Today in Entertainment: Twitter has a field day over Anthony Scaramucci’s exit; Celebrities mourn the loss of Sam Shepard

Stephanie Sigman and Shemar Moore

(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Don’t let the funky theme song or the ‘70s origins fool you.

While technically a remake — of both the original series and the subsequent 2003 film based on it — CBS’ upcoming cop drama “S.W.A.T.” is very plugged into the current moment, according to its cast and creators.

In the series, former “Criminal Minds” star Shemar Moore plays a native Angeleno who runs a tactical unit for the LAPD and finds his loyalty torn between his fellow officers and the community in which he was raised.

As co-creator Aaron Rahsaan Thomas told reporters Tuesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour, the series was inspired by his experiences growing up in Kansas City, which have helped him understand both sides of the raging debate over police violence.

“I grew up in a neighborhood that had a very complicated view towards police officers,” said Thomas, who created the series with veteran showrunner Shawn Ryan. “On one hand, a 12-year-old kid who was a neighbor of mine was shot and killed by a police officer. On the other hand, another neighbor of mine was an actual police officer.”

Moore, best known for his long run on the CBS procedural “Criminal Minds,” noted the diversity of the cast and creative team and added that, while the show is primarily designed to entertain, it will also resonate politically.

“We’re taking on the Trump years,” he said. “I don’t care who you voted for. It’s just what’s happening today. It’s Black Lives Matter. As much as some people don’t want to hear it, it’s All Lives Matter. It’s not just black versus blue or black versus white. It’s every ethnicity. It’s fear. It’s racism. It’s terrorism. It’s subject matter of today.”

Ryan, who created the groundbreaking drama “The Shield,” about corrupt Los Angeles police officers, said he was excited about the chance to examine the often charged relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

“Los Angeles is such a diverse, amazing community, and seeing an officer who kind of lives in the city and sort of sees the people that are being policed as humans and as neighbors and as friends was really important to me.”

What do you get when you pair up a living legend with a bunch of little kids? Comedy gold, if Netflix has its way.

The online streaming service announced Monday that comedy icon Carol Burnett will be returning to television with “A Little Help With Carol Burnett,” an original unscripted series that pairs Burnett with children to tackle life’s dilemmas.

“Someone once asked me how old I am inside,” Burnett said in a statement Monday. “I thought about it and came up with, ‘I’m about 8.’ So it’s going to be a lot of fun playing with kids my age.”

Kids ages 4 to 8 will join Burnett as celebrities and everyday folks bring their real-life problems to the show to get advice in front of a live studio audience.

“We’re thrilled Carol is bringing her unique sensibilities to Netflix,” Bela Bajaria, the service’s vice president of content acquisition, said in Monday’s announcement. “Carol is truly a legend in the entertainment industry with unprecedented success and fandom across TV, film and the stage, and we are both honored and excited to work with her.”

“A Little Help With Carol Burnett” will be produced by Dick Clark Productions and is the company’s first Netflix project.

This is the second television project announced this year for Burnett, 84. In February, ABC ordered a pilot for the multi-camera comedy “Household Name,” starring Burnett, though the series has not been picked up in its current iteration.

Debuting in 2018, “A Little Help With Carol Burnett” will feature 12 half-hour episodes.

To lift a line from the pop song “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” go ahead and kiss Anthony Scaramucci goodbye.

It’s been a robust 10 days since the former Goldman Sachs investment banker, affectionately known as “the Mooch,” started his new job as White House communications director. And what a whirlwind 10 days they were.

During that time, Scaramucci’s estranged wife, Deirdre Ball, gave birth to their second child. Scaramucci was not present for the birth, busy as he was at his new job in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, Scaramucci lashed out on Twitter at then White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, seemingly implying that Priebus had leaked a publicly available financial disclosure form to Politico, tagging both the FBI and Justice Department in the tweet.

On Thursday, Scaramucci took to the CNN morning show “New Day” to continue his attack on Priebus. Later that day, New Yorker magazine writer Ryan Lizza confirmed that Scaramucci had spoken to him via phone Wednesday night and called Priebus a “paranoid schizophrenic” and had, somehow, even worse (vulgar) things to say about White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon.

All of which led to Priebus’ unceremonious dismissal from his position on Friday, with the White House announcing that former general and current Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly would be replacing him.

Hopefully, Scaramucci enjoyed his weekend because it took only a few hours Monday before it was announced that he was the latest ouster in the revolving door that is the Trump administration.

In a statement released Monday, the White House said it “felt it was best to give Chief of Staff Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team.”

Twitter, unsurprisingly, is beside itself.

Here are a few choice takes from social media. Fare thee well, Mooch. We hardly knew ye.

For the Record

1:45 a.m.: In a previous version of this post, Deirdre Ball’s first name was misspelled as Diedre.

Ken Burns in Beverly Hilton on Sunday.

(Richard Shotwell / Invision)

“History doesn’t repeat itself,” Ken Burns told a room of journalists gathered Sunday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills

“We’re not condemned to repeat what we don’t remember,” Burns explained. “It’s that human nature never changes.”

It’s a curious statement from the storied documentarian, particularly given his latest project, the 18-hour, 10-part documentary series “The Vietnam War,” directed with Lynn Novick.

But just because humanity isn’t trapped in a constantly repeating cycle doesn’t mean that the echoes of modern strife aren’t plentiful throughout the upcoming PBS series.

“This is a story about mass demonstrations all across the country against the current administration,” Burns said in response to a question about what the youth of America will find relevant in “The Vietnam War.” “About a White House obsessed with leaks and in disarray because of those leaks, about a president railing against you, the news media, for making up news.

“It’s about asymmetrical warfare, which even the mighty might of the United States Army can’t figure out the correct strategy to take, and it’s about big document drops of classified material that’s been hacked, that suddenly is dumped into the public sphere, destabilizing the conventional wisdom about really important topics and accusations that a political campaign reached out to a foreign power at the time of a national election to influence that election.

“This is the film we started in 2006, and every single one of those points are points about the Vietnam War having nothing to do with today,” Burns concluded.

By creating a fully-formed picture of Vietnam, Burns hopes to shed light on the rancor and alienation defining this present moment, he explained.

For Novick, the thematic relevance only serves to help teachers who have long struggled in tackling the Vietnam War.

“We’ve had great response from teachers already that the Vietnam War is difficult to teach because it’s controversial and unsettled history and they’re looking forward to using the film in the classroom,” Novick said. “Those resonances that Ken is talking about, those will be assignments for students. We’re not going to have to work very hard with teachers to come up with those themes, and students are curious about what’s happening now.”

“The Vietnam War” premieres Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. PDT

MTV’s token space cadet just scored an identity revamp — and gender didn’t make the cut.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, MTV President Chris McCarthy said the network’s iconic Moonman trophy has been discontinued. From now on, the metallic figurine — whose impenetrably opaque helmet has become the unofficial “face” of MTV’s Video Music Awards — will go by “Moon Person” instead. Because who knows what’s really going on beneath that lacquered astronaut getup, anyway.

“Why should it be a man?” McCarthy told the Times. “It could be a man, it could be a woman, it could be transgender, it could be nonconformist.”

This new development is just the latest installment in MTV’s string of efforts to do away with gender norms during its awards proceedings. The network eliminated gender-specific categories at its MTV Movie & TV Awards earlier this year, where all nominees were placed in neutral categories (i.e. best actor in a show, best actor in a movie).

And the network isn’t going to stop there. McCarthy also announced a new MTV reality series — still in development —called “We Are They” about a group of gender-nonconforming young adults coming of age.

With Katy Perry hosting, the VMAs will broadcast from the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27. Here’s the full list of nominees.

Sam Shepard in 2014.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Sam Shepard, whose death at 73 was announced on Monday, will be remembered for his cross-discipline versatility. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, he penned classic off-Broadway plays including “True West,” “Buried Child” and “Fool for Love.”

An Oscar-nominated actor, he starred in films including “Days of Heaven,” “The Right Stuff,” “Crimes of the Heart” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

To fans of underground music, however, Shepard served a lesser-known role as the drummer for seminal New York avant-garde folk band the Holy Modal Rounders, with whom he performed on the crucial late 1960s albums “Indian War Whoop” and “The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders.”

The band is best known for its song “If You Want to Be a Bird,” which plays during the classic scene in “Easy Rider” in which Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson roar down the highway on their motorcycles. That’s Shepard playing drums as Rounders founders Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber whoop and yowl.

It was in his capacity as a percussionist, in fact, that he drew the attention of a young Patti Smith, who, in her 2010 memoir “Just Kids,” recounted their first early ‘70s meeting at seminal music club the Village Gate.

Escorted to the club by Todd Rundgren, who had just issued his album “Runt,” Smith described the Holy Modal Rounders’ set as “like being at an Arabian hoedown with a band of psychedelic hillbillies. I was fixed on the drummer, who seemed as if he was on the lam and had slid behind the drums while cops looked elsewhere.”

Smith, who at the time was freelancing for Crawdaddy magazine, introduced herself to this drummer, who said his name was Slim Shadow.

The two started hanging out, wrote Smith, describing his tales as being “even taller than mine. He had an infectious laugh and was rugged, smart, and intuitive. In my mind, he was the fellow with the cowboy mouth.”

Only later did she learn Slim’s real identity when a friend pulled her aside after seeing them at a restaurant together. As recounted in “Just Kids,” Smith wrote that her friend asked, “What are you doing with Sam Shepard?”

“Sam Shepard?” I said. “Oh, no, this guy’s name is Slim.”

“Honey, don’t you know who he is?”

“He’s the drummer for the Holy Modal Rounders.”

No, corrected her friend, “He’s the biggest playwright off-Broadway. He had a play at Lincoln Center. He won five Obies!”

Once she learned of his reputation and acclaim, Smith and Shepard continued to see each other -- despite his being married at the time -- and eventually collaborated on a play called “Cowboy Mouth.”

Smith described telling him of nervousness at writing for the stage, which she had never done. But Shepard urged her on, Smith wrote, telling her that “you can’t make a mistake when you improvise.”

Replied Smith: “What if I screw up the rhythm?”

“You can’t,” Shepard explained. “It’s like drumming. If you miss a beat, you create another.”

7:15 a.m. Updated to correct the title of Smith’s memoir, “Just Kids,” and to identify the Holy Modal Rounders’ co-founders, Stampfel and Weber.

The ongoing offstage drama between the pop singer Kesha and her former producer Dr. Luke has entangled another platinum superstar: Lady Gaga.

On Saturday, attorneys for Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, issued a statement regarding their attempt to depose Lady Gaga about relevant conversations she may have had with Kesha.

The artist, who was born Kesha Sebert, is the subject of a defamation suit filed in New York by Dr. Luke stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct, which the producer vigorously denies.

The statement reads:

“Dr. Luke’s counsel served a subpoena on Lady Gaga because she has relevant information regarding, among other things, false statements about Dr. Luke made to her by Kesha. This motion has become necessary because Dr. Luke’s counsel has not been able to obtain, despite repeated request [sic], a deposition date from Lady Gaga.”

The protracted legal battle between Dr. Luke, left, and Kesha has brought Lady Gaga into the fray.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Representatives for Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, said in a statement issued to The Times on Monday morning: “As Lady Gaga’s legal team will present to the court, she has provided all of the relevant information in her possession and is at most an ancillary witness in this process. Dr. Luke’s team is attempting to manipulate the truth and draw press attention to their case by exaggerating Lady Gaga’s role and falsely accusing her of dodging reasonable requests.”

Among the information Lady Gaga has provided are copies of text messages that were, according to a report on TMZ, heavily redacted.

Lady Gaga has been a vocal Kesha supporter. Last year, Gaga wrote about her peer’s plight in an Instagram post: “The very reason women don’t speak up for years is the fear that no one will believe them or their abuser has threatened their life or life of their loved ones/livelihood in order to keep their victim quiet and under control. What happened to Kesha has happened to many female artists, including myself, and it will affect her for the rest of her life.”

The news comes at a particularly crucial moment for Kesha’s career. On Aug. 11, she will release her highly anticipated new album, “Rainbow.” The record, featuring songs such as “Learn to Let Go,” will arrive via Dr. Luke’s imprint, Kemosabe, a situation Kesha sought to avoid in a 2014 lawsuit of her own, which she later dropped.

Acclaimed actor and playwright Sam Shepard died July 27 at age 73.

(Charles Sykes / Associated Press)

Sam Shepard — Oscar-nominated actor and critically acclaimed playwright, author, screenwriter and director — died on July 27 after suffering complications from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). When news of his death broke Monday morning, Twitter erupted with posts to mourn, honor and remember one of show business’ beloved renaissance men.

This story was updated with additional reactions.

For Paris Jackson, getting inked is nothing out of the ordinary. With more than 50 tattoos already under her belt, the 19-year-old daughter of late pop king Michael Jackson collects body art like postage stamps.

According to E! News, the budding actress got her latest over the weekend: an understated sketch of a red spoon, just below the crook of her left arm.

A new tattoo might be old-hat for Jackson, but it wasn’t for Macaulay Culkin, Jackson’s 36-year-old godfather -- and first-time tattoo patron -- who emerged from West Hollywood’s Tattoo Mania with a matching spoon on his own forearm.

