Steve Pond's Blog, page 31

‘Mile End Kicks’ Review: Barbie Ferreira and Chandler Levack Make Movie Magic Together

Hilarious, slyly self-deprecating and yet deeply compassionate, writer/director Chandler Levack’s delightful gem of a movie “Mile End Kicks” is one that already feels like it has all the makings of a coming-of-age classic for a new generation. It’s a work that’s profoundly attuned to character and refreshingly willing to poke fun at itself just as it finds an ultimate grace in the journey, making for a complete portrait with all its character’s rough edges intact. 

“Mile End Kicks” perfectly recalls that chaotic time of being in your 20s with the world opening up before you just as you realize there is much you’re still sorting your way through. Though in clear conversation with a film like “Almost Famous,” Cameron Crowe can only wish he was still making movies as emotionally engaging, vibrant and alive as this. 

Through Levack’s perceptive direction and sharp writing, we come to see all the many facets of a 23-year-old music critic named Grace Pine. Driven yet still with much to discover about herself, she is attempting to make a go of it in 2011’s Montreal and the bustling music scene after leaving Toronto in the rearview. Embodying both her passion and uncertainty is an excellent Barbie Ferreira who, while perhaps known to most for her breakout role in the initially interesting HBO series “Euphoria,” has found not just a great creative partner in Levack, but her best role yet. With filmmaker and actor working in complete synchronicity with each other, Grace becomes a fully realized and complex character. In Ferreira’s every perfectly timed comedic delivery or more revealing look as Grace sets her determined sights on something possibly self-destructive, you’re completely swept up in the performance. 

From the moment she arrives in Montreal, all of which is shot with an eye for the little details by cinematographer Jeremy Cox, we see in Ferreira’s every move Grace’s relatable desire to take in all this new life has to offer. When she writes a to-do list for herself (on an old-fashioned notes app that immediately feels quaint when compared to our present social media-driven hellscape), you understand that relatable ambition just as you also sense that she is moving quite fast.

In quick succession, Grace meets a kind roommate with challenges of her own, played by a great Juliette Gariépy of last year’s frequently riveting “Red Rooms,” finds herself drawn to a boy in a band (Stanley Simons), and begins a complicated relationship with his bandmate (Devon Bostick) who, as is revealed in a fun little shot as they ascend winding stairs that mirror each other, is also her neighbor. On top of all this, Grace has gotten approval to write a book on Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” for the 33 1/3 album exploration series, but her attention quickly drifts to these other things in her life, leaving the draft she really ought to be working on untouched for increasingly stress-inducing stretches of time. 

You subsequently grow worried for her just as she pushes away pressing issues, but the film remains light on its feet as it explores this. Just as she did in her similarly sharp-witted and reflective 2022 feature debut “I Like Movies,” Levack brings a warm, lived-in texture to every detail of the grounded world she builds. Every rooftop party, record store, or messy band practice room we wander through feels as though they’re all real places that have been plucked from time. There is a rich, loving detail to all of this just as Levack never settles into one emotional register and encourages us to sit with more uncomfortable moments as well.

As was the case with “I Like Movies” and the story of the troubled young Lawrence (Isaiah Lehtinen) trying to make cinema though frequently driving away those around him, “Mile End Kicks” is an earnest film about Grace pursuing her passion just as much as it’s about gently capturing her flaws. Both films don’t sugarcoat the pain the duo is carrying with them or the pitfalls that they stumble into, instead merging the two in a full portrait as emotionally potent as it is playful. That there is one simple scene where Lehtinen, great in brief moments playing another member of the band, shares a moment opposite Ferreira feels like a fitting representation of how the film expands upon some of the same ideas. 

“Mile High Kicks” isn’t a film that’s about changing the coming-of-age genre or upending it as much as it is making a fresh new take that looks at it from a distinct, unflinching perspective. The more we are taken on this journey through Grace’s early foray into adulthood, the more it earns its classic coming-of-age beats while also cutting into something deeper it can call its own. It wins you over in every gentle escalation before tying it all together in an unexpectedly sweet final scene, giving its character a moment of earned grace from where she least expected it. Not everyone will relate to being a critic navigating the mess of their early 20s, nor does the film compromise to win them over, but for this one, it cements Levack as an astute filmmaker worth following to whatever she puts her pen and camera to next.

