When does Sajak’s final episode air?

The “Wheel of Fortune” Season 41 finale, titled “Thanks for the Memories,” airs at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday on ABC. Thursday’s penultimate episode included a farewell message from Sajak’s longtime co-host, Vanna White.

How long has Sajak hosted?

Sajak has hosted the Hangman-style game show for more than 40 years, stepping in for original host Chuck Woolery during the second season in 1982, when “America’s Game” still aired on daytime television.

“Wheel of Fortune” debuted in 1975 with Woolery and Susan Stafford leading the show before the “Love Connection” host departed over a salary dispute with NBC. Legendary producer Merv Griffin hired Sajak and famous letter-turner White in 1982, and the two have become fixtures of the series. In 2019, Sajak scored the Guinness Book of World Records title for longest career as a game show host on the same show. He will retire with almost 8,000 episodes to his name.

He earned three Daytime Emmy Awards as game show host during his run and a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He also has a People’s Choice Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame credited to his “Wheel” run.

In 2021, “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” premiered in prime time on ABC with Sajak usually serving as host.

Why is Sajak stepping down?

The 77-year-old announced his retirement a year ago, writing on X (formerly Twitter) that the current season would be his last. In an interview with his daughter, “Wheel” social correspondent Maggie Sajak, the host said that he could continue hosting the show if he wanted to but felt he needed to exit on his own terms.

“I’d rather leave a couple years too early than a couple years too late,” he said, adding, “I’m looking forward to whatever’s ahead.”

Who’s taking over ‘Wheel of Fortune’? And when?

Less than a month after Sajak revealed his retirement, “American Idol” and “On Air” host Ryan Seacrest announced that he would step into the emcee’s shoes. At the time, Seacrest lauded his predecessor for the way Sajak “always celebrated the contestants and made viewers feel at home.”

Seacrest, who signed a multiyear deal with Sony Pictures Television last June, will begin the new gig in September.

White is set to remain on “Wheel of Fortune” for the next two years. She has previously filled in for Sajak as host on a few occasions and, before the brief search for Sajak’s successor came to an end, fans campaigned for White to replace her longtime colleague.

What did Sajak do before ‘Wheel’?

It’s hard to think about Sajak doing anything other than soliciting consonants and vowels or declaring a player “bankrupt,” but his storied career began long before “Wheel of Fortune.”

Born and raised in Chicago, Sajak got his broadcasting start as a newscaster and announcer at a small radio station, looking to broadcast legends Arthur Godfrey, Dave Garroway, Steve Allen and Jack Paar for inspiration to shape his TV personality. He served in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s and was sent to Vietnam, where he hosted a daily show for Armed Forces Radio in Saigon shouting “Good morning, Vietnam!” each day.

After being discharged, he worked at small radio stations in Kentucky and Tennessee, spending several years as a staff announcer, talk show host and weatherman at WSM-TV in Nashville, Tennessee. A talent scout for NBC-TV in Los Angeles spotted him and brought him onboard in 1977 to serve as the local NBC station’s primary weatherman. In 1981, Griffin asked him to assume hosting duties on “Wheel” when it still aired during the day on NBC, well before the syndicated version premiered in 1983.

“The nice thing about working in local TV in L.A.,” Sajak has said, “is that decision makers are watching you every night.”

What else is on Sajak’s resume?

During his tenure, Sajak has entertained generations of fans, inspired “Saturday Night Live” and “South Park” jokes and generated numerous headlines about his behavior with contestants. He also briefly hosted the short-lived late-night talk show “The Pat Sajak Show” in the late 1980s and played himself in a number of films and TV shows, including “The A-Team,” “227,” “Airplane II: The Sequel,” “Santa Barbara,” “The King of Queens,” “Just Shoot Me!” and “Fresh Off the Boat.”

“We became part of the popular culture … more importantly became part of people’s lives,” he said in a recent interview with his daughter, who made her “Wheel” debut as a 1-year-old when she joined her dad onstage. The Princeton and Columbia University grad has been the show’s social correspondent since 2021.

Sajak’s awkward dad jokes have raised eyebrows in recent years, with the stalwart host fully committing to an odd voyeurism quip while bantering with White during a 2023 episode. He also has landed in hot water for asking her if she liked watching opera in the buff and repeatedly raised social media hackles when he mocked and pranked a contestant over her fear of fish, poked fun at a man and his long beard by referring to him as one of Santa’s helpers, and put a winning contestant in a chokehold.

What’s next for Sajak?

Sajak said he’s looking forward to time to “with my crossword puzzles” and family. He will continue his duties as chairman of the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees, a position he took up in 2019.

The 32-year-old Philippines native — who asked that The Times not identify his company or use his full name — wasn’t fired or laid off. Instead he was placed on temporary unpaid leave — all because of a bureaucratic backlog in processing work-permit applications for participants in DACA, the Obama-era program that offered deportation protection to immigrants without lawful status who arrived as youth.

Recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program must reapply every two years for protection and work permits. But many of the roughly 530,000 current DACA holders have recently reported lengthy processing delays.

For some, like Miguel, that has meant a months-long unemployment as he and his employer awaited the necessary paperwork. The delays have cost others their jobs, immigrant advocates say.

“The whole situation just brings me back to imagining the worst-case scenario,” he said, referring to fears of one day being deported to a country he hasn’t considered home since age 7. “Recently I went into a pretty depressive state as a result of all those ‘what ifs.’”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services aims to process each renewal fairly and efficiently, said spokesman Matthew Bourke. But he acknowledged that some DACA recipients have experienced processing times beyond 120 days in recent months.

He blamed delays on technology updates, but said the issues have been resolved and that the majority of DACA renewal requests are processed within the 120-day goal period. Agency data show the median processing time doubled from two weeks in fiscal year 2022 to one month last year. This year the median is just under two months, as of April 30.

In a letter last month, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and 27 other senators urged USCIS director Ur Jaddou to process renewal applications in a timely manner.

“DACA recipients face significant uncertainty given litigation challenging the DACA program, and threats by presidential candidate Donald Trump to end the program,” Padilla and the other senators wrote. “Delays in processing DACA renewals are adding to the instability and uncertainty that DACA recipients already face each day.”

Program administrators encourage DACA recipients to apply early for renewals. Nearly 87% of renewals are filed later than the recommended minimum time frame of 120 days, Bourke said.

Assuming the process would be as quick as previous renewals, Miguel filed his application in early January. Two months later, his work permit expired and his company was forced to place him on leave.

He sought the help of elected officials, requested to have the case expedited and called U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services several times. He checked for updates online daily.

Filing fees recently increased by $60 to $555, and those who pay a lawyer to review their application can spend hundreds more. The immigration agency recommends that DACA recipients reapply between 120-150 days before their work permits expire.

But there’s a downside to applying too early. New permits kick in as soon as the agency approves them, meaning recipients lose any leftover time remaining under the old permit.

That “pretty much turns it into a one year permit if you do it too early,” Miguel said.

Miguel said that growing up undocumented means he is used to dealing with the uncertainty of the immigration process. But the delays made him think about what will happen after the DACA case is taken up by the Supreme Court.

Former President Trump moved to end DACA soon after taking office, but the program narrowly survived when the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that his administration had done so improperly. A case challenging its legality is expected to reach the Supreme Court, where some legal experts predict the conservative majority will strike it down.