Though neither Jackson nor Culkin spoke to the meaning of the double-inking, the design is supposedly meant to represent a kind of chronic struggle.

And that’s not the only news that Culkin made recently. The Internet nearly lost its collective mind last week when a new photo emerged of the “Home Alone” actor looking healthy and happy. E! News even declared that Culkin “definitely just won 2017’s greatest makeover.”

Over the last year, conspiracy theorist and influential radio host Alex Jones has come under intense scrutiny for his fringe beliefs, most notably his claim that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax perpetrated by the government.

On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver noted that Jones’ status as a Sandy Hook “truther” qualified him for an Easy Pass to “hell’s version of the champagne room.” But he spent most of his time on a relatively overlooked aspect of Jones’ conspiracy empire -- the wide range of products that he sells in order to fund it.

According to Oliver, Jones spends nearly a quarter of his airtime plugging InfoWars-branded merchandise, including Wake Up America Patriot coffee to Combat One Tactical Bath Wipes and a powder called Caveman True Paleo (made from “chocolate and domesticated bird corpses,” Oliver joked).

As the comedian pointed out, it just so happens that many of the products Jones sells, often at a significant markup, purport to address the conspiracy theories with equally wild-eyed zeal. Think: water filters to remove chemicals that supposedly turn frogs gay or vitamins to boost your immunity and ward off germs from allegedly disease-ridden refugees.

Jones even has his own in-house “expert,” Dr. Edward Group, with dubious qualifications (and equally questionable hair) to back up his various outlandish claims.

InfoWars is essentially a “QVC for conspiracy,” Oliver argued.

So in the spirit of InfoWars, Oliver decided to introduce his own personal care product, John Oliver Moisture-Armored Tactical Assault Wipes, available via Infowipes.com. The price? A mere $1 million. Worth every penny, we’re sure.

You can watch the complete segment here.

(Louis Lanzano / For The Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Upward and Onward Toward Book Seven -- Her Way

How much would someone pay for a vintage movie poster? Well, if that film is “Casablanca,” one person’s answer is $478,000.

That’s how much a bidder coughed up Saturday for the only known surviving Italian-issue poster for the 1942 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The poster sold through Heritage Auctions of Dallas.

“The buyer has just set a world record and acquired what we in the poster collecting world would equate to a masterpiece,” said Grey Smith, Heritage’s director of vintage posters. “The stunning artistry put into this poster makes it stand head and shoulders above any paper produced for the film.”

The poster, measuring 55.5 inches by 78.25 inches, was produced in 1946. The film opened in Italy on Nov. 21 that year, almost four years after its U.S. premiere. Featuring artwork by Luigi Martinati, the poster is considered the best of the picture’s numerous advertisements, Smith said.

Previous Italian-issue posters for the film have sold for as much as $203,000. A U.S.-issue of the poster has fetched $191,200.

The auction featured other rare posters for the film, with a half-sheet going for $65,725, and a postwar Spanish-release poster selling for $35,850.

----------

For the Record

An earlier version of this article misstated the purchase price of the “Casablanca” poster sold Saturday as $487,000.

“Confederate,” HBO’s controversial alternate history series, which will include dramatizations of modern-day slavery and has come under fire since its announcement earlier this month, will be the target of a social media protest during Sunday’s episode of “Game of Thrones.”

April Reign, the activist behind #OscarsSoWhite is one of the organizers of the protest which is asking people to tweet to @hbo using the hashtag #NoConfederate during the 9 p.m. East Coast and West Coast broadcasts of “Game of Thrones.” The series is being developed by “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who are white. The pair invited husband and wife writer-producers Malcolm Spellman (“Empire”) and Nichelle Tramble Spellman (“The Good Wife”), who are black, to join the creative team for the show.

“We want to show HBO the power of social media of those who are against this show, and demonstrate that there is a unified voice against ‘Confederate,” Reign said in a phone interview. “Our objective is for HBO to cancel this idea and spend no more money on it.”

Reign said she and others are tired of the pain of African Americans “being commodified for others’ enjoyment.” Author Roxane Gay echoed this exhaustion in a recent opinion piece for the New York Times headlined “I Don’t Want to Watch Slavery Fan Fiction.”

Reign stressed that the protest was not a boycott of HBO, which airs the critically-acclaimed comedy “Insecure,” co-created by and starring African American actress and writer Issa Rae, a half hour after “Game of Thrones.”

Said Reign, “We feel that HBO’s money, time and energy can be better placed on a different idea.”

The sci-fi-tinged series revolves around events that lead to the “Third American Civil War” and examines an alternate reality in which the South seceded from the Union and thus, slavery is still legal in part of the country.

Last week Benioff, Weiss and the Spellmans responded to the criticisms in an article in Vulture, explaining the genesis of the idea and saying they expected initial reactions to be negative.

“It’s an ugly and a painful history,” said Weiss, who called slavery America’s “original sin.”

“But we all think this is a reason to talk about it, not a reason to run from it. And this feels like a potentially valuable way to talk about it.”

In discussing how they came aboard Malcolm Spellman said that he and his wife felt a sense of urgency in furthering a discussion about race in America. “As people of color and minorities in general are starting to get a voice, I think there’s a duty to force this discussion.”

Tramble Spellman said she understands people’s concerns about such volatile subject matter, but noted that she wished they’d reserved judgment on “whether or not we succeeded in what we set out to do” until they had seen the show, which is still in development.

Earlier this week, Casey Bloys, spresident of HBO programming, echoed that sentiment during the premium network’s session at the summer edition of the Television Critics Assn. gathering at the Beverly Hilton.

“My hope is people will judge the actual material instead of what it could be or should be or might be.”

But Reign said Bloys’ defense of “Confederate” fell short: “‘’Wait and see’ is what we were told about the Trump administration.”

She also repeated criticisms of “Game of Thrones,” saying that Benioff and Weiss had been negligent in including blacks and other people of color in key roles both in front of and behind the camera on that show.

“We’re still living in a time where there are protests about Confederate monuments coming down,” Reign said. “How much history are we talking about? These are living concerns today.”

Paula Kerger, chief executive of PBS

(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

PBS President and Chief Executive Paula Kerger wasn’t pulling any punches Sunday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills.

“When people say, ‘What is the Plan B for [loss of federal funding]?’ There is no Plan B for that,” Kerger said of the potential budget crisis public broadcasting faces under the Trump administration.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been under fire for months, with President Trump’s proposed budget axing the institution’s $450-million budget.

Though it’s easy to suggest that budget cuts would threaten Big Bird’s livelihood, the true victims of defunding would be far more human.

Kerger explained that of PBS’ $450-million budget, one-third goes to radio. Of the television budget, most goes to community service grants that local stations use for up to 50% of their operating budgets.

“PBS itself will not go away. But a number of our stations will. If you are a station for whom 30 or 40 or 50% of your funding is suddenly pulled away, there’s no way you can make up that money,” Kerger said. “You will find big parts of the country that will suddenly be without public broadcasting.”

The fate of public broadcasting is currently in flux, waiting for the end of Congress’ August recess for resolution. Currently, the House Appropriations Committee has approved the bulk of the PBS budget, while the House Budget Committee recommended doing away with funding altogether.

Budget concerns aside, Kerger also addressed other unresolved PBS matters.

The second seat of “PBS NewsHour” has been vacant since the untimely death of co-host Gwen Ifill in November 2016, leaving Judy Woodruff as the show’s sole anchor.

“We have encouraged [executive producer] Sara Just and Judy Woodruff and the team at ‘NewsHour’ to take their time and think very carefully about who that right person [to replace Ifill] is,” Kerger said. “I’m hopeful that they will be making an announcement sometime over the next few months of a new anchor.”

Kerger also announced an upcoming project aimed at inspiring the country to come together in celebration of literature.

“The Great American Read” is an eight-part series launching in spring 2018 that explores the nation’s 100 best-loved books, chosen by the American people and culminating in the first-ever national vote to choose “America’s Best-Loved Book.”

Robert Kirkman, left, and Eli Roth at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills.

( Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for AMC)

AMC announced several additions to its upcoming “Visionaries” docu-series Saturday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour in Beverly Hills.

Writer-director-actor Eli Roth (“Cabin Fever,” “Hostel”) will be offering a deeper look into his signature style of genre filmmaking with “Eli Roth’s History of Horror” (working title) and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter (founding members of The Roots) and Alex Gibney (‘Going Clear,” “History of the Eagles”) will executive produce a series called “Rap Yearbook” (another working title). The cable network also has three other installments in development: “History of Video Games,” “Outlaws of the Internet,” and “History of Martial Arts.”

The new “Visionaries” members join the previously announced programs “Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics” and “James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction.”

Kirkman and Roth were present at the AMC panel with Cameron appearing via satellite to show sneak peeks from the comics and sci-fi iterations of the series.

A sizzle reel for the “Secret History of Comics” utilized plenty of classic panel pages and a sort of motion comic-like animation to illustrate the early days of Marvel Comics, going all the way back to the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby days. But the real treat was a collection of cameos, famous faces opining about their love of the form including Lee himself, J.K. Simmons, Kevin Smith, and Method Man, who earnestly revealed, “You have to be born a comic book fan, I think.” And there are plenty more talking heads to come, the AMC press release promised Patty Jenkins, Lynda Carter, Famke Janssen, Michelle Rodriguez, and Todd McFarlane.

The second clip shared a look at Cameron’s love letter to science fiction. “Today, science fiction is mainstream but it didn’t used to be that way,” the director explained. “When I was a kid science fiction wasn’t cool, but I thought it was cool.” Cameron wants to focus on closing the gap between current fans’ knowledge of modern day sci-fi to the pioneering works of literature that inspired the blockbuster offerings of today. The “Terminator” and “Avatar” director noted that without Jules Verne and H.G. Wells there would be no Avengers, “Star Wars” or his own works. The series will be divided by theme -- space travel, time travel etc.-- and include appearances from Paul W. Anderson, Roland Emmerich, Paul Verhoeven, Bryan Singer, Keanu Reeves, Jonathan Nolan, David Gerrold and D.C. Fontana.

When asked how their respective series would showcase diversity -- the footage screened was very male-centric -- Kirkman responded that “History of Comics” would have two episodes devoted to diversity. One will focus on the women who helped Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston steer the course of the hugely famous female superhero, and another highlighting people of color titled “The Color of Comics.”

The episode “explores the history of black characters, and the lack of black characters in the comic book industry,” said Kirkman. “which touches on the creation of Black Panther — the Marvel character — and does a really cool focus on this company called Milestone Comics that was founded by a group of African American comic book creators to create characters that appealed to them and represented them, because there was a huge lack of representation in comics even in the ‘90s.”

“You wouldn’t have horror without Mary Shelley and ‘Frankenstein,’” Roth added. He cited the late George Romero as an example of how he wants to break down the themes within the horror genre. “At the height of the civil rights movement [Romero] puts an African American as the lead of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and at the end of the movie he’s shot by a bunch of rednecks. Not because of the color of his skin, but because they think he’s a zombie. But you can read into the implications of that. What [Romero] was doing with using genre to explore racism was so ahead of its time. it’s just as potent today as it was 50 years ago. It’s absolutely something we’re going to be discussing.”

Roth’s urgency to document the horror masters was apparent. It was the death of “Scream” moviemaker Wes Craven that inspired Roth to get involved in “Visionaries.”

The panel then took a turn for the analytical when the creators were asked how their series would reflect the world today.

“The fact that dystopian science fiction has come back, especially in television and in movies, is very important,” said Cameron. “It means that in the age that we live in right now the challenges that face us are technological. They’re science challenges: climate change, genetics, artificial intelligence, things like that. These are really on our horizon as major, existential threats.”

“The best horror reflects what’s going on in our times,” said Roth. He used Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” — which addressed modern day racial tensions— as a reference. “It’s no accident that movie coming out right now is making over $200 million at the box office. You can tell it’s really resonating with people.”

Bouncing off Cameron’s dystopia revelation, Roth then turned his lens onto the current political climate, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen a cast of characters like this in our White House that’s straight out of WWF wrestling in the ‘80s. When [Anthony Scaramucci] is coming out with things that would make ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper in his heyday blush. This is a farce, is this actually happening?”

When will we start seeing this dystopian outlook on the current political climate in the movies? Possibly before Roth’s series, which will air sometime in 2018, after “History of Comics” and the “Story of Science Fiction” in 2017.

(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: REAL HOLLYWOOD MUSCLE: No Star Makes More Money, Wields More Power or Has More Fun

Stephen Colbert, host of CBS’ “The Late Show.”

(Michael Loccisano / Getty Images)

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders took time during a White House briefing this week to read a fan letter to President Trump from a 9-year-old boy named Dylan who has the nickname of “Pickle.”

Sanders read part of the letter to reporters: “You’re my favorite President ... I don’t know why people don’t like you.” Sanders interjected, “Neither do I, Dylan.”

The letter continued, “You seem really nice. Can we be friends?” Sanders assured Pickle that she had spoken directly to Trump about him, and the president would “be more than happy to be your friend.”

Stephen Colbert on Friday brought another young “fan” of Trump’s onstage Friday night to read her own letter during his CBS “Late Show.”

