if Robby was 100% sure that David was not the shooter, I think he was hopeful that he was not the shooter. When these things happen, people who know the perpetrators sometimes are also surprised. The Internet has become this breeding ground for individuals who need professional help and who, unfortunately, are seeking it elsewhere. In some cases, what they get is pushing them in the wrong direction.

Wells: The online influences and what we are actually doing to young boys and men is an issue that we just absolutely have to address. Through entertainment, we can at least call attention to it so that people pay a little bit more attention.

Jackson Kelly and Fiona Dourif in “The Pitt.” (Max)

That final scene in the park felt like a great epilogue to the chaos, and shows how these workers find a way to push forward. How did you go about writing, and directing this pivotal moment?

Gemmill: That was written months and months ago. John shot that in September, within two days of shooting the roof scenes with Robby and Abbott. So all that stuff was shot months and months ago. The tricky part was making sure whatever we did got us to the same spot. The joke was that the scene on the roof with Robby where Abbott says, “That was a great speech. I wish I’d given it.” Noah kept saying to me, I can’t wait to see this speech, but there was no speech written at that point. So I was like, “Yeah, I can’t wait to see it either.”

Wells: This is really like a 15-hour movie, because it’s one day and it’s a complete arc. So it’s very similar to what you have to do in films, where you’re shooting the final scene months before you’re actually shooting the scenes that lead up to it. It’s a real testament to Scott and the writing team’s abilities to lay this out in such a way that what we were shooting months in advance actually is the proper coda.

Beyond gun violence, Season 1 tackled many major issues like sickle-cell, measles outbreaks, unbalanced patient care, vaccines and more. What themes are you interested in pursuing with Season 2?

Gemmill: Part of what we do in the very early process of a new season is about going back to the experts. We’re talking to immigration specialists, autism specialists. We’re talking to PTSD specialists, because everybody has gone through this trauma now, as well. If you can think of it, we’re talking about it.

Wells: Unfortunately, there is no lack of new subjects. A lot of the process is talking to the physicians and nurses who are in the field and saying, “So, what’s on your mind? What are you concerned about? What’s coming in? What are you thinking about? What are you worried about?” We’re not going to run out of those issues anytime soon.

And sometimes, we just run into an issue. The measles thing, which is now a big thing, was all written and shot months ago. There was concern within the medical community about what’s going on with the lack of faith in vaccines and that came up. We are going to seem as if we are timely a lot of times, when what it really is is just an issue that medical professionals knew was coming. What’s happening with measles now is what they told us would happen a year ago.

Have you mapped out an overall plan for “The Pitt” or is it more of like a season-by-season thing for you?

Wells: It’s more day-to-day. We have both done shows that lasted for many, many seasons, and we have done shows that lasted for six episodes. I know this is going to sound a little glib, but you just go in and try and do your best work, and hope that the audience shows up. Every attempt to predict what’s going to work or not work, or what direction the industry is going in or not. It’s a flip of the coin, no matter what. So get good writers, hire some good actors and hope that what you’re interested in is what the audience is interested in.

Last time we talked you said the team could definitely have Season 2 turned around for a similar release timeline. Is that still the goal now that things are official and you are in the writers’ room?

Wells: We will deliver the show so that it can be on at the same time. But we don’t schedule it, and there are a lot of other considerations at Max. But I think in general, we can assume we’re going to see it at the beginning of next year. You know whether it’s an exact year, who knows? They have got a lot of other balls in the air that they have to deal with. But it’s not going to be two years from now. It will be next year.

That is great to hear because it’s a concern for fans of streaming shows for fans. Like, “Oh, now we have to wait two years for the next season.”

Wells: And it’s such a recent phenomenon. “The Sopranos” was on at the same time every year, and “Six Feet Under” was on at the same time. Part of that is that these big huge shows — and I love them — have so many visual effects and are so complicated to pull together and have movie stars, or stars who have many other commitments. It can just take a while to get them all put together and done again, which means you end up having these big periods of time. But we don’t have those issues. There’s no reason that this show can’t deliver on an annual basis.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

“The Pitt” Season 1 is now streaming on Max.

