Latest news with #ParamountTheatre
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'King of the Hill' Star Jonathan Joss Was Escorted Out of ATX TV Festival Panel 2 Days Before His Death
Jonathan Joss was escorted out of a panel for King of the Hill at the ATX TV Festival on May 30, just two days before he died on June 1 A day before his death, Joss shared a video of him signing autographs at a comic and games store in Austin, Texas Joss, who was 59, was allegedly shot and killed during a dispute with his former neighbor at his San Antonio, Texas home, which had recently burned downThe puzzle pieces of Jonathan Joss' final days are coming together. Just two days before the King of the Hill actor was shot and killed at the age of 59 on Sunday, June 1, in San Antonio, Texas, he was escorted out of a panel for the iconic animated series at the Paramount Theatre as part of the ATX TV Festival on Friday, May 30, in Austin, Texas. While the panel was in full swing, Joss stood up and approached the microphone set up for the Q&A portion of the event, which had not begun yet, an eyewitness in the audience tells PEOPLE. The onlooker says security guards came out at this time. The eyewitness says audience members "laughed nervously in the crowd" and that King of the Hill co-creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels didn't seem alarmed while others appeared "a bit worried or uncomfortable." "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 onlooker adds of Joss. "I'm an actor," Joss said in a fan-captured video of the moment. "I see a mic, I use it. I see a wrong, I make it right. I take a breath, I want to breathe." Joss later revealed to the attendees that his house had burned down three months prior, seemingly indicating it was a hate crime as he said it was "because I'm gay." He was then seen walking toward the stage and across the front row. At one point in the video, Judge told the audience Joss played John Redcorn on King of the Hill and was returning for the revival. "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 says, adding that the panel got "back on track" after this. PEOPLE has reached out to a spokesperson for the ATX TV Festival for comment. In a Facebook post from April 21, Joss shared a statement about not being asked to participate in the King of the Hill panel at ATX TV Festival "not entirely out of anger, but also out of the deep ache in my heart." "This show was a part of my life for many years. That character, that voice, that story…they were my home, my pride, my connection to something bigger than myself," he continued. "To not be invited felt like being shut out of a place I helped build." Joss followed that Facebook post with another on April 29 in which he said he'd heard from Disney — the parent company of Hulu, where the revival is airing — that the panel would "be focusing on series regulars." "I truly appreciate them taking the time to reach out to me personally," he added. "It means a lot." Despite his disappointment, Joss shared a video to Instagram one day after the TV festival showing him celebrating that the King of the Hill "reboot is up and running" while preparing to sign autographs at an Austin-based comic and game store. Hours after news broke that Joss was killed during a dispute with his former neighbor, his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales shared a statement that offered his first-hand account of the incident. Gonzales, who married Joss on Valentine's Day, said he was present when Joss was shot and claimed the issue was rooted in homophobia. He revealed that Joss pushed him out of the way when the neighbor fired the gun, writing, "He saved my life." "He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other," Gonzales alleged. "I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved. To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family. My focus now is on protecting Jonathan's legacy and honoring the life we built together." Despite Gonzales' claims, the San Antonio Police Department issued a statement on X on June 2, saying they were investigating the incident but have "found no evidence to indicate that Mr. Joss's murder was related to his sexual orientation." Police previously told PEOPLE authorities were dispatched to a shooting in progress at Joss' address around 7 p.m. local time in June 1, where they found the actor lying "near the roadway." After attempting "life saving measures," paramedics pronounced Joss dead at the scene. The suspect, 56-year-old Sigfredo Alvarez Cejam, was quickly found and detained by officers after fleeing the scene in a vehicle. Cejam has been booked on a charge of murder and the investigation is still ongoing. Read the original article on People
USA Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Mad Men' reunion: Jon Hamm, John Slattery on fake cigarettes, finale, blackface episode
