News

Prime Video took over a soundstage in Los Angeles Tuesday for its first live election special — but despite the expansive space and technology on display, the telecast’s opening hours didn’t feel much different than the multitude of other election night options.

Election Night Live began with anchor Brian Williams reciting a voiceover addressed to the founding fathers, noting what they established for the nation (along with the fact that many of them were slaveholders) while asking for “the strength and wisdom to see our way through this.”

The special originated from a Volume stage (the same kind of high-tech facility used on shows like The Mandalorian). Most of the time, a series of images from across the country was projected behind Williams, with a huge, swooping “Live News Alert” banner taking over the screens when there was a result to report.

The special did a lot of run-up before any results came in,...

Brian Williams is back on the news beat.

The former NBC News and MSNBC anchor is hosting Election Night Live, Prime Video’s first crack at live coverage of a breaking-news event. Originating from Amazon’s Culver City studio, the multi-hour, ad-supported special kicked off at 2 p.m. Pt — watch the cold open above and a trailer for the special below.

Recalling his stint as host of MSNBC’s The 11th Hour, Williams remains the jocular, sorta folksy wordsmith as he riffed about the sheer size of the studio — noting that people there are “getting their steps in — and revived catchphrases including how coverage will continue “on the other side” of a commercial break. At one point, he name-checked his former colleague, MSNBC’s Map Maven Steve Kornacki.

Related: Deadline’s Updated Election Night Coverage

The show also includes a murderer’s row of TV pundits including James Carville, Abby Huntsman,...

There’s a little election this week that you might have heard about.

The early votes are in and the polls are open for the 2024 presidential showdown between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump. Now we pivot to The Coverage.

There’s no shortage of options for how to watch Election Day – and Night, and probably Week – unfold on broadcast and cable TV and streaming services beginning Tuesday. See a rundown of the various networks and platforms’ plans below.

Related: Donald Trump Celebrity Endorsements: A List Of Celebrities Supporting The Ex-potus

Along with the usual suspects of network news divisions, cable news pundits, pubcaster PBS and political outlet C-span comes a new player: Amazon’s Prime Video, which features former NBC News and MSNBC mainstay Brian Williams in his return to the anchor chair.

So read on to decide on how to watch America decide.

Turn on Amazon’s Prime Video on Election Night, and you will see the streaming giant do something it has never done before: live coverage of a breaking news event.

Brian Williams, the former NBC News and MSNBC anchor who will host Election Night Live, has described the special as the first “new product introduction in the Election Night space since color television.”

In an interview with Deadline, Williams wouldn’t go into specifics but promised a reveal of “our own exclusive IP.” A set built on a Culver City soundstage will be “all LED,” and he will be mobile “between different areas of the studio where analysts and journalists and a historian or two and our data folks are working.”

Related: Deadline’s Live-Updating Election Night Coverage

He said that he has asked Amazon to take no breaks during the special, but “I don’t know if I’ll win that tug of war.

Phil Jones, who as a CBS News correspondent covered some of Washington’s most momentous political battles including Watergate and President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, has died. He was 87.

The network said that Jones died over the weekend in Florida. Watch a CBS News tribute reel below.

Jones began his career at an Indiana TV station before leaving to work at Wcco-tv in Minneapolis for seven years. He was one of the first local reporters to go to Vietnam, in 1965, and he later returned, according to the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.

He joined CBS News in 1969. He was recognized with an Emmy for his work covering Vietnam and, according to the network, was among the correspondents known as “Cronkite’s kids,” the team of reporters who were proteges to then-anchor Walter Cronkite.

Jones was present on the White House lawn as Richard Nixon resigned and left on Marine One,...

The History Channel’s How Disney Built America dives into the history of the Disney brand and its impact on generations of fans. The six-episode nonfiction series is set to premiere April 28, 2024 at 10pm Et/Pt, with new episodes arriving on Sundays.

Produced by A+E Factual Studios group, the new addition to the network’s That Built franchise is executive produced by Sharon Scott, Steve Ascher, Matthew Pearl, Kristy Sabat, and Andy Seestedt. The History Channel’s Mary E. Donahue, Jim Pasquarella, and Alex Hicks also serve as executive producers.

The network released this lengthy description of the six-part series:

“How Disney Built America is a nostalgia-filled ride that paints a vivid picture of the world of Walt Disney and the history-making empire he and his brother Roy Disney built. Each hour-long episode focuses on a different example of game-changing brilliance in Disney’s history including creating the world’s most recognizable characters,...