The post ‘The Pitt’ Bosses Unpack the Finale: Robby’s Breaking Point, Gun Violence and Season 2 Plans appeared first on TheWrap.

Soulja Boy Found Liable in $4 Million Sexual Assault Lawsuit Filed by Former Assistant

Soulja Boy was found liable by a jury in the sexual assault lawsuit filed by his former assistant, and has been ordered to pay her more than $4 million.

The rapper, real name DeAndre Cortez Way, was accused by the former assistant, listed only as an anonymous Jane Doe in the complaint, of “locking her in her room without hot water for three days” and sexually assaulting her multiple times. Her lawsuit was filed in 2021. She worked for him over a period of several years beginning in 2018.

A jury in the Santa Monica, California court room found in favor of the accuser and ordered Way to pay the $4 in compensatory damages on Thursday. A second trial will be held to determine punitive damages.

“We’re happy our client was vindicated and the jury believed her claims of physical and sexual assault. We’re looking forward to moving on to the punitive damages phase of the case,” the accuser’s attorney, Ron Zambrano said in a statement.

Cortez has not been criminally charged and he has denied the accusations.

“The district attorney never filed charges. I was never charged or convicted of this, criminally. So, to be accused of this civilly is beyond me. I’ve never done any of the things they’re accusing me of. I just feel like this is very unfair,” he told Rolling Stone.

In a separate statement, the rapper’s attorney said, “It is unfortunate that aspersions and misperceptions of a culture were allowed to influence the trial. Mr. Way fully intends to pursue his post-trial remedies and to fight for a just result in this case.”

The post Soulja Boy Found Liable in $4 Million Sexual Assault Lawsuit Filed by Former Assistant appeared first on TheWrap.

Eric Dane Shares ALS Diagnosis Ahead of ‘Euphoria’ Return: ‘Grateful to Have My Loving Family by My Side’

Eric Dane announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter,” the “Grey’s Anatomy” actor told People.

The 52-year-old actor is set to start production on the third season of “Euphoria” next week, where he plays Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi)’s father. He said he feels “fortunate” to be able to continue working and will return to the set of “Euphoria” next week. The HBO series is set to resume production on Season 3 April 14.

“I am grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter,” he said. “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rare degenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. There is no cure for the disease, and most patients live three to five years after diagnosis, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. However, some patients can live decades. The disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spine that control muscle movement, and patients slowly lose their ability to speak, eat, walk and breathe independently.

“The Last Ship” actor is married to Rebecca Gayheart, and the couple share two children, Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 13.

“Euphoria” is expected to release in early 2026. The production has faced delays following the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes and the deaths of Angus Cloud, who played Fez, and executive producer Kevin Turen.

The post Eric Dane Shares ALS Diagnosis Ahead of ‘Euphoria’ Return: ‘Grateful to Have My Loving Family by My Side’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Will Forte Says This ‘Awful’ Prank He Pulled on His Mom Taught Him ‘Not Everything’s Funny’ | Video

Actor and “SNL” alum Will Forte built a career off of making people laugh — but there were some misfires along the way that taught him what was and wasn’t funny.

Opening up on a Thursday episode of “Hot Ones” with host Sean Evans, the funnyman said that one particularly dark-humored prank he pulled on his mother when he was a teenager taught him that he did not want hurting people for a laugh to become part of his practice.

The prank in question? He recounted the time he faked his own suicide.

“Pound for pound, what’s the best prank you’ve ever pulled on your parents?” Evans asked toward the end of the episode. Forte has built a reputation over the years of being a prankster — often memorably around the “SNL” offices — and also has a history of involving his mom in on his humorous antics. (See again: “SNL.”)

