DUSTIN HOFFMAN

Shakespeare Theatre Company stages "The Merchant of Venice" with John Douglas Thompson as Shylock.

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service.

Publicist Bobby Zarem has died at 84.

Charles Grodin, the offbeat actor and writer who scored as a newlywed cad in “The Heartbreak Kid” and the father in the “Beethoven” comedies, has died.

HBO is reportedly developing a TV series based on the 1998 movie "Sphere," based on a novel by the late writer, director Michael Crichton, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Crichton has given us both blockbusters and box office bombs, from "Jurassic Park" and "Rising Sun" to "Congo" and "Timeline." One of his underappreciated works was a 1998 movie called "Sphere," starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Liev Schreiber and Peter Coyote. Where did the crew of the original mission find the sphere and what's its purpose? Hopefully however, this attempt will prove to be better than that adaptation, which was — and let's not mince words – dreadful.