Read all of our Toronto Film Festival coverage here.

The post ‘Mile End Kicks’ Review: Barbie Ferreira and Chandler Levack Make Movie Magic Together appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Inside the NFL’ Rebooted as a Short Form Original Series on X

After 48 seasons, “Inside the NFL” is getting a brand new home — and is being rebooted dramatically into a completely different kind of show.

Since its launch on HBO in 1977, “Inside the NFLS” has been an hour-long commentary, analysis and highlights show focused on America’s top professional football league. But starting Sep. 8, it will return as an extremely short form web series streaming exclusively on Elon Musk’s social media platform X.

NFL Films has committed to producing at least 10 short episodes a week through Super Bowl 2026, which takes place on Feb. 8. It will continue to be produced by NFL Films. ESPN NFL analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark will host.

There will also be no uniform structure to the new version of the show, as Mitch Smith, head of original content for X, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that “One episode could be one minute; another could be five minutes.” Smith says this will allow each episode “to adapt to the storylines of the season more quickly and organically based on what’s going on competitively throughout the season.”

How that works out in practice remains to be seen, but one change, according to THR, which first reported the news, is that segments from the original version of the show will be changed for the new, shorter version. These include segments called “Mic’d Up Moments,” “Big Game Edits,” and “Wire Watch.”

Keith Cossrow, head of content for NFL Films, said in a statement to THR, “this summer we partnered with X to present another longtime NFL Films franchise, ‘The Top 100,’ in a wholly new way and again saw strong results. At some point the light bulb went on for all of us here at Films: maybe it’s time to cut out the middle man, so to speak, and go directly to our audience which seems to be consuming this stuff mostly on social media anyway. As soon as we pitched the concept of posting daily shortform Inside the NFL ‘episodes’ to X, they lit up. So we all feel like it’s a perfect fit. Now we’ll see if we’re right.”

“Inside the NFL” debuted on HBO in 1977 and ran there until 2008, when it switched to Showtime. It remained on Showtime through 2021, at which point it moved over to Paramount+. In 2021 it was canceled on Paramount+ and moved to The CW.

The post ‘Inside the NFL’ Rebooted as a Short Form Original Series on X appeared first on TheWrap.

‘John Candy: I Like Me’ Review: Colin Hanks’ Affectionate Documentary Opens Toronto Film Festival

With the Toronto International Film Festival celebrating its 50th edition this year, it makes sense that one Canadian institution would honor another with its opening-night film. And with TIFF known for being an audience-facing festival whose top award is voted on by paying customers rather than a jury, it made additional sense that the film would be about John Candy, the Canadian actor and comic who was nothing if not a people-pleaser of the first magnitude.

“John Candy: I Like Me,” which opened the 50th TIFF with screenings on Thursday night in the Princess of Wales Theatre and Roy Thomson Hall, is a celebratory film that acknowledges the anxiety and frustrations that sometimes beset the star of SCTV and films like “Splash,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and “Uncle Buck,” but isn’t terribly interested in digging for a dark side of the man that virtually everyone describes as being down-to-earth, generous and gentle.

“I wish I had some more bad things to say about him,” says Bill Murray in an interview that opens the film from actor-turned-director Colin Hanks. “That’s the problem when you talk about John.” He nods toward the off-camera interviewer, presumably Hanks. “I hope this thing you’re doing turns up people who have some dirt on him.”

Of course, the movie doesn’t turn up any of that dirt – and it’s unlikely that it would appeal to Hanks, who first met Candy when was six or seven and his father, Tom, was starring with Candy in “Splash.” “John Candy: I Like Me,” named after a line from a speech Candy gives after Steve Martin’s character lays into him in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” could well be titled “John Candy: We Like Him” – and rather than seeming like a cop-out, that seems like an entirely appropriate approach to the beloved actor and Canadian icon.

The film dares ask the question, “How many nice things can we say about one person before you get tired of hearing them?” and finds that the answer is, “Probably more than you can fit into this movie.”

That’s not because Candy is perfect by any means, but he’s so innately likeable that you root for him. The TIFF audience certain did: When Dan Aykroyd called Candy “the sweetest, most generous person every known to me” in a voiceover early in the film, the crowd burst into applause.

