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Star Trek fans know the canon’s most iconic characters, storylines, and ethos. It is fostered by great character-driven scripts, dynamic plots, and cinematic breakthroughs in film, television, and streaming services. As a result, some Star Trek characters have earned their place in our hearts as fan favorites. However, that is not to say that some of the fanfare may be, shall I say…overrated. Let’s take a look at what makes a character overrated.

When considering which characters are overrated, I first started with the franchise’s most beloved characters. Then I considered what specifically makes a character overrated. I concluded that overrated characters tend to have traits that are overemphasized or overused; they can often have repetitive characteristics or story arcs, and finally, there may be some lack of development to a fully realized character that has strengths and flaws which are the hallmarks of a human,...

Sad news out of the world of sports today.

Broadcasting legend Greg Gumbel has passed away at 78.

News of Gumbel’s death comes courtesy of a statement issued by his wife, Marcy Gumbel, and his daughter, Michelle Gumbel.

Sportscaster Greg Gumbel is interviewed prior to the 2016 NCAA Men’s Final Four at Nrg Stadium on April 1, 2016 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Greg Gumbel’s Cause of Death Revealed

The family revealed today that Gumbel passed away after battling cancer.

“He passed away peacefully surrounded by much love after a courageous battle with cancer,” the statement reads. “Greg approached his illness like one would expect he would, with stoicism, grace and positivity.

“He leaves behind a legacy of love inspiration and dedication to over 50 extraordinary years in the sports broadcast industry; and his iconic voice will never be forgotten,” the Gumbels told CBS Sports.

CBS Analyst Greg...

Saturday Night Live is about to hit its 50th anniversary, so no better time to count down the 25 funniest stars!

Narrowing down the best actors in a show that's run for five decades and boasted nearly 150 cast members is a challenge, to say the least. SNL has had its ups and downs over the years, with some periods boasting fantastic, brilliant comedic talents and others so low that many believed the show would be canceled. It's still survived, all thanks to that revolving cast of actors capable of pulling off these skits every week.

Many have gone on to become huge stars in movies and television and even bigger comics. Yet their SNL tenures often showed them at their best, with some standing taller than others. It's hard to figure it out, but here's how the 25 funniest SNL cast members of all time fall out as a stunning reminder of the show's legacy.

With Zelda Williams and Diablo Codys Lisa Frankenstein finding immediate cult success, and Guillermo del Toros Frankenstein and Maggie Gyllenhaals The Bride on the horizon for 2025, it seems Hollywood and the general movie-going public are on the same page when it comes to Mary Shelleys beloved Frankenstein. Everyone loves a morally gray doctor and a healthy dose of medically-based body horror. For those who cant wait until 2025 for the next blockbusters, try going back in time with John Gillings 1960 The Flesh and The Fiends. Based on a real serial-killing duo from early 19th century Edinburgh, The Flesh and The Fiends follows Burke and Hare, played by George Rose and Donald Pleasence, as they murder innocents around the city to sell as cadavers to a suspecting, yet apathetic Dr. Knox. Knox is buying the bodies as teaching instruments for his school, ranking the education of future doctors over the ethics of the medical field.

Hulu’s acclaimed “Only Murders in the Building,” currently vying for 11 Emmys, has gone all razzle dazzle in its third season. Make that rattle dazzle! Beleaguered Broadway director Oliver (Martin Short) was hoping for a comeback on the Great White Way with the mystery thriller “Death Rattle.” But when his leading man (Paul Rudd) is murdered, he decides to turn the straight play into a musical, “Death Rattle Dazzle!” And in the third episode, Meryl Streep’s nervous journeyman actress and Ashley Park’s leading lady performed the show-stopping ballad “Look for the Light” co-written by Sara Bareilles. One almost forgot the prime suspects in “Death Rattle Dazzle!” are the infant Pickwick triplets.

The 1959 multiple Tony winner “Redhead” also has a rather strange plot for a musical: a serial killer is stalking women in London in the 1880s during the time Jack the Ripper was terrorizing the city. Sounds like a real toe-tapper.