Millions across the world are fascinated by the history of the Walt Disney Company, so much so that multiple people have made careers out of making YouTube videos or writing articles about it. People just can’t seem to get enough of the behind-the-scenes of the House of Mouse.

For those who are interested in such things, you’re in luck. A brand new series titled How Disney Built America will be released later this month on The History Channel. The show’s official synopsis reads:

“How Disney Built America explores the history of Walt Disney and how the iconic Disney brand, fueled by the creation of beloved characters, cherished family films, thrilling theme parks, technological innovations, and more, continues to shape generations as a cultural and worldwide phenomenon. The new nonfiction series is a nostalgia-filled ride that paints a vivid picture of the world of Walt Disney and the history-making empire he built.

Nikki Rodriguez has been cast as the lead in the upcoming drama series “My Life With the Walter Boys,” Netflix has announced.

Based on the popular Wattpad book by Ali Novak, “My Life With the Walter Boys,” the series stars Rodriguez as Jackie Howard, a 15-year old girl who loses her family in a tragic accident. She moves to Colorado to live with her mother’s old friend, who has 10 children of her own. Sarah Rafferty and Marc Blucas will play Jackie’s new guardians, veterinarian Dr. Katherine Walter and her husband rancher husband George. Noah Lalonde, Ashby Gentry, Connor Stanhope, Johnny Link and Corey Fogelmanis play Jackie’s new adoptive brothers. Zoë Soul and Jaylan Evans round out the main cast of the series, while Dean Petriw, Lennix James, Alix West Lefler, Alisha Newton, Ashley Tavares, Moheb Jindran, Ellie O’Brien, Mya Lowe and Gabrielle Jacinto will play recurring roles.

Former President Bill Clinton will explore the highest office in the land for The History Channel this Memorial Day.

On Wednesday, the network announced its newest documentary series, “The American Presidency with Bill Clinton,” premieres May 30. Clinton is the host and an executive producer of the series, which spans six one-hour episodes.

The series “explores the history of the American presidency and the struggle for a more perfect union,” according to the network. It will feature commentary from experts including Pulitzer Prize-winners Jon Meacham and Annette Gordon Reed, as well as Dr. Douglas Brinkley, Dr. Edna Medford Green, Dr. H.W. Brands and George Takei.

Each episode is meant to dive into a different aspect of American history, including race, extremism, the struggle for rights, presidential vision, global power and economic might.

Not only will the series take a look at presidential decisions that moved the country forward, it will also...

"The First American” is a doc feature that follows the life of ‘George Washington' , who was the crucial figure in winning the ‘American Revolution’, in creating a ‘Constitution’ and establishing precedents for self-government :’

“…in ‘ The First American’, Newt and Callista Gingrich, in collaboration with the Gingrich Foundation and Peace River Company, explore the life and legacy of George Washington, featuring exclusive interviews with H.W. Brands, Douglas Brinkley, Jane Hampton Cook, Joseph Ellis, William Forstchen, Gay Hart Gaines, Alle Guelzo, Victor Davis Hanson, Walter Isaacson, Edward Larson, and Edward Lengel.

“The film was shot on location at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, in Washington D.C. and at historic estates on the James River in Virginia.”

Click the images to enlarge…...

FX has released the first trailer for the fifth and final season of “Better Things,” its original comedy series created by, executive produced by and starring Pamela Adlon.

Adlon stars as Sam, a working actress raising three daughters in Los Angeles attempting to navigate her life and find fulfillment. Mikey Madison, Hannah Alligood and Olivia Edward portray Sam’s daughter, who are each struggling to come of age, while Celia Imrie portrays Sam’s mother, who deals with increasingly difficult mental and physical health issues. Adlon heavily based the series on her own experiences as an actor raising three daughters.

The trailer for the new season sees Sam working on a new movie, giving a presentation to an elementary school class and arguing with her daughters. The new season will feature Danny Trejo, Lena Waithe, Ron Cephas Jones, Casey Wilson, Angela Kinsey and Lennon Parham as guest stars.

“Better Things...

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features drummer and songwriter Joe Vitale.

Veteran drummer Joe Vitale was asleep for the night when Bob Dylan’s June 2020 interview with The New York Times went online,...

