Movie Review: A weird ‘Superman’ is better than a boring one
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a … a purple and orange shape-shifting chemical compound? Writer-director James Gunn’s “Superman” was always going to be a strange chemistry of filmmaker and material. Gunn, the mind behind “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad,” has reliably drifted toward a B-movie...
TV Q&A: Will ‘Deadliest Catch’ air new episodes this year?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Do you have any info on whether “Deadliest Catch” will be on this year? — Deb via Facebook Rob: I hadn’t realized “Deadliest Catch” did...
PICT Theatre’s popular ‘Bards from the Burgh’ staged reading series is back
For its third year, PICT Classic Theatre will bring back its “Bards from the Burgh” staged reading series at Carnegie Stage in Carnegie. The series will allow theater enthusiasts to hear four never-before-seen plays read onstage by actors. All four playwrights have connections to Pittsburgh. PICT artistic director Elizabeth Elias...
Gin Blossoms singer Robin Wilson talks collabs with Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors ahead of Pittsburgh tour stop
Over the course of their almost 40-year career, Arizona alternative rockers Gin Blossoms have hit the road extensively with Spin Doctors, but they’ve never toured with Blues Traveler. Until now. The trio of bands, which all scored huge radio hits in the 1990s, is together for a summer tour, which...
’16 & Pregnant’ alum Whitney Purvis arrested on involuntary manslaughter charges
“16 and Pregnant” star Whitney Purvis has been arrested and is being held in police custody for felony involuntary manslaughter involving the fatal overdose of chef John Mark Harris. According to records, sheriff’s deputies nabbed the former reality star in Floyd County, Ga., on Monday. She was charged for intentionally...
Ozzy Osbourne says farewell to live performance with a hometown show for 40,000 fans
LONDON — Hard-rock royalty and some 40,000 fans gathered for an ear-splitting tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at what the heavy metal icon says was his last live performance. The original lineup of Osbourne’s band Black Sabbath performed at Villa Park soccer stadium in their home city of Birmingham, central England,...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: The Zells
The Zells released a pair of singles — “Dog’s Night” and “You Are Not the Moon” — on July 1 as the band looks forward to even more new music down the road. “The plan is to start recording our third full length album in early 2026,” bassist Roman Benty...
TV Talk: 25 years after PBS’s living history series, Magnolia goes ‘Back to the Frontier’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. It’s been more than two decades since the advent of PBS’s living history series that began with 1999’s “The 1900 House” and 2002’s “Frontier House.” These quasi-social experiment series took a diverse array of everyday...
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ bites off $318 million at the global box office
Dinosaur fatigue may be a theme in “Jurassic World Rebirth,” but moviegoing audiences don’t seem to have that reservation. The newest installment in the “Jurassic World” franchise ruled the Fourth of July holiday box office with a global, five-day launch of $318.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Universal...
Murrysville church restores 1930s painting for 205th anniversary
Painters dab a variety of materials onto their canvases. Oil paint. Pastel paint. Watercolor paint. But milk paint? “The materials relate directly to the time period,” said Michael Belman, referring to a 1930s-era painting at Emmanuel Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ in Murrysville, which he recently finished...
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra starts off Independence Day right with their Americana Concert
On the eve of Independence Day, an enthusiastic audience gathered to celebrate America’s musical legacy. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra held its annual Americana Concert on Thursday at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Oakland. They shone a bright spotlight on mostly American composers, with a focus on militarily...
‘Star Wars’ actor Kenneth Colley dies at 87
Kenneth Colley, a British actor known for playing Admiral Piett in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died at 87. Colley died at his home in England on Monday, according to a statement shared by his agent, Julian Owens. Colley had been admitted to a hospital for an arm injury...
Michael Madsen, ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ star, dies at 67
LOS ANGELES — Michael Madsen, whose menacing characters in “Reservoir Dogs” and “Kill Bill” made him a standout in Quentin Tarantino’s films, has died. He was 67. Madsen was found unresponsive in his home in Malibu, California, on Thursday morning and pronounced dead, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Watch Commander...