“Dear President, my name is Norah, but everybody calls me ‘Mustard,’” the little girl recited. She continued, “You’re my favorite current president.”

Norah then presented some probing questions to Trump: “I was wondering, does the attorney general enjoy your full support? And how do you plan to implement the ban on transgender people currently serving in the military? Will those on active duty be called home? Sounds like a logistical nightmare.”

She continued, “One more thing: Are you a puppet of Vladimir Putin? I love puppets! I made one at camp! Love, Mustard.”

The “Late Show” audience cheered.

(Jeff Schear / Getty Images)

The producer behind Broadway’s struggling musical “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” has joined the apologetic refrain for the diversity uproar that followed the decision to bring in Mandy Patinkin to replace departing star Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan, who is black.

The production came under fire this week following its move to replace Onaodowan, who was in the original cast of “Hamilton,” with Tony Award winner Patinkin in a titular role.

“As part of our sincere efforts to keep ‘Comet’ running for the benefit of its cast, creative team, crew, investors and everyone else involved, we arranged for Mandy Patinkin to play Pierre,” co-producer Howard Kagan said in an official statement posted Friday on Twitter.

Kagan said they had the wrong impression of how Onaodowan felt about Patinkin’s casting and how it would be received by members of the theater community, “which we appreciate is deeply invested in the success of actors of color – as are we – and to whom we are grateful for bringing this to our attention.”

“We regret our mistake deeply, and wish to express our apologies to everyone who felt hurt and betrayed by these actions,” he said.

The legendary Broadway star dropped out of the musical on Friday after the announcement that he would be replacing the African American star was met with disdain. Patinkin was to join the cast for a limited run from Aug. 15 through Sept. 3, but declined the part because he “would never accept a role knowing it would harm another actor.”

“I hear what members of the community have said and I agree with them. I am a huge fan of Oak and I will, therefore, not be appearing in the show,” the “Homeland” alum tweeted.

Another tweet on the show’s account included an apology to Patinkin “for any misunderstanding” and said they understood his decision to withdraw from the show.

Onaodowan, who had replaced recording artist Josh Groban in the role of Pierre earlier this month, is scheduled to continue to perform through Aug. 13, after which, he stated Friday on Twitter, he will not return to the show. It is unclear if his decision to leave the production was his own or prompted by other factors.

Show creator Dave Malloy, whose musical was inspired by a portion of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” also apologized Friday on Twitter for “how everything went down” and missing the “racial optics” of their casting decision.

They had previously asked actress Brittain Ashford to step aside for the casting of better-known singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson during the summer months and they didn’t anticipate that Patinkin’s casting would be viewed differently, Malloy said.

Despite 12 Tony Award nominations, “Comet” only received two wins -- for set and lighting -- at the June ceremony and ticket sales ebbed when Groban departed.

Malloy said that sales for shows after Aug. 13, when Michaelson’s run would also end, were “catastrophically low.” So they decided to cast Patinkin, hoping that his star power would help boost sales, because the “weird show” was in “desperate shape” and on the brink of closing.

(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Documentary Maker Follows His Own Path in Celebrating History

The reconfigured Eagles, shown during a July 15 performance at Dodger Stadium, will continue with a Sept. 30 Classic Northwest concert with the Doobie Brothers in Seattle.

(Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)

The Eagles’“Classic” music festival series will continue with at least one more stop, this time in Seattle.

But unlike the inaugural Classic West bill July 15-16 at Dodger Stadium, which is having a Classic East encore this weekend in New York, the added Classic Northwest show on Sept. 30 will be just a single day and feature the Eagles and Doobie Brothers only.

The Classic West and East shows teamed the Eagles, Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers on one day, with Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire on the second day of each.

Tickets for the Classic Northwest bill go on sale Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.

At the outset of the Eagles’ portion of Classic West on July 15, co-founder Don Henley indicated it was still uncertain how much of a future his long-running band might have absent co-founder Glenn Frey, who died last year at 67.

To make the Classic West and East shows possible, the group tapped Frey’s son, singer-guitarist Deacon Frey, and country music star Vince Gill to handle the lead vocals on the many Eagles songs that were originally sung by Glenn Frey.

“In case this is our last dance,” Henley told the crowd at Dodger Stadium, where he was joined by longtime bandmates Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, “we want to thank all of you in Southern California for all your support.”

Executive producers Amy Zvi, left, and Adam McKay, star/executive producer Sarah Silverman and executive producer Gavin Purcell at Hulu’s “I Love You, America” panel at the TCA summer press tour.

(Willy Sanjuan / Invision/Associated Press)

From her stand-up act to her Comedy Central series to her Twitter account, comic-actress Sarah Silverman has a long history of courting laughs and controversy. Her outspokenness and sometimes absurd, sometimes acerbic views on everything from celebrity to culture to politics, particularly President Trump and his administration, have raised eyebrows.

On her upcoming Hulu series, “I Love You, America,” Silverman is focused more on forming bonds than being provocative. In surveying the current political landscape and the comedy shows that skewer it, Silverman says she wants to reach out to all on the political spectrum.

“For me, [those shows are] great, but they really connect with more like-minded people. They’re brilliant. They’re funny. But I’m hoping to, with this show, connect with un-like-minded people,” Silverman said Thursday during a panel at the Television Critics Assn.’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. “The mission of the show is that we’re all the same. But what’s important is that it’s funny.”

Although the exact format of the show is still being refined, Silverman did reveal some elements, including a monologue, a focus group in the studio and field pieces in which she travels around the country talking to people. For example, Silverman says she plans to go to Slidell, La., to meet a family that says they have never met a Jewish person.

“I can’t help but have preconceived notions. They can’t help but have preconceived notions,” said Silverman. “All I can do is just try to be open and brave and go into the situation. And same for them.”

Although Silverman and executive producer Adam McKay didn’t make any sharp criticisms about Trump at Thursday’s session, they did take exception to his attacks against so-called entertainment liberals or “the Hollywood elite.”

“What is he talking about?” said Silverman. “I’m from ... New Hampshire. Everybody out here is from somewhere else.”

The goal of the show will be to seek common ground and understanding, she said: “Ultimately we’re all the same. The thesis of the show is that everybody just wants to be loved.”

If Jerry Seinfeld is this year’s king of comedy, then Amy Schumer is the queen.

The Comedy Central star once again landed on Forbes’ list of highest-paid comedians, the financial magazine announced Thursday. She was the first woman comic to crack the top 10 last year and remains the only woman on the list this year.

The “Trainwreck” and “Snatched” star made an estimated $37.5 million between June 2016 and June 2017 thanks to her Netflix show “The Leather Special,” her memoir “The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo” and endorsement deals with Bud Light and Old Navy. That ranked the raunchy comic No. 5 on the list filled with veteran comedy heavyweights.

Meanwhile, the “Seinfeld” and “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” star shot back to the top of the list this year, earning an estimated $69 million. Seinfeld was eclipsed last year by Kevin Hart, who this year dropped to the No. 6 spot with $32.5 million.

Chris Rock trailed Seinfeld for the second spot on Forbes’ list, earning $57 million. His record-breaking $20 million-per-special contract with Netflix paved the way for several comics, including Seinfeld, to cut lucrative deals with the streaming service, which is poised to become the go-to-destination for comedy specials. In addition to touring, those deals significantly padded the incomes of several stars on Forbes’ list.

In the third and fourth spots, funnymen Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle, who earned $52 million and $47 million, respectively, also made expensive deals with the streaming service to make their millions.

To see Forbes’ complete list, click here.

For the record, 10:40 a.m.: A previous headline and version of this story said that Schumer was the first woman to make the top 10 list this year. Schumer was the first woman to make the top 10 last year.

What exactly is beneath the surface in “American Horror Story: Cult”?

Bees, apparently.

The seventh season of FX’s hit horror anthology series is slowly revealing itself via its official Twitter account. On Thursday, the series shared the official poster for the series, and it is super messed up.

The poster features a deathly pale woman who happens to be missing the top of her head and, for that matter, her brain. Instead, the inside of her head is a honeycomb, replete with bees and, of course, honey.

This is creepy for so many reasons. Here are a few:

This poor woman has had the top of her skull removed, bringing to mind that particularly gruesome dinner scene featuring Anthony Hopkins and Ray Liotta in the 2001 film “Hannibal.”

Even more horrifying is that this poor, sweet woman is definitely dressed like a clown.

The white makeup, lines through the eyes and exaggerated ruby red lips suggest that “AHS: Cult” is drawing inspiration from traditional grotesque whiteface clown makeup. Think more Pennywise, less juggalo. (And if none of that is enough to scare you, please enjoy this clown dating site I stumbled across while researching all of this.)

FX’s “American Horror Story: Cult” premieres on Sept. 5.

(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Road-Tested; Sally Struthers Sings the Praises of Touring With ‘Grease’ and ‘Annie’

(Richard Boeth / Associated Press)

Stephen Colbert took a cue from incoming White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci -- or the Mooch, as he’s called -- by giving Thursday’s episode of “The Late Show’” a decidedly NSFW vibe.

“We got an incredible taste of unfiltered Mooch today,” Colbert said during his monologue.

He was, of course, referring to Scaramucci’s disapproving -- and often vulgar -- comments about White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon in a New Yorker article that sent social media tongues wagging Thursday.

But to even discuss the matter, Colbert had to issue a warning to CBS censors: “You’re going to want to break out the extra bleeps for this one,” he said before diving in. (If only we could get our ellipses to put in some overtime!)

In his colorful conversation with New Yorker correspondent Ryan Lizza, which took place Wednesday night,Scaramucci was trying to get to the bottom of who leaked that he had dinner at the White House with President Trump, the first lady, Sean Hannity and the former Fox News executive Bill Shine.

Scaramucci described Priebus as a “ ... paranoid schizophrenic” who had blocked him from the White House for six months -- prompting Colbert to break out an impression of Scaramucci.

“Yes, the guy’s paranoid, OK? He thinks his own communications director is gonna stab him in the back again,” Colbert said with an exaggerated Italian accent.

“Front stab!” he added with a knifing gesture.

The New Yorker article also detailed how Scaramucci accused Bannon of seeking to “build [his] own brand off the … strength of the president” and made some other inflammatory remarks that we can’t fully detail. So we’ll let Colbert take it from here.

(Jae C Hong / Associated Press)

Martin “Marty” Sklar, the pioneering Walt Disney Co. imagineer who played an instrumental role in the design of Disney theme parks, has died, the company announced Thursday night. He was 83.

During his 54 years at Disney, Sklar worked closely with Walt Disney and led the creative development of the Burbank company’s theme parks, attractions and resorts around the world, including the company’s ventures in the cruise business, housing development and the redesign of Times Square in New York.

“Everything about Marty was legendary – his achievements, his spirit, his career,” Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement. “He embodied the very best of Disney, from his bold originality to his joyful optimism and relentless drive for excellence. He was also a powerful connection to Walt himself. No one was more passionate about Disney than Marty and we’ll miss his enthusiasm, his grace, and his indomitable spirit.”

Sklar was born in New Brunswick, N.J., and attended UCLA, where he was editor of the Daily Bruin newspaper when he was recruited to create the Disneyland News for Walt Disney’s new Anaheim theme park in 1955.

After graduating in 1956, he joined Disney full-time and would become Disney’s lieutenant. He wrote speeches, marketing materials and a film showcasing Walt’s vision for Walt Disney World and the Epcot theme park in Florida.

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“The Mindy Project” creator/executive producer/star Mindy Kaling with executive producers Matt Warburton, left, and Ike Barinholtz at the show’s Television Critics Assn. press tour panel.

(Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

Is there a happily ever after written in the stars for the final season of “The Mindy Project”?

Series creator Mindy Kaling, who also plays the titular heroine at the center of the Hulu comedy, took the stage Thursday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills to discuss the show’s swan song season. And when asked if Kaling’s rom-com-obsessed character, Mindy Lahiri, would get her storybook ending, the 38-year-old actress suggested it wouldn’t necessarily be in the way viewers expect.

“I think that all of us would agree that we do have ‘happily ever after,’ the connotations of it,” said Kaling, who was joined onstage by executive producer and showrunner, Matt Warburton, and producer and star Ike Barinholtz (sporting a neck brace from a recent stunt gone wrong). But “happily ever after” isn’t the same as no loose ends, she said. “That everything is tied up neatly in a bow is something we aren’t super interested in.”

“That side of it I think we’re trying to avoid,” Kaling added, “while also leaving the audience with the sense of feeling that it was about something and that it really was a ‘project’ and that she had some growth in the end.”

And for fans wondering whether or how Danny Castellano (played by Chris Messina) would factor into all that, the season promises to shed some light on that.

For the unitiated, Messina’s Danny is Mindy’s former fiance and the father of her child. Messina, who hasn’t been a series regular since Season 4, is set to return for multiple episodes.

And while the Season 5 finale ended with Mindy marrying boyfriend Ben (Bryan Greenberg), hints were thrown that the new episodes would bring some clarity to the Mindy-Danny relationship.

“The one thing we can promise the audience is a little bit of clarity about where they stand,” Warburton said. “It’s so great to see him back because we’ve always known they’re always going to be in each other’s lives … but it’s great to actually see what that means this season.”