But instead of the “best prank” he ever pulled on his parents, Forte latched onto one of the worst. Watch the full episode below:

“I have an awful one. Ugh. I’m not even going to tell it,” Forte said reluctantly. Of course, Evans talked him into it.

“It’s awful … It’s horrible. You’ll see why. Please feel free to cut this out,” Forte began. He then recounted one day as a teenager spotting his mother driving home through their neighborhood, and he decided it would be funny to fake his own death, suicide note and all.

“I wrote on a piece of paper, I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry, Mom.’ And then left that at the front door,” he said. “And then, like, laid down on her bathroom floor as if I was no longer alive. And hearing her scream, it was the worst! It was the worst thing. And I immediately popped up — ‘Mom I’m kidding!'”

He called himself a “little s–t freakin’ 14-year-old” for thinking such a ruse was funny, but offered up that it was a “good lesson overall” in his comedy journey.

“It did teach me, like, oh, not everything’s funny. There are things that hurt people,” Forte shared. “And, you know, I certainly look back at my own work and there are regrets I have, but I don’t love comedy that hurts people or makes fun of people.”

It wasn’t, however, the last time Forte explored suicide in his comedy. His Peacock dramedy pilot “Expiration Date” gained a lot of attention back in 2021 for its unlikely premise of a man who contemplates killing himself so his life insurance can care for his family. After going into development, the project never materialized.

Watch Forte’s full “Hot Ones” interview in the video above.

The post Will Forte Says This ‘Awful’ Prank He Pulled on His Mom Taught Him ‘Not Everything’s Funny’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

CBS Anchor Chokes Up While Reporting Live That NYC Helicopter Crash Killed 6: ‘Not Just Another Day’ | Video

A CBS News anchor fought back tears while reporting on Thursday’s fatal helicopter crash in the Hudson River near New York City.

During CBS New York’s live coverage of the crash, anchor Kristine Johnson learns in the middle of her reporting that all six passengers on the helicopter – three adults and three children – died in the crash. Johnson fought through a wave of emotions and was audibly tearful as she continued her coverage.

“This never, ever escapes me when you have to cover these types of stories on what you believe to be, will be, a normal day and it turns out to be anything but,” she said.

Johnson added: “This is not the news you ever want to hear. This is not just another day in the office.”

Watch the moment around the 65-minute mark in the CBS New York video below:

The fatalities of the crash include the pilot and a family of five visiting from Spain. The helicopter in question was a Bell 206 – a widely used model for sightseeing and other commercial flying. According to reports, the helicopter broke apart mid-air and hit the Hudson River upside down.

The crash is just the latest in a long string of publicized aviation incidents in 2025. Most notable among them was the American Airlines crash back in January where a jet carrying around 64 passengers struck a military Black Hawk helicopter over Ronald Reagan Airport while it was descending to land in Washington D.C. The crash became the deadliest aviation incident since 2001.

President Donald Trump was quick to blame former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for ruining the Federal Aviation Administration in the wake of the crash.

“He’s a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground, and he’s a disaster. Now he’s just got a good line of bulls–t,” Trump said. “The Department of Transportation is [the] government agency charged with regulating civil aviation. Well, he runs it, 45,000 people, and he’s run it right into the ground with his diversity. So I had to say that it’s terrible.”

The post CBS Anchor Chokes Up While Reporting Live That NYC Helicopter Crash Killed 6: ‘Not Just Another Day’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Ryan Coogler Recalls Disney Execs ‘Freaked Out’ Because Chadwick Boseman Didn’t Break Character on ‘Black Panther’ Set

Ryan Coogler remembers Chadwick Boseman had Disney executives a little worried because he stayed in character while filming “Black Panther.”

While on “The Breakfast Club” to promote his upcoming movie “Sinners,” Coogler explained that during production “Black panther,” Boseman maintained the African accent he used in the film while speaking to a small group of Disney executives who visited the set.

