Latest news with #Gottlieb


USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC women's basketball to face former Pac-12 foe Cal in San Francisco on December 21
When USC moved to the Big Ten last year, the Trojans lost several of their longtime Pac-12 rivalries. For one USC team, however, that will change this winter. On Wednesday, it was announced that USC women's basketball will face former conference foe Cal at Chase Center in San Francisco on December 21. "Old friends; old foes," head coach Lindsay Gottlieb wrote on social media. "Bay Area, see you in December!" Gottlieb, of course, is quite familiar with Cal, having served as the head coach of the program from 2011-2019. In 2013, she took the Bears to their only Final Four in program history. The matchup with Cal is one of numerous high-profile nonconference matchups that USC will face next season. The Trojans also have games scheduled against UConn, Notre Dame, South Carolina, and NC State. Gottlieb seems to be sending a clear message with her scheduling philosophy: The Women of Troy are not afraid of afraid of anyone, and will gladly face off against the best teams in the country.

Sky News AU
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
The biggest diva was the giant fish: Inside the problem-plagued making of ‘Jaws' 50 years later: A drunk actor, broken sharks and millions over budget
They needed a lot more than just a bigger boat. They needed over double their initial production budget. They needed one of their trio of leading actors to not be so drunk all the time that he'd black out at work. And they needed their three robot sharks — 'playing' the title character — to stop breaking down. The filming of 'Jaws,' director Steven Spielberg's horror classic that turns 50 on Friday, June 20, was plagued by issues on-set in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., during the spring and summer of 1974. Yes, the movie grossed $476 million globally and became one of the first blockbusters and a landmark in the horror genre. But it also very nearly didn't work. 'In many ways, launching 'Jaws' was a film production problem analogous to NASA trying to land men on the moon and bring them back,' wrote 'Jaws' co-screenwriter and actor Carl Gottlieb in the book 'The Jaws Log.' 'It just had never been done.' When producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown hired Spielberg to direct a film based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel 'Jaws,' he was just 27 years old and professionally untested. His theatrical film debut, 'The Sugarland Express,' hadn't hit theaters yet. But not sold on the alternatives, they went with the young hotshot. Zanuck and Brown budgeted the film at an estimated $3.5 million and wanted production to take 55 days. In the end, 'Jaws' treaded water for over 150 days and cost $9 million. The biggest diva was the shark. The producers assumed, as with decades of Hollywood pictures, a real great white shark could be simply trained up to do what they needed, Gottlieb writes. That, obviously, was not going to work — although a stuntman was harrowingly snapped at by the genuine article in the waters of Australia. So the team planned to build a 25-foot-long mechanical fish. And the only man they could enlist to do it was Bob Mattley, a designer of '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,' 'Flash Gordon' and others who had came out of retirement for the job. The mechanical beasts were budgeted at $1.2 million (adjusted). The waves only got rockier. When filming began in the pretty Massachusetts beach town, the shark they called Bruce had never been tested in ocean water. Made of tubular steel covered in a sand-and-paint mixture, each weighed one ton. The troubles were endless. There were small dents that would cost $50,000 to fix and constant touch-ups requiring the device be laboriously lugged out. Its motor was eroded by salt and the studio thought the teeth were too white, so they were repainted. At one point, Bruce even sank to the bottom of the ocean. The contraption rarely worked two days straight, and constant delays pushed production into July. There was so much free time, beer had to be banned on the boat. 'All over the picture shows signs of going down like the Titanic,' Gottlieb wrote. On booze: Robert Shaw, the actor who played Quint the shark hunter, was an Olympian drinker. During an on-camera interview, the British actor was asked how he prepares. 'Scotch, vodka, gin, whatever,' he said. But Spielberg underestimated this fact. When shooting Quint's famous monologue to Richard Dreyfuss' Hooper and Roy Scheider's Brody aboard the Orca, he let Shaw throw a few back. 'Robert came over to me and said, 'You know, Steven, all three of these characters have been drinking and I think I could do a much better job in this speech if you actually let me have a few drinks before I do the speech,'' Spielberg told Entertainment Weekly in 2011. 'And I unwisely gave him permission.' Shaw was plastered. Crew members had to carry him onto the boat, and he was so drunk that they wrapped for the day. 'At about 2 o'clock in the morning my phone rings and it's Robert,' the director added. 'He had a complete blackout and had no memory of what had gone down that day.' The scene was reshot — sober. 'It was like watching Olivier on stage,' Spielberg said. 