Many DACA recipients see the renewals this year as potentially their last. That also contributed to decisions to wait beyond the recommended filing times, said Karen Tumlin, director of the immigrant advocacy organization Justice Action Center.

If Trump is elected to a second term and DACA ends, those in the program are angling for as many days as possible with protections before his administration institutes mass-deportation plans.

“They all lead with, ‘I need this before the election,’” she said.

Tumlin said she’s in touch with a DACA recipient who applied for renewal in October. When his work permit expired in January, he lost his job at the university he attends in the South. Another person, who filed nearly 105 days before her permit expired, got her renewal in the mail the day before a work trip and narrowly avoided losing her job.

“For each individual, the result is catastrophic,” she said. “It’s not like you can always get rehired.”

Tumlin said advocates have worked hard to make sure DACA recipients understand the agency is backlogged across the board. Still, she said the delays are unusual — she doesn’t recall ever hearing about as many in the program’s history.

But even some of those who applied on time experienced delays. That’s what happened to Edvin Dapcevic, 35, an executive who leads a sales team at a major tech company in Los Angeles. Dapcevic asked that The Times not name the company publicly.

Born in Yugoslavia (now Montenegro), Dapcevic grew up in Chicago from age 4.

After reading online about other DACA recipients who had experienced delays, he filed his renewal application in November, five months in advance.

Still, his work permit expired at the end of March, forcing him to take a leave of absence from work for two weeks.

“These chronic delays are just another example of how DACA is not a permanent solution,” he said. “You live your life two years at a time.”

One solution, advocates said, would be for USCIS to implement automatic extensions of DACA renewals. The agency has done so for certain categories of work permit applicants, such as asylum seekers and those with temporary protected status, extending their validity by 540 days.

But Bourke, the agency spokesman, said regulations limit automatic extensions to employment authorization categories that don’t require processing an underlying application. DACA, therefore, doesn’t qualify.

An avid journaler, Miguel began listing out his fears if the renewal failed to come through: losing his job; ending up in debt; no longer being able to financially support his parents.

The situation also brought up the question of marriage. Miguel is in a relationship with a U.S. citizen.

“I’ve always viewed marriage as a sanctity,” he said. “I don’t want to feel pressure just because I need a document.”

Miguel has managed financially with his savings, a small loan and emergency support through his company’s foundation, which helped him pay rent and utilities.

On Wednesday, the permit finally arrived.

Relief washed over him. He said he hopes to return to work in the next week or so. And those chronic worries about “what ifs” have dissipated — for now.

It was merely the latest time that the outdoor tourist hot spot was nearly cut off from the outside world.

Officials discovered a slip-out on the southbound lane early Saturday evening and quickly closed the road to further vehicle travel to assess damage. With the 1.4-mile stretch shut down, there were no other exit roads and about 1,600 people were forced to seek accommodations for the night.

Day trippers like Eric Adams, a hobbyist landscape photographer and resident of Monterey County who unexpectedly found himself having to sleep in his car.

“There were a few moments of people being a little distressed by the prospect of an extended stay without accommodation for food,” Adams said. But the following Sunday morning, Caltrans deemed the northbound lane safe enough to travel and began escorting people out in caravans at the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

“In general everyone was very friendly and making the best of a bad situation,” Adams said .

The storm that arrived on Saturday didn’t bring especially strong downpours, said Diana Ballantyne, general manager of Big Sur’s Fernwood Resort.

But the afternoon closure of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek Bridge — on a critical stretch connecting Big Sur with Carmel-By-the-Sea — caught visitors and businesses by surprise.

“We had hundreds of people with no place to go on Saturday,” said Ballantyne, who described selling supplies and blankets to some visitors who had driven down for the day and were forced to sleep in their cars overnight. “The restaurant and grocery store were extremely busy.”

On Sunday, motels like Fernwood were busy trying to manage the chaos, and when they got news that Caltrans was going to lead traffic across the bridge, there was a mass exodus.

“It’s pretty quiet today,” said Ballentyne, who has been busy canceling reservations for this week, which because of spring break was especially busy.

“I’ve been living here for 30 years,” she said, “and every natural disaster is a new challenge. We make our decisions on the fly and try to find out the best way to survive the disaster.”

Ballentyne is hoping the closure will be no more than two weeks.

“We’re optimistic about this one,” she said. “They’re allowing caravans of locals and vendors with no weigh limit, which tells us that the northbound lane is stable. We’re hoping they’re going to get stoplights up and one-way traffic open very soon.”

Caltrans District 5 posted on social media that the southbound lane between Palo Colorado Road and Rocky Creek Bridge has been indefinitely closed to the public and only essential workers and residents are being allowed through.

California State Parks also announced that they would be closed to camping and day use for the coming week. Brent Marshall, the Monterey district superintendent of California State Parks, said they would reassess day use and reservations after the expected rainy weather this weekend.

“People really love Big Sur and people travel from all over the world,” Marshall said. Even with the limited highway access, he is hopeful that they might be able to re-open sooner than later. “We want to make it as available as possible as long as it’s safe.”

This weekend, officials are planning to install a 500-foot concrete barrier down the center line of the road to make an isolated channel for motorists, according to Kevin Drabinski, spokesperson for Caltrans District 5. “It’s too early to have an estimate for a timeline [of repairs],” Drabinski said. “The first steps that we’re taking will be to stabilize the edge of the roadway in order to facilitate this work.”

But the isolation of Big Sur ended at noon Sunday when Caltrans opened the highway and the northbound lanes.

“Sunday let off all the pressure,” Drabinski said. “Anyone caught unexpectedly on the wrong side of the slide was able to get where they needed to go.”

Engineers assessing the slide have determined that at this point the movement of the earth under the road is “static,” said Drabinski, which means that the convoys — for locals and essential services — will continue.

But that will change, he added, if there is a forecast of rain.

Eventually one-way traffic, coordinated by traffic lights to the north and the south, will allow normal vehicle traffic to proceed on the northbound lanes and “an adequate shoulder,” Drabinski said .

The picturesque yet precarious roadway faced other challenges last month when heavy rains set off a huge landslide about four miles north of Lucia and the New Camaldoli Hermitage. Just over a month later, Caltrans has finalized a repair plan that still needs to undergo an approval process, which will take an additional 30 days.

In the meantime locals are left to manage with the disarray that has come with the latest road failure.

“This puts Big Sur tourism on standstill,” said David Eaks, the front desk supervisor at the Big Sur Lodge. The day of the road closures, Eaks said, they were fully booked with more than 150 people staying in their rooms and taking shelter in their common areas. But now that only locals are allowed through, peak season for camping has come to an abrupt halt.

Deliveries, trash service and mail are still coming through at the moment. But Eaks isn’t so eager to test the weakened roadway. “I’m not risking it,” he said. “I’d rather be stranded on this side, where I live.”

Drabinski said it’s not easy managing a road that was first built in the 1930s. “It’s a geologically active range of mountains, things are always moving around there,” he said. It doesn’t help he said that the “rain will make the ground heavier and lubricated” on steep slopes.

Though Adams was overall pleased with officials jumping into action, he thinks there needs to be a more long-term solution.

“There needs to be another access point,” said Adams, who visits Big Sur at least once a week to take photos of the pristine wilderness. “You can’t have thousands of people go into one high-risk area without a way out if something happens, because these landslides keep happening all the time.”