Exclusive: Sony Music Latin has partnered with Tiger Turn Productions for the feature music documentary Fandango at the Wall. Directed by Varda Bar-Kar and executive produced by Quincy Jones, Andrew Young, Carlos Santana, the feature follows Grammy-winning musician and Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra founder Arturo O’Farrill and and Grammy-winning producer Kabir Sehgal as they prepare to record a live album at the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“When I first learned about this film, I knew we had to be part of it. We’re excited to partner with the production team and to share this powerful story with the world,” said Ruben Levya, Senior Vice President at Sony Music Latin, leading artist services and premium content.

“The film explores the roots of Latin music and, in particular, Afro-Mexican music known as son jarocho. It is both timely and timeless, as it looks at the issue of immigration between the United States and Mexico,...

Up until this year, Bob Dylan had never really expressed much interest in the Eagles. But then in his epic song “Murder Most Foul,” released in March, he called out Don Henley and Glenn Frey by name, along with their 1975 classic “Take It to the Limit.” That inspired historian Douglas Brinkley to ask Dylan to name his favorite Eagles song when he interviewed him recently for The New York Times.

“‘New Kid in Town,’ ‘Life in the Fast Lane,’ ‘Pretty Maids All in a Row,'” Dylan said. “That could...

Bob Dylan granted the New York Times writer Douglas Brinkley his first interview in years earlier this week, advancing his new album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, which is out June 19.

The interview with the 79-year-old Dylan, a Minnesota native, came the day after George Floyd’s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police. The article said the songwriter “sounded depressed.”

“It sickened me no end to see George tortured to death like that,” Dylan said. “It was beyond ugly. Let’s hope that justice comes swift for the Floyd family and for the nation.”

Dylan’s new album, which contains the already released 17-minute song Murder Most Foul, is his first new work in eight years.

Dylan also spoke about the recent deaths of Little Richard and John Prine in his interview, saying Little Richard “lit a match under me. Tuned me into things I never would have known on my own.

Bob Dylan’s Q&a with the New York Times on Friday marks his first major interview in three years, following a conversation with Bill Flanagan on his own website in 2017. In it, he tells historian Douglas Brinkley about his upcoming album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, including the sprawling, 17-minute closer “Murder Most Foul” and the controversial “I Contain Multitudes.“

He also shares his favorite Eagles songs, his thoughts on the pandemic and the recent death of George Floyd that shook the nation. “It sickened me no end to see...

Washington — President Trump put a nauseating new spin on Bible-bangin’ when he ordered flash grenades and tear gas to be lobbed at peaceful protesters outside of the White House so he could take a picture holding a Bible in front of a church. He has proven himself a Tartuffe of the highest order.

Amid the stampede, still ringing in my ears is the voice that cried out, to nobody in particular, that “There are kids here!” It was 6:30 p.m. on a gorgeous Monday. Surely, Trump’s base...

In 2008, inspired by the son jarocho music from Veracruz, Mexico, Jorge Castillo, a retired librarian living in Chula Vista, Calif., organized a concert on the Mexico-American border between San Diego and Tijuana.

This gathering of musicians, a cross-border jam session known as the Fandango Fronterizo Festival, has been going strong ever since. Taking place annually on or around Memorial Day, hundreds of people on both sides of the border wall eat, sing and partake in the fandango festivities, the regional folk music strummed on jarana jarocha guitars a joyous celebration of Mexico and its myriad cultures and people.

“We call the fandangos the ride of peace, the route of peace, because every time we come together we are always in friendship, we are always celebrating,” says Castillo, who was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. “Musically, it brings people together at the border. Even the...

CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley talked this afternoon about Hurricane Harvey, the lessons to be learned from Katrina, and President Trump's return to Texas today.

CNN’s Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter began this morning’s program with a heads-up – “This was not a normal week so this is not a normal show” – before raising questions he conceded were usually posed off the air: Is Donald Trump a racist? Ill? Unfit to serve? Though Stelter’s questions – posed to a panel including reporter Carl Bernstein, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley and former Ted Cruz communication director Alice Stewart – weren’t as broadcast-verboten…...

Ryan Murphy’s FX drama “Katrina: American Crime Story” is undergoing a creative reboot after having been delayed back in June. The third installment in the Emmy-winning anthology series will now be based on the book “Five Days in Memorial” by Pulitzer-winning author Sheri Fink, and will tell the story of Dr. Anna Pou and her decision to euthanize critically ill patients after being trapped for days without power at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The show was previously set to be based on Douglas Brinkley’s “The Great Deluge.” Sarah Paulson, who had been attached to the.

