HBO’s ‘The Defiant Ones’ Defines Two Legends of Modern Music
Jul07

HBO’s ‘The Defiant Ones’ Defines Two Legends of Modern Music

A kid from Compton and a Brooklyn boy. Exactly no one could have predicted that these two disparate childhoods in humble circumstances on opposite coasts would breed two of the most innovative men in the music industry—Andre Young (Dr. Dre) and Jimmy Iovine– and that their eventual partnership would prove to be a game-changer, setting off ripples that still emanate through contemporary culture and in recent years, technology....

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From ‘Divorce’ to ‘Berlin Station’ to ‘Mars,’ A Preview of Cable’s Most Buzzworthy Shows
Aug17

From ‘Divorce’ to ‘Berlin Station’ to ‘Mars,’ A Preview of Cable’s Most Buzzworthy Shows

It’s inevitable that there will be some verbal fireworks mixed in with the vast slate of programming presented at the cable portion of the TCA summer press tour held at the Beverly Hilton. Last year, there was a media-manufactured showdown between Michael Lombardo and Chris Albrecht over the similarities of HBO’s “Ballers” and Starz’ “Survivor’s Remorse,” with Albrecht conclusively admonishing the assembled television journalists to...

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‘The Americans’ Comes in From the Emmy Awards Cold
Jul14

‘The Americans’ Comes in From the Emmy Awards Cold

The Cold War spy drama “The Americans,” in its fourth season on FX, has finally surfaced where it should – on the list of major nominations for the 68th annual Primetime Emmy Awards released today. Stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, and on screen and off screen couple who recently welcomed a baby boy, both got tapped–as did the show itself for best drama series. But the competition will be more than brutal, as one of the other...

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‘Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures’ a Revelatory View of an Iconic Artist
Apr04

‘Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures’ a Revelatory View of an Iconic Artist

Even as HBO’s “Vinyl” presents a fictionalized look at the music and drug scene in New York in the 1970s, its new  feature-length documentary “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures” presents the real world art, gay and drug scene of the era as it delves inside the life and times of the controversial photographer whose work continues to resonate decades after his death. The title of the film is a quote from the ultraconservative Sen....

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Binge on Frank Sinatra for the Centennial of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ Birthday
Dec11

Binge on Frank Sinatra for the Centennial of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ Birthday

Start spreading the news. December 12, 2015 marks 100 years since the birth of one of the most famous people in American pop culture–and HBO honors the occasion by re-running the four-hour documentary, “Sinatra: All or Nothing at All” which originally aired in April over two nights. The family of Frank Sinatra wanted to mark the centennial of the legendary crooner’s birthday in a big way befitting his iconic status. So they...

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