Famous birthdays for May 27: Andre 3000, Richard Schiff
TV // 1 day ago
'Last of Us' family helped calm the nerves of S2 newbie Kaitlyn Dever
NEW YORK, May 25 (UPI) -- Kaitlyn Dever says she has had a long personal history with "The Last of Us" and felt overwhelmed with emotion when she was hired to star in HBO's adaptation of the blockbuster video game.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
32 minutes ago
- Forbes
HBO Boxing Icon Jim Lampley Drops Blistering Trump-Mayweather Take
Floyd Mayweather and Donald Trump, HBO Boxing Icon says, "No Mayweather, No Trump" 'No Mayweather, no Trump.' That's the heavy-duty take HBO Boxing icon Jim Lampley dropped on me during our conversation on Friday afternoon. It's one of the most polarizing, but plausible things anyone has said to me in a while. In case you're a relatively young sports fan or someone who didn't pay much attention to HBO Boxing during the 1990s and early 2000s, you may not know Lampley. Without listing every accolade and distinction, I'll say this: there are people in every industry who have a combination of experience and wherewithal that enables them to captivate a room with the stories and takes they've accumulated during their journey through levels of their craft and the years of their life. Lampley is one of those people. CANASTOTA, NY - JUNE 14: Boxing commentator Jim Lampley poses with his new ring and photo on the ... More wall after the induction ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction Weekend of Champions events on June 14, 2015 in Canastota, New York. (Photo by) During our interview, we discussed his book, It Happened, his autobiography that tells the story of his 50-year career in sports broadcasting and tons of boxing stories and concepts. I asked him about the infamous post-fight moment with his longtime broadcast partner Larry Merchant—you know the one, where Mayweather snapped, 'you don't know s### about boxing,' and Merchant fired back, 'if I was 50 years younger, I'd kick your a##.' It's classic. I wanted to know from Lampley, who was there, what the deal was with Mayweather and Merchant, but I got so much more. Lampley explained, 'Well, obviously it was something that built up over a long period of time. I think that Larry gave him proper credit for being a great fighter. In particular, he didn't like that Larry would sometimes say something to the effect of, well, he's great and you can't beat him, but he isn't gonna sell a single ticket with this style, that kind of thing.' Clearly, Merchant was wrong about Mayweather's ability to sell tickets. No fighter has made more in pay-per-view revenue, and Mayweather can still command a crowd and a payday by participating in boxing exhibitions. Also, if you watch the history of post-fight interviews between Mayweather and Merchant, the latter is particularly abrupt and a little antagonistic toward the fighter. Even during the aforementioned interview, the conversation starts off with Mayweather having his arm around Merchant. However, Merchant's tone and verbiage was off-putting to Mayweather as it came just moments after the controversial ending to his fight with Victor Ortiz, but I digress. That aspect of Lampley's answer was mostly what I expected to hear. The broadcast journalism legend delivered a punchier concept as he delved deeper into Mayweather's dynamic and his overall influence on American culture. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 26: Floyd Mayweather Jr. visits "Making Money With Charles Payne" at ... More Fox Business Network Studios on February 26, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by) The concept is wild, but not completely unfathomable. I used to say this about Mayweather, 'it takes a special kind of person to be at peace with being the most hated person in a room.' In that sense, it's easy to see tons of people in every industry who have adopted that approach–whether they got it from Mayweather or someone else. DETROIT, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 18: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, ... More brings boxing legend Thomas Hearns to the stage during a campaign rally on October 18, 2024, in Detroit, Michigan. There are 17 days remaining until the U.S. presidential election, which will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by) Donald Trump's involvement with boxing dates back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Trump Plaza in Atlantic City became a key venue for major fights. At its peak, the hotel and casino played host to several heavyweight title bouts, including, Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks in 1988 and Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman in 1991. Trump didn't just rent out space for the fights—he appeared to actively positioned himself as a central figure in these events, often appearing ringside, hosting press conferences, and getting photographed with the fighters. ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JANUARY 22: Businessman Donald Trump in ring with boxer Mike Tyson after ... More knocking out opponent Larry Holmes at Tyson vs Holmes Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey January 22 1988. (Photo by Jeffrey Asher/ Getty Images) Some may argue Trump used these moments to build prestige, associate himself with dominance and success, and to thrust himself into the spotlight. Needless to say, it seems to have worked. ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - JANUARY 22: Businessman Donald Trump and Champion Boxer Evander Holyfield at ... More Tyson vs Holmes Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey January 22 1988. (Photo by Jeffrey Asher/ Getty Images) Putting a bow on the Mayweather-Merchant beef: Mayweather's rise to global prominence began in the mid-2000s. Specifically, his bet-on-myself fight against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. The fight marked Mayweather's triumphant separation from Top Rank Boxing and it also was the cornerstone moment of his shift from 'Pretty Boy' to 'Money.' Mayweather and Trump's paths would more publicly cross years later. In 2017, Trump publicly praised Mayweather after his win over Conor McGregor, calling him a "great guy" and 'an unbelievable fighter.' Mayweather also endorsed Trump for President earlier. Mayweather may have used social media to push negative concepts in the past. However, to his credit, I interviewed him earlier this year, and he formally apologized for every time he used social media to be toxic. That admission actually adds some credence to Lampley's concept. I've never had an opportunity to speak to President Trump, but I can promise you, if I do, I will ask him if he learned anything from his encounters with Mayweather. Whether Trump truly studied Mayweather's moves or simply mirrored them instinctively, the similarities are clear—and Lampley might be one of the only people to call it out this directly.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Carrie's voice is back. So is the show's soul as ‘And Just Like That…' grows up