“[Chad] pulled up and [he was talking in] T’Challa’s accent, and they was freaked out,” Coogler said. “I was like, ‘Don’t be freaked out. He’s working, man. He don’t turn it off till we wrap.’ And no shame or embarrassment in that — that’s how he was moving.”

The director also recalled how working with Boseman on the 2018 Marvel film – which would go on to be the first superhero movie nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards – altered his life.

“He changed my life. He was the kind of teacher who you never knew you was getting a lesson when he taught,” Coogler said.

He later added: “He moved at an old-school pace and he took his time. He was always early; he was that type of dude.”

Boseman died in August 2020 after a private four-year battle with colon cancer. He was originally diagnosed with a Stage III cancer in 2016 but it progressed to Stage IV as the actor battled. All through the battle, Boseman continued to act.

“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” a statement from his family following the death read. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more — all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”

Coogler’s latest movie, “Sinners,” stars his frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan, who also played Killmonger in “Black Panther.” Throughout shooting, the director asked Jordan the same question time and again.

“‘Hey bro, what would Chad do in this role,” Coogler said. “If he had this role, what would he do?’ ‘Cause Chad never broke action.”

The post Ryan Coogler Recalls Disney Execs ‘Freaked Out’ Because Chadwick Boseman Didn’t Break Character on ‘Black Panther’ Set appeared first on TheWrap.

Cannes Film Festival Lineup Includes New Films by Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Scarlett Johansson

New films from Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater and the Dardenne brothers will premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Cannes organizers announced at a press conference in Paris on Thursday.

Anderson will be back in Cannes with”The Phoenician Scheme,” which premiered a baffling trailer at CinemaCon last week. Linklater is heading to France with a bold movie, “Nouvelle Vague,” which tackles the sacred ground of Jean-Luc Godard and the filming of “Breathless” in the 1960s. The Dardenne brothers have “Young Mothers,” which give them a chance to become the first filmmakers to win the Palme d’Or three times.

Actors in the festival making their directorial debuts include Scarlett Johansson. who is in Un Certain Regard with “Eleanor the Great,” starring Joan Squibb; and Harris Dickinson, the star of the Palme d’Or winner “The Triangle of Sadness,” with “Urchin.”

The main competition will include a number of directors who are familiar to Cannes patrons, including Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value”), Julia Ducournau (“Alpha”), Kleber Mendonca Filho (“The Secret Agent”), Sergei Loznitsa (“Two Prosecutors”) and the Iranian director Jafar Panahi (“A Simple Accident”), who is not permitted to leave his country. It will also include American directors Linklater, Anderson, Kelly Reichardt (“The Mastermind”) and Ari Aster (“Eddington”).

Six of the 19 directors in the competition are women: Reichardt, Ducournau, Chie Hayakawa, Carla Simon, Mascha Schilinski and Hafsia Herzi. That is one of Cannes’ largest groups of female directors in competition.

The opening night film will also come from a female director, Amelie Bonnin with “Partir un Jour.”

The selection also includes “Stories of Surrender,” the feature debut from u2 singer Bono, which includes performance footage.

Among the actors in Cannes-bound films are Paul Mescal in “The History of Sound,” Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone in “Eddington,” Jodie Foster in “Vie Privee,” Zooey Deutch in “Nouvelle Vague” and Diane Kruger in “Amrum.”

Missing from the list are a few films expected to be at the festival, including Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother” and Lynne Ramsay’s “Die, My Love.”

Previously, the festival announced that Christopher McQuarrie’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” would screen out of competition, giving Tom Cruise his second big Cannes premiere in the last three years after 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick” saw fighter jets buzzing the Croisette.  

Thursday’s announcement was made a year after Cannes revealed a 2024 lineup that included “Emilia Pérez,”  “The Substance,” “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” “The Apprentice” and “Anora,” which became only the third film in the last 70 years to win the Palme d’Or in Cannes and then go on to take the Oscar for Best Picture. Two of those double wins, “Anora” and 2019’s “Parasite,” took place in the last five years, with the tastes of an increasingly international Academy more closely aligning with typical Cannes fare.