“Like any family experiencing such a loss, we are heartbroken and have been managing as best we can,” the actor wrote. “As parents, it is so difficult losing a child. My heart goes out to all who have suffered a similar loss, and to anyone who has lost a loved one.”

Mac Sinise was 33 when the cancer chordoma took his life Jan. 5, his father wrote. After being diagnosed in August 2018 — the same year his mother, Moira, was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer — Mac faced five spine surgeries in less than two years, Sinise said, in addition to radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

“Chordoma is a one in a million cancer,” Gary Sinise wrote Tuesday, sharing information about the disease. “Originating in the spine, Chordoma affects, on average, only 300 people in the U.S. per year. In 70% of the cases the initial tumor can be removed, and it is cured. But in 30% of the cases, perhaps about 90 people per year, the cancer returns.”

Mac — a drummer, pianist and University of Southern California Thornton School of Music graduate who sometimes filled in on drums in his dad’s Lt. Dan Band — had been working for the Gary Sinise Foundation since 2017. He resigned in 2020 to focus on recovery and rehab between his fourth and fifth surgeries, and in early 2023 he set to work on finishing a piece of music he had started while in college, his father said.

“The cancer had paralyzed him from the chest down, but he still had limited use of his right arm, and fingers on his left hand,” Sinise wrote. “Being right-handed, he would strap a stylus to his right hand, and he could punch letters and notes into his phone or iPad. He also had a small keyboard he laid on his hospital bed table that he used to work on his music.”

Mac worked with members of his father’s band as well as a friend from college, composer and arranger Oliver Schnee. Unable to play drums or piano anymore, Mac learned to play harmonica, Sinise said, and the project grew to include more songs and more collaborators. Recording sessions were held in July at Sunset Sound in Hollywood and in November at Blackbird Studio in Nashville.

But in December, Sinise wrote, “We had to take Mac to the emergency room for what would be his final trip to the hospital. He was having trouble getting his breath and after stabilizing him, he was admitted. I stayed with him as I had done many times before. During the first few days, I thought this would be another trip where we get things under control and head home. … But the days got tougher, and on January 5th, with the family all around him, he let go.”

Mac Sinise was laid to rest Jan. 23.

The album “Mac Sinise: Resurrection & Revival” will be finished and available soon, the “CSI: NY” star said, including a preorder link to his foundation’s store. Per Mac’s wishes, proceeds will go to the Gary Sinise Foundation, the site says. The foundation works to help the United States’ “defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need,” the site says.

“Over the years I have met so many families of our fallen heroes. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s just damn hard. Our family’s cancer fight lasted for 5 1/2 years, and it became more and more challenging as time went on,” Sinise wrote. “While our hearts ache at missing him, we are comforted in knowing that Mac is no longer struggling, and inspired and moved by how he managed it.

“He fought an uphill battle against a cancer that has no cure, but he never quit trying.”

On Tuesday, R. Lance Hill, who wrote the screenplay for the 1989 cult movie, sued Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its parent, Amazon Studios, for copyright infringement, seeking declaratory relief.

Hill, who goes by the pen name David Lee Henry, alleges the Seattle e-commerce giant ignored his ability, under the U.S. Copyright Act, to reclaim the rights for his 1986 screenplay, “Roadhouse,” which spawned the original movie and this year’s reboot, in which Gyllenhaal portrays an ex-UFC fighter who struggles to leave his brawling days behind.

In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. Central District Court in Los Angeles, Hill alleges that he filed the necessary petition with the U.S. Copyright Office in late 2021, requesting the copyright revert back to him when United Artists’ claim was due to expire this past November. United Artists released the original movie, which featured Patrick Swayze.

But Amazon, which owns the “Road House” rights through its acquisition of MGM’s film library, allegedly ignored his copyright claims and plowed ahead — even taking steps to work around the SAG-AFTRA strike — to attempt to finish the movie before the copyright expired, according to the suit.

Amazon “went so far as to take extreme measures to try to meet this November 10, 2023 deadline, at considerable additional cost, including by resorting to the use of AI (artificial intelligence)” during last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike, Hill’s lawsuit claims. He alleges Amazon used AI to “replicate the voices” of the actors in the 2024 remake.

The movie was completed in January — about two months after the copyright deadline, the suit claims.

The lawsuit also alleged that the use of AI to simulate actors’ voices violated provisions in collective bargaining agreements between the major studios, including Amazon, and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, as well as the studio alliance contract with the Directors Guild of America.

Amazon Studios representatives did not immediately comment on Hill’s suit or its claims.

The suit seeks to block distribution of the film, which is scheduled to become available March 21 on Amazon Prime Video.

The reboot had already stirred controversy. Director Doug Liman has said he’ll boycott the film’s premiere, which is slated to open next month’s South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas. In an essay published last month by industry site Deadline, Liman expressed dismay that Amazon was sending the movie to its Prime Video streaming platform rather than releasing it widely in theaters.

When Amazon Studios announced the movie in mid-2022, it said the film was greenlit as a streaming title.

In the remake, Gyllenhaal’s character, named Dalton, meets a roadhouse bar owner, played by Jessica Williams (“The Daily Show” and “Shrinking”), who needs a bouncer to protect her Florida Keys haunt from thugs who bring in a character played by real-life mixed martial arts fighter, Conor McGregor.

In the original, Swayze played the muscle-ripped bouncer, also named Dalton, who (mostly) kept order at Double Deuce bar in Missouri.

The behind-the-scenes struggles over “Road House” provide a clear view of the consolidation of Hollywood — and its ramifications. United Artists was formed more than a century ago by a cadre of film luminaries, including Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. MGM bought the storied label in 1981.

In 2006, MGM brought in Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner in a joint venture to reinvigorate the film label. But the rebooted UA released just two movies, “Lions for Lambs” and “Valkyrie,” before Wagner departed as chief executive. MGM bought back full control of the historic label in 2012 and the assets were included as part of Amazon’s $8.5 billion purchase of MGM — a deal that was completed two years ago following a long regulatory review.

Hill’s suit said that on Nov. 10, 2021, Hill notified United Artists, and its successor companies, alerting them to his plans to recover the copyright to the screenplay — providing the so-called “statutory notice of termination,” per the Copyright Act.

But, the suit said, Amazon would not recognize that Hill had terminated the studio’s ability to exploit the source material.

“Instead, defendants steamrolled ahead with the production of a remake of the 1989 ‘Road House’ film … derived from the screenplay,” the suit said. “Despite the 2024 Remake’s obvious exploitation of the screenplay, defendants did not bother to secure a new license of film and ancillary rights.”

The dispute between Hill and Amazon centers, in large part, on whether Hill wrote the original screenplay “on spec,” with plans to pitch it to movie studios once he finished the script, or if he was under contract to United Artists at the time.

UA entered into a “literary purchase agreement” with Hill doing business as Lady Amos Literary Works Ltd., his personal company. The copyright assignment for all rights to the screenplay was struck with Lady Amos and Hill, the lawsuit said.

“Hill had neither an employment nor a contractual relationship with United Artists when he wrote the screenplay,” the lawsuit said. “Rather, United Artists attained the 1986 grant from Hill well after the screenplay had been completed.”

The original movie was directed by Rowdy Herrington and produced by Joel Silver, who has a producer credit on the 2024 remake.

Variety reported that Silver was sidelined last fall amid tensions with the studio.

