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In one of the most exhaustive and damning reports on diversity in Hollywood, a new study finds that the films and television produced by major media companies are "whitewashed," and that an "epidemic of invisibility" runs top to bottom through the industry for women, minorities and LGBT people. A study to be released Monday by the Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism offers one of the most wide-ranging examinations of the film and television industries, including a pointed "inclusivity index" of 10 major media companies -- from Disney...

Leonardo DiCaprio has officially met the Pope. The actor had a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday morning. "Leo explained that he wanted to discuss a subject they both have very much at heart: protecting the environment and climate change," a source tells PEOPLE. DiCaprio, 41, arrived at the Vatican at 11:15 a.m. local time and was accompanied by his father, George DiCaprio, and Milutin Gatsby, global fundraising chair for the actor's namesake charity, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. During the 15-minute meeting, the actor presented the pontiff with a check from his environmental philanthropy for him...

Gerald Molen, a voting member of the Academy who earned a best picture Oscar for producing Schindler's List, has some very choice words for the "spoiled brats" who are crying racism over the lack of diversity in the nominations this time around. "There is no racism except for those who create an issue. That is the worst kind. Using such an ugly way of complaining," Molen told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. So far, Spike Lee, Michael Moore, Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will Smith have said they will not attend the Oscars because all of the 20 acting...

<p>A television director with credits on “Law & Order” and other shows has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges.</p> <p>Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore says 51-year-old Jason (Jace) Alexander pleaded guilty Tuesday to promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing an obscene performance by a child.</p>

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will weigh new rules intended to encourage more diversity among its membership and its nominations, The Times has learned. The academy's 51-member Board of Governors has added the diversity issue to the agenda for its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night in response to an outcry over an all-white slate of acting nominees for the second year in a row, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s teen son Jaden Smith has scored a gig as the face of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear line.

No event of the last 30 years was more financially traumatizing than the mortgage meltdown of 2007-08. Some 7 million Americans lost their jobs, 6 million lost their homes, and countless millions more lost their life savings.

Michael Moore's image has been sitting on a time bomb for years now -- and David Zucker was the cunning movie producer who had planted this proverial 'bomb'. Remember the 'Naked Gun'? Or the other comedy, 'Airplane'? That's David Zucker. What many people don't know about him is that Zucker has lampooned Michael Moore and the leftist Establishment in 'An American Carole', a hard-hitting comedy that all conservatives would enjoy and take great gratification from -- at Michael Moore's expense more than anyone else.

Does she kiss her mother with that mouth?

Some pro-abortion feminists recently denounced Hollywood for not producing TV and movie plots wherein the unborn baby is dispatched with zero remorse. It doesn't get more extremist than this. While Hollywood is without question virtually (but not entirely) unanimous in its pro-choice sentiments, even when the abortion option is selected, rarely is it selected without personal angst for the simple reason that there is angst -- unless you're devoid of a soul and a conscience. That cry for saccharine pro-abortion propaganda was satisfied on Nov. 18 by ABC's Thursday night drama "Scandal." Not only did the central character, Olivia Pope,...

PETA and Hannibal are urging Americans to go vegetarian this Thanksgiving by comparing turkey to human flesh. It used to be the joke that a Puritan (aka Pilgrim) was someone who lay awake at night worrying that someone, somewhere, was having a good time. There aren't many Puritans around these days. Instead, we have the joyless scolds at PETA, and some of their not-so-bright Hollywood pals, trying to ruin the holiday the Pilgrims originated. Just in time for Thanksgiving, creator Bryan Fuller and star Gillian Anderson of NBC's cannibal-themed show Hannibal joined forces with PETA to produce an ad against...

It kills me to write this post. I have spent more time worshiping Beyoncé than just about any other pop star. I've spent countless hours dancing to "Grown Woman" alone in my apartment. I've been the only guy in a dance class aimed at teaching the "Single Ladies" dance, and I loved every second of it. Beyoncé has been queen in my life since the first time I watched the "Crazy In Love" video. But. Over the past few months, Beyoncé has repeatedly refused the opportunity to speak out against the legalization of discrimination against LGBT people in her hometown......

Quentin Tarantino defended comments that have triggered boycotts from police unions, and argued police brutality “ultimately what I feel is a problem of white supremacy in this country” on Wednesday’s “All In with Chris Hayes” on MSNBC. Tarantino explained his statement that triggered the boycott by saying, “Well, we were at a rally that was dealing with unarmed people, mostly black and brown, who have been shot and killed, or beaten, or strangled by the police, and I was obviously referring to the people in those type of situations. I was referring to Eric Garner. I was referring to Sam...

It's been a question discussed by liberal bloggers for years, and the creator of "Star Wars" has finally settled it once and for all: Former Vice President Dick Cheney is Emperor Palpatine, and former President George W. Bush is Darth Vader. Phew...glad that's settled.

FULL TITLE: Jennifer Lawrence blames herself for making less money than ‘the lucky people with d---s’: ‘I failed as a negotiator’ Jennifer Lawrence says she was paid less than her male "American Hustle" co-stars because she "failed as a negotiator" — and she believes that failure may have stemmed from a deeply-ingrained female fear of assertiveness. According to the Academy Award-winner, who discovered through the 2014 Sony email hacks that she and co-star Amy Adams had made less money than “the lucky people with d---s” (Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner), her mistake was trying to avoid seeming "difficult" or "spoiled"...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)’ campaign on Friday unveiled a list of actors, directors, musicians and tech industry players and who have endorsed the independent Vermont Senator and self-described socialist’s bid for the presidency. Actors Will Ferrell, Jeremy Piven, John C. Reilly, Danny DeVito, and Sarah Silverman are among the 128 “artists and cultural leaders” that have put their names to an open letter calling for Sanders to be the Democrat presidential nominee.

sources headed to the Toronto International Film Festival tell Page Six that some stars may boycott his branded Trump Toronto Hotel, which was buzzing with starry activity just a year ago. “No one’s staying at the Trump” this year, sniffed one showbiz vet. “People are not going back. Talent does not want to stay there. It’s like the Beverly Hills Hotel.” [snip] A Weinstein rep told us of its move: “It was simply based on convenience and logistics” rather than “anything to do with Mr. Trump’s politics.” Harvey Weinstein has joked to the Hollywood Reporter that his liberal mom is...

Wes Craven passed away on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles. The iconic horror director known for his work on films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream and The Last House on the Left was 76-years-old. He had been battling brain cancer.

Legendary horror director Wes Craven, known for the “Scream” films, “Nightmare on Elm Street” and more, has died of brain cancer. He was 76.

DES MOINES — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and actress Ellen Page, of “Juno” fame, got into a testy and free-wheeling discussion Friday over gay rights here at the Iowa State Fair. “I’m happy to answer your question but not to have a back-and-forth debate,” Cruz told Page, as she pressed him about discrimination against LGBT citizens, approaching him as he flipped pork chops over an open grill. But the two then proceeded to have a spirited exchange over gay rights and whether private businesses — florist companies, for example —can refuse to cater gay weddings in the name of their...