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  • Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021
Rape charges denied by lawyer for "That '70s Show" actor Masterson
Danny Masterson appears at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn. on June 7, 2017. An attorney for Masterson has pleaded not guilty on his behalf in a Los Angeles court to the rapes of three women in the early 2000s. Attorney Tom Mesereau entered the plea for the 44-year-old actor, who was not in court, to three charges of rape by force or fear. Masterson has been free on bond since his arrest in June. Prosecutors allege that he raped a 23-year-old woman sometime in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April of 2003, and a 23-year-old woman between October and December of 2003, all at his Hollywood Hills home. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)
By Andrew Dalton, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

An attorney for "That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson pleaded not guilty on his behalf Wednesday to the rapes of three women in the early 2000s. 

Defense lawyer Tom Mesereau entered the plea for Masterson, who was not present in court, to three charges of rape by force or fear in Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

The frequently delayed hearing coincided with the inauguration in Washington of President-elect Joe Biden, resulting in far less media attention than Masterson's initial court appearance in June. His arraignment has been postponed several times since. 

Prosecutors have alleged that Masterson, 44, who has been free on bond since his June 17 arrest, raped a 23-year-old woman sometime in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April of 2003, and a 23-year-old woman between October and December of 2003. All of the alleged rapes happened at his Hollywood Hills home. 

Masterson could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted.  More

  • Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021
Motion Picture Academy names Fernando Garcia EVP, Member Relations & Awards
Fernando Garcia
LOS ANGELES -- 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has named Fernando Garcia as its executive VP, Member Relations and Awards.

Garcia will lead engagement and outreach initiatives for the organization’s worldwide membership of over 10,000 artists, filmmakers and executives, and oversee Academy Awards® processes for submissions, nominations, voting and balloting.  Garcia will also work with the Academy’s Office of Representation, Inclusion and Equity and the Branch Executive Committees on member representation and inclusion efforts, heightening awareness of diverse filmmakers worldwide who meet membership criteria.  He will report to Academy COO Christine Simmons.

“Fernando is an innovative thinker with a deep passion for movies and a true appreciation for the people who make them,” said Simmons.  “He joins the Academy’s leadership at a pivotal time, and we are confident he is just the person to lead our global membership forward and further More

  • Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021
Netflix's big 4Q lifts video service above 200M subscribers
This Aug. 13, 2020 photo shows a logo for Netflix on a remote control in Portland, Ore. Netflix Inc. (NFLX) on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 reported third-quarter net income of $790 million. The Los Gatos, California-based company said it had profit of $1.74 per share. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
By Michael Liedtke, Technology Writer
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) -- 

Netflix's video streaming service has surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time as its expanding line-up of TV series and movies continues to captivate people stuck at home during the ongoing battle against the pandemic.

The subscriber milestone highlighted Netflix's fourth-quarter results released Tuesday. The service added another 8.5 million subscribers during the October-December period, capping Netflix's biggest year since its inception as a DVD-by-mail service in 1997. Netflix ended the year with nearly 204 million worldwide subscribers.

The fourth-quarter gains easily topped the projections of the roughly 6 million additional subscribers projected by Netflix's own management and Wall Street analysts, even as the company began  rolling out price increases of 8% to 13% in the U.S. Netflix's stock surged by more than 12% extended trading after the latest subscriber numbers came out.

After upending the DVD-rental More

  • Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021
Screen Actors Guild may discipline, expel Donald Trump
In this June 20, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak at a campaign rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus has eclipsed 400,000 in the waning hours in office for President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

After leaving the White House, President Donald Trump may lose his SAG card, too.

The Screen Actors Guild said Tuesday that the SAG-AFTRA board voted "overwhelmingly" that there is probable cause that Trump violated its guidelines for membership. The charges, the guild said, are for Trump's role in the Capitol riot on January 6, "and in sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members."

If found guilty by a disciplinary committee, Trump faces expulsion. 

Trump has been a SAG member since 1989. His credits include "The Apprentice," "Saturday Night Live" and many cameos in films and TV series including "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Sex in and City."

The SAG board acted in response to a request from Gabrielle Carteris, the guild's president.

"Donald Trump attacked the values More

  • Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021
Turkey slaps advertising ban on Twitter, Pinterest
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media after Friday prayers, in Istanbul, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Turkey’s president has criticized the United States for kicking his country out of the F-35 fighter jet program after Ankara purchased a Russian missile defense system. Speaking after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey paid “very serious money” for the F-35 stealth jets and that America had committed “a very serious mistake” with its NATO ally. (Turkish Presidency via AP, Pool)
By Suzan Fraser
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- 

Turkey on Tuesday slapped advertising bans on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest over their non-compliance with a controversial new law that requires social media platforms to appoint legal representatives in the country.

The law — which human rights and media freedom groups say amounts to censorship — forces social media companies with more than one million users to maintain representatives in Turkey to deal with complaints about content on their platforms. 

Companies that refuse to designate an official representative are subjected to fines, followed by advertising bans, and could face bandwidth reductions that would make their platforms too slow to use. The ban is on selling online space for ads, which is what many social media companies make their money from.