And by opening with Candy’s funeral and then marking new chapters by having on-screen dates count backwards from 1994, the year he died, the film keeps its eyes on the central fact that haunted his life: His father died of a massive heart attack at the age of 35, on his son’s fifth birthday, making Candy always aware that his own days might be numbered. (He outlived his dad by eight years, dying at the age of 43.)

This is Hanks’ third documentary after a pair of music-related docs, 2015’s “All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records” and 2017’s “Eagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends),” about the band that was onstage in Paris’ Bataclan theater when terrorists killed about 90 fans.

Mortality hangs over “John Candy: I Like Me,” but in a far different way. In his family, the premature death of his father was rarely talked about, but the silence didn’t help the young Candy come to terms with the uncomfortable connection between his birthday and his father’s passing. But once he blew out his knee playing football, the shy kid somehow gravitated toward performing – where despite his insecurities he was brilliant, according to colleagues like Aykroyd, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara and Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas, all of whom were interviewed for the film.

Onstage, Thomas said, “He looked like a star, he acted like a star,” while offstage, he cut quite the figure as well: Murray paints a vivid picture of his friend’s apartment, complete with a Barcalounger, lime green shag carpeting and golden drapes.

But the film really comes to life with old clips, including the priceless “Yellowbelly” sketch, in which Candy played the most cowardly cowboy in the old West, shooting a mother and child in the back because he felt threatened. (Trust me, it plays a lot funnier than it reads.)

Hollywood came calling in the person of Steven Spielberg, who cast Candy in his flop World War II comedy “1941,” but bigger roles in better films followed. When John Belushi, another rotund comic and actor who’d emerged from sketch comedy, died of a drug overdose in 1982, Thomas said a weeping Candy said to him, “Oh god, it’s starting.” And when Tom Hanks met him a year later for “Splash,” he said he got the feeling that Candy, then 33, was obsessed with only being two years shy of the age at which his father had died.

But the 1980s turned out to be a good decade for Candy; despite the constant indignities of being treated differently because of his weight, he had hits and developed a reputation for how well he treated fans and friends. (Conan O’Brien tells a lovely story about inviting Candy to Harvard to receive a comedy award and talk to the students, and how generous he was with his time.)

There’s a lengthy section of similar stories and similar testimonials about two-thirds of the way through the 113-minute film, which plays as if it’s a summation of sorts – but instead of ending the film, the sequence is simply a false ending that leads into a third act that has moments of glory, including the nine movies he made with John Hughes, followed by the increasing anxiety and doubt that kept into Candy’s life in the 1990s.

This doesn’t make for a dark movie – the copious clips of Candy’s performances always keep things light and entertaining – but it does bring additional shadows into the story, which helps flesh out an affectionate, good-hearted portrait.  “John Candy: I Like Me,” made with the cooperation of Candy’s children and his wife, feels like a tale told by friends,  but friends who are less interested in promoting idolatry than in showing you why they loved the man.

Catherine O’Hara gets one of the best final lines when she talks about a dream she had after Candy’s death. The two were talking, she said, when she blurted it out: “Why’s you have to die?”

John, she said, looked at her and shot back, “Why’d you have to bring it up?”

The post ‘John Candy: I Like Me’ Review: Colin Hanks’ Affectionate Documentary Opens Toronto Film Festival appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Peacemaker’ Star Jennifer Holland Unpacks Harcourt’s Attraction to ‘D–chebag’ Chris in Multiple Dimensions: ‘Daddy Issues’

In an episode full of big reveals, the latest episode of “Peacemaker” made it clear that Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) were once romantically involved.

The episode opener showed the two talking in a bedroom after spending the night together, discussing their relationship. In typical Harcourt fashion, she is trying to push a deeper connection away while still clearly being into Flag. Unfortunately, Flag is about to head off to Corto Maltese where he’ll be killed by Peacemaker – as seen in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad” – which puts a quick end to their relationship.

Showrunner James Gunn informed Holland even before Season 1 of the show that Harcourt and Flag were secretly seeing each other. Holland told TheWrap that information justified how she played Harcourt’s constant anger toward Chris (John Cena).

“It helped me to understand why it was okay for me to be a total c–t, for lack of a better word, to Christopher Smith,” she said. “Her moral compass is very specific. And that’s, you can do really morally f–ked up things, as long as it’s not to the people who have entrusted their life to you, who are on your team. She’s a soldier, and so she believes in no man behind even if that means that you don’t like them.”