Poison drummer Rikki Rockett revamps classic rock songs with The Rockett Mafia
When Poison drummer Rikki Rockett brings his new group The Rockett Mafia to town, even he isn’t 100% sure about what’s going to be played. “We change our mind every other day, I swear to God. That’s what’s cool is, whatever you see this time, you probably will not see...
Here are 5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: July 4-6
As we look forward to Independence Day weekend, schedules will be packed with barbecues, fireworks and fun. But in between all of the hot dogs and dips in the pool, take some time to see what’s going on in the city. Here are five events to enhance your three-day weekend....
‘Back to the Future: The Musical’ brings the blockbuster movie to futuristic life
Forty years ago this very day, a film for the ages opened in theaters. Starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, “Back to the Future” would go on to become the highest grossing film of 1985, earning nearly $400 million worldwide. With an engaging plot and irresistible humor, it’s become...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh native celebrates ‘Jaws @ 50;’ Apple TV+ show seeks extras
This 50th anniversary summer since the release of Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws,” which ushered in the box office blockbuster era, got the attention of local theatergoers last month with Barebones Productions’ “The Shark Is Broken,” a stage play set behind the scenes during the making of “Jaws.” And “Jaws” content remains...
Celebrities react swiftly to Diddy’s trial verdict
The split verdict Wednesday against Sean “Diddy” Combs has sparked controversy — and the reactions on social media have been just as swift. Some of the fastest responses came from celebrities who knew the music mogul personally. Rapper 50 Cent, who has had an over 20-year feud with Diddy, took...
311 jams their way into July at Stage AE
Summer is here (whether we like the way it arrived or not), and that means more than just scorching temperatures. There are also pool parties, long drives with the windows down and lazy, sunny afternoons to look forward to. And, of course, summer jams to soundtrack it all. Few bands...
TV Q&A: Did KDKA’s Lauren Linder leave?
Q: Did Lauren Linder leave KDKA-TV news? — Dave, via Facebook Rob: She did not. Linder simply moved from mornings to the dayside shift. It happens often that viewers question if a reporter left a station when the reporter just moved to work a different shift, a news time the...
Former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, a Pittsburgh native, dies at 73
Former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, a native of Pittsburgh, died Monday at age 73. Shooter died after battling esophageal cancer, according to several reports. A 1969 graduate of Bethel Park High School, Shooter plotted stories for DC Comics as a teenager, created dozens of characters for several companies and...
Pittsburgh’s Frame and Mantle release 2nd album, ‘Well of Light’
Pittsburgh’s Frame and Mantle could be described as indie rock or post-emo, but a cursory listen on Spotify might give the impression that horns play a larger role. “I think that’s what people gravitate toward mainly, if they’re a listener, which I love,” guitarist Brian Thompson said. “That’s awesome that...
‘Jurassic World’ needed a restart. Steven Spielberg knew who to call
NEW YORK — EXT JUNGLE NIGHT An eyeball, big, yellowish, distinctly inhuman, stares raptly between wooden slats, part of a large crate. The eye darts from side to side quickly, alert as hell. So begins David Koepp’s script to 1993’s “Jurassic Park.” Like much of Koepp’s writing, it’s crisply terse...
‘Hershey’ filming wraps in Western Pa.; 1st look at Finn Wittrock, Alexandra Daddario published
Filming on “Hershey” has wrapped after over seven weeks of filming in 17 locations in Pennsylvania, including Ligonier, and consuming thousands of pieces of chocolate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Behind-the-scenes set photographs were published by the news outlet. Director Mark Waters has said the film will focus on the...
Documentary celebrating Pittsburgh radio station WAMO in the works
Multiple generations of Pittsburghers — from baby boomers to millennials and beyond — grew up with radio station WAMO as the background soundtrack to their lives. Now, ex-WAMO on-air personality Tashee “TeeJay” Johnson is bringing the station’s history to the screen with the documentary “WAMO: The Sound of the Steel...
