What Prince Harry Said About King Charles

Essential President's Day Movies and TV Shows to Watch

By H. Alan Scott

As a culture writer, I love a holiday because it gives me an opportunity to tell people about my favorite movies and TV shows that relate to that holiday. But when you think of holiday entertainment, your mind probably goes to Christmas or Halloween. What about President's Day?

Well, it just so happens to be one of my favorite holidays for entertainment because, literally, some of my favorite things to watch involve presidents. (I know, I need to get out more.) Anyway, in honor of the holiday, I figured I'd offer up some of my favorite movies and TV shows involving presidents. Please note, I'm only including fictional or dramatized depictions of presidents, not documentaries.

(But if you want a documentary, you can't go wrong with PBS' American Experience president series, and The War Room is a classic.)

Here's what you should watch over the long holiday weekend.

Jodie Foster Finds the 'Sweet Spot' Between 'Depth' and Entertainment

By H. Alan Scott

We're in the middle of a Jodie Foster renaissance. The two-time Oscar winner is not only starring in one of the hottest limited series on TV right now, HBO's True Detective: Night Country, but also picked up yet another Oscar nomination for her performance in Netflix's Nyad. For True Detective, Foster responded to the balance between drama and horror, which she says is partly due to the landscape of where it's set: Alaska.

"That primitive connection with nature and 80 percent of the population is Inuit. You can't not have the spiritual world. That's so much a part of their life." All those factors make Alaska "fantastic [for storytelling]." And part of the reason why Foster was so excited about True Detective is because mainstream film distributors have "abandoned storytelling" for "franchise films or Marvel movies." But now, because of this shift, the complex storytelling is available on streaming. "We have these wonderful limited series and long, episodic things, and now people are finally discovering that they can see their films that way too."

Eurovision's Israel Dilemma

By Shannon Power

Everyone has that one cultural or sporting event they simply cannot miss. For some, it's the excitement of the Super Bowl. For others, it's the glamor of the Oscars.

For millions of Europeans and other nationalities around the world, that event is the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision, as it's commonly known, sees nations battle it out for the glory of having the best song on the continent, and is famous for its outrageous pageantry and putting ABBA on the map.

Tens of millions of dollars are at stake, and despite its name, the contest is not restricted only to European countries. Australia has previously taken part, despite being thousands of miles away, and Israel has competed dozens of times since its debut in 1973. To take part, a country needs to be a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and have a state broadcaster to run the competition.

This year, however, Israel's participation has unleashed a tidal wave of controversy—a difficult moment for a competition that prides itself on cheerful inclusivity.