According to Knobloch, 25 million viewers around the world saw last year’s Cannes films in theaters.

This year’s films were chosen after programmers considered 2,909 submissions, according to Fremaux. That figure is a record for Cannes.

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 13 through May 24 in the South of France. Robert De Niro will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or at the festival’s opening ceremony, while French actress Juliette Binoche will serve as president of the jury.

Here is a list of announced titles. The festival has promised additions to the list next week.

OPENING FILM
“Partir un Jour,” Amelie Bonnin

MAIN COMPETITION
“The Phoenician Scheme,” Wes Anderson
“Eddington,” Ari Aster
“Young Mothers,” Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
“Alpha,” Julia Ducournau
“Renoir,” Chie Hayakawa
“The History of Sound,” Oliver Hermanus
“La Petite Derniers,” Hafsia Herzi
“Sirat,” Oliver Laxe
“Nouvelle Vague,” Richard Linklater
“Two Prosecutors,” Sergei Loznitsa
“Fuori,” Mario Martone
“The Secret Agent,” Kleber Mendonca Filho
“Dossier 137,” Dominik Moll
“A Simple Accident,” Jafar Panahi
“The Mastermind,” Kelly Reichardt
“The Eagles of the Republic,” Tarik Saleh
“The Sound of Failing,” Mascha Schilinski
“Romeria,” Carla Simon
“Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier

UN CERTAIN REGARD
“The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” Diego Céspedes
“Meteors,” Hubert Charuel
“My Father’s Shadow,” Akinola Davies Jr.
“L’inconnu de la Grande Arche,” Stephane Demoustier
“Urchin,” Harris Dickinson
“Homebound,” Neeraj Ghaywan
“A Pale View of Hills,” Kei Ishikawa
“Eleanor the Great,” Scarlett Johansson
“Karavan,” Zuzana Kircherova
“Pillion,” Harry Lighton
“Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” Morad Mostafa
“Once Upon a Time in Gaza” Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser
“The Plague,” Charlie Polinger
“Promised Sky,” Erige Sehiri
“The Last One for the Road,” Francesco Sossai
“Heads or Tails?” Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis

OUT OF COMPETITION
“Colours of Time,” Cedric Klapisch
“The Richest Woman in the World,” Thierry Klifa
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” Christopher McQuarrie
“Vie Privee,” Rebecca Zlotowski

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
“Dalloway,” Yann Gozlan
“Exit 8,” Kawamura Genki
“Songs of the Neon Night,” Juno Mak

CANNES PREMIERE
“Amrum,” Fatih Akin
“Splitsville,” Michael Angelo Covino
“The Wave,” Sebastian Lelio
“Connemara,” Alex Lutz
“Orwell: 2+2=5,” Raoul Peck
“The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele,” Kirill Serebrennikov

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“Stories of Surrender,” Bono
“Tell Her That I Love Her,” Claude Miller
“A Magnificent Life,” Sylvain Chomet

The post Cannes Film Festival Lineup Includes New Films by Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Scarlett Johansson appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Black Mirror’ Season 7 Review: Excellent Cast and Dazzling Sequels Fuel Rich New Batch of Episodes

“You’re so pretty when you’re alive.”

In an era of appointment television where series like “The White Lotus” and “Reacher” seem to occupy space to the tune of millions of viewers each week, Netflix is sticking with its bingeable model with the drop of another must-see title. “Black Mirror,” the British television series famous for its convoluted anthology episode premises akin to the modern version of “The Twilight Zone,” returns for Season 7 with a new concept that feels familiar. An A-list cast in almost every episode, the series presents sequels to a couple of its highest-rated plots to date.

The result works wonders with a talented cast and storylines that continue to impress, while leaving room for other installments to entertain with original commentary on humanity’s reliance on evolving technology — often to heartwrenching resolutions.