Holland continued: “It gave me the freedom in Season 1 to just hate Chris, sort of unabashedly, and not having to worry about layering in some other thing in those early episodes, when she’s just saddled on a team with this guy who she absolutely despises.”

Episode 3 complicates things more for the Chris and Harcourt romance more when – in a fit of drunken sad boy energy – he decides to use his dad’s dimensional gate to travel to the alternate dimension where his brother Keith (David Denman) is alive and they’re both celebrated as heroes. Also, in this world Peacemaker and Harcourt had dated before the latter’s toxicity forced her to end things

People seem to be drawn together in every world and after separating this alternate Harcourt began seeing the alternate Rick Flag Jr. – much to our Chris’s dismay when he meets the two of them. Holland is pulling double duty this season playing the original, deeply damaged Harcourt we know and love alongside this alternate one who is much more put together and has a healthy communication style. She said the main thing she wanted to focus on to differentiate the two was never to play one or the other for a laugh.

“My first goal was for it to not be funny,” Holland said. “I didn’t want her to be comically different than Harcourt from our original dimension. So that was sort of a weird line to toe because I wanted it to feel very grounded. I thought that the best thing to do was to approach it like they’re the same. They have the same genetic makeup. They’re genetically the same person, but what would happen if Harcourt from our dimension had a different upbringing and had a different set of circumstances in her childhood, and maybe had less damage or a different kind of damage?”

She added about this new Harcourt: “She’s a friendlier, more gregarious, quicker to smile person, but she still has damage, and her damage makes her a little more thirsty. It makes her a little more insecure in love, than Harcourt from our dimension.”

This dimension’s Peacemaker clearly was a different brand of terrible before the original Peacemaker killed him back in the first episode of the season. Whether it’s the gaudy shirts, the tight leather pants, the massive pill and drinking addictions, it’s clear he was bad news. Yet despite all that, Alt Harcourt was still drawn to him and Holland suspects the reasons are simple – “daddy issues.”

“I think what she’s attracted to is that he’s a douchebag, really,” Holland said. “I think she’s attracted to him because of the fact that he treats her like s–t. There are a lot of women, a lot of men, a lot of of every type of of human being, who are naturally attracted to someone who either they think that they can fix – which I think is partially what’s going on with Harcourt Two. And also they’re repeating a pattern that maybe they had when they were a kid.”

She finished: “She’s got daddy issues. Very thirsty. We call her ThirstCourt.”

The post ‘Peacemaker’ Star Jennifer Holland Unpacks Harcourt’s Attraction to ‘D–chebag’ Chris in Multiple Dimensions: ‘Daddy Issues’  appeared first on TheWrap.

‘The Lowdown’ Review: Sterlin Harjo’s Gripping Mystery Thriller Brings ‘Twin Peaks’ Vibes to Tulsa

In 2011, citizen journalist Lee Roy Chapman wrote a scathing exposé in This Land Press about Tulsa founder W. Tate Brady’s ties to the Ku Klux Klan and his participation in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The story made waves across Tulsa and beyond. It even prompted their city council to change the name of their arts district — then named after Brady. Chapman himself was a self-taught historian, a seeker of deep buried truths, including those which harmed Black and Indigenous communities. He was also a friend of Native filmmaker Sterlin Harjo.

Now, 10 years after his death, Chapman serves as the inspiration for Harjo’s latest show, FX’s “The Lowdown.” The eight-episode noir series follows Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke), a self-proclaimed “truthstorian” whose energy invokes the likes of Hunter S. Thompson and Charles Bukowski. While a term like “truthstorian” might raise some eyebrows in the era of AI deepfakes and social media disinformation, don’t get it twisted. Sure, Lee is messy. He drives around in a white van full of dirty laundry and Willy Nelson cassette tapes strewn in the back, the words “You’re doing it wrong” (a Chapmanism) scrawled on the rear doors. Lee even refers to himself as “chronically unemployed, always broke.” But it doesn’t take long to realize he truly is out to get the real story, even if his methods are a little unconventional.

