• 107 People • Smart90.com/107-s90

 THOMAS MANN: A FATHERLAND LOVED, A FATHERLAND LOST

Fresh off winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes: Director Pawe? Pawlikowski will present FATHERLAND, the long-awaited next installment of his examination of postwar Europe, in person alongside Sandra Hüller at the opening of the 43rd Munich International Film Festival.

A note by TVI:
It was in Munich where Mann spent almost half of his life. Jürgen Kolbe's and Karl Heinz Bittle's picture biography Heller Zauber 'Thomas Mann in München 1894-1933' where Mann lives through the First World War and National Socialism. Mann maked Munich as Hitler's town already in 1923 and the year 1933 with his exile a painful experience in this author's life.

 "Why haven't you been back to Germany until now?" Thomas Mann is asked repeatedly when he first sets foot in his home country after 16 years in exile. In 1949, the Nobel Prize-winning author travels to Frankfurt am Main to accept the prestigious Goethe Prize. Continuing on, he is driven by his daughter, the actress, writer, and race-car driver Erika Mann, across the border of divided Germany to Weimar in the Soviet occupation zone to accept a second award, presented like the first on the occasion of Goethe's bicentennial. The bombed-out ruins of Germany they see from their black Buick, set to the organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach, accentuate the atmosphere of despair in a Germany awaiting reconstruction, evocatively rendered in Pawlikowski's signature black-and-white imagery in the narrow Academy ratio.

While in exile in London during World War II, Mann addressed the German people via BBC radio broadcasts directed at them. He had joined the Allies' fight against National Socialism. However, his refusal to return to his homeland to help rebuild it after the war's end and his perceived inaction while living comfortably abroad as his fatherland was suffering earned him considerable criticism. This ambivalence toward Mann, later referred to as the "great controversy," is also addressed in FATHERLAND. His appearance in communist East Germany was politically awkward, especially as Mann had taken US citizenship while in exile in the United States after the Nazis had stripped him of his German citizenship in 1936. Yet he refuses to let even horrific news regarding his son Klaus dissuade him from his visit; his return, he insists, is to the "old fatherland as a whole."

Like Pawlikowski's earlier protagonists in the Oscar-winning IDA (2013) and the thrice Oscar-nominated COLD WAR (2018), Erika and Thomas rarely let their emotions show. Sandra Hüller plays Erika with captivating nuance, caught between a composure demanded of her by society and the grief and despair seething inside her, for her father, portrayed by the magnificent Hanns Zischler as detached and stoic, seems barely perturbed by the family's misfortunes.

In a powerful scene in his hotel room in Weimar, Mann is told by an informant about Soviet Special Camp No. 2 at Buchenwald, only a few kilometers away. More than 28,000 people were held there in isolation from the outside world between 1945 and its closure in 1950. These included supporters and sympathizers of the Nazis, but also opponents of the Soviet regime.

In 1947, Mann published "Doctor Faustus", an allegory about the rise and fall of the National Socialists and the Germans who helped them attain power. In Pawlikowski's latest film, Thomas Mann must confront his own feelings of guilt and inaction regarding his homeland.

Click for More THOMAS MANN: A FATHERLAND LOVED, A FATHERLAND LOST
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(Photos courtesy of Reliant Talent Agency)
L-R: Scott Simpson (photo credit: Lee Seidenberg), Jonathan Perry, Katie Edwards, Melanie Moreau

• Reliant Talent Agency Expands Talent Division with 4 New Agents focusing on Talent, Comedy, & Unscripted Television
Los Angeles, CA (May 5, 2025) -- Nashville-based Reliant Talent Agency in a continued expansion of its representation footprint and success, Reliant Talent Agency has hired veteran talent agent, Scott Simpson, as Head of Talent. Established as a preeminent touring agency, Simpson will lead Reliant's efforts in Talent, Comedy, Unscripted Television and beyond. Joining him in this pursuit, is vaunted talent agent, Jonathan Perry, who will lead West Coast Talent (formerly IAG, UTA) alongside talent agent, Katie Edwards (formerly of IAG). Melanie Moreau (former network/production company executive) will lead the Unscripted Department.