Malibu attorney Marc Toberoff, who is handling Hill’s case, specializes in intellectual property law.

He has a long track record, including winning a summary judgment in similar Copyright Act cases on behalf of “Friday the 13th” creator Victor Miller and the children of music legend Ray Charles. He represented the family of “Superman” co-creator Jerry Siegel, helping the family recapture a half-interest in the copyright for the iconic hero.

Toberoff has handled high-profile cases against Marvel Studios and later, the Walt Disney Co., on behalf of the heirs of creators of Marvel characters, including the family of Jack Kirby (“Thor, ” “X-Men” and “Black Panther”). That case settled before the U.S. Supreme Court took it up. The attorney also represented Steve Ditko (“Spider-Man”), Larry Lieber (“Thor,” “Iron Man”), Don Rico (“Black Widow”), Gene Colan (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Don Heck (“Iron Man” and “Black Widow”).

U.S. Copyright law establishes a provision for authors to recapture the rights to their material that was transferred after 1977.

In such instances, the author has “a five year period commencing 35 years after the date the rights were transferred” to terminate the copyright held by the studio, Hill’s suit said.

“Notice of termination may be served by the author at any time between 10 and two years before the effective termination date,” according to the law.

‘M3GAN’ (6 de enero)

Enero es tradicionalmente un basurero para las malas películas, pero el rumor ha crecido constantemente en torno al lanzamiento de esta película de terror en enero desde el lanzamiento de su tráiler hace varios meses. La película gira en torno a una científica que desarrolla un niño androide realista como un “amigo” para su sobrina huérfana traumatizada. M3GAN parece la compañera perfecta y responde obedientemente a las órdenes de su creador. Pero pronto, la creación comienza a tomar su deber de proteger a su compañero de juegos demasiado en serio y con violencia. Después de un año que produjo fuertes películas de terror como “Smile” y “Barbarian”, parece que este festival espeluznante de Jason Blum y el director James Wan (“Annabelle”) comenzará 2023 con muchos gritos en los cines oscuros. —Greg Braxton

’80 for Brady’ ( 3 de febrero)

Hace semanas, recibimos titulares como “¿Puede ‘Avatar 2’ revivir la experiencia cinematográfica?” No intentaré meterme en esa conversación, pero sabiendo que Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin y Sally Field protagonizan una película juntos, en este caso “80 for Brady” (nada menos que con semanas de diferencia de “Book Club 2?), podría ser el mejor regalo cinematográfico que tiene para ofrecer 2023. Inspirados en una historia real, cuatro mejores amigos que idolatran a Tom Brady, el otrora El mariscal de campo de los New England Patriots (y productor de la película), emprendió un viaje por carretera a Houston para verlo a él y al equipo jugar en el Super Bowl LI. a Gisele Bündchen, pero el tráiler muestra al personaje de Moreno consumiendo suficientes drogas como para alucinar que se ha convertido en Guy Fieri, y ese es el tipo de logro técnico que estoy dispuesto a ver varias veces. Así que tal vez el cine esté salvado. —Yvonne Villarreal

‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ (10 de febrero)

Hay pocos tropos cinematográficos más satisfactorios que el veterano canoso atado a un… último… trabajo…, así que cuente con Steven Soderbergh para vestirlo con un tanga, abofetearlo y enviarlo al escenario para recibir una lluvia de billetes de dólar. O, en este caso, libras esterlinas: la tercera película en el verso de stripper masculino de Soderbergh encuentra a Mike Lane (Channing Tatum, todavía rasgado a los 42) arrastrado a Londres por su adinerada amante (Salma Hayek) para una actuación final. Poco más se ha anunciado sobre la trama, pero ¿cuándo fue “Magic Mike” alguna vez sobre la trama? Según Soderbergh, la película culmina con una secuencia de baile de 30 minutos (¡!). Antes del Busby Berkeley del botín, solo hay una opción: comprar su boleto e inclinarse. —Matt Brennan

‘A Good Person’ (24 de marzo)

Sí, sí, estoy interesado en ver una película escrita y dirigida por Zach Braff y protagonizada por Florence Pugh porque salieron y yo soy un ser humano imperfecto. También amo a Morgan Freeman. Pero sobre todo siento que es hora de que empecemos a lidiar con todo el dolor que hemos experimentado recientemente de una manera purificadora y esto parece un buen lloriqueo a la antigua. —María McNamara

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ (24 de marzo)

“John Wick: Chapter 4? finalmente llega a las pantallas en marzo, lo cual es una excelente noticia para los fanáticos de Keanu Reeves, el cine de lucha y el elegante mundo de asesinos vestidos de lujo que ha llegado a definir una de las franquicias de acción más consistentes de Hollywood. A través de “John Wick” (2014), “John Wick: Capítulo 2? (2017) y “John Wick: Capítulo 3 – Parabellum” (2019), el ex asesino a sueldo del mismo nombre ha visto cómo su breve y pacífico retiro se hizo añicos. Volvió al juego de matar y se encontró enfrentándose a todo el inframundo criminal. (Hemos recorrido un largo camino desde la historia simple y conmovedora de un hombre que venga a su amado cachorro). Con el director de la serie Chad Stahelski nuevamente al mando después de una espera de cuatro años, incluidos los retrasos por la pandemia, el “Capítulo 4? continúa la búsqueda de Wick. para enfrentarse a la sombría High Table que ahora lo persigue, presentando una fila de estrellas de acción de asesinos a la mezcla en Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins (“Undisputed”) y Marko Zaror (“Redeemer”). Más adelante en 2023, el universo cinematográfico completo de “John Wick” se desarrollará aún más con el spin-off “Ballerina”, protagonizado por Ana de Armas como una bailarina que trata con la muerte. Sírvase un vaso de bourbon de Blanton, la bebida preferida de J.W., y marque sus calendarios para una dosis de acción previa al verano. —Jen Yamato

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ (7 de abril)

La pregunta que rodea el último intento de Nintendo de dar a Mario, Luigi y Princess Peach una vida fuera de los videojuegos no tiene nada que ver con la voz de Mario de Chris Pratt. Es más simple: ¿Quién es Mario? Mario, el personaje del juego, es quien Nintendo necesita que sea, un símbolo más que una personalidad. Es un fontanero regordete con coraje y experiencia, tan experto en conducir karts de carreras rápidas como en jugar tenis y golf, o correr y saltar a través de mundos fantásticos. A diferencia de las películas de “Sonic the Hedgehog”, esta obra animada nos llevará al mundo de Mario, uno maravillosamente actualizado para los tiempos modernos (aparentemente, la Princesa Peach no es una damisela en apuros aquí), y que durante más de 35 años ha sido tentador, salvaje. y diversión. No hay duda de que la gente quiere visitarlo, pero ¿será tan divertido ver a Mario como jugarlo? —Todd Martens

‘Fast X’ (19 de mayo)

