
Photos: Speakers and authors at the 2025 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Amanda Gorman, author of the 2025 picture book 'Girls on the Rise,' is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. The award-winning writer who graduated cum laude from Harvard University, came to prominence after her recitation of 'The Hill We Climb' at the inauguration of President Biden.
Nikki Toscano is a writer, producer and showrunner for television who served as co-showrunner and executive producer of the show 'Hunters' on Amazon Prime and as showrunner and executive producer of Paramount+ miniseries 'The Offer.'
Andrew Plotkin is executive vice president of drama development at Sony TV.
Author Liz Moore is the author of the 2024 New York Times bestselling novel 'The God of the Woods.'
Actor Wil Wheaton is known for his role as Wesley Crusher in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and other classic roles including Gordie Lachance in the film 'Stand by Me,' Joey Trotta in 'Toy Soldiers' and Bennett Hoenicker in 'Flubber.'
Singer JoJo (Joanna Levesque) launched her career in music releasing chart-topping R&B and pop music, including breakout hit 'Leave (Get Out).' She gained prominence as a young artist, and has also made a name for herself in acting and released a book in 2024 titled 'Over the Influence.'
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Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Tom Lehrer, musical satirist, dies at 97
Tom Lehrer, an acerbic songwriter and Harvard-trained mathematician who rose to fame in the 1950s and '60s by pillorying the sensibilities of the day, has died at age 97. Lehrer died at his home in Cambridge, Mass., on Saturday. His death was confirmed by friends on Facebook. No cause of death was given. The bespectacled Lehrer began performing on college campuses and clubs across the country in the 1950s, playing the piano and singing darkly comedic numbers that he penned on topics such as racial conflict, the Catholic Church and militarism, earning him the sobriquet of 'musical nerd god.' In 'National Brotherhood Week,' which lampooned the brief interlude of imposed tolerance celebrated annually from the 1930s through the early 2000s he wrote: Oh, the white folks hate the black folksand the black folks hate the white folks,to hate all but the right folks is an old established rule …But during National Brotherhood Week (National Brotherhood Week),Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to fun to eulogizeThe people you despise,As long as you don't let 'em into your school. Lehrer's songs also took aim at then-taboo subjects such as sexuality, pornography and addiction. In 1953, his self-released album 'Songs of Tom Lehrer' became an underground hit. Produced for $40 and promoted by word of mouth, the cover image was of Lehrer in hell playing piano as the devil. It eventually sold an estimated 500,000 copies and sparked demand for concert performances around the world. During the mid-1960s, Lehrer contributed several songs to the satirical NBC news show 'That Was the Week That Was,' hosted by David Frost. The show inspired Lehrer's third album, 'That Was the Year That Was.' Released in 1965, it reached the 18th spot on American music charts. On the occasion of his 90th birthday in 2018, Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote that Lehrer's lyrics were written 'with the facility of William S. Gilbert and tunes that evoked the felicity of Sir Arthur Sullivan. Lehrer's work bounced the absurdities and paranoias of that period back at us, in rhymed couplets and a bouncy piano beat.' Thomas Andrew Lehrer was born in New York City on April 9, 1928, to a middle-class family. His father James Lehrer was a successful necktie manufacturer. As a child he took piano lessons but preferred Broadway show tunes — with a particular affection for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan — to the classics. After entering Harvard University at age 15, his penchant for sardonic humor surfaced in his parody song 'Fight Fiercely Harvard,' which challenged the football team's reputation for toughness and earned him a measure of renown on campus. For a time he followed a dual track, music and academia, though he never completed the PhD thesis he began while pursuing doctoral studies at Harvard and Columbia University. After a two-year break between 1955 and 1957 when he served in the Army, Lehrer once again performed concerts across the U.S., Canada and Europe. In a 1959 Time article, the magazine described Lehrer and fellow comedians Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl as the symbols of a new 'sick' comedy. 'What the sickniks dispense is partly social criticism liberally laced with cyanide, partly a Charles Addams kind of jolly ghoulishness, and partly a personal and highly disturbing hostility toward all the world.' Lehrer's work opened the door for generations of musical satirists including Randy Newman and 'Weird Al' Yankovic and exerted an influence on everything from the musical skits of 'Saturday Night Live' to the mockumentary 'This Is Spinal Tap.' 'He set the bar for me — and provided an example of how a nerdy kid with a weird sense of humor could find his way in the world,' Yankovic once said of Lehrer. 