Scott Simpson:
Scott Simpson has spent decades in talent representation. Prior to Reliant, he was first at ICM for a decade, then at APA (now IAG) both in Los Angeles and New York. Currently based in NY, Scott continues to tirelessly advocate for actors, comedians and multi-hyphenates.

Jonathan Perry:
Jonathan Perry has a long career working as a talent rep, starting as a publicist and later moving on to the agency business where he has spent time at Endeavor, UTA and IAG prior to Reliant. He represents a variety of actors and unscripted personalities.

Katie Edwards:
Katie Edwards started her career in the NBC Page Program before joining The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where she spent the next four years working in various capacities in their production and talent departments. She joined Independent Artist Group (formerly APA) in 2018, working as an agent in both the comedy and talent department in the agency's New York office.

Melanie Moreau:
Melanie Moreau brings deep experience and strong industry relationships from senior roles at CMT, Complex Networks, and most recently, Tacklebox Films.At Reliant, she will lead the agency's non-scripted division, representing talent, digital creators, and production companies, and driving growth across the unscripted landscape.
• Click for More tviStory 107- Reliant Talent Agency Expands Talent Division with 4 New Agents focusing on Talent, Comedy, & Unscripted Television
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• Leo XIV elected as the first American Pope - (TVI Magazine)
Rome, May 9, 2025 -- Pope Leo XIV celebrates his first Mass today, Friday after his historic election as the first North American pope, meeting with the cardinals who chose him to lead the Catholic Church and follow in Pope Francis' footsteps.
•••••••The Chicago-born Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost surprised the world Thursday when he emerged on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, as the first American Pope.
••••••• Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, he grew up in a parish on Chicago's South side in suburban Dolton. Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982. Although he moved to Peru three years later he returned regularly to the US to serve as a pastor and a prior in his home city.
••••••• Since arriving in Rome, Prevost had kept a low public profile but Francis tapped him to be head of the Vatican's powerful Dicastery for Bishops, which vets bishop nominations around the world.
••••••• Vatican watchers said Prevost's decision to name himself Leo was particularly significant, suggesting continuity with some of Francis' chief concerns: Brother Leo was the 13th century friar who was a great companion to St. Francis of Assisi, the late pope's namesake. Leo has also cited one of Francis' key priorities of making the Catholic Church more attentive to lay people and inclusive.
••••••• The First Words Pope Leo XIV spoke to the faithful from the Basilica of Saint Peter after his election were - 'Peace be with you!'
••••••• Dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave His life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all the peoples, and all the earth: Peace be with you
• Click for More Pope Leo XIV at Vaticannews.va
• Click for more tviStory 107- Robert Prevost elected as the first American Pope Leo XIV ///

