CHICAGO — Chicago's top prosecutor has been subpoenaed to appear in court by a retired appellate judge who's pushing for a special prosecutor to investigate the handling of the case against actor Jussie Smollett.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Sheila O'Brien also subpoenaed Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's top deputy and requested that Smollett appear at a hearing on her request.
Foxx was harshly criticized when her office announced it was dropping charges against Smollett that accused the black, gay actor of staging a racist and anti-gay attack on himself in downtown Chicago.
Foxx has defended the decision to drop the charges and says she welcomes an independent investigation.
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Check out the AP's complete coverage of the Jussie Smollett case: https://www.apnews.com/JussieSmollett
Streaming Game of Thrones is one of the things we do for love.
Helen Sloane/HBO
Yes, going into the weekend was all about Avengers: Endgame -- but coming out of it, we're back to the final season of Game of Thrones. That's because there are only 4 episodes left, and the Battle for Winterfell is upon us. And that's a big change from the first 2 episodes, which were all about... talking. Our heroes experienced reunions, first meetings and revelations aplenty in the first episode, titled Winterfell. And in the second, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, there were more reunions... and revelations, plus plenty of drinking, singing and hanky-panky.
Episode 3 looks like less talk, more fight. The living are finally all assembled for the coming fight against the dead. And if this is indeed the Battle for Winterfell, it's rumored to be incredibly bloody and could end with some of those living, well, not so alive. Here's the episode 3 trailer.
So how can you stream all the action in Westeros? You'll need a way to watch HBO. Thankfully, there are plenty of easy ways to subscribe, even if you don't have cable, starting with HBO Now and HBO Go. Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the services featured on this page.
Online HBO options compared
*$25 monthly = 1/12 of annual $120 Amazon Prime fee plus $15 per month for HBO
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Game of Thrones season 8 schedule
This last season will comprise six, supersize episodes. The premiere has the shortest runtime of the season at 54 minutes. Episode 2 is 58 minutes, and the final four are each roughly 80 minutes. It will all be over -- sniff -- by mid-May.
Plan to clear out your Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. Central) in the US, from now until the middle of May. Here's the schedule:
Episode 1: Winterfell (54 minuntes; now available on demand)
Episode 2: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (58 minutes; now available on demand)
If you're already a subscriber to HBO as part of a cable or satellite TV package, you get HBO Go for free. It lets you stream Game of Thrones along with the rest of HBO's shows on supported phones, tablets, connected TVs and gaming consoles. Not only can you watch all seven past seasons of GoT with HBO Go, but you can livestream the new episodes as they air on HBO.
As opposed to the free streaming add-on mentioned above, HBO Now is a standalone subscription to HBO -- no cable or satellite TV subscription required.
It costs $15 a month and lets you watch HBO via the HBO Now app or in a browser at HBONow.com. The HBO Now app is available on a number of devices, including mobile devices, smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. As with HBO Go, you can steam the new episodes live on Sunday nights, the same time that they air on HBO.
You can add HBO to four of the TV streaming services below for an additional monthly charge. If you're a GoT fan and also a subscriber to Sling TV or YouTube TV, then I'm sorry to report that you're out of luck: neither service offers HBO. Here are four that do.
Amazon Prime Video
Prime members can add HBO for $15 a month. A Prime membership costs $119 a year.
Game of Thrones in the UK, Australia and elsewhere
Game of Thrones, according to HBO, airs in all but four countries around the world -- but not necessarily on HBO itself. In the UK, for example, HBO shows are on Sky Atlantic and Sky's online services Sky Go and Now TV. In Australia, Game of Thrones airs on TV and online on Foxtel. In both countries the show airs at the same time as in the US (i.e., early Monday), and is repeated on Monday night.
And for the record, HBO restricts the use of VPNs used to stream any of the above services from outside the US.
The universe belongs to Marvel. "Avengers: Endgame" shattered the record for biggest opening weekend with an estimated $350 million in ticket sales domestically and $1.2 billion globally, reaching a new pinnacle in the blockbuster era that the comic-book studio has come to dominate.
The "Avengers" finale far exceeded even its own gargantuan expectations, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie had been forecast to open between $260 million and $300 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, but moviegoers turned out in such droves that "Endgame" blew past the previous record of $257.7 million, set last year by "Avengers: Infinity War" when it narrowly surpassed "The Force Awakens."
"Endgame" was just as enormous overseas. Worldwide, it obliterated the previous record of $640.5 million, also set by "Infinity War." ("Infinity War" didn't open in China, the world's second largest movie market, until two weeks after its debut.) "Endgame" set a new weekend record in China, too, where it made $330.5 million.
In one fell swoop, "Endgame" has already made more than movies like "Skyfall," ''Aquaman" and "The Dark Knight Rises" grossed in their entire runs, not accounting for inflation.
Alan Horn, Disney chairman, credited Marvel Studios and its president, Kevin Feige, for challenging "notions of what is possible at the movie theater."
"This weekend's monumental success is a testament to the world they've envisioned, the talent involved, and their collective passion, matched by the irrepressible enthusiasm of fans around the world," Horn said in a statement.
To accommodate demand, the Walt Disney Co. released "Endgame" in more theaters — 4,662 in the U.S. and Canada — than any opening before. Advance ticketing services set new records. Early ticket buyers crashed AMC's website. And starting Thursday, some theaters even stayed open 72 hours straight.
"We've got some really tired staff," said John Fithian, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners. "I talked to an exhibitor in Kansas who said, 'I've never sold out a 7 a.m. show on Saturday morning before,' and they were doing it all across their circuit."
Not working in the film's favor was its lengthy running time: 161 minutes. But theaters dedicated more screens to "Endgame" than any movie before it to satiate the frenzy around Joe and Anthony Russo's film, one which ties together the "Avengers" storyline as well as the previous 21 releases of the Marvel "cinematic universe" begun with 2008's "Iron Man."
For an industry dogged by uncertainty over the growing role of streaming, the weekend was a mammoth display of the movie theater's lucrative potency. Fithian called it possibly "the most significant moment in the modern history of the movie business."
"We're looking at more than 30 million American and more than 100 million global guests that experienced 'Endgame' on the big screen in one weekend," Fithian said. "The numbers are just staggering."
Further boosting the results for "Endgame" were good reviews; it currently ranks as 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the best rating for any Marvel movie aside from "Black Panther."
If there was any shadow to the weekend for the theatrical business, it was in just how reliant theaters have grown on one studio: Disney.
Disney now holds all but one of the top 12 box-office openings of all time. (Universal's "Jurassic World" is the lone exception.) The studio is poised for a record-breaking year, with releases including "Aladdin," ''Toy Story 2," ''The Lion King," ''Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" and "Frozen 2" on the horizon.
Following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Disney is expected to account for at least 40% of domestic box-office revenue in 2019, a new record of market share. The company's "Captain Marvel" — positioned as a kind of Marvel lead-in to "Endgame" — also rose to No. 2 on the weekend, eight weeks after it opened.
But theater owners regularly speak of a "halo effect" around a movie like "Endgame." Such sensations draw in new moviegoers and expose millions to a barrage of movie trailers.
An enormous hit was much needed for a box office that, coming into the weekend, was lagging 16% of the pace of last year's ticket sales, according to Comscore. "Endgame" moved the needle a little, but the boost was less since "Infinity War" opened on the same weekend in 2018.
No other new wide release dared to open against "Endgame." The guessing game will now shift to just how much higher "Endgame" can go. Given its start, it's likely to rival the top three worldwide grossers: "The Force Awakens" ($2.068 billion in 2015), "Titanic ($2.187 billion in 1997) and "Avatar" ($2.788 in 2009).
(We’ve got some spoilers here “Avengers: Endgame.” Not, like, the hugest spoilers, but this is about a scene near the end of the movie.)
We’re still largely in the dark about what’s next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe after “Avengers: Endgame.” Sure, we know about “Spider-Man: Far From Home” in July, but the schedule is empty after that event though Marvel Studios is camped on a whole bunch of dates over the next several years. But “Endgame” does contain a couple, mm, forward-looking nuggets near the end, the biggest one coming from Thor (Chris Hemsworth) when he’s deciding what to do next after all this madness.
As “Avengers: Endgame” is wrapping up, one moment of sorely-needed levity after so many gut-punches comes when Thor leaves New Asgard on Earth and hitches a ride to parts unknown with the Guardians of the Galaxy. As they get ready to depart, Thor jokingly refers to the group as the “Asgardians of the Galaxy,” leading to a funny exchange with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) about who really leads the team.
While the name “Asgardians of the Galaxy” in “Avengers: Endgame” mainly served as a fun pun — and probably also to set up Thor as a full on Guardian in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” — in the comics it’s actually an existing superhero team, and the reference could be hinting at a fun new expansion of the Guardians.
Created by Cullen Bunn and Matteo Lolli, the Asgardians of the Galaxy is a team of, yes, Asgardian (or Asgard-adjacent) characters that debuted last summer in the first issue of their own ongoing self-titled series.
Formed after the break-up of the Guardians of the Galaxy during Marvel’s “Infinity Countdown” storyline — way too complicated to sum up here, but one thing of note is that Star Lord became the guardian of the Power Stone, sort of — the Asgardians come together to fill the “team of powerful space-faring heroes willing to get their hands dirty saving the universe” job vacancy.
Good thing too, because the villain Nebula had just forced the dwarves of Nidavellir to make her a powerful Asgardian weapon, then killed all but one of them. And then she ripped the fingernails and toenails off their corpses to make a fleet of Naglfar ships.
Which is where the Asgardians of the Galaxy come in. They’re assembled by Thor’s long-lost sister Angela (herself a former member of the Guardians), who recruits:
– Brunnhilde, AKA Valkyrie, the powerful Asgardian warrior who previously served with The Defenders and The Secret Avengers among other groups, who currently shares this plane of existence with:
– Annabelle Riggs. It’s complicated, but basically the same situation Thor has had with his human hosts. In addition to being able to switch places with Valkyrie as needed, Annabelle is also a gifted scientist.
– Kevin Masterson, AKA Thunderstrike. The son of Thor’s former host, Eric Masterson, he uses an enchanted mace that grants him Thor-adjacent powers.
– Skurge the Executioner. The former Asgardian supervillain-turned-hero who recently escaped from the afterlife.
– Throg, the Frog of Thunder. Formerly a human named Simon Walterson, Throg was turned into an actual frog by a vengeful witch. He moved into a frog kingdom in Central Park, and through some wacky adventures came into possession of a tiny piece of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, which he shaped into his own weapon, Frogjolnir — which grants him superpowers like Thor’s.
– The Destroyer. A walking, talking suit of remote-controlled armor — that is secretly being operated by:
– Kid Loki. The reincarnation of Loki who isn’t a villain, but is still the God of Mischief and as untrustworthy as someone can be and still be considered basically good.
Also, fun fact: they fly around in a space ship powered by a fragment of the bifrost.
They’ve had quite a few crazy adventures in their still-ongoing series, and are currently mixed up in Marvel’s “War of the Realms” crossover event.
Of course, we have no idea if name-dropping the team was anything more than a fun joke after some very, very intense “Endgame” moments. But if some version of the team does appear in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” — or (somebody get Taika Waititi on the phone) their own spinoff movie — it’ll be very different from the comics.
Not just because Thor isn’t a member of the Asgardians of the Galaxy in the comics. In the movies, Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, doesn’t have a human alter ego, and is also currently the ruler of Asgard, poor Skurge (played by Karl Urban) sacrificed himself to save the remaining Asgardian civilians at the end of “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor destroyed the Destroyer at the end of the first “Thor” movie, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is also dead and so far hasn’t been resurrected as a teenager, and there’s no version of Thunderstrike yet.
Also, Nebula (played by Karen Gillan) is a hero now, and a full-on member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. And most criminally, there’s no Throg.
But you know what? It’s never too late to bring a frog with Thor’s powers into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Seriously, Marvel, get on that.
Since we haven’t heard anything about a fourth “Thor” movie, and with Thor joining the Guardians and Valkyrie leading the surviving Asgardians, it seems like a distinct possibility that the third “Guardians of the Galaxy” could incorporate the Asgardians in general rather than just Thor. But with returning director James Gunn tied up with DC’s “Suicide Squad” for a while, the next “Guardians” movie is probably a long way off. Which leaves us entirely too much time to speculate about what it means that Thor dropped that “Asgardians of the Galaxy” reference at the end of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" made an estimated $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office for its opening, according to Disney(DIS). It is the only film in history to cross the $1 billion mark for its debut.
It broke the previous record by hundreds of millions of dollars. Its prequel "Avengers: Infinity War" formerly held the record making $640 million for its opening last year.
The film, which started rolling out internationally on Wednesday, took just 5 days to cross $1 billion.
"Endgame" also shattered the opening record in North America. The film, which stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, brought in an estimated $350million domestically this weekend. That makes it the biggest opening weekend ever, blowing away the previous domestic record of $258 million that "Infinity War" made.
The Marvel film somehow exceeded its own huge expectations. Analysts predicted last week that the film could make anywhere from $260 million to $300 million domestically.
The film grossed an estimated $859 million overseas. That crushes the record for the biggest opening weekend internationally, which was held by 2017's "The Fate of the Furious."
The film's global domination was propelled by China. "Endgame" made $330.5 million there, which is the highest-grossing debut ever in China.
"We're watching a monumental moment in the history of cinema unfold -- one that the entire world is experiencing together," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.
Robbins added that the film is the "pay off Disney and Marvel have been promising" over its last decade of blockbuster films.
Marvel Studios has made nearly $20 billion at the worldwide box office over the last 10 years.
"Though 'Endgame' is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend's monumental success is a testament to the world they've envisioned," Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios' chairman, said in a statement.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore(SCOR), said that "Endgame" signals a "momentous end of an era" but now opens the door for "a new and exciting chapter for the future of the Marvel brand."
"This will extend to the small screen as well with Disney + on the horizon," Dergarabedian said. "We will likely see a lot of synergy between the big and small screen."
"Endgame" was also a huge hit with critics.
The film, which clocks in at roughly three hours, has garnered acclaim from critics and moviegoers. It holds a 96% score on review site, Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore.
"Endgame" became a cinematic event with thousands of sell outs and movie theater chains running around the clock adding showtimes to meet the demand of moviegoers.
Will we ever see a film reach these box office heights again?
"It could be awhile, but never say never," Robbins said. "Records are made to be broken, but no one in their right mind can argue there's been one more impressive than this."
Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Endgame" made an estimated $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office for its opening, according to Disney(DIS). It is the only film in history to cross the $1 billion mark for its debut.
It broke the previous record by hundreds of millions of dollars. Its prequel "Avengers: Infinity War" formerly held the record making $640 million for its opening last year.
The film, which started rolling out internationally on Wednesday, took just 5 days to cross $1 billion.
"Endgame" also shattered the opening record in North America. The film, which stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, brought in an estimated $350million domestically this weekend. That makes it the biggest opening weekend ever, blowing away the previous domestic record of $258 million that "Infinity War" made.
The Marvel film somehow exceeded its own huge expectations. Analysts predicted last week that the film could make anywhere from $260 million to $300 million domestically.
The film grossed an estimated $859 million overseas. That crushes the record for the biggest opening weekend internationally, which was held by 2017's "The Fate of the Furious."
The film's global domination was propelled by China. "Endgame" has made $330 million there.
"We're watching a monumental moment in the history of cinema unfold -- one that the entire world is experiencing together," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.
Robbins added that the film is the "pay off Disney and Marvel have been promising" over its last decade of blockbuster films.
Marvel Studios has made nearly $20 billion at the worldwide box office over the last 10 years.
"Though 'Endgame' is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend's monumental success is a testament to the world they've envisioned," Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios' chairman, said in a statement.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore(SCOR), said that "Endgame" signals a "momentous end of an era" but now opens the door for "a new and exciting chapter for the future of the Marvel brand."
"This will extend to the small screen as well with Disney + on the horizon," Dergarabedian said. "We will likely see a lot of synergy between the big and small screen."
"Endgame" was also a huge hit with critics.
The film, which clocks in at roughly three hours, has garnered acclaim from critics and moviegoers. It holds a 96% score on review site, Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore.
"Endgame" became a cinematic event with thousands of sell outs and movie theater chains running around the clock adding showtimes to meet the demand of moviegoers.
Will we ever see a film reach these box office heights again?
"It could be awhile, but never say never," Robbins said. "Records are made to be broken, but no one in their right mind can argue there's been one more impressive than this."