Dominic Toretto y compañía alcanzaron un hito este verano con “Fast X”, la última entrega de la franquicia “Fast and Furious”, no está mal para un humilde equipo de carreras callejeras de Los Ángeles que comenzó robando reproductores de DVD de camiones a toda velocidad y, 20 años más tarde, nos ha dado algunas de las franquicias machistas más exageradas que Hollywood haya visto jamás, dentro y fuera de la pantalla. Después de la salida del veterano director Justin Lin una semana después de la producción, ¿dónde se encuentra el generador de dinero global de $1.4 mil millones de Universal? ¿Continuará girando hacia el servicio de fanáticos, agregando personajes cada vez más prescindibles a su ya extenso elenco de corredores, piratas informáticos, operativos, frenemies y villanos, en un intento por establecer un final de serie épico “Fast 11?? ¿El recientemente resucitado Han de Sung Kang realmente verá justicia? (Algunos de nosotros no hemos olvidado “Fast & Furious 6?). ¿Cuántas formas nuevas encontrarán los cineastas (incluyendo a Lin, quien coescribió el guión con el recién llegado a la serie Dan Mazeau; el director sustituto Louis Leterrier; y el productor y estrella Vin Diesel) encontrarán para retcon (o continuidad retroactiva) tradición canónica? Con un presupuesto supuestamente astronómico, “Fast X” se siente como un punto de inflexión en una franquicia que ya está en auge y que no puede dejar de crecer cada vez más, lo que convierte a este en uno de los grandes signos de interrogación cinematográficos de 2023. —Jen Yamato

‘The Little Mermaid’ (26 de mayo)

Me he vuelto escéptico sobre la misión de Disney de volver a visitar prácticamente todos los lanzamientos queridos de mis años de infancia, pero mi vacilación desapareció al ver ese tráiler viral, que debutó con un nuevo Ariel interpretado por Halle Bailey de Chloe x Halle. Dirigida por Rob Marshall, la nueva versión de acción en vivo del clásico animado de 1989 también incluye a Melissa McCarthy como la villana Ursula, Daveed Diggs como el cangrejo Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay como el pez Platija, Awkwafina como el pájaro Scuttle y Javier Bardem como el Rey Tritón. También con Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik y Jonah Hauer-King, la película también tendrá un sonido fresco: Lin-Manuel Miranda coescribió nuevas canciones con el compositor original Alan Menken. —Ashley Lee

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (30 de junio)

Es la primera película de la venerada serie que no presenta una historia de George Lucas ni la dirección de Steven Spielberg. Mire, todos tenemos buenos recuerdos de “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, pero las entradas posteriores se han sentido como mimeógrafos cada vez más descoloridos (los Millennials pueden buscar eso). Claramente era hora de una inyección de nueva energía. “Dial” lo consigue con creces, con dirección de James Mangold (“Logan”, “The Wolverine”, “3:10 to Yuma”) y guión de Mangold y Jez y John-Henry Butterworth, los astutos escribas de “Edge of Tomorrow” y “Get on Up” con quien trabajó en “Ford v Ferrari”. La trama tiene algo que ver con la historia de los EE. UU. reclutando científicos nazis para la carrera espacial. Eso suena lo suficientemente interesante, pero ya me convenció la presencia de Mangold y sus escritores, y las adiciones al elenco de Mads Mikkelsen y Phoebe Waller-Bridge. ¡Esperamos que dejen que Waller-Bridge escriba algunos diálogos! —Michael Ordoña

‘How Do You Live?’ ( 14 de julio)

Es maravilloso que los rumores sobre el retiro de Hayao Miyazaki sigan siendo muy exagerados. El maestro del anime japonés de 81 años que nos dio “Mi vecino Totoro”, “El viaje de Chihiro”, “La princesa Mononoke” y otras cautivadoras fantasías tiene una nueva imagen en el horizonte: “¿Cómo vives?”, Adaptado de la Novela de 1937 del mismo título de Genzaburo Yoshino. Con mucho tiempo en proceso, como suelen ser las películas minuciosamente animadas de Miyazaki, esta última película llegará a los cines japoneses el 14 de julio antes de llegar a otros cines de todo el mundo. Habiendo retransmitido la mayor parte del catálogo anterior del director durante los primeros días de la pandemia, no puedo esperar a ver lo último en una pantalla grande adecuada, donde seguramente pertenece. —Justin Chang

‘Barbie’ (21 de julio)

Cualquiera que no esté tan intrigado hasta el punto de obsesionarse con la película “Barbie” de Greta Gerwig a partir de las fotos de los paparazzi en el set de rodaje de Margot Robbie y Ryan Gosling como Barbie y Ken, debería haberse quedado totalmente convencido con el estruendoso tráiler que cita “2001?. Todavía son escasos los detalles sobre cuál es realmente la historia de la película, pero a partir de las imágenes disponibles hasta ahora y sabiendo que el guión fue coescrito por Gerwig y Noah Baumbach, todas las señales apuntan a que se trata de una brillante subversión de género e identidad. Con un elenco de apoyo repleto que incluye a Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kate McKinnon, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Hari Neff, Rhea Perlman, Emerald Fennell, Kingsley Ben-Adir y muchos más, en todo caso, Las expectativas ahora pueden ser demasiado altas para que esta película sea la película más divertida e inteligente jamás basada en una marca heredada de juguetes de plástico para niños. —Mark Olsen

‘Dune: Part Two’ ( 3 de noviembre)

Durante años, la arrolladora novela de ciencia ficción de 1965 de Frank Herbert, ambientada en un futuro lejano en un planeta desértico donde poderosos clanes luchan por el control de la sustancia más preciosa del universo, se consideró casi inadaptable. Entonces apareció el director Denis Villeneuve y sabiamente cortó la cosa en dos. Con imágenes impresionantes y un elenco estelar encabezado por Timothée Chalamet, Stellan Skarsgard, Oscar Isaac y Rebecca Ferguson, la primera entrega de “Dune” de Villeneuve, estrenada en 2021, ganó más de $400 millones en todo el mundo y obtuvo 10 nominaciones al Oscar, incluida la de mejor película. En el capítulo final, veremos el cumplimiento sangriento del destino mesiánico de Paul Atreides a medida que crecen sus poderes y se profundiza su vínculo con Chani (Zendaya) y el resto de los Fremen, llevándolos a una batalla épica no solo con los malvados Harkonnens. pero también el Emperador aún por verse. —Josh Rottenberg

‘The Color Purple’ (20 de diciembre)

Han pasado casi 40 años desde que Steven Spielberg dirigió a Oprah Winfrey en la adaptación cinematográfica de la novela ganadora del Premio Pulitzer de Alice Walker. Este año, Spielberg y Winfrey se encuentran entre los productores de la nueva película musical, basada en dos espectáculos de Broadway que reinventaron la dura pero inspiradora historia. (Si ha visto imágenes de la versión hercúlea de Cynthia Erivo de “I’m Here”, también se sentirá inspirado para hacer una nueva película). Dirigida por Blitz Bazawule, el elenco estelar de la película incluye Fantasia, Danielle Brooks , Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Taraji P. Henson, David Alan Grier, Ciara, H.E.R., Deon Cole, Aunjanue Ellis, Halle Bailey y Jon Batiste. —Ashley Lee

‘Beau Is Afraid’ (fecha por confirmar)

