HBO’s Vinyl Brings Big Business to New York

For everyone who missed out on the heady, hedonistic and dangerous days of 1970s New York, specifically the music scene, then HBO’s Vinyl is as good a time machine as you're likely to find. Starring Bobby Canavale as a record-label president trying to save his company in 1970s New York City, Vinyl's pedigree is undisputed: your executive producers are Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, two men who were right there in the thick of things when New York City was the epicenter of the music world,

Game of Thrones Recap: “The Red Woman”

Hands up for everyone who saw the Red Queen revealing herself to be a very, very old woman coming. Right.

Okay, before we get to that bizarre piece of business, let's mull the opening shot of Game of Thrones season six premiere, "The Red Queen," which confirmed that Jon Snow is, at least for right now, very, sincerely dead. The long shot of his corpse in the snow (all that blood!) seemed to beg for some twitch of his leg or gasp for breath,

Inside Game of Thrones Season 6: Visual Effects

Back in March we shared this great behind-the-scenes look at the crucial work the Game of Thrones prosthetics department does. "GOT prosthetics designers like Barrie Gower help conceptualize, design and make the prosthetics that turn fine actors into some of the most fearsome characters on the show," we wrote, pointing out that characters like the Night's King are created not just by the fine work of actor Richard Blake,

Final Game of Thrones Promo Asks “Are You Afraid?”

"Whoever you are, wherever you go, someone wants to murder you." This is the opening line in what we think is the final promo for Game of Thrones season six, which premieres, in case you haven't heard, this Sunday, April 24. The line's delivered by the show's chief realist—Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage)—and as he speaks it we see a dead Jon Snow on a concrete slab, followed by a rousing montage depicting the various folks (and White Walkers) throughout the seven kingdoms and beyond who do,

Three new Season 6 Game of Thrones Clips Revealed

Following last week's intense clip of Davos protecting the body of Jon Snow, and yesterday's reveal of the second full length trailer, HBO has indulged us with three new Game of Thrones clips. In the first, we see a tender, deeply sad moment between Cersei and Jamie Lannister, the former absolutely devastated over the death of their daughter Myrcella. In the second,

New Game of Thrones Season 6 Trailer is Thrilling

Last Friday we shared with you this brief but epic clip from season 6 of Game of Thrones, and now we've got a brand new trailer to show you. HBO just dropped this truly thrilling trailer, which seems to back up creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff's statement that season six is the best thus far. It seems like just about everyone is pissed off and looking for revenge,

Bill Simmons Producing Game of Thrones Aftershow on HBO

If you're a The Walking Dead fan, you already know how well the aftershow, Talking Dead, has fared. Hosted by Chris Hardwicke, Talking Dead dissects the insanely popular zombie apocalypse series, typically with a cast member or two, a producer, and fans. The show airs live immediately following the most recent episode of The Walking Dead on Sunday, and Hardwicke's amiable breakdown of the typically gruesome hour of television includes not just fans,

A Real Look at Mapplethorpe in Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures

Beyond Robert Mapplethorpe’s good looks and talent, his extreme subject matter and roster of now-iconic friends, what stands out in Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, a meticulous new documentary airing tonight on HBO on the artist, is the film’s tight focus on its titular subject. Mapplethorpe is famous for being the first photographer to make shocking male nudes as sensitively gorgeous as they were appalling (to the more staid quarters of 1970s America,

Schwinter is Coming in Inside Amy Schumer Teaser

Oh Amy, if there's anyone who we'd want to deliver a major spoiler for season 6 of Game of Thrones, then yes, it would be you! Okay, perhaps Amy Schumer's just joking in this GoT inspired teaser for the fourth season of Inside Amy Schumer, which returns in a few weeks (April 21), but I think we can all agree that Kit Harington would make an excellent guest performer on her hilarious show. In the teaser,

Robin Wright in Talks to Join Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford in Blade Runner Sequel

This seems like nothing but good news. Robin Wright, who has been scorching television (and gadget) screens for four seasons as the indomitable Claire Underwood on Netflix's House of Cards, is getting close to inking a deal to join Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford in the Blade Runner sequel. For fans of the original (pretty much anybody who loves sci-fi at its' very best, Harrison Ford,

Is it a Game of Thrones Sword or the name of an 80s Metal Band?