Facebook avoided the advertising ban after it announced Monday that it had begun the process of assigning a legal entity in Turkey, joining LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, More

  • Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021
Ralph Lauren drops Justin Thomas after gay slur heard on TV
Justin Thomas watches a shot during the second round of the Tournament of Champions golf event Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, at Kapalua Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)
By Doug Ferguson, Golf Writer
HONOLULU (AP) -- 

Ralph Lauren Corp. said Friday it is ending its sponsorship with Justin Thomas after he was heard muttering a homophobic slur to himself after missing a putt last week in Hawaii.

Thomas has worn the company's clothing since he turned pro. He has reached No. 1 in the world briefly on two occasions, won a major at age 24 and captured the FedEx Cup in 2017.

In the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, he missed a 5-foot par putt on the fourth hole. He could be heard saying the slur under his breath as he tapped in.

Ralph Lauren said it was "disheartened" by his language.

"We believe in the dignity of all people, regardless of age, race, gender identity, ethnicity, political affiliation or sexual orientation," Ralph Lauren said in a statement. "In reflecting on the responsibility we have to all of our stakeholders, we have decided to discontinue our sponsorship of Mr. Thomas at this time."

Thomas was on an More

  • Friday, Jan. 15, 2021
"Parasite" director Bong Joon Ho to head Venice Film Festival jury
Bong Joon-ho arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, in Los Angeles. The “Parasite” director has been selected as jury president of the 78th Venice International Film Festival, organizers said Friday. The Oscar-winner will preside over seven jurors to hand out the festival’s top awards, including the prestigious Golden Lion. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer

"Parasite" director Bong Joon Ho has been selected as jury president of the 78th Venice International Film Festival, organizers said Friday. The Oscar-winner will preside over seven jurors to hand out the festival's top awards, including the prestigious Golden Lion. He'll be the first South Korean to hold the post.

In a statement, the director said he is, "Honored to be woven into its beautiful cinematic tradition. As president of the jury — and more importantly as a perpetual cinephile — I'm ready to admire and applaud all the great films selected by the festival. I'm filled with genuine hope and excitement."

Festival director Alberto Barbera remarked upon the historic nature of the selection. 

"We are immensely grateful to him for having agreed to put his passion as a cinephile attentive, inquisitive and unprejudiced, at the service of our festival," Barbera said. "The decision to entrust the Jury to a Korean filmmaker, for the More

  • Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021
Oprah Winfrey documentary to release on Apple TV+
Oprah Winfrey makes opening remarks during "Oprah's 2020 Vision" tour on Feb. 29, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. Winfrey will have a biographical documentary released on Apple TV+. The streaming platform announced Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021, that the two-part documentary will focus on Winfrey's life. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey will have a biographical documentary released on Apple TV+. 

The streaming platform announced Thursday a two-part documentary focusing on Winfrey's life. The project will chronicle 25 years of American history through the lens of Winfrey "who rose from humble roots to become a billionaire, philanthropist, actress, media executive, and agent of social change."

Winfrey's documentary will be headed by Oscar-winning director Kevin MacDonald and Emmy-nominated producer Lisa Erspamer, who is known for her work on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Whitney." 

In 2018, Apple and Winfrey reached a multiyear deal to create original programs. Some shows released on the streaming service include "The Oprah Conversation," "Oprah Talks COVID-19" and "Oprah's Book Club."

  • Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021
Tyler Perry and MPTF to get humanitarian award at Oscars
Tyler Perry poses at the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta on Oct. 5, 2019. Perry and the Motion Picture and Television Fund are being honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Thursday. Perry and the MPTF will receive their Oscar statuettes at the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Invision/AP, File)
By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer

Filmmaker Tyler Perry and the Motion Picture and Television Fund are being honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Thursday. 

The group that puts on the Oscars decided to give the award to two recipients this year in recognition of the "widespread generosity" that they've witnessed amid the pandemic. It's also the first time an organization has received the award. 

Both Perry and the MPTF have strived to help people in the entertainment industry impacted by the health crisis. Perry helped create a safe way for many to return to work at his Tyler Perry Studios while the MPTF has provided social services to nearly 9,000 members.

"Tyler's cultural influence extends far beyond his work as a filmmaker," said academy president David Rubin in a statement. "He has quietly and steadily focused on humanitarian and social justice causes from the beginning of his career, caring for More

  • Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021
Twitter CEO defends Trump ban, warns of dangerous precedent
In this Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, file photo, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appears on a screen as he speaks remotely during a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Dorsey broke his silence to defend his company’s ban of President Donald Trump as the right decision, but warned that it could set a dangerous precedent. The ban, he said, revealed Twitter’s “failure” to create an open and healthy space for what Dorsey calls the “global public conversation.” (Michael Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP, File)
By David Hamilton, Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- 

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended his company's ban of President Donald Trump in a lengthy Twitter thread, although he warned that it could set a dangerous precedent.

When Trump incited his followers to storm the U.S. Capitol last week, then continued to tweet potentially ominous messages, Dorsey said the risk to public safety created "extraordinary and untenable circumstance" for the company. Having already briefly suspended Trump's account the day of the Capitol riot, Twitter on Friday banned Trump entirely, then smacked down the president's attempt to tweet using other accounts.

"I believe this was the right decision for Twitter," wrote Dorsey, in one of the thread's plainest-spoken sentences.

But he also acknowledged that actions like the Trump ban amount to a "failure" by Twitter to avoid such situations in the first place, presumably through better and more effective moderation. Extreme measures such as banning Trump highlight More

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