Who knew when the year began that a sequel to a 36-year-old movie starring its 60-year-old actor who headlined the original would be the box office champ so far this year? But “Top Gun: Maverick” starring Tom Cruise, which was released Aug. 23 on digital formats while still flying high in theaters is not only the No. 1 film of the year with a staggering haul of 683.4 million domestically and 720 million overseas. And the acclaimed film didn’t even play in China or Russia. “Top Gun: Maverick” is also the biggest film of Cruise’s career which began in 1981 with Franco Zeffirelli’s “Endless Love.”

And with the digital release, let’s relive 1986, the year we first felt the need for speed and flew into the danger zone. The year the original “Top Gun” took our breath away.

Top 10 Box Office Hits

Top Gun (natch)

Crocodile Dundee

Platoon

The Karate Kid Part...

This meticulous docu-drama is still the best show about the Titanic, the awesome disaster that has never lost its grip on the imagination. Roy Ward Baker leads an enormous cast of Brit character actors through 2.5 hours of true-life terror in the icy Atlantic — Kenneth More, Honor Blackman, David McCallum, Laurence Naismith, Anthony Bushell. No stupid subplots and no insulting anachronisms, just an awful sinking death trap and 1600 passengers facing the freezing water. [Imprint] brings some new extras to the mix, too.

A Night to Remember

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint] #135

1958 / B&w / 1:66 enhanced widescreen / 123 min. / Street Date June 29, 2022 / Available from / 39.95

Starring: Kenneth More, Honor Blackman, David McCallum, Laurence Naismith, Anthony Bushell, Alec McCowen, John Cairney, Michael Goodliffe, Ronald Allen, John Merivale, Jill Dixon, Kenneth Griffith, Frank Lawton, Tucker McGuire, Ralph Michael, George Rose, Joseph Tomelty, Jack Watling, Michael Bryant, Bee Duffel, Thomas Heathcote, Andrew Keir, Jeremy Bulloch, Desmond Llewelyn, Derren Nesbitt, Beth Rogan,...

The fourth season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” is set in 1986. Talk about déjà vu.

The top movie of the year was “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise and this year, the sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” is the top flick earning nearly 582 million in North America. “Cobra Kai,”the TV sequel to “Karate Kid,” is one of the most popular series on Netflix and several “Star Trek” series have blasted off on “Paramount+.

A handful the top ten TV series including “Cheers,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Golden Girls” are living on in repeats. One of the top series, “60 Minutes,” is still chugging away on CBS after 54 seasons making it the longest running primetime series on the small screen. And Michael J. Fox, who won the Emmy that year for “Family Ties,” will receive an honorary Oscar this fall.

So, in honor of “Stranger Things” let’s take the time...

It’s the ‘other’ version of Dickens’ terrific novel, an English film that few Americans have seen. This Australian DVD is in the Pal format and from a rather outdated transfer, yet I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a favorite story enacted by a great batch of UK talent. Dirk Bogarde stars and the many character roles go to familiar faces: Cecil Parker, Athene Seyler, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass, Rosalie Crutchley, Freda Jackson, Christopher Lee, Leo McKern, Donald Pleasence, Eric Pohlmann, Danny Green and the lovely Marie Versini. It’s a regular actor-spotting quiz. Ralph Thomas directed and much of the film was shot in France … with excellent English diction.

A Tale of Two Cities

Region 2 Pal DVD

Viavision (Australia)

1958 / B&w / 1:33 adapted flat / 117 min. / Street Date January 5, 2022 / Available from Viavision / 19.95 au

Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Paul Guers, Marie Versini, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass,...

Larissa Behrendt’s documentary Araatika: Rise Up!, to make its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival, explores how a group of Nrl greats came together to invent a new pre-game ceremony in response to the Maori Haka – one that could celebrate First Nation cultures.

After fellow Indigenous players Preston Campbell, Timana Tahu and George Rose devised their own pre-game performance, Dean Widders began a journey to bring this dance – and First Nations pride more broadly – to the game.

So far, his advocacy has garnered support from the Indigenous All Stars league, but his dream is to have Australia’s national team adopt this unifying battle cry.

Araatika: Rise Up! will be released theatrically via Madman Entertainment, before airing on Nitv. It is produced by Sam Griffin for Eq Media Group, and executive produced by Brendan Dahill and Paul Wiegard. Financed with support Screen Australia, Screen Nsw and the Nrl.

Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Hamilton” is a strong contender for multiple Emmy nominations including for Best Variety Special (Taped) and for performers Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Philippa Soo, Jonathan Groff and Christopher Jackson. Filmed over three days at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway including two live performances in 2016, “Hamilton” premiered on July 4, 2020 on Disney + and was a real respite from the lack of live theater due to Covid-19. The acclaimed presentation has already received several honors including the Producers Guild Award, Critics Choice, Costume Designers Guild and Cinema Audio Society.

Though musicals have been popular on television since the earliest days of the medium, it’s rare that the original Broadway cast gets to reprise their roles such as Manuel and company did with “Hamilton.’ The first time was in 1955 when the cast of the hit Broadway musical “Peter Pan” reunited soon after...

Dean Widders.

With support from Screen Australia, Nitv has commissioned Nrl feature documentary The Fight Together, directed by Larissa Behrendt and produced by Sam Griffin for Essential Media.

The film will document how a group of Nrl greats came together to invent a new pre-game ceremony in response to the Maori Haka – one that could celebrate Aboriginal cultures and help to counter racism in rugby league.

Specifically, The Fight Together follows Nrl star Dean Widders’ journey to make that happen. His efforts have already culminated in the new Indigenous war cry being added to the start of the 2019 Nrl Indigenous All Stars – the first step in Widders aim to see the Australian Kangaroos perform the dance before their test matches.

The film will feature other Nrl greats Timana Tahu, Preston Campbell and George Rose, as well as Stan Grant, Adam Goodes and Russell Crowe.

The Fight Together will receive a theatrical release via Madman Entertainment,...

The Flesh and the Fiends

Blu ray

Kino Lorber

1960 /95 min.

Starring Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, George Rose, Billie Whitelaw

Cinematography by Monty Berman

Directed by John Gilling

The Flesh and the Fiends lives up to its name and then some. The setting is Scotland but the squalid streets and charnel houses suggest Dickens’ London at its bleakest. Everything is for sale here, the fleshy whores of the cathouses and the fiends who haunt them. On the other side of the tracks lives Robert Knox, a respected anatomist at Edinburgh University who pays for his flesh too – the bodies necessary for his livelihood are in scarce supply and grave robbers William Burke and William Hare are ready to deliver.

Venerated by his students while castigated by old guard medicos, the forward-thinking Knox is a formidable presence at the podium with only one thing to mar his handsome profile, a blind eye.

After a few relatively quiet weeks to wrap up June’s home media releases, July comes roaring back with a slate of titles that genre fans will definitely want to add to their Blu-ray and DVD collections. Arrow Video has been staying extremely busy as of late, with three different releases coming out on Tuesday: Black Rainbow from Flash Gordon director Mike Hodges, Zombie for Sale, and Teruo Ishii’s Inferno of Torture. Criterion Collection is also celebrating an all-time sci-fi classic this Tuesday, The War of the Worlds, and if you haven’t had a chance to check it out on Shudder, Belzebuth is headed to both Blu-ray and DVD this week as well.

Leomark is showing some love to the Godfather of Gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, with their Blu-ray presentation of Bloodmania, and Kino Lorber is resurrecting The Flesh and the Fiends for a Special Edition Blu this week,...

This four part, eight hour miniseries turns the fate of a family of German Jews into a sprawling drama that covers all the bases of the holocaust horror. It was strong stuff and a big Emmy winner, boosting the careers of James Woods and Michael Moriarty. His warped charisma as a psychotic Nazi is so good that he’s consistently more interesting than the courageous victims. As for Meryl Streep, she became an instant star — everybody remembered her from this. Although it’s been called ‘The Holocaust for Dummies,’ it’s a quality show. Looking from today’s perspective, after forty years of Political Correctness adjustments, I’m not sure any two viewers will react in quite the same way.

Holocaust

Blu-ray

CBS Television Studio / Paramount

1978 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 7 hours, 36 min. / Street Date September 24, 2019 / 43.19

Starring: James Woods, Meryl Streep, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Bottoms, Rosemary Harris, Fritz Weaver, Tovah Feldshuh, Deborah Norton,...

