Nicholas "Duffy" Fudge, one of the fishermen featured on the National Geographic Channel's reality show Wicked Tuna, has died. He was 28. The popular series announced the news via social media Sunday. "National Geographic and Pilgrim Media Group were saddened to learn that Wicked Tuna cast member Nicholas 'Duffy' Fudge passed away this week," read a statement on the show's official Facebook page. "Duffy was the first mate on Captain Tyler McLaughlin's fishing vessel, Pinwheel, and has appeared on both Wicked Tuna and our spinoff series Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks,"
With the Jihadi John news this week, it’s probably smart that Madam Secretary stayed away from any mention of Syria this episode. I do have to mention, though, that the probable death of Jihadi John by drone airstrikes just days after the last episode aired is a pretty creepy coincidence, but it’s a new week and a new problem for Elizabeth McCord. Like most weeks, she completely takes care of business.
With the congenial Lives of the Saints–now playing the Duke Theatre on 42nd Street through March 27–short-play maestro David Ives returns to the format (if not the form) for which he’s best known. John Rando, Ives’ go-to director for nearly 20 years, is, appropriately, at the helm. All five actors, including insanely versatile Peter and the Starcatcher vets Arnie Burton and Carson Elrod, are Ives alums. And the playwright is teaming again with Off Broadway’s Primary Stages, which in 2013 produced a crackling revival of All in the Timing, the 1993 sextuple bill of one-acts that put Ives, and his particular rhythmic brand of highbrow humor, on the map.
More mother/daughter friction and coming-of-age stories for Lady Bird fans HarperCollins; Little, Brown and Company; Back Bay Books; Penguin; Vintage Greta Gerwig's directorial Lady Bird — starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, and more — has taken the movie world by storm, with the film still upholding a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. If you're like us and can't get enough of the film, then the following books should help satisfy your craving for additional like-minded content.
Star-struck Once you’ve seen Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born (in theaters now) and gotten familiar with the movie’s Old Hollywood origins, you'll likely crave more stories about the troubled lives of the rich and famous. Here are 10 books that'll do the trick. What You Don’t Know About Charlie Outlaw, by Leah Stewart G.P. Putnam's Sons This poignant investigation of stardom and its attendant costs gender-swaps the Star Is Born narrative.
Marianne Faithfull’s legend is long and daunting, but it all boils down to her voice. In the ’60s, still a teenager and freshly discovered by infamousRolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, Faithfull sang like a nightingale. Her relationship with Mick Jagger soured, and her troubles began; after years of drug abuse, she emerged in the ’70s with a voice that was smoky, cracked, and worn beyond its years. Rather than fading into history, she used her shattered, husky croon to make music that wasn’t the sweet folk of her youth.
In writing about Moana, you learn a lot. You learn that a Disney princess technically isn't a princess until the end of a movie (in Moana, she's a "chief's daughter"). You learn that no matter what lengths a director will go to be culturally sensitive, things in other departments can still backfire (see: the ill-fated Maui Halloween costume). Most interestingly, you hear all sorts of stories about what could and couldn't have been—which, in the case of Moana, are stories that are almost as fascinating as the dazzling final product itself.
There’s not been much cause to laugh since the Parisian days of Outlander‘s second season —what with the decades apart, blazing fires, and crazy second wives and all — but this week’s episode, “The Doldrums,” offered up a few moments for a wee chortle. Okay, so it wasn’t all plain sailing for Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) when they hit the high seas on their quest to return young Ian safely to his home and family, and, sure, the episode ended pretty disastrously… STILL, between the ridiculous maritime superstitions and some classic Jamie one-liners, it was one of the more lighthearted episodes in a long time.
He's been called the greatest action movie villain in Hollywood history: Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, the meticulous mastermind behind the Christmas Eve Nakatomi Tower heist in 1988's Die Hard. Even though Die Hard was the British actor's feature film debut, Rickman reportedly (and rather successfully) pushed writers Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, producer Joel Silver, and director John McTiernan to reconceive the film's antagonist into a character that was more suave and urbane and less militaristic, in order to better suit his strengths.
The Oscars (Feb. 27) Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Kunis floated onto the red carpet in an ethereal — and very revealing — Elie Saab gown, but her stylist, Petra Flannery, tells us there was no potential for a wardrobe malfunction. ''The fit was so secure, and the dress was completely lined at the bottom,'' she explains. ''I just chose to line it in nude. It was completely opaque. It was just so you could see the beauty of the lace.