Category: TV & Movies
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Christian, White Male: Acton native Finnegan talks race and new show “Black and White”
Christian Finnegan, the stand-up comic seen in a number of TV shows including VH1’s “Best Week Ever,” TBS’ “The Chappelle Show” and his own comedy special “The Fun Part” on Netflix, is back at it on TV, questioning racism in his own way, the way he knows best: with comedy. “Black and White,” the newest…
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“The Awkward Conversation”: W. Kamau Bell talks racism in America, new show, American justice system
It’s not like W. Kamau Bell aspired to be at the forefront of political comedy and social commentary when he was growing up. He just really liked comedy as a kid. He watched “Saturday Night Live” religiously at a very young age and one day hoped to make it on that stage. In fact, political…
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I Know What I’m Doing: Jen Kirkman talks activist entertainers, class inequality, new book
Photo: Robyn Von Swank Don’t listen to Jen Kirkman. She doesn’t know what she’s doing. At least that’s how she sees it. The stand-up comedienne and author, who hails from Needham, didn’t have an epiphany, an “awakening”, about wanting to become a comic, nor did she have influences like many others do. It wasn’t even…
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A Leak in the Ship: Mike McDonald Talks Comedy, Homelessness and Charity
If you’re familiar with the history of Boston comedy and its bricklayers, you’ll know that Mike McDonald is a pretty big deal. He’s from the same stock that molded legends like Barry Crimmins, Steve Sweeney, Lenny Clarke and Denis Leary, and in terms of popularity around New England, McDonald’s “legend” status is nothing to scoff…
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For Comedy King Sweeney, Poverty Is No Joke
Very rarely do you come across an entertainer who doesn’t want to talk about some current project, their career, what got them started in the industry or some other topic referring to their time in the spotlight. And with someone like Steve Sweeney, the crowned “King of Boston Comedy,” you know there’s a lot to…
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Hollywood filmmakers turn the spotlight on world’s homelessness crisis
Courtesy of INSP News Service www.INSP.ngo / The Big Issue By Adrian Lobb and Steven MacKenzie Richard Gere is one of the most famous faces in cinema but during the making of his latest film, “Time Out of Mind,” in which he plays George, a homeless man living on the streets of New York, he…
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Barry Crimmins: Boston comedy legend talks about social activism and homelessness
Photo: Dennis Brennan Barry Crimmins has built a career off of not caring. But not in a bad way, by any stroke of imagination. He does care. The Boston comedy pioneer has cemented his name in comedy history with his upfront, no-holds-barred brand of political satire, his tireless social activism and, just recently, being the…
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DAN RATHER: On the decline of investigative journalism
After more than 60 years in journalism, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather still believes that a free and independent press is the “red beating heart of freedom and democracy.” But news organizations aren’t living up to that standard, he says. Nor are they working hard enough to “give voice to the voiceless.” Currently anchoring…
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MCGORRY ON MURDER: Actor Matt McGorry discusses feminism, Boston and performing
Matt McGorry, star of ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder and the Netflix original smash hit Orange Is The New Black, has made a splash in the celebrity advocacy scene over the last few months. The actor, an Emerson College graduate, continues to blaze the trail for many social justice causes. In fact, McGorry’s…
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IDINA MENZEL: Actress talks success, divorce, Frozen
Courtesy of INSP News Service www.street-papers.org / The Big Issue By Steven MacKenzie Not every fairy tale has its happily-ever-after ending. Menzel’s marriage to Taye Diggs, who she met while starring in Rent, ended after ten years as her career soared to new heights. “It’s been a real personally trying time for me—professionally astounding—but I’ve…