The show opens with the apparent suicide of one Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson). While we don’t actually see Dale pull the trigger, everything we see beforehand suggests he did it. He’s writing a letter, a gun lying on his desk. Then, a gun shot. Moments later, we find out Lee has recently published his own scathing article in the Heartland Press, exposing the corrupt past of the Washberg family, suggesting this is why Dale did it. But Lee isn’t fully convinced, and sets out to do some digging.

With the digging, though, comes the accrual of enemies. For one, there’s Dale’s brother, Donald Washberg (Kyle MacLachlan). Don is running for Lieutenant Governor and knows a hit piece like that can ruin his chances at winning the election. For another, there’s Frank Martin (Tracy Letts), owner of Akron Construction. Lee draws his ire after he sets up a meeting under false pretenses, then turns it into an inquisition about Akron’s interest in buying up North Tulsa properties (a historically Black neighborhood). Then there’s the two skinheads that break into Lee’s apartment and beat him up for writing a piece that outed them for setting fire to a synagogue. And that’s just in the first few minutes.

But Lee also has a number of people in his corner, whether he wants them there or not. The deadpan Deidra (Siena East) helps Lee keep his shop, Hoot Owl Books, in operation. Elijah (Zachary Booth) and Cyrus (Michael Render) are his editors at two different publications and help Ray get his stories out to the world, at least until there’s too much blowback. Ray (Michael Hitchcock), the antiques dealer, always has the tea when Lee needs it. Sally (Rachel Crowl) keeps him going on a steady stream of coffee at Sweet Emily’s diner. Even the “silver throated” Marty (Keith David) appears to have some of Lee’s best interest at heart, despite having been hired to keep an eye on him.

There’s a lot to take in within the first couple of episodes of “The Lowdown.” It’s a significant deviation for Harjo from the slow-paced, introspective feel of “Reservation Dogs,” but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Quite the opposite. The viewer is compelled to strap in for the ride early on. You want to know more about the eccentric Lee. You want to follow his escapades, see where he takes us. And when Lee takes us to an estate sale held by Dale’s widow, Betty Jo (Jeanne Tripplehorn), he finally finds something worth chasing: the letter Dale wrote just before he died. It’s hidden inside a Jim Thompson book, perhaps a nod from Harjo to the crime writers who came before him (Thompson himself wrote dozens of hardboiled crime novels).

Keith David in “The Lowdown.” (Shane Brown/FX)

While Lee the citizen journalist seems to finally be onto something big, we also see another side of Lee: the struggling single father who keeps parentifying his teenage daughter, Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). In nearly every scene where he’s about to pick up his daughter from his ex, Samantha (“Rez Dogs” alum Kaniehtiio Horn), he’s either broke, got a black eye, or he’s wearing makeup to cover up new evidence of a beatdown. And when he finally does have Francis with him for a few days, he ends up taking her along to suss out new leads. In one scene, he even leaves her at a diner with a whiskey-drunk Ray while he goes to try and recover more evidence around Dale’s potential murder. Worse still is the fact that Francis is excited to be his sidekick rather than his daughter (Armstrong does a fantastic job at selling this).

We were given the first five episodes to review, and each episode only brought on more questions, more big reveals and took us even further down the rabbit hole. Harjo, along with director Macon Blair and writer Olivia Purnell, hit a home run with the final scene of Episode 5, bringing up the kind of tension shows like “Breaking Bad” (“Ozymandias”) and “Game of Thrones” (“The Winds of Winter”) perfected. Impressive, to say the least.

While Harjo has gone on record to say his influences for the show range from films like “The Long Goodbye” to shows like “Atlanta,” “The Lowdown” also exudes a particularly Lynchian vibe. Maybe it’s the presence of Kyle MacLachlan, or the number of coffees consumed at the diner, but this latest Harjo creation invokes “Twin Peaks” in the very best ways. Between the mysterious death of a main character kicking things off, the oddball townspeople, the jazz-ridden incidental music, and the eerie sensation that the owls (or anyone or anything else) are not what they seem, “The Lowdown” offers a faster-paced, modern take on this beloved 90s David Lynch show. Except that with so much of the source material being real, it grabs hold even more. By the end, you’ll no doubt be researching more about Lee Roy Chapman’s life, which was perhaps a big reason for Harjo making the show to begin with. Harjo himself worked with Chapman on content for the Center for Public Secrets, which was founded by Chapman.