The sequel that swept the nation, The Conjuring 2, was truly a phenomenon unto itself, and now, the dark power of Valak rules once again with the next chapter in The Conjuring Universe, The Nun.

Many images in the new film are memorable as well as majestic in their own right. But there’s a figure within, and although shadowy, she permeates the entire story with pure evil. The terrifying visage of the aptly named Nun has a name and that beast from below is known as Valak. With nothing but a white face, a haunting stature and eyes the color of a darkened sun, the character still continues to scare the hell out of audiences and make fans the world over, and the woman under the makeup has found herself becoming an instant horror icon.

So, who exactly is behind the genre’s most exciting new monster? Well, her name is Bonnie Aarons,...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has named veteran executive Stacy Green to the post of executive vice president and chief people officer, leading the studio’s worldwide human resources function.

The studio announced the hire on Thursday. Green joins the studio with more than 20 years of experience in human resources and “cultural transformation,” according to the announcement, working with NBCUniversal, A+E Networks, Group Nine Media, and Revlon.

Green will replace George Rose, who has led the group for the last 10 years and will be retiring at the end of the summer. Rose has agreed to stay on as a consultant to ensure a smooth transition when Green starts on Sept. 5. She will report to Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Spe.

“Having a strong and dynamic leader in this function is critically important at such a transformative time in our industry and at our studio,” said Vinciquerra. “Stacy has precisely the right...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has brought on human resource veteran Stacy Green as Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer, replacing George Rose who, after spearheading the department for the last 10 years, will be retiring at the end of the summer.

Currently, Green serves as Chief People Officer for Group Nine Media, a digital-first media company, which boast over 5 billion monthly video views for Thrillist, The Dodo, NowThis, and Seeker. Her past positions include a five-year stint as Evp, Global Hr & Facilities for A+E Networks leading Hr for A&E, History, Lifetime, Viceland, A+E Studios and A+E International & Digital. In addition, Green spent five years at NBCUniversal, where she served in Hr leadership roles for NBC News, NBCU Advertising Sales & Client Partnerships and acted as a key member of the transition team during Comcast’s acquisition of NBCU.

Green also has an impressive academic resume. She holds an Mba Degree in...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has tapped Stacy Green to lead global human resources for the studio.

Green, armed with more than two decades of experience in human resources and cultural transformation, previously worked for a number of leading entertainment and media companies, including NBCUniversal, A+E Networks. She also did a long stint at Revlon.

At Spe, Sony replaces George Rose, who is retiring at the end of the summer. He will remain as a consultant during the transition.

Green, who will hold the title of executive vp and chief people officer, starts Sept. 5. She will report directly to Spe chairman-ceo ...

Sony Pictures Entertainment has tapped Stacy Green to lead global human resources for the studio.

Green, armed with more than two decades of experience in human resources and cultural transformation, previously worked for a number of leading entertainment and media companies, including NBCUniversal, A+E Networks. She also did a long stint at Revlon.

At Spe, Sony replaces George Rose, who is retiring at the end of the summer. He will remain as a consultant during the transition.

Green, who will hold the title of executive vp and chief people officer, starts Sept. 5. She will report directly to Spe chairman-ceo ...

The current revival of “My Fair Lady” marks the fifth time that this “perfect” musical has graced the Great White Way. Emmy nominee Lauren Ambrose of “Six Feet Under” makes her Broadway musical theater debut as Eliza Doolitle, the Cockney flower girl who is turned into a society lady by Professor Henry Higgins. She is a strong contender to win at Sunday’s Tony Awards and, in so doing, would be the first actress to take home Broadway’s highest honor for one of the best roles in musical theater.

See 2018 Tonys online: How to watch 72nd Tony Awards live stream without a TV

Julie Andrews created the role in the original 1956 production of the Lerner and Loewe musical. Though the show won six Tony Awards Andrews lost to Judy Holliday for “Bells are Ringing.” Among the wins for “My Fair Lady” were Best Musical and Actor (Rex Harrison) as well as director,...