Ryan Murphy and co. have changed their minds yet again. After switching the air order of The Assassination of Gianni Versace and Katrina, the minds behind American Crime Story have decided to go a different direction with Katrina all together, E! News has confirmed. Originally, this installment in the franchise was to based on the book The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast by Douglas Brinkley, dealing broadly with the American government at the time. Dennis Quaid had signed on to play George W. Bush, while Annette Bening was playing the Louisiana governor and Matthew Broderick was set to play the director of Fema.  Now, a day after FX Networks...

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said that President Donald Trump is "unfit for command" in an appearance on CNN's Reliable Sources.

No matter who you voted for today, the results of the 2016 Presidential Election will have every American on the edge of their seats. And while the most accurate, up-to-date results we can expect will come from the dozens of news outlets covering the polls, there are plenty of entertainers looking to provide updates with their own unique spin. Here’s a guide to some of the most notable players, from cable to Snapchat to public access.

Read More: Don’t Delete Your Account: How Social Media Has Changed Since The Last Presidential Election

The Chris Gethard All-Day Election Special

Time: 12 p.m.-12 a.m. Et

Network: Manhattan Neighborhood Network

What to Expect: Alt comedian Chris Gethard has been quietly revolutionizing the possibilities of live television for years now, but while the current state of his Fuse talk show is unknown, he’s returning to his roots — public access station Mnn,...

FX has renewed American Crime Story for a third season that will explore the murder of designer Gianni Versace by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, Deadline reports.

Season Three will be based on Maureen Orth's 1999 book Vulgar Favors, which examines Versace's murder on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion and the failed manhunt for Cunanan. The book also attempts to paint a psychological portrait of Cunanan, who killed four other people and ultimately took his own life.   

Season Three of the Ryan Murphy anthology series will shoot next year,...

Forty-six years on, few people remember (or even care) that the 1970 Kentucky Derby was won by a horse called Dust Commander. And yet, the legacy of that particular race continues to loom large — not because of what happened at Churchill Downs, but because Hunter S. Thompson was there to write about it.

"The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved," Thompson's account of the race for Scanlan's Monthly, is the subject of Gonzo @ the Derby, a highly entertaining new entry in Espn's 30 For 30 Shorts series. (You can view the film here.

Johnny Depp didn't buy Little Hall's Pond Cay as a wedding venue, but it sure sounds like the perfect spot for one.  A source tells People that when the actor marries fiancée Amber Heard next weekend, it'll be on the lush grounds of his 45-acre private island in the Bahamas.  Depp, who bought the little slice of paradise for $3.6 million in 2004 (in the same area as Eddie Murphy and David Copperfield's hideaways), named the beaches after daughter Lily Rose and Jack for his children, Gonzo for Hunter S. Thompson, and Brando, for his legendary acting mentor, Marlon Brando.  With Heard,...

TV news was abuzz following President Obama’s year-end press conference, in which he called Sony’s decision to cancel “The Interview” a mistake.

Also Read: President Obama: Sony ‘Made a Mistake’ in Canceling ‘The Interview’

On CNN, Brian Stelter broke news Friday morning about North Korea sending a new threatening to Sony Thursday.

“He certainly surprised me,” Jake Tapper said to Wolf Blitzer. “Before the press conference, if you asked me what I thought, I thought he’d be more cautious, and talk more about how he understood where Sony was coming from as a business.”

“They were outraged,...

Michel Faber asks if this explicit novel of poverty and sex is any more than a historic curio

In the late 1930s, having endured several brutal winters in a flimsy shack on the Texas Panhandle, Woody Guthrie invested five cents in a Department of Agriculture pamphlet called "The Use of Adobe or Sun-Dried Brick for Farm Building". The folksinger fell in love with the idea of constructing his own house from the earth on which it stood. He never fulfilled that dream, but he did turn it into a wad of fiction, undiscovered until recently and now published as House of Earth, the debut book from Infinitum Nihil, a fourth Estate imprint "helmed" by the actor Johnny Depp.

Guthrie characterised himself as a "hoping machine". When he dreamed, he dreamed hard, and so do his novel's heroes. Tike and Ella May Hamlin are subsistence farmers under siege from duststorms, drought and debt,...