'Done right, social criticism set to a catchy tune always makes politics easier to digest,' Lizz Winstead, co-creator of 'The Daily Show,' told Buzzfeed in an article examining Lehrer's influence on modern satirical comedy. But Lehrer was first and foremost an academic, over the course of his career teaching math and musical theater at Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UC Santa Cruz and working for a time at the Atomic Energy Commission. He viewed entertainment largely as a sideline, and by the late 1960s had grown weary of life in the public eye. After several pauses to focus on his academic pursuits, he stepped off the stage in 1967 following a concert in Copenhagen. In 1971, he wrote songs for the PBS children's series 'The Electric Company.' His last turn in the spotlight was a year later. After performing at a presidential campaign rally for the Democratic nominee, South Dakota Sen. George S. McGovern, he gave up performing for good. Lehrer explained his retreat from the stage by saying that 'political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.' In an interview with the New York Times, he elaborated: 'The Vietnam War is what changed it. Everybody got earnest. My purpose was to make people laugh and not applaud. If the audience applauds, they're just showing they agree with me.' But audiences were not through with Lehrer. After nearly a decade in self-imposed exile, Lehrer became a hit once again in the early 1980s when Cameron Mackintosh, the British theatrical producer, created 'Tomfoolery,' a revue of Lehrer's songs that opened in London's West End before going to to play New York, Washington, Dublin and other cities. Despite the public acclaim, Lehrer maintained a fiercely private life. He never married nor did he have children. In 2020, Lehrer announced through his website that he was making all of the lyrics he wrote available to download for free without further permission, whether or not they were published or retained a copyright. Two years later he went further in relinquishing his rights, saying: 'In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don't send me any money.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘South Park' Lives: Paramount Inks New Deal With Creators, Library Moving to Paramount+
South Park has been saved. Just hours before the Comedy Central show's season 27 premiere on July 23 (a premiere that had already been pushed back due to the uncertainty of a new deal), Paramount and Park County, the venture creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker run and which produces the show, have reached a new deal. More from The Hollywood Reporter Skydance Tells FCC It Will Create CBS News Ombudsman, Eliminate DEI at Paramount Trump's Side Deal With "New Owners" of Paramount May Hint at FCC Concessions Paramount Execs Tell Staff That Africa Offices and Channels May Close Amid Strategy Review (Exclusive) The agreement means that South Park's new season will debut as scheduled. The deal runs for five years and encompasses 50 new episodes of the show to debut on Comedy Central. In addition, the companies have inked an expansive new streaming partnership (via their joint venture South Park Digital Studios) that will bring South Park's library to Paramount+ in both the United States, where HBO Max has held the rights for years, and globally. New episodes will also stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. the day after they air on Comedy Central under the pact. A source pegged the value of the deal at about $1.5 billion. 'Trey and I and the whole South Park crew are grateful for this extension and this deal. We want to thank [Paramount co-CEO and president of Showtime/MTV Entertainment] Chris McCarthy and [COO] Keyes Hill-Edgar for years of great partnership and are looking forward to continuing to make South Park for the next five years,' said Stone. Added Parker, 'We are grateful for this opportunity and deeply honored by the trust placed in us. This is about more than a contract — it's about our commitment to this organization, our teammates, and our fans. We're focused on building something special and doing whatever it takes to bring championships to this city.' Streaming deals for the show expired on June 23, forcing an extension of a domestic deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to keep it on HBO Max for now. Earlier this month, Paramount+'s international license to stream episodes of the long-running animated series expired, which led to the streamer pulling the series from its global service. Park County has an unusual arrangement with Paramount, with the production company receiving about 50 percent of all streaming revenue, even as Paramount retains ownership of the show. 'Matt and Trey are singular, creative forces whose fearless humor and boundary pushing storytelling have made South Park one of the most beloved and enduring series ever — more popular today than at any point in its history, and one of the most valuable TV franchises in the world,' said McCarthy. 'They are exceptional talents and trusted partners. We're thrilled that Comedy Central and now Paramount+ globally will be the home to South Park for years to come and our thanks to the Skydance team for their vital partnership in making this happen.' The deal also comes after a heated but quiet behind-the-scenes legal dispute between Park County, Paramount Global, and Skydance, which is set to assume control of Paramount in the coming weeks. It was a dispute that had some sources concerned about the show's future. Parker and Stone were seeking an extension of their current first-look deal with the company, which a source pegged at being worth about $150 million per year during its six-year term. That agreement had a couple of years left, but the creators were seeking an early extension that could coincide with a streaming agreement. However, Skydance leadership, including CEO David Ellison and incoming president Jeff Shell, had approval rights on any deals that met a certain threshold, and the Park County deal fit that bill. Earlier this month, The Hollywood Reporter learned that Park County believed it had struck a basic framework with Paramount on a new 10-year, $3 billion deal, roughly three times the value of their last agreement. Skydance, however, was reluctant to sign off a deal that long, fearing how the streaming market could change by then. At $1.5 billion, the new deal would be worth about $300 million per year, albeit with the shorter time frame that Skydance had been pushing for. While $1.5 billion is an extraordinarily high number for what amounts to 50 episodes of TV, a source said that the overall deal also functioned as an advance on the streaming revenue, helping to explain the cost. When the talks were most heated, Parker and Stone brought on Bryan Freedman, a prominent lawyer and bulldog negotiator known for aggressive legal maneuvering, underscoring how the dispute had escalated. 