“It’s complicated,” added Kaling. “They’re both married to other people, so we went into that season with all of that, which makes things sort of fun and delicious.”

Other familiar faces set to return for the final season are Mark and Jay Duplass, Adam Pally and Glenn Howerton.

Kaling, in discussing the decision to end the series, promised a good finale.

“The decision to end the show was our decision, and I think that’s always very hard,” Kaling said. “It was like, God, should this be the end? ... I think right now the idea of doing a prequel or something like that just felt — we just have such a good finale. We have such a good finale that we’ve known about for awhile.”

The final season of “The Mindy Project” will start its rollout on Hulu in September.

Actress Tiffany Haddish has clarified her remarks about wanting to work with Bill Cosby.

(Christina House / For The Times)

A joke that Tiffany Haddish recently told The Los Angeles Times has backfired on the breakout star of the new film “Girls Night.”

Talking to The Times’ Tre’vell Anderson, Haddish credited Bill Cosby as a comedy inspiration, seemingly unfazed by the multiple sexual-abuse allegations levied against the beleaguered, 80-year-old TV legend.

“I still want to work with Bill Cosby, I don’t care,” she told The Times earlier this month. “I’ll drink the juice. I’ll take a nap. I don’t give a damn. But seriously, I would love for him to play my grandfather in something.”

Her remarks raised eyebrows and ire on social media, with some fans questioning her intentions and a New York magazine story noting that the actress “seems to have wandered into ‘problematic fave’ territory.”

On Thursday, Haddish attempted to clarify those comments while speaking on a panel at the Television Critics Assn.’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills.

“What I said was a joke,” she said, noting that when you’re expected to be funny in promotional interviews, there are risks. “You’re going to say some bad jokes.”

Haddish said her point had been that “I’m not afraid to do anything. I’m not afraid of any kind of job. I’m not afraid to play any kind of girl as long as it doesn’t compromise my morals....

“I’ve been through things. I’ve been victimized,” she added. “I don’t agree with what he did or anything, but, at the end of the day, I’m not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. That’s what I was trying to say, and I was trying to do it in a humorous way.”

Times staff writer Sarah Rodman contributed to this report.

Tracy Morgan, left, Tiffany Haddish and Ryan Gaul of the new TBS comedy “The Last O.G.” at the TCA press tour in Beverly Hills on Thursday.

(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

“Thank God.”

That’s what Tracy Morgan had to say about what it means for the “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live” alum to be returning to TV three years after the devastating accident that put him in a coma and resulted in the death of his friend James “Jimmy Mack” McNair.

The stand-up comic and actor, whose new TBS comedy, “The Last O.G.” premieres Oct. 24, was full of gratitude and thoughts on starting over during the presentation for the show at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour Thursday in Beverly Hills.

Executive produced by Morgan, Jordan Peele and John Carcieri, “The Last O.G.” chronicles the adventures of Tray (Morgan). Newly sprung from prison after serving 15 years, he has to acclimate to the changed times, his gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood and his former girlfriend (Tiffany Haddish of “Girls Trip”) raising the children he didn’t know existed with another man.

“This is a show about humanity, this is a show about second chances, this is a show about redemption,” said Morgan, answering a question about whether it would explicitly explore African American issues. “I wanted to transcend that... I wanted to deal with humanity.”

Haddish, naturally, fielded several questions about “Girls Trip,” the new comedy film that has minted her as a star.

“I feel like a foster kid who’s been in the system for a long time and then turned 16 and somebody adopted them and said, ‘You can go to college and you ain’t got to pay no school loans or nothing,’ ” she said of how she’s been feeling in the wake of the film’s superb box office. “I’m happy! I’ve been accepted finally after all these years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears.”

Haddish said she was looking forward to her role in “The Last O.G.” since it’s a character who has gone through a transition in her life, just as she herself has.

Her fellow cast mates, including Cedric the Entertainer, good-naturedly ribbed her about becoming a diva since she’s now a movie star. But Morgan noted seriously that Haddish has been nothing but a pro: “She comes to work.”

Haddish joked: “My bank account, it don’t show movie star yet. I’m waiting on it. They say nine months; it’s like a baby. I’m waiting for the delivery.”

Morgan said it was important to surround himself with scene stealers such as Haddish and Cedric and was clearly earnest in his appreciation of his collaborators and their sensitivity to his physical needs.

“They make sure I sit down... they don’t ask me, they [say] sit down for a little while. So I’m good. I’m taken care of by my people, and I love them with my heart.”

Every day can be Friday in the ‘90s with help from Hulu.

The streaming service announced Thursday it has signed a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for the exclusive streaming rights to programs that were part of the popular ABC programming block known as TGIF.

The announcement was made during the streaming service’s day of panels at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills.

The shows under the deal include “Full House,” “Family Matters,” “Perfect Strangers,” “Step by Step” and “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper.”

Nabbing the rights to “Full House” is particularly noteworthy considering Hulu’s rival Netflix’s success with reviving the comedy, which is returning for a third season in September.

With the Hulu deal, more than 800 episodes of the five sitcoms from the bygone family friendly lineup will be available beginning Friday, Sept. 29.

“These shows are more than just beloved hits, they were part of a cultural tradition to tune in every Friday night,” said Craig Erwich, Hulu’s senior vice president of content in a statement.

Get your Emmys ballot ready — the Television Academy has announced which categories will be awarded during this year’s 69th Primetime Emmy Awards and the separate Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

The main event will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 17 and will be hosted by “The Late Show” star Stephen Colbert. Prizes will be awarded to comedy and drama series, limited series, reality competition, variety talk and sketch, television movie, acting, directing, and writing during the live telecast on CBS.

HBO’s “Westworld” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” lead the nominees with 22 nods apiece, a total that includes several below-the-line categories to be doled out at the two Creative Arts Emmys ceremonies the week before.

Honoring artistic and technical achievements that could make or break your play-at-home ballot, the Creative Arts Emmys will be held in the same venue on two consecutive nights on Sept. 9 and 10. They’ll be put together for one show, produced by Bob Bain, that will air on FXX on Sept. 16.

The first night will cover categories that include animation, choreography, cinematography, costuming, make-up, hairstyling, documentary and nonfiction awards, editing, lighting, sound-mixing, technical direction, variety special and some writing awards.

The second night will lean more heavily on front-of-the camera talent, awarding the likes of guest actors and actresses and stunt work, in addition to children’s programs, commercials, main title designs and theme music, music composition and supervision, prosthetic makeup and additional sound and editing categories.

For a complete list of this year’s nominees, click here. Here’s the complete list of the awards being handed out during the Primetime Emmys telecast:

• COMEDY SERIES
• DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
• DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
• DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
• DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
• DRAMA SERIES
• LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
• LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
• LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
• LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
• LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
• LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
• LIMITED SERIES
• REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
• SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
• SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
• SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
• SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
• SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
• SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
• TELEVISION MOVIE
• VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
• VARIETY TALK SERIES
• WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
• WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
• WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
• WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES

For Kesha, “Learn to Let Go” is not just an aptly titled track off her upcoming “Rainbow” LP.

“It’s become one of my mantras over the last few years,” she said in a remarkably uplifting letter that the singer published Thursday to accompany a new video for the song. (This is her new M.O., it would seem.)

“Learn to Let Go,” which Kesha co-wrote alongside her mother, Pebe Sebert, is a heartrending chronicle of redemption.

“Had a boogeyman under my bed/ Putting crazy thoughts inside my head,” she sings, while real home-video footage of a whimsical young Kesha cuts between clips of a grown Kesha frolicking through the forest. The chorus rings like a self-empowered anthem: “The past can’t haunt me if I don’t let it.”

“My mom is always telling me how you have to learn to accept that you can’t try to control everything,” she wrote in the letter. “When you realize that you are not the one in control and you stop holding onto regrets ― it’s liberating.

“Your past only has as much effect on your future as you want it to,” Kesha continued. “It’s about embracing your past, but not letting it define you.”

Her new album, “Rainbow,” will be released Aug. 11.

Stephen Colbert has ridden anti-Trump sentiment to the top of the late-night ratings. Now he’s riding it all the way to premium cable.

On Thursday, Showtime announced it had ordered 10 episodes of an as-yet-untitled animated series featuring cartoon renderings of the president, his family and inner circle.

The satirical half-hour series, executive produced by Colbert and “The Late Show’s” show runner Chris Licht, will debut on Showtime this fall. According to the network, turnaround on the series will be quick in order to incorporate current events.

“Stephen and Chris have an uncanny genius for deconstructing the world of President Trump, and this series opens a new realm for them,” Showtime President David Nevins said in a press statement.

Tim Luecke, who co-created the animated version of Trump who frequently appears in “Late Show” bits — including a recent segment from the notorious presidential suite of the Moscow Ritz-Carlton — will serve as lead animator.

The announcement caps off a period of good news for Colbert, who racked up six Emmy nominations this month and will be hosting the awards in September. The recently concluded “Russia Week,” in which the comedian traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg, brought “The Late Show” its biggest margin over “The Tonight Show” since its premiere in 2015.

While “The Late Show” airs on CBS, Colbert has also developed ties with his corporate cousins at Showtime. Many point to his riveting election night special “Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale,” which aired on the premium network, as a turning point after an uneven transition from “The Colbert Report.”

For its part, Showtime has invested heavily in political content over the last 18 months, most notably the documentary series “The Circus,” from journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann.

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Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac and Julianne Moore star in the trailer for George Clooney’s “Suburbicon.”

In George Clooney’s latest directorial effort, “Suburbicon,” the pleasantries of a 1950s town are undone when a home invasion exposes the community’s criminal subculture and racial tensions.

And Matt Damon’s Gardner Lodge gets stuck in the thick of it -- defending his young son, making death threats, killing mobsters and getting popped square in his bespectacled face at the office -- as seen in the first trailer that Paramount unveiled Thursday.

Did we mention this is a comedy? The dark, screwball kind from the minds of screenwriters Clooney and frequent collaborators Ethan and Joel Coen and Grant Heslov? Well, it is, in case that wasn’t clear from the previous description.

“These animals took everything from us,” a blood-splattered Gardner tells his son Nicky (Noah Jupe) at the dinner table. “I have to make decisions like what’s best for the family.”

After Gardner’s wife is murdered, he invites “Auntie Margaret” (Julianne Moore) to come live in the manicured suburban community to help with his son. Meanwhile, he gets mixed up with a loan shark that sets him on the warpath of a formidable, coffee-swilling collector named Roger (Oscar Isaac).

The film is based on a script that the Coen brothers wrote years ago that Clooney found, and they agreed to have him direct it, according to Moore.

Paramount acquired the U.S. rights to the film, billed as a comedy, crime and mystery, at the Berlin Film Festival last year. It will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and hits theaters on Oct. 27.

Woody Allen at the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award tribute to Diane Keaton on June 8, 2017, in Los Angeles.

(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for Turner)

Thursday it was announced that Woody Allen’s latest film, “Wonder Wheel,” will have its world premiere as the closing-night film at this year’s New York Film Festival. The film stars Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple and James Belushi in a story set around Coney Island in the 1950s.

But that wasn’t the only Allen item of the day. Variety reported that “Wonder Wheel” will also be the first film fully distributed by Amazon when it opens in theaters on Dec. 1. The company has already made fast inroads to the movie business, winning Academy Awards this year for “Manchester by the Sea” and “The Salesman,” but has up to now worked with established distribution partners such as Roadside Attractions or Bleecker Street to help get those movies into theaters.

Amazon released Allen’s 2016 film, “Cafe Society,” starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Steve Carell, in partnership with Lionsgate. The online giant also released Allen’s six-part “Crisis in Six Scenes,” in which he starred alongside Elaine May and Miley Cyrus, late last year via the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.

The move by Amazon is yet another way the company is distinguishing itself in relation to streaming rival Netflix. Where Netflix has been seen as pulling back from theatrical distribution, opting for either extremely limited or no theatrical release at all of its titles to drive viewers to its own platform, this latest push by Amazon renews its commitment to traditional theatrical releases.

The New York Film Festival slot for “Wonder Wheel” gives Amazon the three marquee spots at the showcase. Previously announced, Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying” will open the festival, and Todd Haynes’ “Wonderstruck,” which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, will show in the centerpiece slot.

Other upcoming Amazon titles include Mike White’s “Brad’s Status,” starring Ben Stiller, and Luca Guadagnino’s remake of “Suspiria,” starring Dakota Johnson.

(Dave Gatley / Los Angeles Times)

Mick Jagger has been looking to the past on recent albums and festival dates. But a pair of urgent new singles are firmly set in the present.

On Thursday, the Rolling Stones frontman released two tracks, “Gotta Get A Grip” and “England Lost,” that describe, as he put it in a statement, the “anxiety, unknowability of the changing political situation” in a post-Brexit U.K.

The production is resolutely modern, built on programmed drums and clanging guitar noise. The London grime artist Skepta even joins him for a verse on “England Lost.”

“Ostensibly, it’s about seeing an England football team lose, but when I wrote the title I knew it would be about more than just that. It’s about a feeling that we are in a difficult moment in our history. It’s about the unknowability about where you are and the feeling of insecurity,” Jagger said in a statement.