Here’s something you didn't hear during the presidential debates. According to Rolling Stone, President Barack Obama referred to Gop challenger MItt Romney as a “bullshitter” during an interview to be published next month. Photos: The Top Celebrity Political Twitter Commentators A first look of the story, written by Douglas Brinkley, was published Thursday by Politico: “As we left the Oval Office, executive editor Eric Bates told Obama that he had asked his six-year-old if there was anything she wanted him to say to the president,” Brinkley wrote in Rolling Stone. “[S]he said, ‘Tell him: You can do it.

read more...

With the election only 12 days away, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are embarking on the final legs of their campaign tours. Both candidates have plans to appear in battleground states like Ohio and Florida, but they’ve also been paying their dues — Obama especially — to the entertainment beast with recent stints on The Tonight Show, The Late Night with David Letterman and Live! With Kelly and Michael. The latest is Rolling Stone, which, not surprisingly for the historically liberal publication, features a cover-story interview with the President. Conducted by presidential historian Douglas Brinkley — who is staunchly anti-Romney — the interview covers...

Rolling Stone magazine’s reporter Douglas Brinkley interviewed President Barack Obama in the Oval Office and, according to the excerpt, told the president that his six-year-old had offered praise his performance in the office. Obama joked with the reporter that kids have good instincts and know when they are being lied to. ‘They look at the other guy and say, “Well, that’s a bullshitter, I can tell,” Obama said, referring to his opponent, Gov. Mitt Romney.

Actor to run imprint for HarperCollins named after his Infinitum Nihil production firm with a Bob Dylan book already lined up

The actor Johnny Depp is to move into publishing, pledging to seek "authentic, outspoken and visionary ideas and voices".

Already on the list of books is one by Bob Dylan, The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan, which will be based in part on interviews with the singer by the best-selling historian Douglas Brinkley.

Depp's imprint, which will be part of HarperCollins group, is to share its name with his production company, Infinitum Nihil, meaning "Nothing is forever".

"I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of people's time, of people's concern, publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet," Depp said in a statement released by HarperCollins.

Brinkley, who recently wrote a cover-story on Dylan for Rolling Stone, said...

Johnny Depp is bringing a dash of cool to the book world.

Depp will help run a publishing imprint with the same name as his production company, Infinitum Nihil, meaning Nothing is forever. Already on the list of books is "The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan," which aims to set the record straight on the songwriter's enigmatic life and career and will be based in part on interviews with Dylan by best-selling historian Douglas Brinkley.

The imprint will be part of HarperCollins Publishers, which announced Monday that Depp will seek "authentic, outspoken and visionary ideas and voices."

"I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum Nihil, that we will do our best to deliver publications worthy of peoples' time, of peoples' concern, publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet," Depp said in a statement released by HarperCollins. "For this dream realized, we would like to salute HarperCollins for their faith...

Johnny Depp likes books. And he's putting his name and time on the line to help run a publishing imprint named after his production company, Infinitum Nihil ("nothing is forever") at HarperCollins publishers.  Depp's already got a big billing on the roster:  Bob Dylan has signed on with "The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan," adapted from interviews with best-selling historian Douglas Brinkley.  Dylan's collection, aimed for 2015, marks the singer-songwriter's attempt to set the record straight about his life and music.   Depp's previous ventures in publishing involved other rock star tie-ins.  In 2010, he brilliantly narrated half of the audio edition of Keith Richard's memoir, "Life."  Depp also enjoyed a literary relationship with close friend Hunter S. Thompson, who he has played in several movies.  Depp starred in film adaptations of Thompson's novel "The Rum Diary" and...

Johnny Depp has already established himself as one of Hollywood's top actors/producers and is now partnering with publishing giant HarperCollins to release a series of book titles.

The titles -- to be published by Harper under the imprint Infinitum Nihil -- will reflect the actor's "diverse interests and passions," according to a news release sent out Tuesday by HarperCollins Publishers.

Video: What Do Johnny Depp's Co-Stars Think of Him?

The list's first title will be a biological work delving into the life of Bob Dylan, entitled The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan, by New York Times-bestselling author Douglas Brinkley. The book is based on archival research and exclusive interviews with Dylan and is intended to "set the record straight on scores of issues pertaining to the rock-and-roll legend."

Depp, 49, said he's excited to be joining the publishing world and looks forward to helping produce quality material. "I pledge, on behalf...