'This merger is a shitshow and it's fucking up South Park. We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow,'' Parker and Stone wrote in a social media post on July 2, after Comedy Central announced that the season 27 premiere had been pushed by a few weeks. In a precursor to the legal dispute, Park County threatened legal action against Shell for allegedly urging Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery to modify certain terms of their offers for the show in a 'manner calculated to benefit Paramount at the expense' of the company. It pointed to Shell urging WBD to give Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the term of the deal from 10 to five years, which could worsen the studio's bid for the series. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword


USA Today
7 hours ago
- USA Today
Tom Lehrer, singer and influential political satirist, dies at 97: Reports
Singer-songwriter Tom Lehrer, a satirist who gained prominence in the 1950s and 1960s for his acerbic take on politics and social life, has died, according to reports. He was 97. Lehrer died on Saturday, July 26, at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lehrer's friend David Herder confirmed to The New York Times and The Associated Press. A cause of death was not disclosed. Representatives for Lehrer were not available for comment at the time of publication. Born in New York City to parents Morris and Anna Lehrer in April 1928, Lehrer showed a penchant for musical composition early on. The precocious musician began studying classical piano at the age of 7 and later pivoted to pop music. Around this time, Lehrer began composing show tunes, which would become the basis of his songwriting prowess. Lehrer displayed a similar level of mastery in his academic life. After graduating from the Loomis Chaffee School, a college preparatory school in Windsor, Connecticut, Lehrer enrolled at Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Lehrer's musical direction began to take shape during his time at the Ivy League university. He often wrote comic songs to entertain his friends, including the satirical college fight song "Fight Fiercely, Harvard." Lehrer later put together the "Physical Revue," a compilation of his academic satire songs named after the scientific journal Physical Review. Lehrer performed his parodies at coffeehouses and student gatherings throughout the Cambridge, Massachusetts, area. As interest in his music grew among the Harvard University student body, Lehrer went into the studio and recorded his debut album, "Songs by Tom Lehrer." Ozzy Osbourne dies: Black Sabbath singer and heavy metal icon was 76 The 10" LP, recorded in a one-hour studio session that cost $15, quickly sold out its 400-copy pressing and, after several reissues, reportedly went on to sell 350,000 copies. The album was rereleased in 1997 and inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2004. In a retrospective review of the album for the National Recording Registry, author Ronald L. Smith reflected that Lehrer pioneered the "sick" comedy genre. "The love song 'I Hold Your Hand in Mine' was about a severed hand. 'Be Prepared' urged Boy Scouts to pimp their sisters," Smith wrote. "'My Home Town' gleefully recalled a collection of idiots, perverts and the store owner named Dan: 'He was swell. He killed his mother-in-law and ground her up real well. And sprinkled just a bit over each banana split.'" Lehrer obtained a master's degree from Harvard in 1947 and remained in the school's doctoral program for several years, even amid his burgeoning music career. He also taught at universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Santa Cruz, and his own alma mater, Harvard. Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies in drowning: 'Cosby Show' star was 54 Tom Lehrer becomes satire legend despite short-lived career Aside from his intellectual and musical pursuits, Lehrer also enjoyed a two-year stint in the U.S. Army after he was drafted in 1955. His military experience, which involved working at the National Security Agency, provided ample inspiration for his songwriting. Lehrer's sophomore album, 1959's "More of Tom Lehrer," featured the track "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier." Lehrer released his final album, the live record "That Was the Year That Was," in 1965, which earned him a top 20 entry on the Billboard 200 chart. Following a tour of Sweden, Denmark and East Germany in 1967, the witty singer-songwriter retreated from the spotlight, per the National Recording Registry. Lehrer didn't leave music fully behind, however. The musician, joining the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1972, taught a musical theater course in addition to teaching mathematics. Despite his relatively short career, Lehrer has inspired several musicians and satirists over the years, including "Weird Al" Yankovic, Swedish actor Lars Ekborg and Argentinian singer Nacha Guevara. Lehrer was not married at the time of his death. He had no children.