Issa Rae in “Black Mirror” Season 7. (Netflix)

The six-episode season also marks a turning point for “Black Mirror,” as the long-running series strives to remain relevant by keeping its boundary-pushing platform. Season 7 contains original episodes, most notably the Rashida Jones/Chris O’Dowd-starring “Common People.” But the crux of the season comes in the form of two sequels, one to the 2018 interactive film “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” and the other being a long-awaited continuation of 2017’s Season 4 episode, “USS Callister.”

“Black Mirror” Season 7 starts off strong with “Common People,” where Mike (Chris O’Dowd) and Amanda (Rashida Jones) find themselves in a pickle when Amanda develops a brain injury and surrenders to a coma. Mike enlists the help of Rivermind, a company specializing in an experimental treatment promising to keep Amanda alive with some technological consequences. Signing on the dotted line, Mike is able to bring Amanda home safe and healthy, at least until the complications to the service roll out, which Rivermind’s representative (Tracee Ellis Ross) conveniently left out of her initial pitch.

“Common People” is a stellar introduction to the seventh season of “Black Mirror,” keeping with the series’ tradition of blazing trails of the absurd. The human condition and one man’s desperation are further examined in a tight episode that keeps viewers guessing until the very end. It’s a fascinating look at how technology has bound humanity to devices (and people) we need while also clouding our judgment on affordability.

Lewis Gribben in “Black Mirror” Season 7. (Netflix)

But “Black Mirror” really takes off with the episode “Plaything,” a follow-up to the Will Poulter movie “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.” When “Bandersnatch” first debuted on Netflix, it was presented as an interactive film, with audiences having options to choose how Fionn Whitehead’s gaming programmer character would proceed through the film. It was the first of several Netflix experiments with the interactive format, similar to a special lengthy episode of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

“Plaything” revisits some of the characters from “Bandersnatch,” including the blonde-haired game designer played by Poulter, who reprises his role as a very much alive and powerful Colin Ritman. Though this episode isn’t interactive and is set in the 1990s through flashbacks, it dives headfirst into the world built by the 1980s-set “Bandersnatch” and creates solutions for its audience rather than them choosing who lives and dies. It’s a welcome quasi-continuation with slight revisions to the original premise, a nice lead into the season’s finale, “USS Callister: Into Infinity.”

Keeping with the gaming concept, “Into Infinity” is a direct sequel to the Season 4 episode, which saw Jesse Plemmons as a gaming coder hellbent on destroying the lives of those who work at an online game company. Originally presented in a universe similar to that of “Star Trek,” Plemmons’ Captain Robert Daly is discovered to have created digital clones of his coworkers, including Lieutenant Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti), and torturing them in the multiplayer online game of his creation.

Cristin Milioti in “Black Mirror” Season 7 (Netflix)

“USS Callister: Into Infinity” sees Milioti reprising her role as the game is still going with 30 million players that control the space crew’s every move. Robert Daly is dead, but the virtual universe and the crew’s lives within the game depend on the actions that Cole and team take while battling their real-life human selves. Cole is the captain now in this immersive experience, while outside the game, the company’s owner, James Walton (Jimmi Simpson), attempts to seize control of the mission at every turn.

The reason “Black Mirror” Season 7 works on the varying levels that it does is primarily due to the cast’s commitment within each episode. Issa Rae, Emma Corrin, Awkwafina, Michele Austin and Paul Giamatti grace several episodes of the season, but “USS Callister: Into Infinity” is a prime example of acting at its finest, combining unbeatable visual effects with magnificent work from Milioti. Along with “The Penguin,” Milioti continues to prove her weight as a massive talent, leading viewers to believe Nanette has everything handled even when the show’s writing staff throws wrenches and surprises into a nearly 90-minute episode.

Bookended by strong performances and eerie realities, “Black Mirror” Season 7 prides itself on its deliciously weird and thought-provoking concepts. Further pushing the envelope and creating scenarios where surprise guest stars flourish in combative dialogue, the series gives its loyal viewership a deeper look into established premises while entangling characters in dazzling situations. Themes of corruption, technology dependence and vulnerability take center stage in a season worth the wait.