In October, the entertainment industry lost a powerful friend, Richard Barclay, a celebrated singer/actor and producer/director who passed away after an eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer. On May 26, Richard Skipper is presenting a celebration of Barclay's life and reuniting two soap opera legends in the progress. The Richard Barclay Memorial show will feature Frank Basile, Julie Budd, Eileen Fulton, Richard Holbrook, Ilene Kristen sharing memories and musical entertainment, led by musical director Rolf Barnes.

The Saturday night show will start at 8 p.m. at Don't Tell Mama in New York (343 W 46th St). There is a $25.00 cover charge and a 2 drink minimum per person. Proceeds will benefit Career Bridges. Reservations can by made after 4 p.m. daily at (212) 757-0788 after 4 Pm or online at donttellmamanyc.com.

Barclay was more than a great artist ... he was a kind, compassionate, and generous mentor.

Richard Barclay started his long career in...

Two-time Tony Award Winner Norbert Leo Butz is about to take the stage again this year in the Broadway Revival of My Fair Lady as Alfred P. Doolittle -- a part that won George Rose the Tony back in 1976. Butz is one of only nine actors who have won the Best Actor Tony twice alongside stars like Nathan Lane. As he prepares to take stage yet again, let's reflect on his career all twenty two years of it...

Filtered through her experience as an unequalled comic performer, writer-director Elaine May scores a bulls-eye with this grossly underappreciated gem, fashioned in a style that could be called ‘black comedy lite.’ And that’s the release version mangled by the producer. What might it have been if May had been allowed to finish her director’s cut?

A New Leaf Olive Signature

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1971 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date December 5, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.99

Starring: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston, George Rose, James Coco, Doris Roberts, Renée Taylor, William Redfield, David Doyle.

Cinematography: Gayne Rescher

Original Music: Neal Hefti

Written by Elaine May from a story by Jack Ritchie

Produced by Hilliard Elkins, Howard W. Koch, Joseph Manduke

Directed by Elaine May

Olive’s next title up for Signature Collection status is A New Leaf, the directing debut of comedienne-writer Elaine May. It’s certainly a worthy title.

(See previous post: Fourth of July Movies: Escapism During a Weird Year.) On the evening of the Fourth of July, besides fireworks, fire hazards, and Yankee Doodle Dandy, if you're watching TCM in the U.S. and Canada, there's the following: Peter H. Hunt's 1776 (1972), a largely forgotten film musical based on the Broadway hit with music by Sherman Edwards. William Daniels, who was recently on TCM talking about 1776 and a couple of other movies (A Thousand Clowns, Dodsworth), has one of the key roles as John Adams. Howard Da Silva, blacklisted for over a decade after being named a communist during the House Un-American Committee hearings of the early 1950s (Robert Taylor was one who mentioned him in his testimony), plays Benjamin Franklin. Ken Howard is Thomas Jefferson, a role he would reprise in John Huston's 1976 short Independence. (In the short, Pat Hingle was cast as John Adams; Eli Wallach was Benjamin Franklin.) Warner...

In a special limited engagement,Signature Theatrepresents the world premiere production ofGeorgie My Adventures with George Rosewritten and performedby Broadway veteranEd DixonBroadway'sAnything Goes, Signature'sSunset Boulevard. Directed byEric SchaefferBroadway'sGigi,Follies, andMillion Dollar Quartet, this one-man play chronicles Dixon's relationship with his friend and mentor, the Tony-award winning character actor George Rose The Mystery of Edwin Drood, My Fair Lady, Pirates of Penzance.Georgie My Adventures with George Rosewill play in Signature's Ark Theatre fromJanuary 8 - February 7, 2016. Check out a just-released promotional shot for the production below...

'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl': Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' review: Mostly an enjoyable romp (Oscar Movie Series) Pirate movies were a Hollywood staple for about three decades, from the mid-'20s (The Sea Hawk, The Black Pirate) to the mid-to-late '50s (Moonfleet, The Buccaneer), when the genre, by then mostly relegated to B films, began to die down. Sporadic resurrections in the '80s and '90s turned out to be critical and commercial bombs (Pirates, Cutthroat Island), something that didn't bode well for the Walt Disney Company's $140 million-budgeted film "adaptation" of one of their theme-park rides. But Neptune's mood has apparently improved with the arrival of the new century. He smiled – grinned would be a more appropriate word – on the Gore Verbinski-directed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,...