PARIS (AP) — 'She's messy. It can be messy. But it's real.' So says Cynthia Nixon — not just of Miranda Hobbes, the character she's embodied for almost three decades, but of the show itself. 'And Just Like That...,' HBO's 'Sex and the City' revival, has come into its own in Season 3: less preoccupied with pleasing everyone, and more interested in telling the truth. Truth, in this case, looks like complexity. Women in their 50s with evolving identities. Not frozen in time, but changing, reckoning, reliving. Queerness that's joyful but not polished. Grief without melodrama. A pirate shirt with a bleach hole that somehow becomes a talisman of power. At its glittering European premiere this week, Nixon and co-star Sarah Jessica Parker, flanked by Kristin Davis and Sarita Choudhury, spoke candidly with The Associated Press about how the show has evolved into something deeper, rawer and more reflective of who they are now. A voice returns Season 3 marks the return of Carrie Bradshaw's iconic internal monologue that once defined 'Sex and the City.' The series has always followed Carrie's rhythm, but now it brings back something deeper: her voice. Literally. 'We've always loved the voiceover,' Parker said. 'It's a rhythm — it's part of the DNA.' The decision to restore it, producers say, was deliberate. The voiceovers return just as Carrie rediscovers her direction — offering viewers a renewed sense of intimacy and connection. That growth is echoed in her rekindled relationship with Aidan and her acceptance to step back for him to focus on his troubled son. The character who in 1998 first stopped a cab in Manolo Blahniks — and once floated through Manhattan chasing shoes and column deadlines — is now grounded in reinvention, the wounds of loss and cautious hope. The word is: grown up. 'She doesn't burst into tears or stomp out of the room anymore,' Parker said. 'She asks smart, patient questions. That's not effort — that's just her nature now.' 'People seem surprised that she is mature,' Parker added. 'But that's just basic developmental stuff — hopefully, simply by living, we get better at things. It's not surprising. It's just real.' Warts and all If Carrie is the compass, Miranda is the seismic shift. Miranda's arc — which now includes a late-in-life queer awakening — may be the show's most radical contribution to television. And for Nixon, who publicly came out as queer while still playing straight in the original 'Sex and the City,' that evolution is deeply personal. 'There's never a 'too late' moment. Miranda comes to queerness at 55,' Nixon said. 'That doesn't mean everything that came before was wrong. It just means this is her now. And it's messy. It can be messy. But it's real.' That embrace of imperfection lies at the core of Nixon's philosophy — and the show's power. On television, where characters linger in our lives for years, there's a unique intimacy and empathy that develops. 'Television puts someone in your living room, week after week. They're imperfect, they make you laugh, and eventually you say, 'I know that person. They're my friend.'' she said. 'That's more powerful than one mythic, perfect film. That's where the change happens.' That change includes how queerness is portrayed. Nixon recalled how earlier generations of LGBTQ+ characters were forced to be flawless, or two-dimensional, to justify their screen time. 'There was a time when gay people on screen had to be saints or martyrs,' she said. 'Now, we can be characters like Miranda — who've had rich, fulfilling heterosexual lives and now stumble upon queerness, and not in a tidy way. There's collateral damage. That's important.' That depth, Nixon said, comes not just from character, but from the format. Unlike film, which requires resolution in two hours, television lets people grow — and falter — in real time. 'The writers are smart' And Miranda's transformation isn't just personal. It's political. In Season 3, she's seen retraining in human rights law, joining protest movements, and wrestling with systemic questions — mirroring Nixon's own off-screen life. In 2018, the actor ran for governor of New York on a progressive platform, bringing her activism directly into the public arena. That convergence isn't accidental, she says. 'On long-running shows, if the writers are smart, they start to weave in the actor,' Nixon said. 'When I started, Miranda and I were very different. But now we've grown closer. We're almost the same person — in temperament, in values.' Season 3 narrows its scope, pulling focus back to the emotional cores of Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte. Several side characters are gone, including Che Diaz, and what remains is a cleaner, more character-driven story. 'I think one of the great things about our show is we show women in their 50s whose lives are very dramatic and dynamic,' Nixon said. 'You get to this age and there's a lot going on — if you choose to keep moving forward.' Friends, friction, and freedom Kristin Davis, who plays Charlotte, noted that those life shifts come fast and often overlap. 'She really starts to unravel,' Davis said. 'But the joy is her friends are there.' Sarita Choudhury, who plays real estate powerhouse Seema, echoed that sense of late-blooming autonomy. 'She's feeling that, if you have your own business, your own apartment, your own way, you get to say what you want,' Choudhury said. 'There's power in that.' It's a subtle rebuke to the long-held media narrative that midlife is a decline. Not just fashion — declaration Fashion, as ever, is present — but now it feels more personal than aspirational. Parker described insisting on wearing a ripped vintage Vivienne Westwood shirt with a bleach hole. 'It had to be in an important scene. It meant something,' she said. Even the show's iconic heels, still clacking through New York's brownstone-lined streets, feel louder this season. And yes, Carrie is writing again — not her usual musings, but a 'historical romance' that lets the show wink at its own pretensions. Taxis become carriages. Voiceovers drift into period drama. Her beloved blouse — vintage, shredded, almost costume — fits the mood perfectly: century-leaping fashion for a century-leaping Carrie. The protagonist, as ever, walks the line between costume and character. 'And Just Like That...' is a show that's learned to walk — loudly — into its next chapter. 'You're better today than you were 10 years ago,' Parker said. 'That's not just Carrie — that's everyone.' ___ Season 3 of 'And Just Like That…' premiered on Thursday on HBO Max
UPI
3 hours ago
- UPI
Richard Kind: 'I love 'Poker Face.' I love Natasha. I love to work.'