Johnny Depp, the actor whose quirky roles have many calling him a one-trick pony, is delving into a new artistic realm: book publishing. He'll be launching Infinitum Nihil ("Nothing is forever"), a new imprint of HarperCollins, early next year.

As the edgy name implies, Infinitum Nihil aims to be "authentic, outspoken, and visionary." So far, the forthcoming titles seem to fit the bill. In January, the imprint will publish folk singer Woody Guthrie's 1947 novel, House of Earth. The musician never actually sought publication for his book about economic disputes between ordinary Texans and the upper crust of the state's panhandle.

In 2015, Infinitum Nihil will release another exciting title - The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan by Douglas Brinkley, a historian Depp worked with on the liner notes for a documentary called Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

Depp's bookish interests are no secret - Last week,...

Johnny Depp is launching his own publishing imprint. The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star is working with major publisher HarperCollins to launch Infinitum Nihil - which shares the name of his production company - which the company promises will be 'authentic, outspoken and visionary.' Johnny said in a statement: '[Infinitum Nihil] will do [its] best to deliver publications worthy of people's time, of people's concern. Publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet.' Among the titles to be released through the imprint will be 'The Unraveled Tales Of Bob Dylan'. The book - which is slated for release in 2015 - is penned by historian Douglas Brinkley aims to reveal the truth behind the songwriter's life and career.

Johnny Depp is an actor, a musician and, apparently, a literature lover! The 49-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star is getting into the publishing business with his own book imprint called Infinitum Nihil with HarperCollins. The publisher said in a statement the imprint will be "authentic, outspoken and visionary." One of its inaugural books will be The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan, written by historian Douglas Brinkley. "Johnny and I thought the Dylan book was the ideal way to inaugurate the Infinitum Nihil series," said Brinkley in a statement. "Bob has been very warm and forthcoming with us. His music has inspired us both deeply since we were teenagers." In January...

Washington, Oct 16: Johnny Depp is adding publisher to his resume.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star has teamed up with bosses at HarperCollins Publishers to launch an imprint named after his production company Infinitum Nihil, meaning, "Nothing is forever".

One of Depp's first projects is set to be The Unravelled Tales of Bob Dylan, which will be based in part on interviews with the musician by best-selling historian Douglas Brinkley, Contactmusic reported.

In a statement, the actor says, "I pledge, on behalf of Infinitum.

Aging pirate Johnny Depp is after some of that Lena Dunham book prestige/cash money, launching an imprint, Infinitum Nihil ("nothing is forever"), through HarperCollins. His first two books will be The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan (2015), compiled from historian Douglas Brinkley's conversations with Dylan, and a never-published novel by Woody Guthrie, House of Earth, coming in January. Depp plans to highlight "authentic, outspoken and visionary ideas and voices" resulting in "publications that might ordinarily never have breached the parapet."...

No matter the critical barbs that Johnny Depp's increasingly caked-in-make-up performances garner, it's a fair assumption that a uniquely odd passion project lies behind each dollar earned from them. One of his most recent attempts saw him returning to Hunter S. Thompson's acid-tinged worldview with “The Rum Diary,” which tanked at the box office. But fortunately another literary pursuit is within his reach, this time dealing with the only "fully realized" novel from folk singer Woody Guthrie, who would have been 100 years old on July 14th. Finished in 1947 but never released, Guthrie's Depression-set novel “House of Earth” will finally hit shelves, thanks to the help of Depp and author Douglas Brinkley, and promises to show an alternate side to the legendary songwriter known for such compositions as “This Land Is Your Land,” “Pastures of Plenty,” and “Do Re Mi.” In an essay for the New York...

House of Earth, thought to have languished for years in a closet, is said to be influenced by Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

A novel by folk singer Woody Guthrie will be published next year, with help from Johnny Depp. House of Earth, which Guthrie finished in 1947 but never released, is being edited by Depp and author Douglas Brinkley.

Depp and Brinkley revealed their plans in a new essay for the New York Times Book Review. House of Earth is Guthrie's only "fully realised" novel, they said, influenced by his experiences in America's Dust Bowl, as well as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Tracing the story of Tike and Ella May Hamlin, "hardscrabble farmers" in Texas, it is a "searing portrait of the Panhandle and its marginalised Great Depression residents". Despite a slightly esoteric focus on the importance of adobe housing, House of Earth also includes graphic sex,...