'Mad Men' reunion: Jon Hamm, John Slattery on fake cigarettes, finale, blackface episode Show Caption Hide Caption Why Jon Hamm's 'Your Friends and Neighbors' is crime dramedy gold Actor Jon Hamm tackles dark comedy and crime in "Your Friends and Neighbors." Entertain This AUSTIN, TX – Pour yourself an old fashioned or a Coca-Cola. We're traveling back to the time of 'Mad Men.' Jon Hamm, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of the brilliant ad man Don Draper, and John Slattery − who played his boss Roger Sterling – reunited 10 years after the finale of the AMC series, created by Matthew Weiner, as part of the ATX TV Festival. On May 31, the actors took the stage at a packed Paramount Theatre and reminisced about their days filming seven seasons of the drama centered on a New York advertising agency in the 1960s. The series also starred Christina Hendricks, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss and Kiernan Shipka. Hamm, 54, said that he had a broken hand while filming the scene when Moss' Peggy Olson is promoted to copywriter. So he asked Moss to be mindful and only softly squeeze it during a congratulatory handshake. But she forgot about the injury, Hamm said, and 'hits me with a handshake that is like a president handshake, and a lightning bolt goes all the way through me and I hit the floor so hard.' Slattery, 62, shared his disdain for his Season 7 mustache and again revealed he had first auditioned for the role of Don, though they'd already cast Hamm in the part. Producers lured Slattery with the Draper role, hoping to convince him to apply for agency owner Roger Sterling, who had a smaller part in the pilot. Hamm says he auditioned for the enigmatic Don, aka Dick Whitman, about nine times. The 'disgusting' prop booze and cigarettes Hamm and Slattery dished on the tricks that helped viewers believe they were chain-smoking, booze-guzzling men of that era. 'I think somebody did a count,' Hamm said, 'and in the pilot alone I smoked 75 cigarettes or something.' They were fake, Slattery pointed out. 'That just means that there's no nicotine in them.' Hamm said. 'It doesn't mean you're not burning something and inhaling…' Hamm said some of the younger actors in the pilot episode vowed to smoke real cigarettes to more authentically portray their characters. 'Within three days,' he said, 'they were yellow and sallow and like, 'This is a terrible idea.'' In place of vodka, the actors would sip water, garnished with onions. 'Pop another pearl onion in your glass of water and then you'd smoke 26 more fake cigarettes, and it was 9:30 in the morning," Slattery said. "It was disgusting.' Jon Hamm on Don Draper's finale 'revelation' During the Q&A portion of the panel, a fan asked about Hamm's interpretation of the finale. In the series' last moments, Don dreamed up the 'I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke' ad while meditating on a California cliff. Weiner envisioned Don's end in Season 1, Hamm said. 'He reached the end of land as far away as he could from his life and realized that his life was creating advertising. That was his revelation, that this is what he is and what he does. He's not Dick Whitman. He's not Don Draper. He's some version of this, but he is an advertising man and that was, I think, positive.' John Slattery addresses blackface in Season 3 Slattery told fans that when he was asked to sing "My Old Kentucky Home" in blackface in Season 3, he phoned Hamm, seeking his costar's thoughts. Ultimately, Slattery 'felt like, 'Well, this is probably something that occurred and it's probably something that this character would've done. So what leg do I have to stand on not to do it?' After arriving on location in character, Slattery said, 'The first person I opened the van and saw was a very large African American Los Angeles motorcycle cop, who was helping me open the door. 'We're like face to face,' Slattery continued. 'I had to go and sing that thing in front of them and everybody.' In 2020, 'Mad Men' added a title card to the episode (the series streams on AMC+ and Philo), prefacing it with a warning of 'disturbing images.' 'In its reliance on historical authenticity,' the card read, 'the series producers are committed to exposing the injustices and inequities within our society that continue to this day so we can examine even the most painful parts of our history in order to reflect on who we are today and who we want to become. We are therefore presenting the original episode in its entirety.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senator Welch to hold community events in Manchester and Rutland May 28
RUTLAND, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Tariffs will be center stage as Vermont's junior senator talks with business owners, manufacturers, and community members to listen to their concerns first hand on Wednesday. Two events are planned. The first, in Manchester starting at 1:00 p.m., is an invitation-only event where Senator Peter Welch will be joining together local businesses and manufacturers at the Orvis fishing rod shop. The second will be at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland starting at 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public with RSVP (link here). Senator Welch has previously hosted roundtables in Stowe, Newport, St. Albans, and virtually. Vermont City Marathon hits the ground running Sunday The meeting in Rutland is described as a 'community conversation' where Vermonters are welcome to discuss 'what more needs to be done to make our communities more affordable, our businesses more successful, and our families healthier and safer.' The events follow the senator's recent trip to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, where he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Both small business and larger corporations have expressed concern over the economic effects of the tariffs newly instituted by the Trump administration. Welch has opposed the tariffs on Canada and other countries. According to the office of the United State Trade Representative, Vermont exported $645 million in goods to Canada in 2024, by far its largest market for exports. Taiwan was a distant second at $249 million. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Paramount Theatre's summer film series returns
