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    Queen Latifah, Beyonce and Jay Z heading to HBO

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments825 Views

    By Frazier Moore, Television Writer

    BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. --

    Beyonce and Jay Z will co-star in an HBO concert special, and Queen Latifah will play legendary blues singer Bessie Smith in a movie for the network.

    The music special will feature the married couple on their "On the Run Tour" performing in Paris. It will tape Sept. 12 and 13 at the Stade de France, featuring the superstars performing more than 40 songs, the network announced. It will air in September.

    Starring Queen Latifah, "Bessie" is written and directed by filmmaker Dee Rees ("Pariah"). Currently in production in Atlanta, it co-stars Michael K. Williams, Khandi Alexander, Charles S. Dutton, Oliver Platt and Mo'Nique. It premieres in 2015.

    HBO also said Mike Nichols will direct fellow Oscar winner Meryl Streep in "Master Class." Drawing on the legendary master classes given by opera star Maria Callas, it is based on the Tony award-winning play of the same name by Terrence McNally, who will adapt his work for the screen.

    The announcements were made Thursday at the summer TV critics' tour, as was good news from sister network Cinemax about its upcoming series "The Knick." This drama of a circa-1900 New York hospital has been rewarded with a second season prior to its Aug. 8 premiere. It stars Clive Owen, with both 10-episode seasons directed by Steven Soderbergh.

    With HBO's freshman drama "True Detective" landing best-actor Emmy nominations on Thursday for both leads, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, this question was renewed: Who will star in the series' second season, which is expected to feature an entirely new cast?

    Michael Lombardo, president of HBO programming, promised an announcement soon, perhaps even next week.

    One option being considered, he joked: "Doing the new season with puppets."




    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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