Entertainment

In the series titled “Mountainhead,”, four individuals have self-proclaimed as the Brewsters, and they’ve been meeting regularly for such an extended period that their unconventional poker games have amassed quite a bit of folklore. The regulations include no negotiations (despite constant talk about business), no meals (the staff has been dismissed, leaving them to survive on snacks), and no high heels (implying the absence of women, although each of these men’s personal lives appear to be troubled). They have given each other nicknames; Jason Schwartzman, whose character Hugo is worth $521 million, goes by “Soup Kitchen” or “Soupes” for short, while Steve Carell’s character, Randall, the senior member and de facto leader, is known as “Papa Bear.” There’s a tale about an incident in Palo Alto where they may have masturbated onto a Pop-Tart and eaten it. A tradition involves the men writing their net worths on their chests and being crowned with crowns, captain’s hats, or sailor caps based on their wealth. Currently leading is Venis (Cory Michael Smith) at $220 billion – a sneering psychopath whose social media company, Traam, recently released a set of tools enabling deep fakes, causing growing concern and alarm through unsettling phone alerts. Jeff, in third place but rapidly advancing, benefits from the disasters caused by Traam’s latest update due to his AI safety measures company.

In this game show, each season presents five comedians with peculiar challenges using everyday items to score points. As the first American competitor, Mantzoukas adds a lively and unique touch of frustration to the challenging and mysterious tasks that has only made an already amusing season more hilarious. To celebrate the midpoint of this season, we chatted with Mantzoukas over Zoom about his time on the show and the impact being American had on the experience.

On May 28th, Swedish magazine Icon and Swedish state broadcaster SVT reported that Swedish actor Hans Crispin has been in possession of a stolen copy of a film for some time. He recently showed this film to a few journalists as evidence. The question now is, what will he do with it, and why does it matter so much? Here’s everything you should know about this movie, including the reason why the U.S. Library of Congress stopped public screenings of it after Lewis donated his personal collection.

On a Wednesday, it was announced that Alf Clausen had been let go from his position as long-term composer on The Simpsons after 27 years. This news is a significant blow. Although Danny Elfman is the creator of the show’s iconic theme song, Clausen’s influence on the music of The Simpsons is incomparable. Not only has he scored every single scene since 1990, but he also created the tunes for beloved songs from season five and beyond. Prior to working on The Simpsons, Clausen honed his skills as a composer for many years. He had an extraordinary ability to compose large-scale, traditional show tunes while simultaneously parodying music in a way that made it unique enough for fair use. This talent is why Matt Groening has always referred to him as the show’s “secret weapon.” In light of today’s news, let us reminisce about some of Clausen’s most memorable compositions on The Simpsons.

Over several decades, Kim Dickens has portrayed numerous compassionate, pragmatic characters across different eras and post-apocalyptic settings. She refers to many of the directors she’s worked with as “my Daves,” including David Fincher on House of Cards and Gone Girl, Dave Erickson on Sons of Anarchy and Fear the Walking Dead, and David Simon on Treme (almost We Own This City, but timing wasn’t right). A significant professional bond she has is with David Milch, who created Deadwood and cast Dickens as the faithful, resourceful, and kind madam Joanie Stubbs in his colorfully profane series about the notorious frontier town. Over two decades after Deadwood premiered, Dickens is once again collaborating with the Milches: David’s daughters Olivia and Elizabeth, where she plays a conflicted detective in their Prime Video miniseries, The Better Sister, whose temperament eventually leads to her downfall.

In the world of cinema, the trilogy consisting of “Meet the Parents” (2000), “Meet the Fockers” (2004), and “Little Fockers” (2010) amassed a staggering $1 billion at the box office, as reported by Box Office Mojo. Following her role in “Wicked,” which also made an impressive $755 million, Ariana Grande has now expressed interest in comedy acting. She shared her enthusiasm for acting on the “Las Culturistas” podcast on November 6, stating, “I love acting… It heals me to do that, finding roles to use these parts of myself, and put them in little homes and characters.” Interestingly, if all goes as planned, Grande will release a movie over the Thanksgiving weekend for three consecutive years, making it a tradition she’s dubbed “thanking goodness”!

Initially, the core of ‘Hacks’ was a heartwarming yet oversimplified exploration of writing and the contrast between art and commercialism in one individual’s portrayal of their life story, set against the backdrop of Hollywood careers. Unlike other shows focusing on the chaos and absurdity of producing a show-within-a-show, ‘Hacks’ delved into therapy-driven self-awareness rather than technical craftsmanship. However, by season four, ‘Hacks’ has evolved from being a comedy series to a more genre-focused exploration of late-night television and the trajectory of a Hollywood career. The show has taken on a more cynical and generalized approach, straying from the unique aspects that once differentiated it from other inside-Hollywood productions. This shift hasn’t necessarily resolved all of ‘Hacks”s issues, but the series now appears to be driven by purpose and coherence in ways it hadn’t before. The tension between whether truth should be valued in comedy might not be a complex issue, but the question of whether a network late-night talk show can still remain popular – that is a challenge, and it has introduced a tension into season four that was previously absent from ‘Hacks’.

Greg Daniels, one of the show creators, mentioned that they enjoyed the concept of his absence lasting for some time, and the most typical Mayberry-like refuge for a family would be an Aramco base, symbolizing an idealized version of suburban America. They had been in Saudi Arabia and upon their return, they had missed out on numerous contemporary cultural shifts.

In the movie “Bring Her Back,” Andy, who could be considered one of the main characters, lacks the usual swagger typically associated with such roles. Instead, he’s a 17-year-old boy who’s traumatized and lost, standing on the brink of adulthood but still very much a child. The film presents Andy in a strikingly raw manner, reminiscent of Mia from “Talk to Me,” who masked her intense neediness with humor and a smile, keeping her pain hidden within. Andy has taken on the role of protector for his younger stepsister, Piper, shielding her from bullying and hiding their father’s abuse. Following their father’s sudden death, he intends to become her guardian so they can live together once he turns 18 in a few months. However, this plan is complicated by his past which has labeled him as “troubled,” potentially jeopardizing their chances of staying together in foster care. Throughout the movie, there are intriguing but underdeveloped themes about how society tends to view young men as potential threats, overlooking the possibility that they might be victims themselves. Andy’s tumultuous past makes him an easy target for Laura, the foster mother who reluctantly takes them both in.

In the ninth season of “Summer House,” the tension between Ciara and West was merely one of several simmering conflicts. To put it another way, their past disagreement felt more like leftovers compared to other breakups within the house. However, even though they appear relatively calm compared to others, there’s still a hint of underlying tension between the newcomer and veteran. Here’s an analysis of the fallout between “Summer House” newbie and veteran.