'Jaws' was released in theaters on June 20, 1975. The movie became a global mega-hit and launched the career of one of Hollywood's most prominent and influential directors of all time. However, when 'Jaws 2' hit theaters in 1978, the name on the poster wasn't Spielberg — it was Jeannot Szwarc. The 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' genius was traumatized by the original experience. '[I didn't come back for the 'Jaws' sequels] because making the first movie was a nightmare,' Spielberg told Total Film in 2004. 'There were endless problems with the shark and it was an impossible shoot. I thought my career was over because no one had ever taken a movie 100 days over schedule.' Spielberg added: 'It was successful, but I never wanted to go near the water again.' Originally published as The biggest diva was the giant fish: Inside the problem-plagued making of 'Jaws' 50 years later - a drunk actor, broken sharks and millions over budget


Time of India
21-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
TikTok's owner wanted to publish books, not anymore
News of the press's demise, which was reported earlier by the The Bookseller, came as a shock to authors who were swayed by the possibility that 8th Note could help engineer bestsellers with elaborate marketing campaigns on TikTok. Instead, 8th Note has started taking down digital editions of their books, effectively unpublishing them. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads When 8th Note Press launched in the summer of 2023, the small publisher had a big advantage over other new presses. It was started by Chinese technology company ByteDance , the owner of TikTok , the wildly popular social media platform where viral endorsements can transform books into bestsellers was not enough, it seems, to build a successful publishing business. In late May, 8th Note Press began informing writers that it was shutting down and returning publication rights to the of the press's demise, which was reported earlier by the The Bookseller, came as a shock to authors who were swayed by the possibility that 8th Note could help engineer bestsellers with elaborate marketing campaigns on TikTok. Instead, 8th Note has started taking down digital editions of their books, effectively unpublishing agent Mark Gottlieb, who sold the debut novel "To Have and Have More" to 8th Note, said the company was doing "irreparable damage" to its authors by shutting down so haphazardly. While publishing imprints frequently come and go, the books and authors they publish are usually moved elsewhere within the parent company, rather than being taken out of circulation entirely. If a book is published then quickly disappears, it can be difficult to resell it to another publisher, Gottlieb said."They're wrecking careers in the process of doing this," he said of 8th Note. "If you're an author and this is your first book, what the history is going to show is that your book published and quickly went out of print."The publisher's precipitous fall was surprising, given its parent company's vast resources and last year, the press seemed poised to expand. In October, its executives announced a partnership with the publisher Zando to put out print editions of its books and distribute them to physical bookstores. The plan was to release 10 to 15 titles a year, with a focus on romance, romantasy and young adult fiction. Later, the imprint indicated to agents that it was expanding into science fiction and for 8th Note Press and ByteDance did not respond to requests for comment, and representatives for Zando declined to closure of 8th Note comes at an uncertain time for TikTok, as the prospect of a U.S. ban on the app looms. On Thursday, President Donald Trump again extended the deadline for ByteDance to find a new owner for TikTok so that it can continue to operate in the United publisher acquired more than 30 titles in its first year, and authors and agents who struck deals said part of the appeal was the imprint's parent company -- and the prospect that 8th Note could deliver sophisticated digital marketing campaigns that took advantage of ByteDance's data on TikTok trends and influencers. But despite its built-in promotional power, 8th Note did not deliver any breakout blockbusters, and some agents say it did little to market many of its titles. Currently, digital editions of many of its titles are no longer for sale, though print editions for some titles released with Zando can still be purchased."It's been so unfortunate for the authors," said Jill Marr, an agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, who represents two authors who write under the pseudonym June selling the rights to Kaye's novel, "37 Questions," to 8th Note in November, the publication did not proceed smoothly, Marr said. The editor who acquired the book departed and wasn't replaced. Royalty statements and sales figures that were due to arrive at the end of May still haven't come in, she novel had an extremely short retail run: It was released digitally in February and taken down after just a few her authors are hoping to find another publisher willing to take a chance on their debut, but they are saddled with a launch that sputtered."I'm going to try to resell it to other publishers, but it's difficult because we didn't have time to gain any traction," Marr said. "They're devastated."
