The Parting Shot with H. Alan Scott

How has TV impacted our lives? If you ask Fenton Bailey (co-producer of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and co-founder of World of Wonder), TV has a had a huge impact on our lives, and he wrote all about it in ‘ScreenAge: How TV Shaped Our Reality from Tammy Faye to RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ Beyond telling the history of World of Wonder (from his early days with RuPaul in the 80’s in New York City to creating awa...

The Paris Hilton you think you know isn’t the real Paris. “I’m not a dumb blonde. I was just very good at pretending to be one,” Hilton told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. She writes about this and more in ‘ Paris: The Memoir’ (Dey Street Books, March 14). “A lot of what I did with this character was just a trauma response to all the abuse that I went through as a teenager.” Placed in the controversial...

This week we’re breaking down who will be the big winners (and losers) at this year’s Academy Awards. Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott is joined by entertainment reporter Cameron Scheetz for a lively chat about the major Oscar categories. They ask the big questions, like: Will ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ be the big winner? Could Cate Blanchett really win her third Oscar? And the most shocking ques...

If you're going to add on to the legacy of a classic Mel Brooks film, you've got to do it with a parade of superstars (and, of course, the blessing of Brooks himself). That's exactly what Nick Kroll has done with Hulu's ‘History of the World, Part II’ (March 6). "You can expect an insane cast, " Kroll told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. The cast includes Wanda Sykes, Taika Waititi, Jay Ellis and S...

Never has a title fit a show's subject more than Eugene Levy's new Apple TV+ travel show ‘The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy’ (February 24). When the idea was pitched to him, he thought, "That's so not me. What am I going to do? I don't care to travel that much,” Levy told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. But he came around when he realized that's the show. For example, how does someone like Levy ap...

It seems like there are a ton of award shows these days (because there are), but there’s one that started it all: the Academy Awards. For better or worse, it’s the one awards show that all are judged against. But the history of the awards says less about what was ever actually best and worst of the year, and more about film history and even the history of Hollywood itself. Today Newsweek’s H. Alan...

Nowadays, if you're cast in a Marvel film, it's like winning the lottery. But it didn't start that way for Evangeline Lilly, who stars alongside Paul Rudd in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (February 17). "I was late to the Marvel game because I wasn't into superhero movies." But after watching them, "I came away feeling like I'd won the jackpot." For the third installment in the Ant-Man franchi...

There’s just something special about a good reality competition show, and Peacock’s ‘Traitors’ certainly delivers. Hosted by Alan Cumming, it’s one of those shows that you start to watch and then can’t stop—which is exactly what happened to Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. On today’s Parting Shot, Cumming joins Scott to talk about his time on the show and why it’s his campiest role. We also talked about...

When you’re in a M. Night Shyamalan movie, it’s easy to understand an actor obsessing over the eventual twists that are surely to come. But as Jonathan Groff experienced in Shyamalan’s new film Knock at the Cabin (February 3), it’s easy to get “lost” in the story. “We're really submitting to his vision and trying to help him achieve exactly what he wants,” Groff told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. Grof...

For Natasha Lyonne, humor is essential for any detective mystery. “I do love that sense of television where it’s a very light touch. It’s a little bit, hey, come hang out again,” Lyonne told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott on the latest Parting Shot. She teamed up with Knives Out creator Rian Johnson to make Poker Face (Peacock, January 26). Lyonne plays Charlie Cale, who has the gift to decipher when pe...

Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott woke up extra early to give you his first reactions to the Oscar nominations for the 95th Academy Awards. Listen as he finds out who the nominees are. And follow Newsweek as we cover all things Oscar until the big show on March 12, 2023.   Visit Newsweek.com to learn more about the podcasts we offer and to catch up on the latest news. While you’re there, subscrib...

It isn’t every day you get to speak with an Oscar winner, but today is your lucky day. Octavia Spencer joined Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott on the latest episode to talk about her hit Apple TV+ series ‘Truth Be Told,’ where she keeps her Oscar, and so much more. She said playing Poppy Scoville-Parnell, a true-crime podcaster out to solve crimes on  Truth Be Told  (January 20 on Apple TV+), wa...

Today we’re chatting about everything RuPaul’s Drag Race! Joining Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott are two Drag Race experts: longtime judge Ross Mathews and past winner and host of the Drag Race podcast ‘Race Chaser,’ the one and only Alaska Thunderf*ck. They talk season 15, the show’s move to MTV, and so much more.    Visit Newsweek.com to learn more about the podcasts we offer and to catch up...