The Paramount Theatre's annual summer classic film series kicks off Thursday for its 51st year with 100 films from every era in cinema history — all screening at the historic 110-year-old downtown theater. Why it matters: During the Texas summer, it's hard to beat sitting in the air-conditioned dark, munching on popcorn and staring up at the big screen. What they're saying: "This year's lineup offers something for every film lover, from rare 70mm presentations to beloved classics celebrating significant anniversaries," Stephen Jannise, senior director of film programming at the Paramount, said in a news release. The movies are as diverse as "Boogie Nights" and "Dr. Strangelove," "The Big Lebowski" and "Working Girl," "Selena" and "All the President's Men." Fun favorites include "Miss Congeniality" and "Clueless." On June 11, novelist Katherine Center will join Austin actors Jared and Genevieve Padalecki for a special "Rom Com Night" and conversation, followed by a screening of the Rob Reiner romance classic "When Harry Met Sally." What's next: The series begins with Thursday's double feature of "Casablanca" at 7pm and "Breathless" at 9pm. On Saturday, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez will offer an in-person introduction of two 40th anniversary favorites, Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" and the rarely seen gem "Into the Night" starring Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, and David Bowie. "The Empire Strikes Back," arguably the best Star Wars movie, screens Sunday at 3pm. Other movies earmarked as the family film series this summer include "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Matilda," "The Goonies" and "The Sound of Music." If you go: Admission is $15 — including a $3 preservation fee for the theater — which covers both films in a double-feature.
Chicago Tribune
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Paramount ending season with high-flying musical and plenty of angst
The first time I saw 'Cats' in Chicago back in the days of young motherhood, I hated it, an aversion that likely had something to do with the fact I was getting the flu. But even then I could tell this campy, whimsical musical from jolly old England was not my cup of tea. That's why, when the Paramount Theatre made 'Cats' part of its 2014 Broadway Series, I had minimal expectations, and was, therefore, pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it, although it was a far cry from one of my favorite downtown Aurora productions and not one I'd want to see again. Boy, was I wrong. Both literally and figuratively, Paramount's current 'Cats' production – playing through June 15 – lifts this Tony-winning Andrew Lloyd Webber musical to a whole different level. A really high level, in fact, because those in Director Trent Stork's reimagined production can not only sing, dance and mimic a feline's most adorable – and annoying – characteristics, eight of the 32 cast members are also acrobats, aerialists and contortionists who, under a spectacular big top set, fly through the air – on ropes, trapezes and suspended swaths of silk – with the greatest of ease. And, I have to add, with the greatest of confidence as they do so without a net. Think 'Cats' and Cirque du Soleil and you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. In fact, like any three-ring circus, there's so much going on, it's hard to figure out where your eyes should land. While a professional critic might think of that as a distraction, it made me just want to see the show again and again. Speaking of which, one of the many thoughts going through my head during these two hours of sensory overload was the wish that Aurora's new mayor would see it at least once. It's hardly news there's plenty of angst about the future of the Paramount with John Laesch taking over the city reins from Richard Irvin, whose administration was the Paramount's biggest cheerleader. Laesch admits he's no fan of theater. But what he really hates is the 'serious debt' the city is facing, thanks to what he considers the past administration's free-spending ways. And he's been plenty upfront about the need to slash the budget, which would significantly impact the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA), the nonprofit that oversees the Paramount, Copley and Stolp Island theaters, as well as RiverEdge Park. In the days after his April 1 victory, Laesch declared ACCA's proposal for a fourth downtown Aurora entertainment venue – the City of Lights Center – to be pretty much dead in the water, although he tempered that in his inauguration speech on Tuesday by declaring it to be 'on hold' for at least the next four years. That's not exactly music to the ears of Paramount President Tim Rater, who sees this 4,000-seat theater as the fourth and last piece of Aurora's entertainment puzzle, and 'a way forward in perpetuity.' In other words, the venue would make it possible for ACCA to stand on its own without financial help from the city. That statement, Rater said, is backed by carefully prepared data from CH Johnson Consulting, which he presented to Laesch at a recent meeting he described as 'productive and positive.' 'It's clear that there is a strong mutual interest in continuing a collaborative relationship between the city and the Paramount,' he wrote in a staff email later. 