Con sus dos primeras películas “Hereditary”, de 2018 y “Midsommar”, de 2019, el guionista y director Ari Aster se estableció rápidamente como el niño prodigio de terror más nuevo de Hollywood, aportando la artesanía kubrickiana y la agudeza psicológica a un género que con demasiada frecuencia se reduce a premisas efectistas y sustos baratos. Aunque los detalles de su nueva película, que lleva mucho tiempo en proceso, originalmente titulada “Disappointment Blvd”. – se han mantenido estrictamente en secreto, Aster se ha burlado de que la película, protagonizada por Joaquin Phoenix, será una “comedia de pesadilla” que abarcará décadas en la vida de un empresario neurótico. (También se burló de que podría durar cuatro horas). Pero la perspectiva de que Aster haga equipo con Phoenix, después de dos de sus mejores actuaciones en “Joker” y “C’mon C’mon”, es lo suficientemente emocionante como para que no lo hagamos. Realmente no necesito, ni siquiera quiero, saber más. —Josh Rottenberg

‘Ferrari’ (fecha por confirmar)

Para su primer largometraje desde el thriller tecnológico “Blackhat” de 2015, Michael Mann regresa con “Ferrari”, una historia que ha estado persiguiendo durante años y que tiene el aire de una obra magna, que combina muchos de sus temas maestros sobre la masculinidad, el aislamiento, la habilidad y modernidad. Nadie explora las presiones del equilibrio entre el trabajo y la vida como Mann, ya que los obsesivos luchan por mantener sus mundos juntos. Protagonizada por Adam Driver como el industrial automotriz Enzo Ferrari y Penélope Cruz como su esposa, Laura, se dice que la película tiene lugar durante unos meses de la vida de Ferrari en 1957, culminando en la Mille Miglia, una carrera de casi 1,000 millas alrededor de Italia. Una película de época glamorosa ambientada en medio del mundo de las carreras de autos es lo suficientemente emocionante, pero es la combinación de los talentos intensos e inmersivos de Mann y Driver lo que realmente debería hacer que los motores de la audiencia se aceleren. —Mark Olsen

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (fecha por confirmar)

Una epopeya criminal del período de Martin Scorsese protagonizada por Leonardo DiCaprio y Robert De Niro realmente no necesita mucha venta, particularmente dado el sensacional material fuente del proyecto. Adaptado del éxito de ventas del periodista David Grann, “Killers of the Flower Moon” sigue la investigación del FBI sobre los asesinatos de miembros de la tribu Osage asesinados después de que se descubrió petróleo en su tierra. Lily Gladstone, que ganó una serie de premios de la crítica por su trabajo en el drama de Kelly Reichardt de 2016 “Certain Women”, interpreta a una mujer Osage que ve morir a los miembros de su familia en circunstancias misteriosas. DiCaprio interpreta a su marido, que resulta ser el sobrino de un rico ganadero (De Niro). ¿Puede haber alguna conexión? Apple TV+ le dio a Scorsese $200 millones para jugar, así que espera que los secretos de la historia se revelen con detalles lujosos y exigentes. —Glenn Whipp

‘Nimona’ (fecha por confirmar)

He estado esperando a “Nimona” durante años. Anunciada originalmente en 2015, la adaptación del cómic web galardonado de ND Stevenson se retrasó y finalmente se archivó cuando Disney cerró Blue Sky Studios después de adquirir Fox. Pero, afortunadamente, la función animada ha sido revivida por Annapurna Pictures y Netflix. Ambientado en un mundo medieval futurista con ciencia y magia poderosas, el cómic “Nimona” sigue a la caótica cambiaformas adolescente del título después de que se abre camino para convertirse en la compañera de un caballero convertido en villano en una búsqueda de noble venganza. Es una historia sobre la identidad y el desafío de las etiquetas rígidas y los roles asignados, así como las motivaciones de las instituciones que insisten en ellos. Además, la destrucción que causa Nimona en sus diversas formas, incluidos los dragones y los dinosaurios, será increíble de ver en la pantalla. Dirigida por Nick Bruno y Troy Quane, la película está protagonizada por Chloe Grace Moretz como Nimona, Riz Ahmed como Ballister Boldheart y Eugene Lee Yang como Ambrosius Goldenloin. —Tracy Brown

‘Priscilla’ (fecha por confirmar)

Sofia Coppola ha demostrado una gran comprensión de la soledad y el purgatorio adolescente en películas como “Las vírgenes suicidas” y “Lost in Translation”, lo que la convierte en la persona perfecta para reflexionar sobre Priscilla Presley, quien creció en el mundo de la diversión de Graceland. Priscilla conoció a Elvis cuando tenía 14 años y se mudó a Memphis un par de años después. Una década después de conocerse, se separaron y, como saben por la canción, tomaron caminos separados. Estamos familiarizados con la historia a través de la lente del Rey: la película de Baz Luhrmann presenta la locura y la tristeza de los años de Las Vegas. Pero la perspectiva de Priscilla permanece en gran parte sin investigar y sabes que Coppola la descubrirá. Y no solo estamos hablando de los bouffants. —Glenn Whipp

‘The Zone of Interest’ (fecha por confirmar)

Después de un debut estelar en el largometraje (“Sexy Beast” de 2000) y dos gélidas obras maestras con años de diferencia (“Birth” de 2004, “Under the Skin” de 2013), el director inglés Jonathan Glazer se ha convertido, creo que es seguro decirlo, en uno de los los cineastas más finos, más audaces y menos apresurados que trabajan hoy. Se dice que su cuarto largometraje, que lleva mucho tiempo en proceso, es un drama del Holocausto adaptado de la novela de Martin Amis “La zona de interés”, protagonizada por Sandra Hüller y Christian Friedel. Puede sonar como un terreno familiar, pero si hay un cineasta que puede hacer que incluso lo familiar parezca inquietantemente nuevo, ese es Glazer. Si la película realmente saldrá a la luz en 2023 sigue siendo un misterio, como muchos otros detalles al respecto. Aún así, en medio de los rumores de que este lanzamiento de A24 finalmente está a punto de completarse, considere mi interés recién despertado. —Justin Chang

To read this note in English click here.

More grounded and less outlandish than some of the author’s other juvenile fiction, Dahl’s 1988 novel tells of a child genius in a small English village who’s blessed with the kind of extraordinary brainpower that can change the world. It’s spawned a few adaptations already, including an entertaining if bluntly Americanized 1996 film and a justly popular Olivier- and Tony-winning musical that has now directly inspired this new movie.

All that aside, there may be something inherently contradictory about any filmed version of “Matilda,” since the novel itself is something of a children’s cautionary tale about the perils of too much TV watching. (The same logic surely applies to too much Netflix, where this bouncy, bright-colored adaptation will begin streaming Dec. 25, after a brief theatrical run.)

Sit around watching the idiot box night after night and you might become as crooked, ignorant and unrepentantly vulgar as Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood (Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough, both garishly amusing), the most unworthy parents of a young girl of astounding intelligence and imagination named Matilda (the winning Alisha Weir).

Given the fairy-tale extremes and cruel ironies that tend to govern Dahl’s storybook universe, the Wormwoods’ exceptional stupidity may be precisely what gave Matilda her prodigiously gifted mind.

And for a young reader, her gifts inspire pride, protectiveness and no small amount of wistful envy. To read “Matilda” is to wish your brain could multiply triple-digit numbers as swiftly as any calculator and to feel freshly inspired to plunge headlong into “Nicholas Nickleby,” “Crime and Punishment” and the many other classics that Matilda has managed to plow through by age 6.

The new movie, for all its charms, doesn’t achieve or encourage anywhere near the same buzzing pro-literacy excitement. Neither, to be sure, did the stage show, but it was also sufficiently fresh and transporting that it scarcely mattered. A lot of its pleasures have happily made it to the screen intact, doubtless because its central creative trio — director Matthew Warchus, book writer Dennis Kelly and composer-lyricist Tim Minchin — have retained their equivalent roles behind the camera.