• John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois to anchor CBS Evening News starting Monday, January 27, 2025.
•••• Nora O'Donnell, longtime CBS anchor will bid farewell to viewers on January 24, 2025. She will move into an expanded role as a CBS News senior correspondent focusing on longform reporting and interviews across CBS and Paramount, including primetime specials, on "CBS Sunday Morning," "60 Minutes," Paramount+ and more.
•••• "Norah's new role will give her the opportunity to contribute across CBS and Paramount, allowing us to see more of the groundbreaking stories and interviews that have been the hallmark of her career. Her superpower lies in her ability to secure and deliver big interviews and newsmaking stories that set the news cycle and capture the cultural zeitgeist.
•••• After the presidential election, award-winning journalists John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois will anchor the "CBS Evening News" as the show returns to the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.
•••• Margaret Brennan, CBS News' chief foreign affairs correspondent and moderator of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," will regularly lead coverage from Washington, D.C., when news breaks on the political and foreign affairs fronts. Lonnie Quinn is being named chief weathercaster for the show and will deliver the latest weather reporting and forecasts from the new AR/VR studio in New York. 
•••• McMahon continued: "With Norah's decision, we began reimagining and redesigning the Evening News. The strength of CBS News has always been in its ensemble of journalists, both in front of and behind the camera, and our goal with John, Maurice, Margaret and Lonnie at the Evening News is to elevate the best in their fields every night for our viewers. In addition to this ensemble team, we look forward to welcoming '60 Minutes' correspondents to file for the 'CBS Evening News' when they have news to break; for decades this was routine, so it will be again."
•••• The broadcast's long-standing, weekly "On the Road" stories from CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and the newly installed "Eye on America" reports from Jim Axelrod and his team will continue as signature segments on the show. Additional CBS News correspondents will join this team to contribute regularly to the broadcast and offer their subject-matter expertise and reporting on key topics in the news.
•••• McMahon named "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens as the supervising producer of the "CBS Evening News" when it moves to New York. Owens will continue to oversee the Sunday newsmagazine, the #1 news program in America for 50 straight seasons, while carrying the editorial rigor and storytelling excellence of "60 Minutes" to "CBS Evening News."
•••• "Bill Owens is one of the industry's most successful and respected journalists. '60 Minutes' and the 'CBS Evening News' are two of our most important franchises that help guide the editorial conscience of our news organization," said McMahon. "We've acknowledged the power of coming together to create our future, and harnessing our most powerful franchises and leaders is how we win and better serve the audience. '60 Minutes' is of course the gold standard in journalism, and the importance of the Evening News as our flagship evening broadcast cannot be overstated. Bill will be instrumental in shaping the future of both broadcasts, while also enhancing our editorial capabilities and decision-making across CBS News and Stations."
•••• Owens announced that CBS News and "60 Minutes" veteran producer Guy Campanile will become executive producer of the "CBS Evening News." Veteran writer Jerry Cipriano is returning to CBS News as the senior news editor and senior producer of the broadcast. Owens said he will share additional staffing updates in the weeks ahead.
•••• "The Evening News was a defining part of my career and it remains the broadcast of record. From Cronkite until today, it has been a source of trusted journalism and storytelling in America's homes. Moving the Evening News back to New York and working with John, Maurice and Margaret and all of CBS News' best journalists to deliver a program that prioritizes good writing and storytelling is exciting," said Owens. "This broadcast won't be the traditional headlines that move from one clipped story to the next. There will be a new format and cadence for how we deliver the news, and Guy and Jerry are the best partners to do this with."
•••• "The mission statement is simple: every story we tell must be additive, distinctive and elegant," said Campanile. "We refuse to waste the audience's time. Our viewers can expect a premium broadcast featuring the very best of CBS News digging for new information on important stories of the day and providing critical context. We will be relentless."
•••• In addition to "CBS Evening News" duties, Dickerson will continue anchoring on CBS News 24/7, CBS News' free national streaming service, and serving as CBS News' chief political analyst and senior national correspondent. DuBois and Quinn will continue to have a regular presence across WCBS. Brennan will continue as the moderator of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" and CBS News' chief foreign affairs correspondent contributing across the network.
• Click for more tviStory 107- John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois to anchor CBS Evening News starting Monday, January 27, 2025
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(Photos courtesy of Reliant Talent Agency)
L-R: Scott Simpson (photo credit: Lee Seidenberg), Jonathan Perry, Katie Edwards, Melanie Moreau

• Reliant Talent Agency Expands Talent Division with 4 New Agents focusing on Talent, Comedy, & Unscripted Television - Scott Simpson has been hired as Head of Talent, Jonathan Perry and Katie Edwards will lead West Coast Talent and Melanie Moreau will head up Unscripted.
Los Angeles, CA (May 5, 2025) -- Nashville-based Reliant Talent Agency in a continued expansion of its representation footprint and success, Reliant Talent Agency has hired veteran talent agent, Scott Simpson, as Head of Talent. Established as a preeminent touring agency, Simpson will lead Reliant's efforts in Talent, Comedy, Unscripted Television and beyond. Joining him in this pursuit, is vaunted talent agent, Jonathan Perry, who will lead West Coast Talent (formerly IAG, UTA) alongside talent agent, Katie Edwards (formerly of IAG). Melanie Moreau (former network/production company executive) will lead the Unscripted Department.
•••• Industry veterans, President Steve Lassiter and his partners, Heath Baumor and Matt McGuire, will lead the Nashville based agency that has had a concentration in Concert Touring before this current expansion. The partners in a statement said, "From the formation of this agency in early 2021, we've always envisioned Reliant as a full-service agency alternative, prioritizing our clients' needs in every sector. With these new hires and promotions, we are well positioned to offer best in class service to current and future clients."
••••Founded in 2021 with a primary focus on concert touring, Reliant has with these hires expanded operations and has established outposts in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, and Tampa. The company will continue to be led from Nashville by President Steve Lassiter and partners Heath Baumor and Matt McGuire.
•••• This updated infrastructure gives the agency talent outposts in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, and Tampa.
•••• The mission of Reliant Talent Agency is to redefine talent representation by fostering genuine partnerships built on trust, respect, and creativity. With a steadfast commitment to excellence, they aim to elevate their clients' careers through innovative strategies and teamwork. They believe in delivering exceptional results without compromising integrity, creating a supportive and inspiring environment, and culture where both their clients and team thrive.