'While the city is facing some financial pressures, I'm encouraged that we will continue to receive meaningful support. 'Although it's unlikely we'll receive the full amount of subsidy we originally anticipated, I'm confident we will maintain a strong partnership that allows us to sustain our mission and continue serving our community and patrons at the highest level.' It's a hopeful message, but those last few words present a tough balancing act. There's no denying the impact Rater and his talented staff have had on Aurora's downtown, which is enjoying new life and a much-improved reputation. Thanks in large part to the Paramount, headlines about murder and mayhem have been replaced by stories about new restaurants, new businesses, new apartments and new shows that are drawing rave reviews and audiences from the Chicago area and beyond. That includes the Copley Theatre BOLD Series, which puts on high-end productions in an intimate setting and therefore, along with the Paramount School of the Arts, could be the most vulnerable, and 'Million Dollar Quartet,' which the Paramount just announced has been extended at Stolp Island Theatre through Jan. 4. But all these high-quality shows come at a price. And the million-dollar question right now seems to be what dollar amount the city is willing to put on that line item next to ACCA. Thus the angst. While Laesch was not in the audience for the opening night of 'Cats,' his new chief of staff was. Like me, Shannon Cameron has never been a fan of 'Cats' but was more than impressed with Stork's production, describing it as 'beautifully done,' and noting how 'very lucky we are to have that level of artistry in the heart of our community.' She would know. Cameron comes from a theater background, arriving in Aurora in 2017 to be in charge of the Paramount School of the Arts under Rater. But like her new boss, she insists 'tough decisions have to be made in the best interest of the community' and if that means 'making cuts or trimming down, we have to find ways to be more sustainable.' 'There's no question the Paramount is the jewel of downtown, with many businesses, particularly restaurants, depending on its success. But that puts a lot of pressure on one organization' which 'has grown too quickly,' insists Cameron, noting ACCA's budget has gone from $20 million to $30 million in the last 10 years. 'We want to be good partners. We see very much how important it is to the growth of downtown,' she continued. 'But we need to be responsible to taxpayers. Everybody has to make hard choices at one time or another, and this is one of them.' Rater points out that, by all industry standards, the Paramount is considered highly efficient, operating at 70% earned revenue. But what must also be considered is it can't be viewed as just another business that needs to pay its way in order to survive. Much like the library – or police and fire stations, for that matter – it provides a valuable service to the community. In this case that's bringing people together to Aurora's downtown and exposing them to the performing arts. Which as as far as I can tell, is working quite well. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've talked to a new Paramount fan in the last year alone. Many are people who were never theatergoers but now rave about the show or shows they just saw. And, caught up in the excitement of what they experienced, they're spreading that enthusiasm to others. It's no coincidence subscriptions to the Broadway Series are expected to hit and possibly exceed a new high of 41,000 by the end of the year, putting it above its pre-pandemic levels, according to Rater, who also points to another 3,000 BOLD Series subscribers. Cameron says she'd like to see higher ticket numbers from Aurora residents, with more emphasis on community engagement that would provide artistic opportunities for all segments of the city, including its large Hispanic population and growing number of Indian residents. 'Ultimately there do need to be changes,' she said, also referring to more reliance on fundraising and cost-cutting measures. 'Sometimes simple storytelling can be more impactful than all the spectacle in the world. 'But that's what makes the Paramount so special. They have the ability to do it all so well.' Which brings me back to 'Cats' and just how unique and fun this show is. The Paramount's very creative Trent Stork got the idea of doing 'circus 'Cats'' while working as the assistant director on the original version at the theater back in 2014. The now-director has always been professionally fascinated with circus performers and wondered what it would be like to partner with Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi, who's known as the 'queen of Chicago circus' choreography. When 'Cats' was on the table again as a future production. Stork decided to try and turn a long-held dream into reality. Much to everyone's delight, the Paramount and Hernandez-DiStasi not only said it could just fly, everyone worked through the 'major roadblocks' of combining circus acts with musical theater. Trust me, this production might provide a visual smorgasbord but as Stork put it, ''Cats' has no business sounding this good. Every member could lead their performance … it was meant to be.' Less certain is the future of the Paramount. Rater insists that whatever number appears next to ACCA on the city's budget line, 'we will do our best' to continue bringing high level magic to downtown Aurora. 'We just need a runway to do it,' he said.