And beneath those pleasures is a potent underlay of feeling: As pastel hues fill the screen and perky melodies and wicked-smart lyrics flood the soundtrack, a tale of a child’s tragic neglect and deep longing comes into focus. At the same time, one of Matilda’s most appealing qualities is her allergy to self-pity, her calm insistence that every kid deserves, and can exact, a measure of justice.

“Just because you find that life’s not fair, it / doesn’t mean that you just have to grin and bear it,” Matilda sings in “Naughty,” brilliantly advancing an airtight case for a child’s revenge. But her parents, however in need of discipline, are too-easy targets.

Once she starts attending school, Matilda has a much bigger fish to fry in the form of Miss Trunchbull, the towering, terrifying headmistress who rules with an iron fist and the credo “Bambinatum est maggitum” (Children are maggots). Played by a sneering, barking Emma Thompson, who donned a fat suit and fascist military garb for the role, the Trunchbull is a memorably exaggerated monster. She’s also prone to extreme acts of child abuse — solitary confinement, pigtail assault — that seem even more outlandish, for better or worse, in this movie’s cheery, effervescent presentation.

Fortunately, even before the story’s clever swerve into Stephen King territory, Matilda has two benevolent adult counterweights to the meanness and indifference that her parents and the Trunchbull represent. One is Matilda’s kindhearted teacher, the aptly named Miss Honey (a moving Lashana Lynch), who does her best to protect her students from the headmistress’ psychotic wrath. The other is Mrs. Phelps (Sindhu Vee), the traveling bookshop proprietor who enables Matilda’s passion for literature, even as she encourages the child to concoct madly inventive stories of her own.

That leads to one of the movie’s more strained conceits, borrowed but not improved from the stage show, in which Matilda cooks up a romantic tall tale — a circus-set love story — that holds up a fictional mirror to the main action. Onstage, the device had a deft, gossamer-light magic; on-screen, it’s leaden and obvious, one of those strange cases where seeing isn’t quite believing.

And it’s not the only instance in which this “Matilda the Musical” loses something in the transition from magically inspired stagecraft to solid, proficient screen craft. Even some of the more riotous song-and-dance numbers feel more mechanical here, more artificially polished and hemmed in, especially when Matilda and her classmates seize the day with a joyous anthem of liberation called “Revolting Children.”

For a movie that bristles with more revolutionary fervor than Dahl’s quieter, more inward-focused story, “Matilda the Musical” could use a little messier, more rambunctious energy.

The focus and discipline of Warchus’ direction is undeniable, perhaps to a fault: It’s hard not to feel that a two-and-a-half-hour show has been whittled down to within an inch of its upbeat, family-friendly life. The surges of emotion are still there, the final comeuppances still rousing, even if the climax itself smothers its most electrifying twist with some predictably ostentatious visual effects. It all can’t help but reinforce Dahl’s point — as well as Matilda’s own steadfast conviction — that the screen really has nothing on the printed word.

“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”

Rating: PG (for thematic elements, exaggerated bullying and some language)

Running time: 1:57

How to watch: In theaters; on Netflix Dec. 25

Now, a year later, the Globes are back, announcing their nominations on live TV. And within minutes, nominated studios, producers and a few stars were dutifully expressing their gratitude.

I am not going to mention any of the nominations because they are pretty much what you would expect if, say, you had only watched the films and series that critics claimed had awards buzz.

Also because I would like to extend the blissful year in which we didn’t have to think about the Golden Globes.

When the investigation broke, I thought the Hollywood Foreign Press Association could fix itself. Then I experienced a year without the Golden Globes.

What a relief it was.

Finally an awards cycle in which the 87 members of the HFPA would not be allowed to pretend they had any more insight into what was the “best” anything than 87 people standing in line for Splash Mountain. (Possibly they had less.) Finally a year when we did not have to watch a show in which a host inevitably reminds the audience that the HFPA is a joke and everyone is only here for the free booze and then winners feel obligated to express their emotional and sincere gratitude.

Daunted but not undone by NBC’s suspension, the HFPA promised to change (which almost immediately backfired when the just-hired diversity strategist quit), announced its winners this year in a private event with blessedly little coverage and returned to the business of clawing its way back into Hollywood’s good graces through the kind of redemptive arc the industry loves to cheer.

That arc, according to president Helene Hoehne and new diversity officer Neil Phillips, is now complete. There are a bunch of new members! Who are diverse! There is stricter membership policy and a universal gifts ban! That will be enforced! Some members are still paid by the HFPA, but they do stuff like form committees and it is tough being a journalist these days!

Whatever. Having finally been called out, the emperor can put on some clothes if he wants, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he was walking around naked for years — and gaslighting everyone in the kingdom about it.

People in the entertainment industry, and the media covering it, have been complaining about the HFPA’s freeloading and shakedown tactics for years. Occasionally members were caught. In 1999, as The Times’ Stacy Perman and Josh Rottenberg reported, HFPA members were forced to return 82 Coach watches, valued at more than $400 apiece, which had been given to them by USA Films.

In 2011, the group was sued by its own publicist for accepting money and gifts in exchange for support of certain films; the HFPA countersued and the matter was settled out of court.

The Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that, prior to the absurd 2021 nomination for Netflix’s “Emily in Paris” in the best comedy category, the streamer had treated 30 HFPA members to a lavish trip to Paris. Yet rumors of similar perks prefaced virtually every nomination day. Last year, as Rottenberg and Perman reported, WarnerMedia summed up the attitude of many in a blistering letter to the HFPA: “For far too long,” WarnerMedia wrote, “demands for perks, special favors and unprofessional requests have been made to our teams and to others across the industry. We regret that as an industry, we have complained, but largely tolerated this behavior until now.”

I believe in change but let’s face it: The Golden Globes was created by a tiny, random and sketchily credentialed group of people to give themselves an absurd amount of influence in Hollywood, along with a pretty hefty income stream.

Do we need even a cleaned-up, racially diverse version of that?

Every year, there is a chorus of complaint about the number of awards show. The guild awards, the various critics’ awards, the Spirit Awards, the People’s Choice Awards. How much praise, affirmation and hardware, many ask, do these Hollywood people need?

So why, having rid ourselves of one of the biggest and most superfluous ceremonies, are we bringing it back? Do not tell me it’s that we need a kick off to awards season with some sort of “Oscar indicator.” Critics’ awards would make far more sense as an opening volley (everyone loves to complain about critics) and as my colleague Glenn Whipp annually explains, with irritating accuracy, the guild awards — WGA, DGA and SAG — are the only Oscar barometers any one needs. Mostly because they are the same groups who actually vote in the Oscars!

Alas, the only real reason to bring back the Golden Globes is the reason they existed in the first place: money.

With dwindling viewership for pretty much everything, NBC doesn’t want to give up the chance to draw a largish live audience. Studios and producers don’t want to lose an opportunity, any opportunity, to promote their films and television series. Actors, writers, directors, et al, know than any nomination or win can boost their quote and/or help them get a future project off the ground.

The HFPA is counting on the monetary benefits erasing, or at least outweighing, the dubious and historically corrupt nature of the Globes. That’s how they forced Hollywood to turn a blind eye for all those years.