When it comes to dolls, you either love them, think they’re creepy, or are indifferent. Fortunately for Allison Williams, she falls into the latter category. “I don’t have a deep-seated doll aversion,” Williams told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. Which makes her the perfect person to star in a film like ‘M3GAN’ (January 6), about a realistic robot doll that is supposed to be a child’s best friend, but...

Looking back at the year that was, there’s one guest who stands out as defining one for Newsweek’s Parting Shot: Bette Midler. She joined Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott to talk about ‘Hocus Pocus 2,’ but they also talked about her career, ‘The First Wives Club’ and the 50th anniversary of her debut album ‘The Divine Miss M.’ So enjoy this trip down memory lane with H. ...

Some people are so big, it’s almost impossible to think of any actor portraying them. But when they do, and do it right, like Naomi Ackie has as Whitney Houston in ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ (December 23), it’s magic. “How do you humanize someone who you’ve held to such high esteem for so long? That is what she needs, though,” Ackie told Newsweek’s Parting Shot. Ackie says “I initially came in...

Today we’re doing a deep dive into holiday pop culture with Danny Pellegrino and Jake Cohen. Danny is the New York Times bestselling author of ‘How Do I Un-Remember This?’ and host of the Everything Iconic podcast. Jake is also a New York Times bestselling author of the cookbook ‘Jew-ish.’ I chatted with the two of them about holiday movies, food and traditions that we just can’t get enough of for...

Hollywood nepotism is, to put it bluntly, unhinged. Discovering new talent is so rare these days. It always feels like you see some new person in a TV show or movie, they’re doing a good job, only to discover they’re the son or daughter of some celebrity or producer or director. Even though that doesn’t take away from their talent, it does change how you look at them. So when you see a new talent,...

With the second season of Hulu’s ‘The Kardashians’ coming to a close, and amid the scandals surrounding Kim Kardashian currently (Kanye West, the Balenciaga photo scandal, etc.), are the Kardashians as a brand still culturally relevant? When ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ premiered on E! in 2007, the family became a pop culture sensation. Over the years we’ve seen everything (literally), their...

For Tim Allen, revisiting his iconic lead role in ‘The Santa Clauses’ (November 16, Disney+) was more than just creating "content" for a nostalgic streaming audience. "We had a great responsibility,” he told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott on the Parting Shot.  For Allen, who is "humbled" to be "reminded that I have been part of Santa Clause," he wanted the new miniseries to "make sense for the adul...

Luke Evans is closing out 2022 with not one, not two, but three big projects. "All avenues are being covered this year,” Evans told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. First, there was his nearly unrecognizable turn as the Coachman in Disney's live-action remake ‘Pinocchio’ back in September. Next, he plays a brother on a mission to save his kidnapped sister in ‘Echo 3’ on Apple TV+ (November 23). "It's a r...

If you think about it, purely based on her 40-plus-year career, Brooke Shields is the perfect podcast host because she has a story for everything. "This is a new world for me, and I'm really enjoying it. It's such an honor to be this age and still being asked to do the thing that I love to do." With Now What? Shields, after "so many decades" on the other side of the interview, "having no problem a...

Do you sometimes miss the childlike joy of making that single cookie in an Easy-Bake Oven? Well, Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski is ready to scratch that nostalgic itch with Netflix's Easy-Bake Battle: The Home Cooking Competition. "It was a long time in the making," Porowski told Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott about the reality series where home cooks compete in both sweet and savory cooking challenges for...

Ryan Phillippe broke the internet before it was even possible to break the internet, and it's all because of one scene in the 1999 film ‘Cruel Intentions.’ Ever since the film's release, at least once a year, the scene featuring Phillippe's derriere goes viral on social media. "I used to have a really nice ass," Phillippe tells Newsweek's Parting Shot about the famous scene. "It's so odd, because...

How did Phil Rosenthal go from Emmy-winning creator of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ to a global food superstar with the Netflix reality series ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ (October 18)? "Everything I learned about how to tell a story on TV is now in the service of this show. Family, friends, food, travel, laughs. My whole existence seems to be dedicated to these five things,” Rosenthal told Newsweek’s H. Ala...