NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Judge delays more questioning of Cosby

LOS ANGELES

Bill Cosby will not have to answer more questions under oath in a lawsuit from a woman who says the comedian forced her into a sex act at the Playboy Mansion, giving him time to resolve a separate criminal case, a judge ruled Wednesday.

A temporary delay in Cosby’s sworn testimony will protect the comedian’s rights as he faces sexual-assault charges in Pennsylvania, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan said. But his ruling will allow attorneys to conduct depositions of other potential witnesses in the California case, including Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

The ruling comes in a sexual-battery lawsuit by Riverside County resident Judy Huth, who accuses Cosby of forcing her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom of the mansion about 1974 when she was 15.

‘Hamilton’ casting call causes a little ruckus

NEW YORK

The Broadway smash “Hamilton,” which has been cheered for reclaiming the nation’s founding story by a multicultural cast, has oddly come under fire for specifically seeking “nonwhite men and women” for upcoming roles in future versions.

That went too far for the Actors’ Equity Association union, which said Wednesday that the show’s language was not official or in compliance with their rules.

The show responded by saying it regretted the confusion and will amend the notice to add that “we welcome people of all ethnicities to audition.”

No such outcry was heard when the show was first being mounted, which called specifically for nonwhite actors to play the likes of Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson and Eliza Hamilton. Only King George II was supposed to be played by a white man.

Live telecast of ‘A Few Good Men’ set for NBC

NEW YORK

Emmy- and Oscar-winner Aaron Sorkin is bringing a live presentation of his drama “A Few Good Men” to NBC next year, the network announced Wednesday.

Sorkin, whose resume includes NBC’s “The West Wing” and his Oscar-winning screenplay for “The Social Network,” will adapt and produce “A Few Good Men,” which premiered on Broadway in 1989 and three years later became a hit film starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.

Set in 1986, the story centers on a military lawyer who is asked to defend three Marines on trial for murder.

Casting and an airdate in early 2017 will be announced later, the network said.

Associated Press