“It’s obviously got a fair amount of humour because I don’t like anything too on the nose but it’s also got a sense of vulnerability of where we are as a country.”

The “Girls” actress Jemima Kirke also stars in a new clip for “Gotta Get A Grip.” The songs are Jagger’s first new solo material since 2001’s “Goddess In the Doorway.”

The MTV Video Music Awards are returning to California and getting a certified “California Gurl” to host.

Katy Perry took to her Twitter feed Thursday to announce her upcoming gig hosting -- and performing -- at the VMAs in August.

“I’ve been training with MTV in zero gravity, eating astronaut ice cream, and I’m on a group text with Buzz Aldrin and Neil deGrasse Tyson,” Perry said in a statement. “Come August 27th, I’ll be ready to be your MOONWOMAN! Brace for impact, kids.”

Perry will kick off the evening as the first announced performer for the ceremony. On Tuesday, Perry earned five VMA nominations for her video contributions over the last year, tying with the Weeknd, with only Kendrick Lamar earning more.

“We’re thrilled to have global phenomenon Katy Perry as the host and a performer at the 2017 VMAs,” said Bruce Gillmer, head of music and music talent for Global Entertainment Group, Viacom, in a statement from MTV. “She is at the forefront of music culture and the perfect person to anchor this year’s show, which promises to be one of the most diverse and music-filled in VMA history.”

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards will air from the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27.

Find a full list of nominees here.

Turns out “Saturday Night Live” was on to something when it cast Larry David to play Sen. Bernie Sanders.

During his freewheeling appearance Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills to promote the upcoming ninth season of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” David revealed that the resemblance is rooted in reality: Sanders is a distant relative.

“He’s in the line ... like a third cousin, or something,” he said.

The genealogical discovery comes courtesy of David’s appearance in an upcoming episode of the PBS series “Finding Your Roots.”

“I was very happy about that,” David said. “I figured there was some connection.”

David played Sanders on “Saturday Night Live” through the 2015-16 election cycle and also appeared alongside the senator on the late-night sketch show.

It’s the kind of family secret that David isn’t ashamed to admit.

“I love Bernie, yes,” David said. “I love Bernie.”

If there’s one upside to the Trump administration’s early-morning Twitter proclamations, it’s that it gives late-night shows all day to craft their reactions.

Wednesday began with President Trump announcing a ban on transgender individuals serving in the United States military and ended with late-night hosts uniformly blasting the policy decision in hilarious fashion.

On “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert had plenty to say about Trump’s tweets, which ended with an uncharacteristic “thank you.”

“Thank you?” Colbert responded, shocked, before offering his own profane two-word response to the president.

Colbert went on to discuss what he saw as the greatest fallacy of the president’s reasons for banning transgender soldiers: increased medical costs.

Though a 2016 study funded by the Pentagon found that military medical spending on transgender soldiers would increase anywhere from $2.4 million to $8.4 million, Colbert wanted to reframe those figures.

“To put that number in perspective, the military spends five times as much on Viagra,” Colbert explained, “And if your erection lasts for more than four hours, that’s too bad, because you’re stuck on a submarine for the next six months.”

On “The Daily Show” Trevor Noah had similar concerns about the president’s cost-related excuse, pointing out that taxpayers are paying $60 million for Trump to travel to his various properties throughout his presidency.

Noah also pondered which of Trump’s generals he’d consulted with, given that the Pentagon was unaware of his proclamation, suggesting that perhaps he’d spoken with The General Online.

“Late Night With Seth Meyers” also invoked the cartoon general from the car insurance commercials, when Meyers opted to turn discussion of Trump’s tweets over to four of his female writers.

“Today it might be trans people, but tomorrow it’s gay people, and then the next day it’s black people, and after that it’s women, and then it’s immigrants,” the writers pointed out, all of those groups represented between them.

On “The Tonight Show” Jimmy Fallon had the good sense to turn over a portion of his monologue to transgender comedian Patti Harrison, who had plenty to say about Trump’s Wednesday announcement.

“When I saw the headline this morning, at first I just read, ‘Donald Trump bans transgender people,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds like him,’” Harrison deadpanned. “But then I realized it was just in the military and I was shocked, because I assumed he already did that.”

But it was James Corden who took a completely different take on the transgender military ban, opting for a stylish and heartfelt song and dance, expressing his love and appreciation for the LGBT community.

Ringo Starr’s new LP includes a collaboration with fellow former Beatle Paul McCartney.

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Any time the surviving Beatles reunite on record is a historic occasion. But a new single from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr packs in even more classic-rock star power.

Starr’s new song “We’re on the Road Again” is one of several collaborations with his former bandmate on his new LP, “Give More Love.” The song also has guest appearances from Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter and Steve Lukather.

It’s a slightly goofy ode to life on the road, as Starr boasts that, “We play really tight; we play really loud” and cheekily references his own song “Photograph.”

The two Beatles last recorded together on Starr’s 2010 album, “Y Not,” and performed McCartney’s “Queenie Eye” at the 2014 Grammys. Starr announced the McCartney studio collaboration back in February, thanking the fellow Beatle in a Twitter post.

Set for release on Sept. 15, “Give More Love” will also feature cameos from Peter Frampton, Don Was, Richard Marx and Dave Stewart, among others.

You can hear Starr’s new track with Paul McCartney via Rolling Stone.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Patt Morrison Asks: Norman Lear, TV’s seriously funny icon

Actor-creator-executive producer Larry David speaks at the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” panel during the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP)

Larry David revealed the real reason “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is at last returning after a six-year hiatus: People wouldn’t stop bugging him about it.

The “Seinfeld” co-creator took the stage Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills -- joined by his “Curb” cohorts Susie Essman, Jeff Garlin and J.B. Smoove and executive producer Jeff Schaffer -- to discuss the show’s coming ninth season. So, why bring back the show now after all these years?

“I’m not a misser,” David told reporters. “I don’t really miss things, people that much, but I was missing it. I thought, yeah, what the hell. And I got tired of people asking me if the show was coming back. I couldn’t get asked that question anymore and I wasn’t ready to say, ‘No, never.’”

The often madcap and sometimes hilariously perplexing 30-minute panel -- led by David’s gruff wit and deadpans -- kicked off with a teaser for the season. There was David in a shower, David talking about constipation, David enduring the displeasure of middle-seat status on a flight.

“The amount of uncomfortable situations [real Larry David] has been in these last six years,” Schaffer said, “you’re going to see it all. It’s like we’re sitting in the Ft. Knox of awkward.”

As for TV Larry David, Schaffer said viewers will learn very quickly what he’s been up to during the years that have passed.

“Once the show starts to air, it will be self-evident,” he said. “It goes to this really strange, fun, crazy place.... And you will never expect where it ends.”

The trip to that ending begins Oct. 1 when the comedy returns to HBO. The 10-episode season brings back “Curb” favorites like Cheryl Hines, as well as frequent faces Richard Lewis, Bob Einstein, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

And what would a long-awaited return be without some guest stars? Elizabeth Banks, Ed Begley Jr., Carrie Brownstein, Bryan Cranston, Lauren Graham, Jimmy Kimmel, Nick Offerman, Nasim Pedrad and Elizabeth Perkins will get in on the fun.

For those who still need something to pin their hopes on about what this season will entail, Garlin offered this absurdly brilliant comparison.

“It really thematically follows ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ ... It’s more like the last one than the first few.”

Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming, addresses reporters at the Television Critics Assn.’s summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton on Wednesday.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

HBO, which has the hottest show on television with “Game of Thrones,” recently came under fire with the announcement of a new series called “Confederate” from a team that includes “Game of Thrones” producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. The series revolves around events that lead to the “Third American Civil War” and examines an alternate reality in which the South seceded from the Union and thus, slavery is still legal.

Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming, defended the project Wednesday during the premium network’s session at the summer edition of the Television Critics Assn. gathering at the Beverly Hilton.

Bloys said that, in hindsight, the announcement was mishandled because it lacked the context and the vision that he received from Benioff and Weiss in discussing the series.

He admitted it was “misguided” to believe they could simply announce a series with such a sensitive and volatile subject matter. “We could have done a better job with the press release,” he said. “There was no benefit of context.”

“My hope is people will judge the actual material instead of what it could be or should be or might be,” he said. “We’ll rise or fall based on that material.”

He added that he felt the series, rather than being divisive, would be able to advance “the racial discussion.” Although the topic is controversial, he said he and the producers of the show “all feel this is a risk worth taking.”

Bloys also stressed that the depiction of slavery would not echo “Gone With the Wind” and would not include whips and plantations.

In other major HBO news, former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart will perform a stand-up special at a date and time to be announced, and host the latest “Night of Too Many Stars,” an all-star benefit for autism.

Also, a movie reboot of HBO’s western “Deadwood” is closer to reality. Bloys said the show’s creator, David Milch, has completed a script that will please fans of the series while also being accessible to those less familiar with the show. But, he said, reuniting the large cast, which included Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane, may prove challenging.

Jon Stewart, seen here presenting at the ESPYS, will return to HBO for his first stand-up special in two decades.

(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Jon Stewart will headline two stand-up specials for HBO.

The news was announced Wednesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills.

The former “Daily Show” host will get a stand-up special — his first since since 1996’s “Jon Stewart: Unleavened” aired on the network. A date and location have not been confirmed.

“We’re excited to bring Jon to the network with this pair of specials,” said HBO programming president Casey Bloys in a statement. “We’ve all missed his uniquely thoughtful brand of humor.”

“I’m really thrilled to be able to return to stand-up on HBO,” added Stewart in a statement. ”They’ve always set the standard for great stand-up specials. Plus, I can finally use up the last of the Saddam Hussein jokes left over from my first special.”

Stewart will also host the latest “Night of Too Many Stars,” the all-star benefit for Next for Autism, a nonprofit organization focused on people living with autism spectrum disorder. The special will air live this fall and will take place from the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The specials are part of Stewart’s four-year deal with the premium cable network.

A-lister Angelina Jolie is adjusting to the domestic growing pains of life as a single mom — making a proper breakfast, keeping house and picking up dog poop.

“I never woke up and thought, I really want to live a bold life. I just can’t do the other. It’s the same as I can’t make a casserole. I cannot sit still,” she said in a sprawling new interview with Vanity Fair, in which she discussed her high-profile split from actor Brad Pitt.

“I’ve been trying for nine months to be really good at just being a homemaker and picking up dog poop and cleaning dishes and reading bedtime stories. And I’m getting better at all three. But now I need to get my boots on and go hang, take a trip,” the humanitarian said of her plans to head to Africa for a mission with the preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

The Oscar-winning actress explained how and when her marriage devolved, though she didn’t go into great detail about the breakup for the sake of their six kids.

The marriage began suffering in the summer of 2016 while she was in post-production on her fifth directorial effort, “First They Killed My Father,” a film about Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge genocide, which hits Netflix in September.

“Things got bad,” Jolie said. “I didn’t want to use that word. ... Things became ‘difficult.’”

The director became slightly defensive at the mention of the family’s globe-trotting lifestyle, which reportedly had been grating on Pitt.

“[Our lifestyle] was not in any way a negative,” she asserted. “That was not the problem. That is and will remain one of the wonderful opportunities we are able to give our children. ... They’re six very strong-minded, thoughtful, worldly individuals. I’m very proud of them.”

After 12 years together and a few years of marriage, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016. While her ex was couch-surfing, she and the kids spent nine months in a rental property before settling into a six-bedroom, 10-bathroom Los Feliz manse once owned by film legend Cecil B. DeMille.

“It’s just been the hardest time, and we’re just kind of coming up for air. [This house] is a big jump forward for us, and we’re all trying to do our best to heal our family.”

The divorce filing came suddenly “for the health of the family” on the heels of a spat Pitt had with their 15-year-old son, Maddox. They reached a divorce settlement privately in January after battling publicly for months over custody of the kids. The Oscar-winning producer had been vilified with accusations of child abuse and having an affair with his “Allied” costar Marion Cotillard. But he arguably won over public opinion with his introspective GQ Style interview in May in which he admitted to sobering up after “boozing too much.”

Last year, Jolie was diagnosed with hypertension and developed Bell’s palsy when nerve damage caused one side of her face to droop. She took up acupuncture to treat it.

“Sometimes women in families put themselves last,” she said, “until it manifests itself in their own health.”

That’s just the latest in her medical history. Following a preventative double mastectomy in 2013, she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed in 2015, which sent her into menopause.

“I can’t tell if it’s menopause or if it’s just been the year I’ve had,” she said, quipping about her dry skin and the idea that she could still be considered a sex symbol.

“I actually feel more of a woman because I feel like I’m being smart about my choices, and I’m putting my family first, and I’m in charge of my life and my health. I think that’s what makes a woman complete.”

For the record, Aug. 4, 12:55 p.m.: A previous version of this story said that “First They Killed My Father” would hit Netflix this month. It debuts in September.

(Taylor Jewell / Invision/Associated Press)

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(Mike Coppola / Getty Images for People)

“Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson says he’s “kind of “ engaged to singer FKA Twigs.

The actor addressed the engagement rumors Tuesday in a direct response to shock jock Howard Stern’s questioning on Sirius XM’s “The Howard Stern Show.”