NBC has only renewed its airing of the Globes telecast for a year, so we’ll see. If the show has a decent audience, if the stars turn up in their finery and at least a few acceptance speeches are funny or moving, if Jerrod Carmichael keeps the evening light and the list of winners is not completely outrageous — well, people may decide that whatever change the HFPA claims to have made is enough.

If not, well, wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where we don’t have the Golden Globes to kick around anymore.

Y hoy, la serie original, protagonizada por José Pastor e Iván Sánchez, se lanza en los Estados Unidos, con los seis episodios que la conforman disponibles tanto en español como doblados al inglés, para facilitar su visionado por parte de diferentes espectadores.

Desde su nacimiento, Miguel Bosé estuvo destinado a la grandeza, a pesar de las rígidas convenciones impuestas por su país natal, España, en la década de los ’60. Su padre, Luis Miguel Dominguín, era una figura tradicional y destacada del toreo español, mientras que su madre, Lucía Bosé, era una estrella de cine italiana sofisticada y moderna. Miguel nació bendecido con el carácter fuerte de su padre, la belleza de su madre y la rebeldía y la elegancia de ambos.

En 1968, la tumultuosa relación de sus padres llegó a su fin después de 13 años, cuando decidieron divorciarse, lo que constituyó un escándalo para la época en un país conservador. Miguel tenía solo 11 años, y el divorcio tuvo un gran impacto en él. Sirvió como catalizador para transformarlo en el artista rebelde que el mundo conocería una década después.

Rodeado de un halo de misterio, ha sido siempre muy reservado. Esta serie derriba los muros, revelando las fortalezas y debilidades del cantautor y brindando al público una mirada íntima a su vida. Cada episodio se centra en una canción diferente de su repertorio y viaja a momentos cruciales en su vida, aunque la línea de tiempo actual tiene lugar durante la promoción de su álbum multi platino “Papito”, cuando decidió hacer realidad un sueño largamente postergado: ser padre.

El reparto también incluye a Nacho Fresneda como el padre de Bosé, Luis Miguel Dominguín; Valeria Solarino como su madre, Lucía Bosé; Alicia Borrachero como La Tata, figura fundamental en su existencia; Ana Jara como su mejor amiga; José Sospedra como Pablo Alborch; Miguel Ángel Muñoz como Julio Iglesias; y Mariela Garriga en el papel de Facio.

La serie fue producida por Paramount, en colaboración con Shine Iberia (Banijay Iberia), Elefantec Global y Legacy Rock. La dirección recayó en Miguel Bardem y Fernando Trullols y la escritura de los guiones en Ángeles González Sinde, Isabel Vázquez y Boris Izaguirre.

Escrita por Gül Abus Semerci, producida por Nazli Heptürk y dirigida por Emre Kabakusak, este lunes se estrena en la pantalla chica “Amor y Traición”, una serie protagonizada por el reconocido actor turco Akin Akinözü, quien previamente se dejó ver en la serie “Hercai: Amor y Venganza” que transmitió la cadena Telemundo.

La nueva serie que llega a la pantalla incluye en su elenco, además de Akin Akinözü, a figuras como Öykü Karayel, Sarp Apak y Meric Aral y cuenta la apasionante historia de Asiye (Karayel), cuyo mundo se estremece cuando su hija es acosada por un vecino, viéndose obligadas a tratar de reconstruir sus vidas destrozadas. Cuando un extraño, Mahir (Apak), les encuentra refugio en la casa de su poderosa familia, Asiye se sorprende al encontrarse con su exmarido, Cemal (Akinözü), quien había abandonado a la familia años atrás.

Asiye ahora enfrenta el más difícil de los dilemas, pues debe elegir si volver con Cemal, o comenzar una nueva vida con Mahir. En una mansión llena de romance, traición y celos, Asiye debe enfrentar un destino cruel y luchar por la felicidad de su familia en este emocionante drama.

Este intenso y conmovedor drama envuelve una historia de amor, perdón y redención, donde todos tienen un secreto y la oportunidad de comenzar de nuevo.

“Estoy emocionado de conectarme una vez más con el público hispano de EEUU y que los televidentes descubran esta poderosa historia de amor y traición”, afirmó Akinözü en un comunicado.

“Los espectadores serán cautivados con este conmovedor drama lleno de encuentros inesperados”, agregó Akinözü, quien nuevamente se pone al frente de un melodrama que buscará apoderarse del horario estelar de las 10p.m.

“Amor y Traición”, que también incluye las actuaciones de Müfit Kayacan, Ülkü Duru, Kaan akir, Onur Bilge, Yesim Gül , Esra Dermancioglu, Ayca Koptur, Iraz Akcam y Yildirim Ozcan, se estrena este lunes a las 10pm/9C por Telemundo.

10 verdades que no conoces de Akin Akinözü

1.- Akin Akinözü nació un 22 de septiembre de 1990 en Ankara, Turquía bajo el signo zodiacal de Virgo con un gusto por el arte, sensibilidad y curiosidad obsesiva por aprender.

2.- El amor por la actuación y el arte corre por sus venas. Su madre es una reconocida actriz de gran trayectoria llamada Özlem Akinözü y su abuelo paterno Sureyya Arin fue uno de los presentadores pioneros de televisión turca en la cadena TRT por sus siglas en inglés (Turkish Radio and Television). Su tío abuelo Suha Arin es conocido como el “El padre de los documentales turcos”.

3.- Antes de iniciar su carrera en la actuación, vivió seis años en los Estados Unidos. Su odisea inició en Wisconsin, luego se mudó a Los Angeles, y finalmente a Berkeley donde estudio en la prestigiosa Universidad de California Berkeley, y se recibió con una licenciatura en Matemática Aplicada.

4.- Su ardiente actuación de Miran en Hercai Amor y Venganza ha sido la serie turca más exitosa en Telemundo y ese personaje le ha otorgado varios premios incluyendo: “Mejor Actor en Serie Dramática” (en la vigésima cuarta entrega de los Premios Lens de Oro de la Asociación de Periodistas de Revista) y “Mejor Pareja en Serie de TV”, categoría que compartió con su coprotagonista de Hercai Ebru Sahin (Ayakli Gazete Ödülleri journalists 2020). En el 2019 fue reconocido como Mejor Actor Masculino y Mister Nova 2019 en la segunda edición de los Premios Nova Más del canal español Nova de Atresmedia.

5.- Akin ama el cine y ha disfrutado de todos los géneros desde dramas de acción, romance y películas animadas como “El Rey Leon” durante su niñez, “Titanic” durante su adolescencia, y cuando vio “Matrix” por segunda ocasión durante sus estudios universitarios, fue tal el impacto en el que lo inspiró a elegir la actuación como su profesión.

6.- Hace cuatro años se convirtió al veganismo como un reto, pero, en el proceso, cambió a una dieta pescetariana al descubrir que era un balance optimo para su salud.

7.- Él es un atleta de afición con experiencia en gimnasia que actualmente practica entrenamiento funcional mixto con artes marciales, y disfruta varios deportes incluyendo tenis, baloncesto, fútbol soccer y natación.

8.- Akin adora a su perro Archie, un setter inglés que considera su mejor amigo.

9.- Parte de su ritual matutino es tomar café turco y su comida favorita es el sushi.

10.- Su colonia favorita es Terre D’Hermes y su diseñador favorito es Ralph Lauren.