In the wake of the FCC chairman’s probe into DEI practices at Comcast and NBCUniversal, Amazon Studios has walked back its inclusion program that laid out standards for achieving racial diversity, Variety has confirmed. “We’ve said from the beginning that our efforts to ensure diverse and inclusive storytelling would be fluid and change over time,” […]

Kevin Costner presented the U.S. premiere of “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2” at the Santa Barbara Film Festival Friday night, but Costner didn’t give any updates on what’s happening with the Western series. However, the second chapter concludes with a lengthy preview of “Chapter 3.” Costner explained the inspiration for the series to […]

Gary Conklin, an L.A.-based documentary filmmaker who covered subjects including art, literature and cinema, died Dec. 26. He was 92. Born in Fresno, Calif., Conklin grew up in San Francisco and moved to Pasadena as a teenager. He graduated USC and served in Special Services in the Army. After moving to New York to study […]

Former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso is launching a non-profit that aims to pressure the government to expedite the cleanup and recovery in the wake of January’s devastating L.A. fires. Caruso, owner of the Grove and Americana shopping centers as well as Palisades Village, recruited business leaders to join the initiative, entitled Steadfast LA, including Netflix […]

Nicolas Cage spoke out emphatically against letting AI infiltrate acting after winning best actor in a film for “Dream Scenario” at the 52nd annual Saturn Awards at Universal City on Sunday. “Thank you for recognizing ‘Dream Scenario,'” Cage said in his acceptance speech. “This is in fact one of my favorite movies I’ve ever made. […]