Scott Simpson:
Scott Simpson has spent decades in talent representation. Prior to Reliant, he was first at ICM for a decade, then at APA (now IAG) both in Los Angeles and New York. Currently based in NY, Scott continues to tirelessly advocate for actors, comedians and multi-hyphenates.

Jonathan Perry:
Jonathan Perry has a long career working as a talent rep, starting as a publicist and later moving on to the agency business where he has spent time at Endeavor, UTA and IAG prior to Reliant. He represents a variety of actors and unscripted personalities.

Katie Edwards:
Katie Edwards started her career in the NBC Page Program before joining The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where she spent the next four years working in various capacities in their production and talent departments. She joined Independent Artist Group (formerly APA) in 2018, working as an agent in both the comedy and talent department in the agency's New York office.

Melanie Moreau:
Melanie Moreau brings deep experience and strong industry relationships from senior roles at CMT, Complex Networks, and most recently, Tacklebox Films.At Reliant, she will lead the agency's non-scripted division, representing talent, digital creators, and production companies, and driving growth across the unscripted landscape.
• Click for More tviStory 107- Reliant Talent Agency Expands Talent Division with 4 New Agents focusing on Talent, Comedy, & Unscripted Television
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• 107- Syd Cassyd, Remembered
Hollywood - (March 2025) Syd Cassyd was the Founder of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
••• Cassyd worked for the Army Signal Corps as a film editor under then-Col. Frank Capra during World War II. After the war, Cassyd moved to Hollywood, where he worked as an editor for Box Office magazine, as well as a grip at Paramount Pictures.
••• It was at Paramount that he met and teamed up with Klaus Landsberg, known for, among other things, pioneering live TV news coverage. Cassyd and Landsberg worked on an experimental Los Angeles television station that would eventually become KTLA-TV Channel 5.
•••While at KTLA, Cassyd felt that TV needed an organization in which people could share their ideas about the fledgling medium and talk about the future of the industry. He founded the academy with seven people who came to the first meeting. By the fifth meeting, there were 250 members.
•••Syd Cassyd founded the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1946, which has grown into one of the most influential organizations in the entertainment industry. In addition to sponsoring the annual Emmy Awards, which recognize outstanding entertainment and news achievement in television, the academy has a variety of outreach and archival programs.
•••Cassyd became the fourth president of the Academy in 1950 and over the years held various other positions. In 1991, the Academy's Board of Governors created the Syd Cassyd Founder's Award in his honor and presented the first to him.
•••In 1996, Cassyd received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
•••Cassyd died February 4, 2000, in Los Angeles, California. He was 91.
• Click for more tviStory 107-- Syd Cassydy Remembered
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• 107- Popular local Weatherman Fritz Coleman calls it quits after 39 years delivering weather reports - By Josie Cory
•••• NBC4 said good-bye to beloved weatherman Fritz Coleman who has delivered weather forecasts at NBC4 for almost 40 years and delivered his final weather report on Friday, June 26 during the 5 pm and 11 pm news. His news anchor team Colleen Williams, Chuck Henry and sports anchor Fred Roggin offered their words of sincere thanks with Williams bearly holding back her tears.
•••• After a year of planning his retirement, Coleman decided to spend more time with his family, appreciate his good health, and dedicate more time to his comedy and working with charities. 
•••• Coleman, who works on the side as a stand-up comic, is known for mixing humor with his forecasts. Coleman joined NBC4 in 1982, and has been part of one of the longest running news anchor teams in Los Angeles, working alongside co-anchors Colleen Williams and Chuck Henry and sports anchor Fred Roggin.
•••• "This career has been a gift," Coleman said in a statement. "To work in the greatest news operation in Southern California has been the greatest experience of my life. I have also had the opportunity of raising my children, while working with a wonderful team. I have made lifelong friends at NBC4 and in the community it serves. I'm so very thankful."
••••Coleman has received numerous awards and honors for community service, including an honorary doctorate from Woodbury University in Burbank for his extensive public service in the community. He has received awards from groups such as Shelter Partnership and the California Hospital Medical Center. He was named a "Treasure of Los Angeles' by the city of L.A. and he received a congressional "Humanitarian of the Year Award" for his fundraising efforts on behalf of the American Red Cross from the U.S. House of Representatives, among other honors.
•••• Coleman is the Honorary Mayor of Toluca Lake and known to light the Christmas Tree during 'Toluca Lake's Annual Holiday Open House' ceremony at Ramsey-Shilling with with 4th District council and actor Joe Montegna often in attendance.
•••• For many years he is featured as celebrity guest auctioneer at the St. Charles Borromeo annual parish festival.
•••• Coleman appreciated for his work as a stand-up comic, appearing frequently at The Improv in Hollywood and The Ice House in Pasadena. His one-man show "Defying Gravity at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood and subsequently at the Gary Marshall Theatre in Toluca Lake proved a hit among local residents. He also made several appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and other NBC shows.
• Click for More tviStory 107-s90- Weatherman Fritz Coleman retires after 39 years at NBC4
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FRITZ COLEMAN'S DEFYING GRAVITY
December 2016 -TVI December Issue
LA's' beloved NBC4 weatherman, Fritz Coleman is bringing his one-man stage-show back to the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood for three performances only - Sunday December, 13, 20 and 27 at 2 pm.
••••He was named "Best Weatherman" in nearly every major paper in Southern California, including the Orange County Register, the San Bernardino Sun, and four times in the Los Angeles Daily News.
••• Fitz puts on his holiday hat to share the funniest show with his hilarious insight into our BOOMER generation!
••••The show resonates with people, and Fritz has observed, "Every generation has a similar feeling as they look back, hence the term 'good old days.' But these days we're living through global threats and national politics, and people are thinking 'what the heck's going on.' So I find that my show seems to crackle with people now because it harkens back to a time when life seemed more cut and dry, less complicated, and a little easier to cope with. So I provide a little nostalgia and fun."
••••Coleman said, "I have no delusions about what my comedy is. I'm not Lenny Bruce or George Carlin. I'm not trying to push the first amendment envelope. I'm not trying to educate people politically. I don't do political jokes. Honestly, my whole wish is to give people a show where they say 'That just felt good. Thank you, it was cathartic.' The highest compliment for me is hearing that I've taken you out of your present cares, made you laugh and feel better. If that happens, I've done my job."••
• Don't miss Fritz' hilarious insight into our BOOMER generation!
•••"...Surprising, incisive and powerful." - Daily Variety
••• "The easy?going, folksy charm that has made Coleman an LA?area television news favorite for a quarter of a century also follows him to the stage. On the Fritz, simply moves the former standup comic-°©?turned newsman from one stage venue to another." - Stage Scene LA
••• "His skills go beyond finding everyday humor in various topics. His relaxed style and gift for language add depth, as though he's having a one-?one conversation," - Daily Breeze
••• "An authentic and terrific performance." - TVIMagazine.com

El Portal Theatre is a historic landmark in the San Fernando Valley located in North Hollywood in the heart of the NoHo Arts District just minutes from Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Disney, ABC, CBS-Radford and NBC Burbank. The theatre, originally built as a vaudeville house in 1926, sits across Lankershim Blvd from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Art Institute of California-Hollywood.
For tickets and information call 818-508-4200, or go to www.elportaltheatre.com
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