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Boardwalk Empire' star Michael Pitt's lawyer says sex assault case ‘built on a bed of lies'
NEW YORK — The sexual assault case against 'Boardwalk Empire' star Michael Pitt is 'built on a bed of lies,' the actor's lawyer told the Daily News after a brief court appearance in Brooklyn. Pitt, 44, was busted May 2 on charges he sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend and attacked her with a four-by-four and a cinder block, at the Brooklyn home they previously shared. 'This case is an utter, absolute disgrace,' Pitt's lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, said outside the Brooklyn Supreme Court building, as the actor stood silently by his side. Pitt didn't offer any comment. 'It is built on lie after lie after lie. We have obtained some of the discovery, not all of it,' Gottlieb said, referring to the materials prosecutors must release to defense attorneys, 'and already we can say, it is built on a bed of lies, which is unbelievable that it even came to this point.' 'It is clear that the district attorney did not investigate this case, because if they investigated it, there is no way that this man, who is innocent, would find his way in this court,' Gottlieb said. He didn't elaborate further. A spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Tuesday that his office can't comment on pending cases. Pitt is charged with criminal sex act, criminal sexual abuse, assault, attempted assault and strangulation. The top charge carries a maximum 25-year prison sentence, if convicted at trial. He's pleaded not guilty to the charges, and remains free on $100,000 bail. The indictment against the 'Funny Games' and 'Ghost in the Shell' actor describes four disturbing allegations by the woman, who is not named in court papers. He's accused of forcibly touching her anus and vagina with his finger in April 2020, forcing her into oral sex and assaulting her with a four-by-four in August 2020, attacking her with a cinder block in June 2021 and strangling her in August 2021. On Tuesday, Gottlieb sparred with Assistant District Attorney Amanda Fisher over the release of documents and evidence during an appearance in Brooklyn Supreme Court in Pitts' sexual assault case. In court, Pitt's lawyer Gottleib accused the D.A.'s office of slow-walking key documents in the case. 'We do know that, as of this late date, that we haven't received a single police report… no detective notes, no complaint reports, no DIR [domestic incident] reports,' Gottlieb told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Abena Darkeh, adding that Pitt was under investigation as far back as February 2024. 'It's all due now,' the defense attorney said, 'and it's all glaring what's missing. It goes to the heart of the investigation that goes on for so long.' Fisher countered that the case was investigated entirely by the Brooklyn D.A.'s office. 'There is no NYPD involvement in this case other than the arrest,' she said. Pitt returns to court July 1, when the judge is expected to hear an application to modify the actor's bail so he can get his passport back.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Yahoo
Police investigating deadly crash in Gaithersburg
GAITHERSBURG, Md. () — The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) is investigating a deadly crash that happened in Gaithersburg. On May 31, officers with the Gaithersburg City Police Department responded to a two-car crash that occurred at 8:35 a.m. at the Sam Eig Highway and Fields Road intersection. One hurt after car crashes into shed in Montgomery County According to MCPD, a blue 2017 Toyota Corolla was stopped at a red traffic signal when a blue 2018 Jeep Compass crashed into it from behind. The Toyota driver and the passenger, Myrtle Gottlieb, 88, were both taken to the hospital in critical condition, where Gottlieb later died from her injuries on June 4. The Jeep driver, an 18-year-old man, stayed at the scene of the crash and was taken into custody for suspicion of drunk driving and driving without a license, MCPD said. Man accused of assaulting officer in Wheaton mall MCPD states that he was given a test to determine his blood alcohol concentration, and the results are still pending. Anyone with information about is asked to call (240) 773-6620. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.