“Black Mirror” Season 7 premieres Thursday, April 10, on Netflix.

The post ‘Black Mirror’ Season 7 Review: Excellent Cast and Dazzling Sequels Fuel Rich New Batch of Episodes appeared first on TheWrap.

Jimmy Kimmel Jokes Trump’s Greatest Act Was to ‘Undo the Incredibly Dumb Thing He Did’ | Video

Jimmy Kimmel had a compliment of sorts for Donald Trump after the chaotic events, economically speaking, that went down on Wednesday.

“The best thing Trump has ever done, for America, was undo the incredibly dumb thing he did,” the ABC host joked during his monologue on Wednesday night’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Kimmel said this while discussing “day 79 of Trump O’ mania,” on which, so he said, “it’s been fun watching this lunatic gamble our life savings.” This was of course a reference to the extremely steep tariffs that Trump announced last week and went into effect this week — and that he abruptly paused (mostly) following significant economic turbulence.

“Trump this morning hit the snooze button on almost all those big, beautiful tariffs he levied. He paused the tariffs for 90 days, which puts us at… right around the 4th of July to blow things up again,” Kimmel explained, adding that this means “90 days…. of turmoil now.”

Kimmel’s joke about the greatest thing Trump has ever done for America came while discussing how after a week of precipitous drops, the stock market made a sharp recovery following the announcement of the pause.

“I mean if, imagine if he quit,” Kimmel quickly added. “He could usher in a whole new era of prosperity.”

“And now, our job I guess is to sit back and watch him take credit for ‘solving’ the financial crisis he created,” Kimmel continued. “The Dow is still down more than 1600 points from where it was when he started this unnecessary mess. And if you’re a small business owner who’s worried about having to close up shop because of unpredictable costs, President Trump would like you to know, he won a golf tournament this weekend.”

“The White House is trying to play this like it was some grand strategy, like this was the plan all along,” Kimmel said later, before pointing out some evidence for why this might not be the case.

“Bottom line, this was not his plan. He probably didn’t even have a plan. He’s riffing through,” Kimmel added.

Watch the monologue below:

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Trump Administration Appeals Decision Reversing AP White House Ban

The Trump administration is appealing a court ruling that it must restore the Associated Press’ access to the White House “immediately.”

AP was banned from the White House in February for refusing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” and on Tuesday the outlet won an important court victory in the lawsuit it filed in response when U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee as it turns out, ruled that the ban violates the first amendment.

“Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden wrote. “The Constitution requires no less.”

But on Wednesday, lawyers working for the government filed paperwork to appeal on behalf of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House chief of staff Susan Wiles and deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, the three individuals named in the AP lawsuit.

It’s not yet known on what grounds the administration will appeal, though McFadden did clarify that his ruling “does not limit the various permissible reasons the Government may have for excluding journalists from limited-access events. It does not mandate that all eligible journalists, or indeed any journalists at all, be given access to the President or nonpublic government spaces. It does not prohibit government officials from freely choosing which journalists to sit down with for interviews or which ones’ questions they answer. And it certainly does not prevent senior officials from publicly expressing their own views.”

Meanwhile, Oliver Darcy reported Wednesday that the administration has continued blocking AP in violation of the order.

The AP’s White House ban was only the first of several direct attacks on media the Trump administration considers unfriendly to him, attacks that escalated until the administration made the White House Correspondents Association moot by taking full control of the press pool rotation of reporters.

WHCA, in response, essentially waved a white flag, telling members, “Each of your organizations will have to decide whether or not you will take part in these new, government-appointed pools.”

Since then, the organization has retreated further from confrontation, canceling the planned headlining set by comedian Amber Ruffin at the upcoming 2025 White House Correspondents Association Dinner. This decision was, the organization said, to “ensure the focus is not on the politics of division.”

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