“You’re engaged, right?” Stern said after calling the edgy English songstress his fiancée.

“Yeah, kind of,” Pattinson, 31, responded uneasily.

The “Good Time” star, whose relationships have been intensely scrutinized since he dated “Twilight” co-star Kristen Stewart at the height of the teen vampire frenzy, agreed that he’s been a bit protective of his romances. He’s been dating the “Water Me” singer, real name Tahlia Barnett, since 2014 and they’ve been rumored to be engaged since April 2015. Save for public appearances together, Pattinson has kept pretty mum about the relationship.

“It’s one of the most frustrating things in the world because you want to be able to” show off a relationship, he told Stern. “You kind of get stuck in this position where you have to make decisions whether you want to let the kind of crazy people in.”

Pattinson was referring to the “Twi-hards” or, as he called them, a “crack troupe of crazies” who believe every decision he makes is part of some big conspiracy.

“To protect [the relationship] you kind of think, I want to create a big boundary between it. But then it makes it difficult for your actual relationship,” he said.

Additionally, Pattinson also discussed the racial disparagement his fiancée faces on social media for dating him. He tries to tune out the hate when he can, but he isn’t always successful.

“I think it’s like professional trolls,” he said of rude commenters. “They get so addicted to kind of just wanting to cause hurt and pain on someone and it’s just one of the most difficult things to know how to confront. It’s a faceless enemy. ... It might seem fake to them, but it’s definitely real in your life.”

Pattinson said responding to hate can just be feeding into it.

“It makes me feel less powerful if you’re trying to attack” and make it go away. “It’s like trying to attack a reflection in the water or something. You just look crazy,” he said.

A profoundly bearded David Letterman made a rare talk-show appearance Monday -- one of just a handful of public ventures since the end of his run on “The Late Show” in 2015. Only this time, Letterman arrived as a guest.

In an unusual turn of events, the former late-night host played interviewee on the season premiere of stand-up comedian Norm Macdonald’s podcast, “Norm Macdonald Live.”

The longtime pals discussed a number of matters, from Letterman’s first-ever hosting gig (a game show called “Wordbusters”) to the time he found himself face to face with Richard Nixon.

The two also discussed late-night TV’s changing landscape and how Letterman never felt comfortable thinking of himself as the star of his own show.

“I could not possibly, and still don’t, consider myself a star, because I couldn’t refer to myself as a star,” Letterman said. “Johnny Carson was a star, there’s no question of that. So for me to adopt that -- ‘Starring Dave Letterman’ -- that was just ridiculous.

“In the same way, I always cringe a little when people refer to the folks who watch their show as their ‘fans,’” Letterman added. “I just think that’s a little too … you know, you kind of just stepped over the line of basic humility there.”

Macdonald commented on late-night’s packed roster of big-name hosts -- none of whom he finds particularly unique, except Conan O’Brien, who he thinks has “changed it up a little.”

On any plans for a late-night return to the host seat, Letterman told fans not to expect too much.

“I’ve done it for 30 years,” he said. “I don’t want to do it anymore.”

Watch the full episode above (warning: some profanity).

Olivia de Havilland at her Paris home in 2003.

(Jean-Marc Giboux / Getty Images)

Citing her advanced age, legendary actress Olivia de Havilland has filed a motion in her “Feud” lawsuit for a preferential trial date this fall.

De Havilland’s attorneys filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, requesting that the jury trial be set in November or no later than 120 days of her motion being granted. The 101-year-old is hoping that a judge will fast track the trial during her Sept. 13 hearing date, which is just days before “Feud” is expected to be a big winner at the Primetime Emmy Awards. (The miniseries is nominated for 18 awards.)

The “Gone With the Wind” star sued FX and “Feud” showrunner Ryan Murphy last month over her depiction in the miniseries about rival actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The two-time Oscar winner, who was played by actress Catherine Zeta-Jones on the show, makes legal claims about violations of her common law and statutory rights of publicity, her right to privacy and unjust enrichment.

“Based on her unusually advanced age, resulting particular susceptibility to disease, and recurring health issues, there is a substantial likelihood that she, as with anyone at this advanced age, may not survive for any extended period of time,” the motion said. “It is likely that if a trial preference motion is not granted, Olivia de Havilland will be prejudiced, because on the normal schedule, trial would not be set within the next 120 days.”

Her team also argued that because she is the sole plaintiff, De Havilland is crucial to the trial.

“Olivia de Havilland has a substantial interest in the litigation as a whole here as her personal statutory right of publicity cause of action does not survive her death. ... Further, should Olivia de Havilland die before her trial date, she will not be able to enjoy the benefits which she would receive in damages,” the motion said.

De Havilland’s June 30 lawsuit said the show damaged her “professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity.” She claimed that FX, Murphy and Fox producers never sought or obtained her permission to be depicted in the series and that Zeta-Jones’ portrayal of her in an episode about the 1963 Oscars cast her in a “false, hurtful and damaging light.”

The defendants have not yet responded to de Havilland’s initial filing.

According to Deadline, the Paris-based actress will not be attending the September hearing but may return to Hollywood if the trial is expedited to November.

Olivia de Havilland 101: Everything you need to know as the movie legend celebrates her 101st birthday

President Trump announced Wednesday via Twitter that he had decided to reverse the Obama administration’s decision to allow transgender people to serve openly in the armed forces.

“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” the president tweeted.

A 2016 study commissioned by the Pentagon found that Obama’s decision could increase military medical spending anywhere from $2.4 million to $8.4 million annually, a 0.13% increase over current medical spending.

Some celebs were incensed by Trump’s decision, taking to their own social media accounts to voice both their fury and support for the trans community.

Trump bars transgender people from serving ‘in any capacity’ in the U.S. military >>

(Dave Gatley / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Stones Reminisce, but Not in Tempo

Rest easy, citizens. Diana Prince will soon return to save us all.

Warner Bros. announced Tuesday night that the planned “Wonder Woman” sequel starring Comic-Con darling Gal Gadot and potentially helmed by Patty Jenkins will be landing in theaters Dec. 13, 2019.

“Wonder Woman” stormed theaters in June with glowing critical reviews, earning $103 million in its opening weekend and going on to gross more than $780 million worldwide (and counting).

The film is the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman (ousting Phyllida Lloyd’s “Mamma Mia!” for the honor) and the most successful DC Extended Universe film to date.

If you can’t wait two years for more Wonder Woman, Gadot’s character will appear in “Justice League” alongside her DC cohorts when the film opens Nov. 19.

Check out the new footage of “Justice League” released at San Diego Comic-Con, below.

(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

Snarky model Chrissy Teigen has joined the list of Twitter users barred from seeing President Trump’s tweets.

Because when “you’re fired” no longer applies, “you’re blocked” does.

The “Lip Sync Battle” co-host and outspoken critic of the president shared her new achievement -- and a screen grab notifying her that she can no longer view tweets on Trump’s personal account -- with a post on Monday night.

“After 9 years of hating Donald J Trump, telling him ‘lol no one likes you’ was the straw,” she wrote.

The snarky model was referring to her July 23 response to Trump’s tweet about some Republicans doing “very little to protect their president.”

Teigen, who along with husband John Legend has been openly critical of Trump, has called Trump “a racist pig,” a “national embarrassment” and a “proud type of insane” on the micro-blogging site. She has also said that his entire campaign was “built on lies” that his supporters are “too lazy to fact check.” She has outright said she hates him and tweeted at him a how-to guide to deactivating his account on his birthday.

MORE: Everything President Trump has tweeted (and what it was about)

The 31-year-old TV personality appears to be in good and growing company. Other celebrities blocked by Trump include novelist Stephen King and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” actress Marina Sirtis.

The frequency with which the president has been blocking users prompted the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University to file a federal lawsuit this month on behalf of seven Twitter users who say their 1st Amendment rights were violated after they were blocked from reading tweets on Trump’s personal account @realDonaldTrump, not the official @POTUS account, after criticizing him or his policies.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, names Trump, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and White House director of social media Dan Scavino as defendants. The Knight Institute sent a letter to the White House last month threatening legal action if it didn’t heed its call to unblock followers.

Luis Fonsi, left, and Daddy Yankee.

(Sergi Alexander / Getty Images)

“Despacito” singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and co-writer Erika Ender have condemned Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro for appropriating their international hit song for political gain.

The chart-topping Puerto Rican recording artists and Panamanian songwriter on Monday called out Maduro, currently the subject of violent and sometimes fatal nationwide protests over his policies, for reworking their lyrics to appeal to voters during his weekly television show on Sunday.

The revision promoted the leader’s plans for a controversial citizen’s assembly to be elected on July 30 and tasked with rewriting Venezuela’s 1999 constitution and bypassing the opposition-led legislature.

“Our call to the Constituent Assembly only seeks to unite the country ... despacito,” Maduro’s version said. The term “despacito” means slowly in Spanish and in the original version of the song refers to the singer’s wooing techniques.

Maduro’s supporters swayed to the remix dressed in matching T-shirts and baseball caps that brandished campaign slogans. the Associated Press said. The president was seen clapping along to the remix while the audience danced, according to the BBC.

“I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS,” Ender wrote in Spanish on Instagram, citing a news story about Maduro’s use of the song. “I cannot see so much pain in people I love so much. Warrior people, people with iron will. Good people, who are fighting for freedom of rights and expression. ... I love Venezuela, a land that has given me true brothers and sisters. Brothers who suffer because of the situation that exists.”

Ender also lamented seeing the song she co-wrote be used without permission “to advertise campaigns linked to a regime that has sowed so much discontent and suffering.”

“On repeated occasions, I have said how much I enjoy the versions of ‘Despacito’ that have been released on a global level. However there has to be a limit,” Fonsi also wrote in Spanish on Instagram. “I have never been consulted, nor have I authorized the use of or the change of lyrics of ‘Despacito’ for political means, much less in the middle of the deplorable situation in a country I love so much, Venezuela.”

He added that his music is “for everyone who wants to listen to it and enjoy it, not to use as propaganda that tries to manipulate the will of the people who are crying out loud for their liberty and a better future.”

Daddy Yankee took a much more blunt approach in his post, sharing an image of a news article about Maduro with a large red X superimposed on it.

“What can you expect of a person who has stolen lives from young dreamers and people who are looking for a better future for their children?” the reggaeton rapper wrote in Spanish.

“That you illegally appropriated ‘Despacito’ does not compare to the crimes you commit and have committed in Venezuela. Your dictatorial regime is a mockery not only for my Venezuelan brothers, but for the whole world. With that nefarious marketing plan, you will only continue to highlight your fascist ideology, which has killed hundreds of heroes and injured more than 2,000.”

Millions of Venezuelans joined a general strike last week amid economic turmoil and a shortage of food and medicine in the country. Government opponents dealt a symbolic blow on Sunday to Maduro, casting votes in an unofficial referendum that rejected his plan for the constitutional overhaul.

The government denounced the opposition balloting as illegal and seditious, according to The Times, but turnout appeared high at thousands of makeshift voting places set up throughout the country and abroad.

Matt Groening is ready to take another crack at this television thing.

The creator of “The Simpsons,” which debuts its 29th season on Fox this fall, has a new show courtesy of Netflix.

The streaming service provider announced Tuesday that it had ordered 20 episodes of “Disenchantment,” an adult animated comedy series set in a deteriorating fantasy kingdom.

The show centers around a hard-living young princess named Bean, voiced by Abbi Jacobson (“Broad City”), her elf companion, Elfo (Nat Faxon), and personal demon Luci (Eric Andre).

“Ultimately, ‘Disenchantment’ will be about life and death, love and sex, and how to keep laughing in a world full of suffering and idiots, despite what the elders and wizards and other jerks tell you,” Groening said in a statement Tuesday.

“Matt Groening’s brilliant work has resonated with generations around the world and we couldn’t be happier to work with him on ‘Disenchantment,’ ” Cindy Holland, vice president of original content for Netflix, said in a statement. “The series will bear his trademark animation style and biting wit, and we think it’s a perfect fit for our many Netflix animation fans.”

The series joins Netflix’s “Bojack Horseman” in aiming for an audience unafraid of exploring the less-savory aspects of adulthood.

“Disenchantment” will premiere on Netflix 10 episodes at a time, beginning in 2018.

Abbi Jacobson, left, and Ilana Glazer of the series “Broad City” speak at the Television Critics Assn. press tour at the Beverly Hilton on Tuesday.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision/Associated Press)

“Broad City” creators and stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson consider the bleeping out of President Trump’s name from the comedy’s upcoming fourth season a different kind of joke.

The two appeared onstage Tuesday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills to discuss the new season and how they reworked the show in the wake of Trump’s election.

“We just got to a point where in real life we’re talking about the current administration, we’re talking about Trump — and it sounds so gross every day saying it so many times,” Glazer said. “We just didn’t want to share airtime. He’s got enough of that.… It’s just a different kind of joke. It’s like an audio joke.”

The sitcom, which follows Glazer and Jacobson as heightened versions of themselves, has never been shy about getting political. But the fourth season presented its challenges. It was written under the assumption that Hillary Clinton would become president.

