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    Sony Pictures Classics to open “The Comedian” in theaters nationwide on Feb. 3

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1978 Views
    A scene from "The Comedian" (courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
    NEW YORK --

    Sony Pictures Classics announced that The Comedian will open in theaters nationwide on February 3, 2017.

    Directed by Academy Award® winner Taylor Hackford, The Comedian stars Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Edie Falco, Harvey Keitel, Danny DeVito, Patti LuPone and Veronica Ferres. Art Linson created the story and co-wrote the script with Jeff Ross, Richard LaGravenese, and Lewis Friedman.

    The Comedian premiered at the AFI Fest in November followed by an early December awards qualifying run. The film will close the Palm Springs Film Festival on January 15.

    An aging comic icon, Jackie Burke (Robert De Niro) has seen better days. Despite his efforts to reinvent himself and his comic genius, the audience only wants to know him as the former television character he once played. Already a strain on his younger brother (Danny DeVito) and his wife (Patti LuPone), Jackie is forced to serve out a sentence doing community service for accosting an audience member. While there, he meets Harmony (Leslie Mann), the daughter of a sleazy Florida real estate mogul (Harvey Keitel), and the two find inspiration in one another resulting in surprising consequences. Through the alchemy of their unlikely friendship, Harmony and Jackie overcome their own emotional damage and emerge as better people.

    Art Linson and John Linson of Linson Entertainment produced the film with Taylor Hackford and Cinelou’s Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon.  The Comedian is executive produced by Cinelou’s Scott Karol, the Fyzz Facility’s Wayne Marc Godfrey and Robert Jones, Mad Riot Entertainment’s Mark Axelowitz and Lawrence Smith, as well as Iain Abrahams, Peter Sobiloff, Dennis Pelino and Fredy Bush.

    Tags:Sony Pictures ClassicsThe Comedian



    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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