The gang at Game of Thrones may be mostly blood thirsty lunatics when in character, but off camera they're actually quite lovely. That's the sense you get as the GoT team is raising money for The International Rescue Committee, the only international relief agency that's responding on all fronts to the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East. This means that IRC is working inside war-torn Syria, as well as in neighboring host countries, in Greece and Serbia where refugees enter Europe,

Death’s Everywhere in Game of Thrones Season 6 March Madness Promo

In the last few weeks Game of Thrones has released a bevy of exciting material, from this awesome behind-the-scenes footage of the prosthetics department making a White Walker to the trailer that had everyone parsing (including us) every second. 

Now they've released this promo during March Madness, and as before, it's an ominous, if brief, bit of business. Jaqen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha), the leader (right?) of the Faceless Men promises Arya: "One way or another,

Film & TV: The Great American Export & the Growing Streaming Platform

In the United States, you can now legally stream films and television shows on 120 different platforms, with the number growing seemingly every day. Globally, there are 480 unique legitimate online services that serve the growing appetite of movie and TV lovers across the world. You can consider film and television one of America's natural resources, and these services and platforms are like a series of growing (and carbon-neutral) pipelines getting this resource to people all over the globe.

SXSW Alumni: Ed Helms’ Start in Austin

Ed Helms is yet another actor who can credibly claim his career started at SXSW. The star of The Office and The Hangover movies made his acting debut in Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, which was released at the 2004 South by Southwest Film Festival and won the Audience Award. The film is an improvisational comedy set in the world of paintball.

SXSW 2016: The Duplass Brothers, A Journey that Began in Austin

The Duplass Brothers (Mark and Jay) were back at SXSW on Saturday to discuss their successful careers and provide some words of wisdom to filmmakers who are just starting off. Austin is where is all started for the New Orleans natives; they filmed their first feature film, The Puffy Chair, in Austin.

Their talk had the generous feel of a commencement address—here were two successful alums, grateful and humble, ready to share their hard-earned wisdom.

SXSW 2016: Ilana Glazer & Abbi Jacobson Talk Hillary Clinton, Broad City & More

YAS QUEEN! Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson of Comedy Central’s Broad City brought their special brand of irreverence and humor to SXSW on Saturday. Featured on a panel hosted by Maria Clare’s editor-in-chief, Anne Fulenwider, the friends chatted about their hilarious comedy and so much more.

Starting as a web series, Broad City made its television premiere in January 2014. The third season, which began on February 17, 2016,

SXSW Alumni: Lena Dunham’s Start in Austin

Girls creator Lena Dunham can credibly say that her career officially began at the SXSW Film Festival. It started with the rejection of her short film Creative Nonfiction. Instead of giving up on it, Dunham kept working on it and re-submitted the film. The determination paid off— Creative Nonfiction was accepted. When she came to Austin with the film, she not only had what she called "the best week of her life"

SXSW Alumni: Trey Parker & Matt Stone’s Start in Austin

As we settle into Austin and prepare for SXSW 2016, we're also looking back at some of the great careers that were launched here. We begin with longtime creative partners Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who brought their animated short, The Spirit of X-Mas and its' cadre of soon-to-be-infamous characters—Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny—to South by Southwest in 1997. Yet their road to SXSW began years earlier, in 1992,  when Parker and Stone, then students at the University of Colorado,

Game of Thrones Drops Epic Season 6 Trailer

We've got just a bit more than a month left before Game of Thrones season 6, finally begins on April 24. The big question, of course, is the fate of Jon Snow. In this new, ripping trailer for the season, GOT wastes exactly zero seconds putting the loveliest crow of them all right in center frame. There he is, just as we left him, bled out in the courtyard of Castle Black.

After 6 Glorious Seasons, Downton Abbey Says Goodbye

After six mostly glorious seasons on air, Downton Abbey had its series finale on Sunday night. Show creator Julian Fellowes managed to create a hugely appealing, compelling series centered on Lord Grantham, his extended family and the servants whose lives intersected with their employers. What’s so amazing, as Vulture’s Jen Chaney points out, is Fellowes hit show didn’t require a central character who was difficult and dark,