“We did more rewriting than ever before because this election had happened and the world changed or solidified, in a way,” Glazer said.

And with that came the decision to bleep out Trump’s name as if it were an expletive throughout the season. Because not talking about him wasn’t an option.

“For us to not be talking about it as friends in the show would have been insane and would have felt wrong,” Jacobson said.

“Broad City” returns for its fourth season Sept. 13.

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards just made it a lot harder for Kendrick Lamar to stay humble.

Announced Tuesday morning on Instagram Live, Lamar and the video for “Humble” scored the most nominations with eight, followed by Katy Perry and the Weeknd, both nabbing five apiece.

The VMAs also announced plans to follow in the footsteps of this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards by doing away with gendered categories. Best female video and best male video have now been collapsed into artist of the year, and the network has also introduced a “fight against the system” award for videos that actively fight injustice.

MTV, which announced the nominees with the help of Instagram influencers, has plenty of social media integration planned for the 2017 awards.

Fans can vote online for nominees in eight VMA categories, and voting for best new artist will remain live through the VMA pre-show. During the pre-show, the two finalists will be announced and Twitter hashtag voting will commence, with the winner crowned during the telecast.

Nominees for song of the summer, to be similarly voted on socially, will be announced at a later date.

The 2017 MTV Video Music Awards will air from the Forum in Inglewood on Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. PDT.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Katy Perry arrives at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

(Chris Polk / Getty Images)

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”

Bruno Mars – “24K Magic”

Alessia Cara – “Scars to Your Beautiful”

DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts”

The Weeknd – “Reminder”

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Bruno Mars

Kendrick Lamar

Ed Sheeran

Ariana Grande

The Weeknd

Lorde

BEST NEW ARTIST

Khalid

Kodak Black

SZA

Young M.A

Julia Michaels

Noah Cyrus

BEST COLLABORATION

Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez – “We Don’t Talk Anymore”

DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts”

D.R.A.M. ft. Lil Yachty – “Broccoli”

The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – “Closer”

Calvin Harris ft. Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean – “Feels”

Zayn & Taylor Swift – “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)”

BEST POP

Shawn Mendes – “Treat You Better”

Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You”

Harry Styles – “Sign Of The Times”

Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane – “Down”

Katy Perry ft. Skip Marley – “Chained To The Rhythm”

Miley Cyrus – “Malibu”

BEST HIP HOP

Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”

Big Sean – “Bounce Back”

Chance the Rapper – “Same Drugs”

D.R.A.M. ft. Lil Yachty – “Broccoli”

Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert – “Bad & Boujee”

DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper & Lil Wayne – “I’m The One”

BEST DANCE

Zedd and Alessia Cara – “Stay”

Kygo x Selena Gomez – “It Ain’t Me”

Calvin Harris – “My Way”

Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber and MØ – “Cold Water”

Afrojack ft. Ty Dolla $ign – “Gone”

BEST ROCK

Coldplay – “A Head Full of Dreams”

Fall Out Boy – “Young and Menace”

Twenty One Pilots – “Heavydirtysoul”

Green Day – “Bang Bang”

Foo Fighters – “Run”

BEST FIGHT AGAINST THE SYSTEM

Logic ft. Damian Lemar Hudson – “Black SpiderMan”

The Hamilton Mixtape – “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)”

Big Sean – “Light”

Alessia Cara – “Scars To Your Beautiful”

Taboo ft. Shailene Woodley – “Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL”

John Legend – “Surefire”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”

Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”

Ed Sheeran – “Castle on the Hill”

DJ Shadow ft. Run The Jewels – “Nobody Speak”

Halsey – “Now or Never”

BEST DIRECTION

Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”

Katy Perry ft. Skip Marley – “Chained to the Rhythm”

Bruno Mars – “24K Magic”

Alessia Cara – “Scars to Your Beautiful”

The Weeknd – “Reminder”

BEST ART DIRECTION

Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”

Bruno Mars – “24K Magic”

Katy Perry ft. Migos – “Bon Appetit”

DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – “Wild Thoughts”

The Weeknd – “Reminder”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”

A Tribe Called Quest – “Dis Generation”

KYLE ft. Lil Yachty – “iSpy”

Katy Perry ft. Skip Marley – “Chained to the Rhythm”

Harry Styles – “Sign of the Times”

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Kanye West – “Fade”

Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj – “Side to Side”

Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”

Sia – “The Greatest”

Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane – “Down”

BEST EDITING

Future – “Mask Off”

Young Thug – “Wyclef Jean”

Lorde – “Green Light”

The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – “Closer”

The Weeknd – “Reminder”

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Could Anne Hathaway be readying herself to become a Barbie girl in a Barbie world?

Deadline reported Monday that the Oscar-winning actress is in talks to play the doll with it all in a live-action film slated for release next summer from Sony and partner Mattel.

Amy Schumer previously had been attached to the picture before announcing in March that she would be unable to fill Barbie’s pink plastic shoes because of scheduling conflicts.

Hathaway would play a character who leaves Barbieland because she doesn’t fit the mold and ends up going on an adventure in the real world.

Though it’s not the “Ocean’s Eight” cast member we would have preferred, Hathaway’s returning to the realm of outsider comedy (“The Princess Diaries,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) could be a welcome change of pace.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The heart will go on a date!

“Titanic” stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are serving themselves up for charity, auctioning off a private dinner with the two of them at the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation’s fourth annual gala on Thursday, according to E! News and People.

The dinner is among the many auction items available for bidders at the star-studded event taking place in Saint-Tropez, France. The nonprofit, which supports various environmentally conscious causes, raised $45 million during its charity auction last year.

The Jack and Rose rendezvous will take place sometime in October or November, given the Oscar winners’ busy schedules, at a New York City restaurant of the winner’s choosing, according to People.

The glitzy charity gala is expected to be an “elegant evening” with a cocktail reception, live auction and performances, according to Page Six. It will be held at the Domaine Bertaud Belieu vineyard in the French Riviera.

DiCaprio and Winslet have been openly supportive of each other’s career since James Cameron’s blockbuster shipwreck film turned them into international superstars in 1997. The two famously reunited at the 2016 Golden Globes when DiCaprio earned the lead actor prize for his role in “The Revenant.”

(Perry C. Riddle / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Her Own Star Search

James Bond will officially make his sleek return to the big screen in 2019.

Bond 25, the as-yet untitled 25th film in the long-running 007 franchise, will debut in the U.S. on Nov. 8, 2019, EON Productions and MGM said in a joint statement on Monday.

The U.S. release follows the traditionally earlier release of the film in the U.K. and abroad.

Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who penned scripts for “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall” and “Spectre,” return as writers for the upcoming project, which will be produced by EON’s Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

The studios remained mum about Daniel Craig’s involvement in the wake of reports that the “Spectre” star would indeed reprise his role as the British secret agent. Craig infamously said that he would “rather slash [his] wrists” than return to the part; however, the U.K.’s Mirror reported earlier this month that Craig decided to stay on for Bond 25 after hearing of the wealth of British talent eyed to replace him.

This would be the actor’s fifth Bond flick since the 2006 installment, “Casino Royale.” He’s the sixth actor to play Ian Fleming’s spy since the first Bond film, “Dr. No,” debuted in 1962.

The studios said that details on distribution and the film’s cast and director will be announced at a later date.

Iggy Pop was in prime form at FYF Fest on Sunday.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

In skintight pants that could have been painted on, Iggy Pop planted his feet on the lip of the stage Sunday afternoon, lunging forward as if he were about to surf over the sea of fist-pumping hands.

He cocked his hips, curled his lip, slung a head of lank blond hair, hurled a microphone stand, fell to his knees to pound the floor with a belt and dropped enough f-bombs to warrant a “parental advisory” label.

In other words, the Iggy Pop who riled up FYF Fest on Sunday was the same hell-raiser we’ve seen and heard since the late 1960s. Perhaps no other American musician, save for departed Johnny Cash, has been so on brand as Pop has for nearly 50 years.

It’s sort of freakish how intact and vital Pop remains at 70. Sure, time has taken its toll on the punk pioneer, from his bare torso’s crinkled skin to the limp that’s noticeable only when he’s not prowling the stage like the streetwalking cheetah with a heart full of napalm he saluted in “Search and Destroy.” Otherwise, not much has changed.

Iggy Pop strikes a signature stance at FYF.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Opening with the sludgy riff of “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” his FYF set rumbled out of the speakers and sent festival-goers racing toward the stage. Iggy scorched the earth with a handful of classics from his arsenal of songs with the Stooges and from his solo catalog: “Gimme Danger,” “The Passenger,” “Lust for Life,” the latter of which remains rock’s ultimate life-affirming anthem.

“I’m Sick of You,” a rarity from his “Raw Power” era with the Stooges, was a nice surprise, allowing Pop to channel the laconic crooner he has become in his twilight years.

The only quibble? It’s too bad he didn’t showcase, aside from “Gardenia,” more material from “Post Pop Depression,” his excellent album last year with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme.

That was a minor point in a blistering performance that proved age hasn’t blunted Pop’s force. Who else on the FYF lineup – from any year – could possibly return as a septuagenarian?

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Shock rocker Alice Cooper has unearthed a potential masterpiece by his late pal Andy Warhol, which had been tucked away with touring equipment for more than 40 years.

A red “Little Electric Chair” silkscreen from Warhol’s menacing 1960s Death and Disaster series was “rolled up in a tube” and sat among 1970s stage props in a storage locker, Cooper’s longtime manager, Shep Gordon, told the Guardian. The piece had never been stretched onto a frame, the newspaper said.

Gordon, the subject of Mike Myers’ 2014 film “Supermensch,” said the piece was purchased by Cooper’s late girlfriend Cindy Lang for $2,500 back in the 1970s. The rocker, who was good friends with the tinsel-haired pop artist, famously feigned his own execution in an identical electric chair during his macabre, high-spectacle concerts. Warhol supposedly caught one of those shows, the Guardian said.

The theatrical rocker’s piece is unsigned and unauthenticated, but Gordon took the small canvas to a Warhol expert who said the silkscreen is the real deal. (A green version of “Little Electric Chair” dated to 1964 sold for $11.6 million in 2015.)

“Truthfully, at the time no one thought it had any real value,” Gordon said. “Andy Warhol was not ‘Andy Warhol’ back then. And it was all a swirl of drugs and drinking. But you should have seen Alice’s face when [Warhol expert] Richard Polsky’s estimate came in. His jaw dropped and he looked at me. ‘Are you serious? I own that!’”

The image is believed to be based on a 1953 press photo of the Sing Sing prison death chamber where Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed for passing the secret of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. It is among a morbid series that also features car accidents, suicides and even tainted cans of tuna.

Gordon began seeking out the red piece four years ago after an art dealer told him how much a Warhol had fetched at auction. Cooper’s mother was the one who remembered that the piece had gone into storage after her son declined to hang it in his home. Apparently he didn’t want something of such value to be in the house, the newspaper said.

However, Gordon said Cooper appears to have changed his mind.

The main entrance to the headquarters of the BBC in London, where 45 female television presenters are demanding equal pay.

(Frank Augstein / Associated Press)

The underpaid women of the BBC have spoken, and it seems the network is listening.

On Sunday, 45 exasperated female television presenters from the BBC wrote a letter to the public broadcaster demanding that it close its gender pay gap. Immediately. (Not three years from now, as BBC management had originally proposed.)

The memorandum followed last week’s release of the BBC’s salary report, which revealed that male BBC television and radio personalities earn significantly more than their female counterparts — even those who perform essentially the same job function.

The BBC responded with a 2020 target date to implement an equal pay standard. But Claire Balding — one of the BBC’s high-profile sports presenters and a leading voice in Sunday’s directive — thought the network could step up its efforts.

In a letter penned in response to the female presenters, BBC director Tony Hall agreed, saying that the U.K. network must address the salary rift with haste.

“I have committed the BBC to closing the gap by 2020 and if we can get there earlier then we will,” he wrote. “We are not, however, making a standing start. Work is already well underway across the organization to help achieve this. There will be wider consultation meetings over the next two months so we can accelerate further change in the autumn.”

Hall reiterated that he feels “confident” the salary figures will “look very different” when they’re published again next year, adding that closing the gap has been “a personal priority over the last four years.”

But, evidently, there’s still quite a bit of work ahead.

“When other organizations publish their gender pay data by next April,” Hall’s letter read, “I want the BBC to be one of the best performers when comparisons are made.”

“But beyond that,” he continued, “over the next three years I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity.”

Maxwell is returning to the Hollywood Bowl.

(Marcel Antonisse / EPA)

Maxwell is headed to the Hollywood Bowl.

The elusive soul crooner announced he’s returning to the Bowl for the first time in eight years on Oct. 8. The gig will be part of a small string of engagements he has booked in support of last year’s comeback record, “blackSUMMERS’night.”

Soul savant Raphael Saadiq and R&B songstress Jazmine Sullivan will join him for the show.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 11 a.m. through Ticketmaster.

Justin Bieber and his backup dancers.

(Christina House / For The Times)

A week after announcing the supporting acts on his upcoming stadium run, Justin Bieber has pulled the plug on his ongoing Purpose world tour “due to unforeseen circumstances.”

