Latest news with #ATXFestival
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jonathan Joss escorted out of ‘King of the Hill' panel days before murder: report
Jonathan Joss was allegedly escorted out of a TV festival after expressing disappointment in not being asked to be part of the 'King of the Hill' panel. The actor, who voiced John Redcorn in the Fox animated series, was fatally shot on Sunday, June 1, following a heated altercation in Texas. He was 59. The Post confirmed the suspect, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He is currently behind bars, with his bond set at $200K. However, days before the argument that allegedly led to his death, Joss was removed from a theater by security during the 'King of the Hill' panel at the ATX TV Festival, eyewitnesses told People. The alleged incident — which was caught on camera by a fan — happened at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, on Friday, May 30, with insiders telling the outlet that Joss, who was in the crowd, walked up to a microphone that was supposed to be used for the Q&A portion of the event and began to speak before it was time for the audience to interact with those on the panel. 'It seemed he did get a little emotional while he spoke, but mostly he was calm and he just needed to say his piece,' the insider told the outlet, noting that the show's co-creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels didn't appear worried. 'I'm an actor,' Joss said. 'I see a mic, I use it. I see a wrong, I make it right. I take a breath, I want to breathe.' During his spiel, the actor revealed his home burned down three months before. While he told the audience it was 'because I'm gay,' Joss' neighbors told TMZ that he allegedly used a BBQ pit to heat his home after his power was shut off. Later in the video, one of the creators shared with the audience that Joss played John Redcorn on 'King of the Hill' and was returning for the revival. As the audience clapped, Joss began walking toward the stage and across the front row, which is when the video ends. However, the eyewitness claimed that security quickly approached him and escorted him out of the theater. 'As Joss moved away from the mic to go back to his seat, that's when security told him he had to leave and he exited the theater calmly and cooperatively,' the onlooker claimed, adding that the panel allegedly got 'back on track' after Joss' exit. The Post reached out to a spokesperson for the ATX Festival for comment. Joss was shot and killed two days after the festival, with neighbors claiming he returned to his burned-down home to collect a victim's fire fund check. Once he arrived, he stumbled upon the skeleton of one of his beloved dogs that died in the blaze, and it reportedly sent him into a rage. Witnesses told TMZ that he began shouting at anyone in his path, including Alvarez Ceja, who allegedly got in a vehicle, fired several shots at Joss, and fled the scene. He was arrested roughly a block from the shooting. Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, spoke out following his shocking death. 'This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw,' Gonzales said in a Facebook post, recalling finding their dead dog's remains. 'While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.' While Joss' husband claimed the shooting was a hate crime, law enforcement told The Post that no evidence was found to support those accusations. A GoFundMe was started for Joss earlier this year after the fire, showing that $10,721 in donations were collected to help him recoup what he lost. The fundraiser page also revealed that his dad had built the home for his mother in 1957, and three of his dogs died in the blaze. Besides voicing John Redcorn on 'King of the Hill,' Joss also starred as Chief Ken Hotate in 'Parks and Recreation' and appeared in shows like 'Ray Donovan' and 'Friday Night Lights.'
Forbes
01-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
‘Andor' Showrunner Confirms It Cost $650 Million, So Good Luck Doing That Again
Andor Andor has some of the best production value of any Star Wars project we've seen, from its real-life sets to its splicing with VFX, and there's a reason for that. It cost a stunning amount of money. Back in December, Forbes' Caroline Reid reported that Andor cost $645 million, based on Disney filings she'd found that indicated that price. It was debated around the industry, but while it certainly seemed provable, now, for the first time, the showrunner of Andor himself is talking about that figure. And it is in fact that figure after all. Tony Gilroy was speaking on a panel during the ATX Television Festival and had this to say about how this all came together, including Disney just throwing money at the project: 'I mean, [for] Disney this is $650 million,' Gilory said. 'For 24 episodes, I never took a note. We said 'F*** the Empire' in the first season, and they said, 'Can you please not do that?' … In Season 2, they said, 'Streaming is dead, we don't have the money we had before,' so we fought hard about money, but they never cleaned anything up. That [freedom] comes with responsibilities.' Gilroy has spoken about just how much support Disney gave to the series, which was concocted as long as a decade ago before just finishing its run. That not only includes the money (and that is an astonishing budget), but also the ability to do things like have a brother and murders in the first ten minutes, or the ability to say things like 'genocide' and 'rape' in a Star Wars series. As much as the fanbase likes to point fingers at her for what's wrong with Disney, Gilroy has said that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy was the show's biggest champion and the reason a lot of this got done. Andor Interestingly, if you do break down that budget, and Andor's episode total, this is like shooting six or so, two-hour movies. Split that up, and it's $110 million a movie. Spare change for a Star Wars film! Of course, there's the other side of this. This was not a billion dollar-earning blockbuster. This was a Disney Plus streaming series, and before The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, it was the least-watched in the franchise. Season 2 increased those numbers, but it's wild spending in that context. Disney, however, came away with one of the best Star Wars projects in the history of the franchise. Some say it's the best thing that's been made in the universe outside of the original trilogy. Some may even squeeze Return of the Jedi out of that too. It's universally beloved, and so if nothing else, Disney bought the idea that they can make something great with Star Wars if all the stars align. It is hard to imagine the stars aligning like this again. That kind of spending on this kind of project with that much freedom with that many episodes in an increasingly competitive streaming landscape as Star Wars heads mostly back to film? You can see the problem there. The problems. Many problems. But at least we got Andor. We'll always have that. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
