Mary McNamara –

View of backdrops for the media to use at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Feb. 23, 2021, in Beverly Hills, California.

Column: How did we let the Golden Globes back in?

December 14, 2022 at 9:37 a.m.

I cannot believe the Golden Globes are back. How did this happen? Last year, a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's gift-expecting, early-access-demanding, pay-to-play approach to...

FILE - Scott Rudin arrives at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Jan. 16, 2011. Rudin, one of the most successful and powerful producers, with a heap of Oscars and Tonys to show for it, has long been known for his torturous treatment of an ever-churning parade of assistants. Such behavior has long been engrained — and sometimes even celebrated — in show business. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

Commentary: Hollywood loves making excuses for bullies. Here are some of the most damaging

April 12, 2021 at 2:36 p.m.

When my brother graduated college, my father offered him one piece of career advice: Don't be a jerk. Well, actually he used another word, which begins win an "a," refers...

Column: Feel like you’re living in ‘Groundhog Day’? Consider the movie’s secret weapon to survive

February 2, 2021 at 9:20 a.m.

Here's an idea: Let's honor Groundhog Day like it's "Groundhog Day." The 1993 movie, in which a bratty TV weather announcer gets trapped in an endless repeating loop of Feb....

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and C.J. Cregg from "The West Wing"

Column: Please stop comparing Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki to ‘The West Wing’s’ C.J. Cregg

January 22, 2021 at 10:40 a.m.

Does anyone know if Jen Psaki likes goldfish? The little orange crackers, I mean, not the aquatic creatures. Because it would be super-embarrassing if some member of the White House...

Anya Taylor-Joy stars in "The Queen's Gambit."

Column: So many lives would be different if we’d had ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ 50 years ago. Including mine

November 20, 2020 at 11:37 a.m.

The Netflix chess epic "The Queen's Gambit" has entered the stage of cultural ascendency in which people choose via Buzzfeed quiz or personal inclination which character "you are." Sexy Benny...

Rosalynn Carter looks on at center as Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, center left, shakes hands with President Gerald Ford after their debate Oct. 6, 1976, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater in San Francisco. The debate was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and moderated by Pauline Frederick of NPR.

Commentary: Presidential debates worked better when women called the shots

October 1, 2020 at 5:38 p.m.

Oh, League of Women Voters, please accept this nation's most humble apology for ever doubting you and take the presidential debates back. Tuesday night, as our "law and order" president...

Coach Abe Gibron, left, and Gale Sayers talk at Wrigley Field on Dec. 7, 1965, after reviewing movies from last Sunday's Bears vs Colts game.

Commentary: Gale Sayers and ‘Brian’s Song’ changed sports movies, and male friendship, forever

September 25, 2020 at 12:06 p.m.

There are some movies that change the world and then the world moves on. Maybe the change sticks, maybe it doesn't. Either way, people eventually forget about the movie itself...

AMC Theaters remains closed at the Arrowhead Towne Center on June 20, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona.

Column: I can’t wait to go back to the movies. But AMC’s 15-cent tickets could be dangerous

August 17, 2020 at 11:10 a.m.

To celebrate its limited reopening and 100th birthday, AMC is offering tickets at the 1920 price of 15 cents. Because nothing says "social distancing" better than the cinematic equivalent of...

Reese Witherspoon, left, and Jennifer Aniston in a scene from the Apple TV+ series "The Morning Show."

Column: 2020 Emmy nominees are a wall of female rage, none angrier than ‘The Morning Show’

July 29, 2020 at 7:28 a.m.

"Game of Thrones" may be absent from the Emmy nominations list, but its themes of female power and rage linger on. Certainly the drama series nominations form, with a few...

UNSPECIFIED LOCATION - APRIL 18: In this screengrab, Jimmy Kimmel, speaks during "One World: Together At Home" presented by Global Citizen on April, 18, 2020. The global broadcast and digital special was held to support frontline healthcare workers and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization, powered by the UN Foundation. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for Global Citizen )

Commentary: What Jimmy Kimmel’s lame apology for blackface reveals about the comedy world

June 25, 2020 at 3:08 p.m.

You gotta hand it to Jimmy Kimmel. It's tough to position yourself as a progressive social warrior while apologizing for your repeated use of blackface, but he did his level...

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