1 of 4 | Rhea Perlman and Richard Kind can now be seen in Season 2 of "Poker Face." Photo courtesy of Peacock NEW YORK, May 30 (UPI) -- Only Murders in the Building, Mad About You and Spin City icon Richard Kind says guest starring on Poker Face was an easy "yes" for him. Airing Thursdays on Peacock, Season 2 of the mystery-of-the-week dramedy stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a human lie detector who helps solve crimes as she drifts from town to town. Kind's episode casts him as Jeffrey, the doting husband of Beatrix (Rhea Perlman), a mob boss who has been trying to kill Charlie. "They were paying me," Kind, 68, joked with UPI in a recent Zoom interview when asked why he took the guest spot. "I love Poker Face. I love Natasha. I love to work. I love Rhea and it's fun. It was a good role. It was a blast. I would rather have been an evil guy on the show, but I was very nice," he added. "I was a good guy." While Beatrix commits crimes to support them, Jeffrey stays at home, cooking and ironing, until he can't take the stress anymore and becomes a government informant. "I don't want to be involved in any of this," Kind said about Jeffrey's feelings toward Beatrix's business. "In fact, I really want to be oblivious to it all and that's where the comedy is." That's also why viewers may be shocked when Jeffrey's story-line goes in some unexpectedly violent directions. "In order to make twists and turns work, you have to be even more truthful, so that you're drawing the audience in," Kind said. "Taking the sincerity or taking the truth of what's in the script is always a challenge, so I really had to invest in that," he added. "First and foremost, he loves his wife. He really loves her and I think she loves him. He's caught between a rock and a hard place as far as what the rest of his life is going to be, but he does it for self-preservation and not to attack his wife or attack her world. ... He's just not happy and that's sort of sad for him." This isn't the first time Kind has worked with Perlman. The TV vets have known each other for years and previously co-starred in the 2000 Broadway play, The Allergist's Wife. "Tony Roberts preceded me in that role," Kind recalled. "Tony was a friend and he gave me a piece of advice, which actually was the best advice I ever heard as an actor -- not just for the role, but for all roles. He said: 'Love your wife. If you love her, the audience will love her, and the audience will love you.' And I took that to heart and I've kept it with, actually, a lot of roles that I've done since." Kind said he thinks Poker Face creator Rian Johnson is a "brilliant man" who has managed to capture the magic of those private detective shows from the 1970s and '80s that viewers seem so nostalgic for these days. "He probably loved stories like Columbo or Name of the Game or McMillan and Wife," Kind said, noting the protagonists of those shows often found themselves in crazy situations with guest stars playing "bigger-than-life people," just like they do in Poker Face. "I think that's a wonderful thing," Kind added. In addition to being a fixture in Pixar films, the actor was also a longtime Curb Your Enthusiasm cast member and recently served as the sidekick/announcer for Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. Always in demand, he is still having fun as an actor and has no plans to retire. "I live for my kids. I live for golf and I live for work. That's what I live for now. I have friends, too," Kind said. "Acting is all playing pretend. We play. it's a big sandbox," he explained. "Who wouldn't want to do this? I love it. I can't live without it. When people retire, a lot of them die, but work can keep you active and fun and give you a purpose. Do I like it? I adore it. I can't live without it. God forbid I should be unemployed, I'd still go do little plays for no money. I love it. Love it, love it, love it." Natasha Lyonne turns 46: a look back Natasha Lyonne arrives for the premiere of "The Grey Zone" in New York City on October 8, 2002. Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI | License Photo