Sharon Playhouse, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Simpkins and Managing Director Justin Ball, has announced initial casting and creative teams for its 2015 Season with the musicals My Fair Lady, Merrily We Roll Along, and Little Shop of Horrors on the Mainstage Ed Dixon's new play Georgie The Life and Death of George Rose and True Love on Stage 2 in the Bok Gallery. The Youth Theatre will present the Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher.

The notion that North Korea pulled off the digital calamity that has taken down Sony’s network is ridiculous. Unless you can imagine a team of tubby despots conniving and plotting around a conference table a la “Ocean’s Eleven,” then abandon that thought and get real. I can’t see North Korea caring about a Seth Rogen movie; on the other hand, it is easier to understand the rage of the freshly unemployed whose new priorities include maneuvering through the morass that is California unemployment and getting back at their bosses (not necessarily in that order).

Revenge would be...

The Mystery of Edwin Drood The Roundabout Theatre, NYC

I was a real fan of the 1985 Broadway production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood and have been eagerly looking forward to the Roundabout revival. For the most part, it did not disappoint.

Drood, of course, is based on Charles Dickens's final, unfinished novel.

To tell the story onstage, composer/author Rupert Holmes has devised an ingenious conceit. The show takes place in 1895 in a British music hall, called London's Music Hall Royale. The troupe is giving a performance of its new musical production based on the Dickens novel. It allows a delightful mix of a dark, Gothic, melodramatic story along with the boisterous comedy of the British music hall. The results are highly atmospheric and great fun. Since the Dickens novel was never finished, the ending of the show is determined by audience votes on several matters, another nifty idea from Holmes,...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 4, 2012

Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Olive Films

Walter Matthau prepares for the ride of his life in A New Leaf.

The 1971 comedy favorite A New Leaf marks the directorial debut of Elaine May (The Heartbreak Kid, Ishtar), who also penned the film’s screenplay.

Henry Graham (Walter Matthau, Who’s Got the Action?) is a man with a problem: he has run through his entire inheritance and is completely unequipped to provide for himself. His childhood guardian, Uncle Harry (James Coco, The Cheap Detective), refuses to give him a dime, so Henry devises a plan with the help of his imaginative butler (George Rose, Hawaii) to make his money the old-fashioned way – he can marry it. But he cannot see himself as a happily married man, so he comes up with an even more devious solution… with a temporary loan from his uncle, Henry has six...

This isn’t the first time the grisly true-to-life exploits of Burke & Hare have made it to the big screen. In 1960 Donald Pleasance and George Rose were the bumbling duo in John Gilling’s vintage terror treat The Flesh and the Fiends – a film that headlined the illustrious Peter Cushing as a medical doctor who requires corpses for research endeavours. Then in 1972 came the undeservedly forgotten Vernon Sewell version ‘Burke & Hare’ which also played the horror elements dead straight. Now, under the revitalised Ealing Studios banner, John Landis‘ has reinterpreted the infamous West Port Murders of 1827-1828 as a comedic caper staring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis as the deadly duo who go into a potentially lucrative body snatching business venture – which involves supplying cadavers to Tom Wilkinson’s esteemed medical professor.

It must have been an intriguing proposition; working at a revived Ealing Studios in an attempt to honour...

The Arnold Schwarzenegger-signed law in California that seeks to intervene and blockade sales of violent games to minors made a lot of enemies on its way to the Supreme Court this year, and just in case you didn't know where Activision stands on Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, et al., Petitioners v. Entertainment Merchants Association, Activision Blizzard vice president and chief public policy officer George Rose has written an editorial for the San Francisco Chronicle naming a handful of reasons for trashing the law. He also addressed critics' obsession with the Running with Scissors' '90s gore-fest "Postal."

"Sadly, supporters will accept nothing less than more laws, subbing for parents, that the state can't afford to enforce," Rose wrote. "So to whip up drama and hysteria where none justifiably exists, zealots supporting this movement cite the worst of the worst by harking back to video game dinosaurs like 1997's 'Postal.

Legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away this morning after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 80. George rose to fame when he bought the Yankees in 1973 and helped shoot the team to fame. The team has won 11 pennants and 7 World Series titles since George took over. George retired and handed off ownership of the team to his sons Hank and Hal Steinbrenner in 2006. George implimented the infamous "grooming policy" at the Yankees which required that players not wear their hair longer than their collar and either show up to play clean-shaven or with a...

Activision Blizzard has joined UK games trading organisation Tiga. The firm, known for publishing Call Of Duty, Guitar Hero and World Of Warcraft, has thrown its weight behind the campaign for tax relief for UK games development. "At Activision Blizzard we are extremely supportive of Tiga's campaign to secure Games Tax Relief for the UK development community," said executive vice president George Rose. "The UK has one of the most talented and creative workforces anywhere in the industry. The introduction of Games Tax Relief in the UK will be a game changer. It will make the UK a significantly more attractive place to invest in games development. (more)...

'Easy Rider' star died of prostate cancer Saturday.

By Kelley L. Carter and Jem Aswad

Dennis Hopper

Photo: George Rose/Getty Images

Actor Dennis Hopper — star of "Easy Rider," "Blue Velvet," "Giant" and many other films — died Saturday of prostate cancer at his Los Angeles-area home, according to The Associated Press. He was 74.

The two-time Academy Award nominee, who announced through a manager in the fall of 2009 that he had been diagnosed with the disease, was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death, friend Alex Hitz told the AP.

The actor directed, co-wrote and starred in directed 1969's "Easy Rider," perhaps the most memorable film of his wildly erratic, nearly six-decade-long career. In that classic, generation-defining film — which also established Jack Nicholson as a major star — he and Peter Fonda played motorcycle-riding hippies "in search of America." The film was a Hollywood success story...

'Easy Rider' star died of prostate cancer Saturday.

By Kelley L. Carter and Jem Aswad

Dennis Hopper

Photo: George Rose/Getty Images

Actor Dennis Hopper — star of "Easy Rider," "Blue Velvet," "Giant" and many other films — died Saturday of prostate cancer at his Los Angeles-area home, according to The Associated Press. He was 74.

The two-time Academy Award nominee, who announced through a manager in the fall of 2009 that he had been diagnosed with the disease, was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death, friend Alex Hitz told the AP.

The actor directed, co-wrote and starred in directed 1969's "Easy Rider," perhaps the most memorable film of his wildly erratic, nearly six-decade-long career. In that classic, generation-defining film — which also established Jack Nicholson as a major star — he and Peter Fonda played motorcycle-riding hippies "in search of America." The film was a Hollywood success story...

'Dynasty' and 'Charlie's Angels' star had a yearlong battle with cancer.

By Josh Wigler

John Forsythe

Photo: George Rose/Getty Images

Actor John Forsythe died from complications of pneumonia in his home Friday (April 2) after a yearlong battle with cancer, his publicist Harlan Boll told The New York Times. He was 92 years old.

Born John Lincoln Freund in 1918, Forsythe had a long and varied career spanning from the 1940s to the early 2000s with several television, film and stage appearances over the years. Before achieving stardom, Forsythe served in the armed forces during World War II and appeared in the U.S. Army Air Force play and film "Winged Victory."

Professionally, Forsythe was undoubtedly best known for his various television roles, the most prominent of which was oil tycoon Blake Carrington on ABC's "Dynasty," a soap opera that ran from 1981 through 1989. Forsythe won two Golden Globes, and was nominated four additional times,...

Forget Pirates of the Caribbean. Forget musicals like My Fair Lady. My favorite swashbucklers don't have an Aerosmith swagger or terrible speech troubles. They hold their own against the very model of a modern major general. In 1980, theatrical producer and creator of the New York Shakespeare Festival Joseph Papp brought Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance to the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. It was so popular that it ended up making its way to Broadway, won a bunch of Tony Awards, sailed away to London, and then got turned into the film in 1983.

The movie starred Kevin Kline, Rex Smith, Linda Ronstadt, and Angela Lansbury, and detailed the life of Frederic (Smith), a boy who was supposed to become a pilot, until his hard-of-hearing nurse (Lansbury) misheard her instructions and apprenticed the kid to a pirate (Kline). On his 21st birthday, he's finally released, and soon falls for...