The Arts

Movie review: Natalie Portman embodies arresting portrait of a first lady in ‘Jackie’

The shock, grief and spotlight glare endured by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, in the days following her husband’s 1963 assassination, was there for all to see. Yet who knows what she was truly thinking, feeling, screaming inside while wiping her husband’s dried blood off her famous pink dress, or watching Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath […]

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Absentee Dylan has written thank-you speech for Nobel banquet

Stockholm (dpa) – Although rock legend Bob Dylan, the 2016 Nobel Literature Laureate, will not attend the upcoming award ceremony his words will ring out there, organizers said Monday. US singer Patti Smith was to perform Dylan’s song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” at Saturday’s award ceremony in Stockholm’s Concert Hall, the Nobel Foundation said.

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International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Mavis Staples, James Taylor, The Eagles, Al Pacino at a bittersweet Kennedy Center Honors 2016

WASHINGTON — Rocker Glenn Frey died before he could accept a Kennedy Center Honors award last year, but his Eagles bandmates and four other artists were feted Sunday at a bittersweet edition of the glitzy annual gala, the last of the Obama administration. Actor-director Al Pacino, singer-songwriter James Taylor, singer Mavis Staples and pianist Martha

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Trump, Baldwin Spar Again Over ‘SNL’ Treatment

Donald Trump really, really hates Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of him. The president-elect of the United States and the actor got into another tiff this weekend over Twitter after Trump again used his favorite micro-blogging site to criticize “Saturday Night Live’s” portrayal of him as a feckless, disinterested vulgarian. “Just tried watching Saturday Night Live—unwatchable! Totally

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

‘SNL’ skit continues pounding Trump with comedy

Alec Baldwin returned to “Saturday Night Live” to reprise his role as Donald Trump, mocking the president-elect’s prolific Twitter habits in the show’s opening skit. It took just 45 minutes for Trump, on Twitter, to respond. “Just tried watching Saturday Night Live — unwatchable! Totally biased, not funny and the Baldwin impersonation just can’t get

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Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Another familiar Hollywood face of the ’70s and ’80s has passed away

Don Calfa, the film, stage and television actor whose credits included “The Return of the Living Dead,” ”Weekend at Bernie’s” and “Barney Miller,” has died. His publicist Michael Perez tells The Associated Press that Calfa died Thursday in Palm Springs of natural causes. Calfa died two days before his 77th birthday. Watch the video RELATED:

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Obituaries & memorials, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Gabriel Garcia Marquez had Fidel Castro read his books to catch errors before publication

There are a lot of great opening lines in literature. But this one by the late Gabriel Garcia-Marquez is among the best: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” That’s the way he starts the book

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International

Next round’s on Taylor Swift: She’s the world’s highest-paid musician

Taylor Swift is doing something right. A lot of things, actually: She’s No. 1 on Forbes’ 2016 list of the highest-paid musicians in the world. Her $170 million take, earned primarily through her recent world tour and various endorsements, also made her the top-earning celebrity back in June, the magazine said. Yes, out of all

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

How Jimmy Stewart’s war service affected ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

As we stare headlong into the approaching holiday season, the 1946 James Stewart classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” is set to make its annual television appearance Saturday on NBC. It was the first movie Stewart made when he returned home after serving as a pilot in World War II, an experience that left him adrift

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Wole Soyinka, Nobel Prize-winning author, throws away green card over Trump win

Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka said Thursday that he fulfilled his promise to throw away his United States green card and relocate if Donald Trump won the presidency. “I’ve done it,” the Nigerian author told news channel eNCA on the sidelines of an education conference at the University of Johannesburg, Reuters reported. “When I was

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, USA

Award-winning THE MENSCH ON A BENCH Welcomes HANNAH THE HANUKKAH HERO And ASK BUBBE To The Family

The newly expanded 2016 product line celebrates strong female role models with history and humor CINCINNATI, Dec. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — The pop culture icon, THE MENSCH ON A BENCH has not only expanded his Mishpacha, but also continues to solidify his presence as a meaningful holiday presence for Jewish and interfaith families. Neal Hoffman,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA