THR Investigates
How a Sexual Misconduct Scandal and Allegations of Corruption Sparked a Civil War at the American Legion Theater
This year, the head of American Legion Post 43, the nearly century-old private club for military veterans in Hollywood, faced a secret probe into his alleged misconduct. An employee at the organization’s theater, which is rented out for events, had accused him of putting his arm around her neck at the end of a night […]
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A Pellicano Target’s Second Act
“So we’re down in Uvalde, right?” Anita Busch tells me in one of the lengthy, emotional conversations we’ve had this summer. She is describing the aftermath of the 2022 Texas mass shooting in which 21 grade-school students and teachers died. “I have the team down here in Uvalde for a fifth time. And we’re getting […]
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A Hollywood Insurrectionist’s Path to Extremism
Standing on the ledge of a broken window next to a Beverly Hills esthetician with mascara running from the tear gas, a bearded man with wild blue eyes made an appeal to the crowd surrounding the U.S. Capitol. “Last chance, who wants to make history with me? Who’s a man? Who’s a patriot? I’m going […]
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The Auteurs of San Quentin
Like many independent filmmakers, Anthony Gomez has some quibbles with his own work. He wishes he’d had more time to shoot. His lead looks natural on camera but the voiceover delivery is stiff. A friend came through with some original music, but the post process was crazy. The usual stuff. What’s unusual is that Gomez, […]
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‘Home Improvement’ Star Zachery Ty Bryan Amassed a Bitcoin Fortune, Then Spiraled Amid Domestic Violence Arrest, Allegations of Fraud
Every episode of ABC’s blockbuster 1990s sitcom Home Improvement ended with a life lesson. For eight seasons and 203 episodes, Americans tuned in weekly by the tens of millions to watch Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, wife Jill and their three sons wrestle with dilemmas typical of middle-class American households, only to discover solutions and […]
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Brad Pitt and the Bizarre Charity Mess That’s Left Katrina Victims Stranded Again
For the impacted homeowners of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, the August 2022 announcement that they were one step closer to being made whole — with relief coming in the form of a $20.5 million settlement — was long past due. Hurricane Katrina made landfall 17 years earlier, devastating their neighborhood. But that was just […]
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Inside Amazon Studios: Big Swings Hampered by Confusion and Frustration
It’s long been an open secret that Jeff Bezos has yearned for his own Game of Thrones, and that Amazon’s big swing as it reached for its own massive hit was The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, believed to be the most expensive series ever made. Last September, the show began with […]
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Harvey Weinstein’s “Jane Doe 1” Victim Reveals Identity: “I’m Tired of Hiding”
On Dec. 19, Evgeniya Chernyshova was driving to pick out a Christmas tree near her home in Los Angeles when she got a message that she’s been waiting for, in some form or another, for five years. “We have a verdict,” read the text from Chernyshova’s attorney, Dave Ring. The 43-year-old mother of three stopped […]
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How Les Moonves and His CBS Loyalists Worked to Discredit Accuser: “It Was Sort of a Mafia Culture”
On Nov. 2, 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she’d secured a $30.5 million settlement from CBS and its former president and CEO Leslie Moonves for misleading the company’s investors about his misconduct, concealing sexual assault allegations against him and related insider trading by another top CBS executive. Her office also released […]
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Inside the Implosion of Justin Roiland’s Animation Empire
On Jan. 9, Hulu debuted its animated comedy Koala Man, the latest installment in what was then Justin Roiland’s sprawling empire. An absurdist superhero series that features a voice cast with Hugh Jackman and Succession‘s Sarah Snook, the project seemed to cap off a particularly prolific period for its producer. In a matter of months, […]
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She Wrote the Memo That Helped Take Down Harvey Weinstein. She’s Finally Ready to Talk.
Lauren O’Connor was alone at a deli in an office park in Santa Monica, having a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich while on her lunch break from Amazon Studios, when she suddenly, terrifyingly, found herself front-page news. It was Oct. 5, 2017, the day The New York Times published its first piece alleging that Harvey […]
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Les Moonves’ Compromised Cop: Hollywood Ties, Complicated Past
Earlier this month, former LAPD commander Cory Palka made headlines for purportedly conspiring with CBS and its former CEO to prevent an explosive sexual assault allegation from going public. But long before the onetime head of the Hollywood Division began working behind the scenes to suppress claims against Les Moonves, he had revealing associations with […]
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