“Justin loves his fans and hates to disappoint them. He thanks his fans for the incredible experience of the Purpose World Tour over the last 18 months. He is grateful and honored to have shared that experience with his cast and crew for over 150 successful shows across 6 continents during this run. However, after careful consideration he has decided he will not be performing any further dates,” read a statement from the singer’s representatives on Monday.

Bieber was set to launch the latest leg of his tour on Saturday in Arlington, Texas, and had booked a date at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for Aug. 5.

Last week, he announced Migos, Kehlani, Martin Garrix and Vic Mensa would join him for the new dates.

Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.

Ang Ross of Oakland,takes in the band Cherry Glazerr as they perform at FYF Fest in Exposition Park in Los Angeles.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Festivals, at their core, are about escapism — getting lost in the music, discovering new talents, forgetting about the often sluggish rigors of daily life.

Solange demanded more for her set at FYF Fest on Sunday night.

“I want y’all to sing it away,” she instructed during her cathartic self-care anthem “Cranes in the Sky.”

Dressed in red from head to toe — the entirety of her eight-piece band were washed in matching hues — Solange’s real focus was on healing, which anchored her arresting breakout album, “A Seat at the Table.”

Arriving as debates on race relations and law enforcement were a flashpoint in a divisive presidential election, Solange’s confessional autobiography on being black in America provided a much-needed salve. It was one of 2016’s most ambitious works.

Choreographed and composed completely by the singer, Solange’s set was an unbridled celebration of black joy that matched the album’s urgency.

Amid a backdrop of imposing geometric figures that looked like a blood moon and a pyramid, Solange and her band fluidly moved through an hourlong show that was a breathtaking watch for anyone who has followed her bumpy journey from sassy, teen-pop-R&B to artful savant.

Much of the night was centered on her triumphant “A Seat at the Table.”

Delicate album opener “Rise” was extended here with the singer and her two backing vocalists moving their bodies in unison as they reached for higher notes before the lush organs and guitars of “Weary” kicked in.

For “Mad,” a bouncy soul record exploring the frustration of being pegged as the “angry black woman,” she let out a releasing howl that was matched by a number of women in the crowd and she brought the audience to a standstill when she unpacked “Don’t Touch My Hair.”

Solange was at her best when she and her band turned the stage into a jam session. She erupted into joy while unpacking her jazzy, jubilant number “F.U.B.U.” as a line of trumpet and saxophone players shimmed onstage. She entered the crowd to sing an entire verse with a black female fan, further speaking to the album’s aim to connect directly to the black experience.

“A Seat at the Table” was the first time many heard her outside of the shadow of her mega-star sister Beyoncé. It’s understandable, but a shame considering she’s been putting out eclectic records since she was a teen. She touched on some of her early work during Sunday’s show.

She riffed on the “Proud Family” theme she wrote at 15 (it featured her sister’s group, Destiny’s Child) to the delight of her most ardent fans and offered a more stripped-down, almost sensuous take of “T.O.N.Y.” from her eclectic “Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams.”

It was remarkable seeing the showwoman she’s become, masterfully leading the band through a myriad of sonic breakdowns and improvising with her vocalists.

“I feel so much gratitude that I’ve been able to evolve and experiment,” she acknowledged before diving into “Losing You,” the sticky dance-R&B gem that served as her breakout single.

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How Frank Ocean — and Brad Pitt — made FYF Fest feel one of a kind

Bjork shows the humanity in machinery at FYF Fest

After a long absence, Missy Elliott returns — and turns FYF Fest into a dance party

In impressive 3-D set, Flying Lotus breaks the fourth wall at FYF Fest

From serene to savage, Angel Olsen goes in for the kill at Friday’s FYF Fest

Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s tumultuous high school years get a close-up in the first teaser for “My Friend Dahmer,” which was released over the weekend.

“I’m just like anybody else,” says Dahmer, played by Disney Channel alum Ross Lynch, in the teaser.

The biopic, which played at the Tribeca and Los Angeles film festivals earlier this year, chronicles Dahmer’s early days leading-up to his killing rampage of 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991.

“This is the story before that story,” reads the trailer’s log line.

Lynch plays severely against type as the 17-year-old Dahmer during a time when the alienated teen dissolved roadkill in acid and talked of his fascination with bones. (Dahmer, whose later crimes included rape, necrophilia and dismemberment, was sentenced to 16 life terms in prison before he was beaten to death by a fellow inmate in 1995 at age 34.)

“My Friend Dahmer” writer-director Marc Meyers based the film on John Derf Backderf’s graphic novel, an account of Backderf’s own high school experiences with the future serial killer.

Dahmer’s quirky antics in high school gave rise to the Jeffrey Dahmer Fan Club headed up by Backderf. The film focuses on the various internal and external factors that bred the serial killer when he was a disengaged, alcoholic teen struggling with his parents’ marital tension and understanding his sexual proclivities.

Dahmer’s odd behavior, including outbursts at school, creepy lab procedures and voyeurism, visits with his doctor, and his father’s plea for him to be more normal are emotional moments showcased in the trailer.

Dallas Roberts plays his father; Anne Heche plays Dahmer’s mother; and Vincent Kartheiser plays his doctor. Derf is played by “In Treatment” actor Alex Wolff.

FilmRise acquired the crime drama in May and will release the film in the fall.

(Natt Lim / Getty Images / FYF)

A few years ago, it wasn’t certain when -- or if -- Kehlani would tour again. The singer’s mental health troubles (and scars from an extremely tough childhood) threatened her burgeoning career, and one of R&B’s most promising young voices was clearly in deep, deep pain.

But in less than a year she’s already played three knockout sets at three of SoCal’s most important festivals -- Flog Gnaw, Coachella and now a barn-burner at FYF Fest on Sunday night. That would take stamina for any act, but for one who has been through all that she has, it may be the most laudable comeback in recent pop music.

With fiery red hair extensions and a small, nimble band of drummers and dancers, Kehlani danced with physical grace and sang with outsized passion. Nine Inch Nails was just about her only competition at the end of the night, so the Trees stage was packed out to every inch of the lawn with fans who wanted something breezier to listen to.

Kehlani delivered, but there was always an edge of pain and hard-learned truths to her songs. Tunes like “Distraction” and “Gangsta” weren’t nearly as despondent as Trent Reznor’s over at the Main Stage. But her fans knew that Kehlani’s been through just as much, and came out the other side at the absolute top of her game.

MORE from FYF:

How Frank Ocean — and Brad Pitt — made FYF Fest feel one of a kind

Bjork shows the humanity in machinery at FYF Fest

After a long absence, Missy Elliott returns — and turns FYF Fest into a dance party

In impressive 3-D set, Flying Lotus breaks the fourth wall at FYF Fest

From serene to savage, Angel Olsen goes in for the kill at Friday’s FYF Fest

It’s safe to say that the last couple of minutes of Sunday night’s Season 2 premiere of “Insecure” had viewers saying a variation of: “OMG … what … uh, did he just leave with his mail?”

(Warning: The rest of this post breaks down a major spoiler from the episode.)

The second season picks up a couple of months after Season 1 left off. Issa Dee (Issa Rae), in her effort to move on from Lawrence (Jay Ellis), has reluctantly plunged into the dating scene. Her real goal, though, is to find a way to connect with Lawrence — using his mail as bait. But he has been dodging her attempts. At least for a while.

In the last few minutes of the episode, titled “Hella Great,” Lawrence knocks on Issa’s door under the guise that he’s there to pick up the mail. But the two end up having quickie sex on the couch.

With the return of ‘Insecure,’ Issa Rae looks to loosen her character’s inhibitions »

“That was something we discussed early on in the writers room — we knew that Lawrence and Issa were going to have sex again,” Rae said. “We were thinking about having it happen later in the season, just because we ended the last season in a place where there was no charge. We thought we needed space. But, given that we start the episode about 2½, three months later, it just felt like once you do that, you get it out of the way, you don’t know where things are going to go after that.”

We spoke about the scene with Rae, as well as showrunner Prentice Penny and episode director Melina Matsoukas.

Read More

It turned out that Michael Phelps was no match for a shark, even a simulated one.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times, left; Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

In an odd battle of man-versus-wild, Michael Phelps was going to swim a 100-meter race against a great white shark during Sunday night’s “Shark Week” kickoff. At least that’s what fans were expecting.

Of course, the Olympian was never going to risk damaging his gold medal-winning physique for a Discovery Channel-sponsored race with a shark. But the event’s lead-up, which the network billed as “Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White,” had viewers convinced otherwise.

Last week, in an interview with “Good Morning America,” Phelps clarified some misconceptions about the event.

“We’re not in the water at the same exact time,” he said. “I think that’s the one thing we all — we want everyone to know — I was safe, which was No. 1.”

But as it turns out, Phelps’ safety wasn’t too high on anyone else’s list of concerns.

Phelps hopped into a 100-meter stretch of water off the coast of Mossel Bay, South Africa, and took off down the makeshift lanes.

Much to viewers’ dismay, Phelps swam the “race” solo, time-trial style. His great white competitor was actually a CGI version of a shark, which supposedly imitated what would have been a real-life shark’s speed.

Some viewers noted the program’s convenient use of simulated imaging, which suggested that humans and sharks swim at comparable speeds. In reality, even a seemingly herculean swimmer like Phelps can’t swim more than 6 mph, compared with the great white’s 26 mph.

Let’s just say that many “Shark Week” aficionados were less than enthused.

And the winner was? Phelps lost the race to his gilled, computer-generated opponent -- but only by two seconds. And, in typical Phelps fashion, the hyper-competitive Olympian proposed a rematch.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Chester Bennington’s Linkin Park bandmates wrote an open letter to their late vocalist on Monday that touched on his inner demons and their uncertain future.

Bennington, who also fronted Dead by Sunrise and later joined Stone Temple Pilots, died by hanging at his Palos Verdes Estates home last week, the Los Angeles County coroner confirmed Friday. He was 41.

“Our hearts are broken. The shockwaves of grief and denial are still sweeping through our family as we come to grips with what has happened,” said the letter, which was addressed to “Dear Chester” and posted on Facebook on Monday morning along with a new suicide-prevention website.

The grunge rock group, which barreled out of Southern California in 2000 with its smash hit album “Hybrid Theory,” reassured the late singer that he touched more lives than he realized, as shown by the “outpouring of love and support, both public and private, from around the world” over the last few days. It also reminded Bennington and readers that he was the best husband to his wife, Talinda, and father to their son.

“The family will never be whole without you,” the letter said.

The most poignant part of the note came when the band recalled Bennington’s dynamic personality and how his inner struggles brought a humanity to his music.

Bennington’s excitement about their years to come was infectious, the band said, and his absence “leaves a void that can never be filled — a boisterous, funny, ambitious, creative, kind, generous voice in the room is missing.”

However, the Grammy-winning act seemed determined to carry on, noting that its love for making and performing music “is inextinguishable.”

“While we don’t know what path our future may take, we know that each of our lives was made better by you. Thank you for that gift. We love you, and miss you so much,” they said.

The end of the letter urged readers to visit Chester.LinkinPark.com, which housed tribute tweets from fans and suicide-prevention resources.

Read Linkin Park’s full letter below.

(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Superhero redux: Lynda Carter soars in ‘Sky High,’ but she takes roles as normal people too

Nicolas Jaar

(Timothy Norris / Getty Images)

After two days of circling the FYF grounds at Exposition Park (and with, as one’s hamstrings will surely remind you, one full day left to go), an after-party is probably the last thing on anyone’s mind.

But as downtown L.A.’s underground club music scene has grown into a stable, choice-packed circuit every weekend, FYF has risen to the occasion.

This year, a range of excellent and challenging producers played long sets that took fans from a daytime idyll into nighttime ambience. For a few, that even meant sneaking off to a late-night warehouse for one more round.

As the sun went down over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the producers Avalon Emerson and Daniel Avery brought mercurial, alien moods to the Woods stage. Each can fit neatly into a traditional techno environment, but they’re album artists at heart, and think hard about how long sets can find a plot line.

Around the corner at the Outer Space, a triple-team of DJ Harvey, Horse Meat Disco and Young Marco had brighter, major-key vibes on their decks, and played off each other’s sensibilities.

Coupled with Nicolas Jaar’s sous-vide approach to live club music (a very slow boil, perfect execution, a mighty payoff at the end) on the Trees stage outside, FYF’s growing adeptness with edgy dance music could be a promising direction going forward, maybe even part of a push to transform more of the city’s nightlife.

Frank Ocean was the story of the night, to be sure. But as the day’s margaritas turned into night’s strobe-lit abandon, some fans weren’t quite ready to go home.

At a Skid Row warehouse very early on Sunday morning, Emerson and Young Marco played another sort-of-sanctioned late-night gig. It was packed and smoky and maybe a little overwhelming after a long day, but watching their music transition from Goldenvoice-approved professionalism back into downtown grit was like going back in time to when FYF felt a little on edge.

It was a very fond memory.

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Bjork shows the humanity in machinery at FYF Fest

After a long absence, Missy Elliott returns — and turns FYF Fest into a dance party

In impressive 3-D set, Flying Lotus breaks the fourth wall at FYF Fest

From serene to savage, Angel Olsen goes in for the kill at Friday’s FYF Fest