Ethan Hawke in “The Lowdown.” (Shane Brown/FX)

As for those coming to “The Lowdown” hoping for more of that magical realism we found in “Reservation Dogs,” while it’s definitely not as present, you won’t be disappointed. Harjo even manages to throw in some nods to his previous show throughout. Keep your eyes peeled during the first few shots of the pilot, or you’ll miss seeing our tomyboyish fave Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis) walking past Lee, as though to indicate the passing off of one story to the next. And lest we forget, Lee’s ex Samantha is also a Rez Dogs alum — she played the stunningly terrifying Deer Lady from the final season. More importantly, despite not having a majority Native cast this time, Harjo still manages to keep Indigenous identity present.

Overall, though, Harjo will likely be winning over a whole new slew of fans with this one.

“The Lowdown” premieres Tuesday, Sept. 23 on FX.

The post ‘The Lowdown’ Review: Sterlin Harjo’s Gripping Mystery Thriller Brings ‘Twin Peaks’ Vibes to Tulsa appeared first on TheWrap.

Harold Matzner, Longtime Palm Springs International Film Festival Chairman and Noted Philanthropist, Dies at 88

Harold Matzner, the Palm Springs-area businessman, philanthropist and celebrated patron of the arts credited with turning the Palm Springs International Film Festival into a major force in Hollywood, died Thursday following a brief illness. He was 88.

The longtime chairman of PSIFF, he was a Palm Springs resident for 40 years, and his contributions to the city and its cultural and artistic scene earned him the nickname “Mr. Palm Springs.”

Born July 4, 1937 in Newark New Jersey, Matzner’s childhood was defined by the privations of the Great Depression and World War II years. Working in his father’s print shop, he also held a range of jobs growing up; briefly working as a sports journalist in his early adulthood, he soon turned to marketing, where he would begin to earn his fortune.

Early on he founded CBA Industries, a direct-mail advertising pioneer serving New York and New Jersey that is still a national leader in the field to this day. Matzner served as the company’s CEO well into his 80s.

He first fell in love with Palm Springs in 1985, moving there and in short order becoming known for his enthusiastic involvement in the community and philanthropic work.

Among the recipients of that work were Eisenhower Health, DAP Health, the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens, the McCallum Theatre, the Palm Springs Art Museum, FIND Food Bank, Jewish Family Services of the Desert, the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, and Equality California.

He also helped build local institutions such as the Palm Springs Tennis Club, which he joined in 1997 and after becoming chairman helped to grow the organization from only 44 members to more than 500 today. He turned the club’s lunchroom into the well regarded restaurant Spencer’s at the Mountain, named for his beloved dog, and took no salary for these endeavors, instead donating the proceeds to charity.

Matzner served on nonprofits, worked to encourage others to give, and became a local icon known for wearing a black shirt, colorful tie and sneakers at civic events, fundraisers and other such events.

In 1999, the Palm Springs International Film Festival had fallen on hard times and was on the verge of collapsing. Matzner rescued the organization with a donation of his own money and stepped in as its new chairman, a position he held until his death. Under his leadership, the festival became a prominent part of Awards Season festivities, best known for showcasing international films. Over the decades he led PSIFF, Matzner donated more than $12 million of his own money to the organization.

PSIFF also became a destination for stars such as Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, and Denzel Washington to Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, and Timothée Chalamet.

Matzner was honored with the Horatio Alger Award, the Richard M. Milanovich Humanitarian Award, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Philanthropist of the Year Award. The General Patton Memorial Museum dedicated the Matzner Tank Pavilion in his honor in 2017, and the McCallum Theatre celebrated his decade of service as chairman with a rare distinction for gifts exceeding $5 million.

He also has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars at the base of the statue dedicated to his close friend and PSIFF founder, former Palm Springs Mayor Sonny Bono.

Matzner is survived by his partner Shellie Reade, his son, Devin, his daughter, Laura, his grandchildren, Elizabeth and Emily, his nephew, Jason, and his two Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Little Guy and Doc.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Matzner’s family asks people to donate to the charity of their choice to continue his spirit of giving.

The post Harold Matzner, Longtime Palm Springs International Film Festival Chairman and Noted Philanthropist, Dies at 88 appeared first on TheWrap.

‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Cast and Character Guide: Who’s Back and Who’s New?

Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David are together once more in “NCIS: Tony & Ziva,” but they’re not without problems.

The new spinoff series picks up after the pair reunited in Paris, and sees Tony and Ziva have now raising their daughter, Tali, together. But, when Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe and figure out what’s going on.

Of course, taking place in a larger universe, you’re going to recognize some faces in “NCIS: Tony & Ziva.” Here’s who you need to know.

Cote De Pablo as Ziva David In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Ziva David (Cote de Pablo)

After playing the character for nearly 200 episodes in the original “NCIS,” Cote de Pablo returns as Ziva David. She’s also starred in “The Jury” and “The 33,” but Ziva is the character she’s best known for.

Michael Weatherly as Tony Dinozzo In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly)

Michael Weatherly is also a returning vet in this series, reprising his role of Tony DiNozzo. Weatherly is also known for his time as Cooper Alden on “Loving” in the 90s, and as the title character Jason Bull in “Bull.”

Isla Gie as Tali In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Tali (Isla Gie)

Tali is Ziva and Tony’s young daughter, and she’s played by Isla Gie. You might’ve seen her in “A Working Man” earlier this year, or in episodes of “The Sandman,” “The Outlaws” and “Mammals.”

Amita Suman as Claudette In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Claudette (Amita Suman)

Amita Suman stars as Claudette in “NCIS: Tony & Ziva.” You might recognize her as Inej Ghafa from Netflix’s “Shadow and Bone,” or as Naya from “The Outpost.”

Max Osinski as Boris In NCIS: Tony & Ziva, season 1, airing on Paramount+ 2025. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Boris (Maximilian Osinski)

Maximilian Osinski plays Boris, coming most recently off appearing in “A Working Man” alongside Isla Gie. You might recognize Osinski more quickly, though, from “Ted Lasso” or “The Walking Dead: World Beyond.” Marvel fans will also clock him as Agent Davis from “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Lara Rossi as Sophie In NCIS: Tony & Ziva, season 1, airing on Paramount+ 2025. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Sophie (Lara Rossi)

Fans make recognize Sophie’s voice sooner than her face, as she’s played by Lara Rossi, who voiced Vanasha in the “Horizon Forbidden West” and “Horizon Zero Dawn” video games. She’s also appeared onscreen in “I May Destroy You,” “Crossing Lines” and more.

Nassima Benchicou as Martine In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Martine (Nassima Benchicou)

Martine is played by French actress Nassima Benchicou, who you might recognize from “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.” She also appeared in an episode of “Emily in Paris.” Otherwise, he catalogue contains mostly French projects.

Terence Maynard as Dr. Lang In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Dr. Lang (Terence Maynard)

Terence Maynard plays Dr. Lang, after previously starring in “Ridley,” “The Witcher” and “Sherwood.” He is arguably best known for his long-running role as Tony Stewart in “Coronation Street.”

Julian Ovenden as Jonah In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Jonah (Julian Ovenden)

Jonah is played by Julian Ovenden, who period piece fans will likely know instantly. Ovenden played Sir Henry Granville in “Bridgerton” and Charles Blake in “Downton Abbey.” He also appeared alongside Kristen Bell and Allison Janney in 2022’s “The People We Hate at the Wedding.”

James D’Arcy as Henry In NCIS: Tony & Ziva. Photo Credit: Marcell Piti/Paramount+Henry (James D’Arcy)

Longtime Marvel fans will recognize Henry immediately, as he starred as the human Edwin Jarvis in “Agent Carter,” and reprised the role briefly in “Avengers: Endgame” and “What If…?” More recently, he played Patrick Blackett in “Oppenheimer.”

The post ‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ Cast and Character Guide: Who’s Back and Who’s New? appeared first on TheWrap.

What Time Is the Cowboys vs. Eagles Kickoff Game?

NFL Football will kick off strong Thursday night as the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys reignite their old-school rivalry.

The reigning Super Bowl champions will play the Cowboys on their home turf at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field for the very first game of the NFL regular season.

The Cowboys-Eagles matchup will air on NBC and simulstream live on Peacock Thursday night at 8:20 p.m. ET / 5:20 p.m. PT.​​​ Quarterback​ Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni will lead the Eagles as they square off against the Cowboys led by coach Brian Schottenheimer and QB Dak Prescott.