Cronkite, the first full-life biography of the legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite produced with the cooperation of his family, arrives in bookstores May 29.   Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley, author of books on Gerald Ford, Teddy Roosevelt and Hunter S. Thompson, now turns his attention to the most influential news anchor in television history. Cronkite's career spanned the heart of the American Century. Born in 1916, he grew up in Kansas City, Mo., and Houston and dropped out of the University of Texas during the Great Depression to take the first in a series of radio jobs in

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New York -- In a fedora and sunglasses, Johnny Depp, one of Hunter S. Thompson's closest friends and star of "The Rum Diary," the new film adapted from Thompson's novel of the same name, took his place at one end of a long table.

Next to him sat Porter Bibb, an old friend of Thompson’s; Douglas Brinkley, his literary executor; Bruce Robinson, the director of "The Rum Diary"; and Alex Gibney, who helmed the Thompson documentary "Gonzo." The group was assembled at the Columbia School of Journalism for a panel discussion about “The Rum Diary" that played out almost like one of the late author's own stories -- with screams and jeers from the audience, extended riffs on life from the panelists, and intimate tales about the writer himself.

Thompson's unpublished first novel had a circuitous route to the screen. Depp said he remembered sitting with Thompson on...

Johnny Depp remembers the day he first met Hunter S. Thompson. He was waiting at the back of a tavern when the author and journalist burst in, ordering people out of his way. “I just saw sparks, literally sparks,” Depp said of their first encounter. “In his left hand he had a three-foot cattle prod, and in his right hand a tazer.”

The memory was one of many shared Monday night by Johnny Depp and director Bruce Robinson at a Columbia University panel honoring the life and legacy of Thompson before a special screening of Depp’s upcoming film, The Rum Diary.

The 49th New York Film Festival has announced their Masterworks and Special Anniversary screenings that will show between the festival’s seventeen days, September 30th – October 16th. The Masterworks program and the festival’s additional programming will provide audiences with exciting opportunities to explore new film-making styles and storytelling events. To learn more about the Masterworks and Anniversary films, please check out below for full synopsis and details.

Masterworks And Special Anniversary Screenings

Masterworks: The Gold Rush

Chaplin’s personal favorite among his own films, The Gold Rush (1925), is a beautifully constructed comic fable of fate and perseverance, set in the icy wastes of the Alaskan gold fields. Re-released by Chaplin in 1942 in a recut version missing some scenes, and with added narration and musical score, The Gold Rush will be presented in a new restoration of the original, silent 1925 version. In this frequently terrifying and always unpredictable universe of...

25 special programs and screenings have been added to the lineup for this year's New York Film Festival, running September 30 through October 26. The only secrets left are the 2011 Views from the Avant Garde lineup and a few free forums in the works.

Because this round is so heavy on the documentaries, I want to first revisit the lineup for Toronto's Real to Reel program in another entry and then return here to add further notes and linkage. For now, the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Eugene Hernandez has a few more details, but here's the gist of today's announcement:

Masterworks Screenings

Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925), restored.

Hugo Santiago's Invasión (1969), restored.

Sara Driver's You Are Not I (1981), restored.

Special Presentations: Documentaries

Xan Aranda's Andrew Bird: Fever Year.

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory.

Nelson Pereira dos Santos's Music According to Tom Jobim.

Getty Former First Lady Betty Ford enters the Rotunda to walk to the casket of her husband, former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford in 2007.

Betty Ford’s name has become synonymous with the battle against addiction.

Ford, the widow of late President Gerald R. Ford and one of the co-founders of an addiction treatment center in California that bears her name, died today at the age of 93, according to various reports.

Born Elizabeth Ann Bloomer, she married Gerald Ford...

The daring bin Laden raid is being billed as evidence of the new Obama. The truth is, he's been itching to pull this trigger all along. In this week's Newsweek, Andrew Romano and Daniel Klaidman on what could become the defining point of this presidency.

The echoes were unmistakable. On April 24, 1980, President Jimmy Carter sent eight helicopters to rescue the 52 Americans held captive at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. One crashed en route; one turned back; one malfunctioned. Spooked, Carter decided to cut his losses and abort the mission-but not before one of the remaining choppers sliced into a transport plane, igniting a blaze that killed eight servicemen. Carter's presidency never recovered.

Related story on The Daily Beast: Pakistan's Spy Agency and Terrorism

For a brief, anxious moment, President Obama's national-security team, gathered in the West Wing on May 1, suffered a sickening sense of déjà vu. As the...