Just a week before the start of the season, the Cowboys shook up their roster, trading star defensive player Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for the Packers’ Kenny Clark and a pair of future first-round draft picks. Parsons’ $188 million Cowboys contract made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.

The matchup will be the sixth straight season that the reigning Super Bowl champs host the regular season kickoff on a Thursday night. Last season the Eagles had a regular season record of 14-3 before winning the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys’ regular season record was 7-10.

Mike Tirico will serve as the play-by-play reporter for the NFL opening game with Cris Collinsworth as a game analyst and Terry McAulay as a rules analyst. Melissa Stark will be the sideline reporter for Thursday’s matchup.

Though the Eagles are expected to win against the Cowboys, they did lose several key defensive players following their championship win last season. This will be the Cowboys first game with former offensive coordinator Schottenheimer as their new head coach.

The post What Time Is the Cowboys vs. Eagles Kickoff Game? appeared first on TheWrap.

PBS Slashes 15% of Staff After $500 Million Federal Funding Cuts

PBS will cut 15% of its staff, or about 100 positions, as it grapples with the loss of $500 million in federal funds, TheWrap has learned.

The cuts will immediately eliminate 34 jobs, a PBS spokesperson said, along with dozens of open positions and other reductions made over the summer. They follow Congress’ July decision to slash $500 million in annual federal funding for public broadcasters, including PBS and NPR.

“Due to the loss of federal funding PBS eliminated close to 100 positions over the last several months, including 34 valued PBS staff members notified today their employment is ending,” the spokesperson said. “In this unprecedented moment we remain focused on what matters most: ensuring our member stations can deliver quality content and services to communities across America.”

The New York Times first reported on the layoffs Thursday after reviewing an email from to staff from PBS CEO Paula Kerger. “These decisions, while difficult, position PBS to weather the current challenges facing public media,” Kerger said.

PBS has historically relied more on funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributed federal funds to the broadcasters’ stations. The nonprofit announced it would shut down in January due to the funding cuts.

Last month, PBS slashed its operating budget by 21% and cut its dues requirements for member stations. But Kerger warned staff that “even with the dues reduction, adjusted payment schedule and efforts to raise funds for initial financial stabilization, we all face hard choices about the future.”

NPR has also faced grueling decisions in light of the funding cuts, cutting its operating budget by 8 percent in July in order to fund local stations. But CEO Katherine Maher told Texas Public Radio that the cuts were “a short-term step for how we respond right now.”

The post PBS Slashes 15% of Staff After $500 Million Federal Funding Cuts appeared first on TheWrap.

Kurt Russell Joins Michelle Pfeiffer in ‘Yellowstone’ Spinoff ‘The Madison’

Kurt Russell is the latest addition to Taylor Sheridan’s new series “The Madison,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer.

The “Yellowstone” spinoff, originally titled “2024,” is a Western drama that follows a New York City family who relocates to central Montana in the Madison River valley as they grapple with grief and long for human connection. Details on Russell’s character will be revealed at a later date.

Russell will join previously announced castmembers Matthew Fox, Patrick J. Adams, Elle Chapman, Beau Garrett, Amiah Miller, Alaina Pollack, Ben Schnetzer, Rebecca Spence, Danielle Vasinova and Kevin Zegers.

“The Madison” is one of three upcoming spinoffs set in the “Yellowstone” universe. A still untitled Beth and Rip spinoff series is in the works at Paramount, starring Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, Anette Bening and Ed Harris. Sheridan has already created two prequel series for his franchise, “1883” and “1923.” CBS also got their own spinoff in “Y: Marshals,” headlined by Luke Grimes.

Russell is best known for his antihero performance in “Escape from New York” and “Escape From L.A.” He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in “Silkwood” and earned an Emmy nomination for his television movie “Elvis.” His other credits include “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “The Thing,” “Big Trouble in Little China” and “The Hateful Eight.”

“The Madison” is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Bosque Ranch Productions. Its executive producers include Sheridan, David C. Glasser, John Linson, Art Linson, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Christina Voros, Michael Friedman, Michelle Pfeiffer and Keith Cox.

The post Kurt Russell Joins Michelle Pfeiffer in ‘Yellowstone’ Spinoff ‘The Madison’ appeared first on TheWrap.