Skip to main content

Olbermann and Tarantino lead provocative guest list on Friday’s Real Time with Bill Maher

Quentin Tarantino wearing sunglasses.
Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com
Friday night’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher should be an interesting affair. By way of chance, two particularly outspoken and intriguing figures will hit the show on the same night: Quentin Tarantino and Keith Olberman. Add in round-table guest Anthony Weiner, and there should be a high chance of fireworks.

Tarantino, whose anticipated new Western The Hateful Eight starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russel comes out on Christmas, has been on the hot seat lately for allegedly calling police officers “murderers” at an anti-police brutality rally on October 24 in New York City.

The lauded director recently clarified his comments in response to police groups across the nation calling for a boycott of The Hateful Eight. Speaking to the LA Times in his first interview since the rally, Tarantino said, “All cops are not murderers. I never said that. I never even implied that.”

However, Tarantino isn’t exactly backing down from his stance about brutality, either.“What they’re doing is pretty obvious,” Tarantino continued. “Instead of examining the problem of police brutality in this country, better they single me out…What I said was the truth. I’m used to people misrepresenting me; I’m used to being misunderstood.”

Meanwhile, political/sports commentator Keith Olbermann is coming to the show after cancelling in September to take care of his dog, according to Deadline.

The always provocative anchor — who was let go from ESPN over the summer — has been suspended multiple times in the past for a variety of reasons, including making political contributions without the approval of MSNBC, as well as making audacious comments, such as calling college students at Penn State “pitiful.” While he’s rumored to rejoin MSNBC, it’s unclear what’s in the cards for the liberal commentator. We imagine we’ll learn more of what the broadcaster has been up to lately — aside from his recent threat to boycott Twitter — during the show.

Olbermann will lead off the show, which begins at 10 p.m. Friday on HBO. Also scheduled to appear on Friday’s show are conservative journalist David Frum, reporter Jillian Melchior, and the aforementioned infamous sexter (and former New York congressman) Anthony Weiner.

Editors' Recommendations

Chris Leo Palermino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Leo Palermino is a music, tech, business, and culture journalist based between New York and Boston. He also contributes…
The 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now
A woman points a gun and stares.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world, with nearly 250 million subscribers. And just what do those people tend to watch? In particular, what is the most popular movie on Netflix? Each week, the streaming service releases a list of its 10 most-watched movies over a recent seven-day period to keep subscribers in the loop regarding its most popular titles.

Zack Snyder is back in the top 10 with Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver, the second film in his space opera series. Despite Snyder's popularity, the new Rebel Moon film could not unseat What Jennifer Did, which is the No. 1 movie for the second straight week. New additions to the top 10 include the comedy Knocked Up at No. 8 and the action movie Anna at No. 2. Below, we've listed the top 10 movies in the U.S. from April 15 to April 21, along with general information about each film, such as genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.

Read more
Deadpool & Wolverine: Everything we know about the film formerly known as Deadpool 3
Deadpool and Wolverine stand together in Deadpool & Wolverine.

In retrospect, we should have suspected that Deadpool & Wolverine wouldn't keep its most famous co-star out of the title. In 2022, Ryan Reynolds coaxed Hugh Jackman into reprising his role as Wolverine for the first time since 2017's Logan. Once that happened, the name Deadpool 3 didn't fully convey how monumental this film would be.

So Marvel Studios has officially retitled it as Deadpool & Wolverine. Jackman has also humorously rebranded the film as Wolverine & [expletive], which would make this R-rated flick a lot harder to market!

Read more
5 years ago, Game of Thrones aired its last great episode. Here’s why it still holds up
Jamie knights Brienne in episode 2 of Game of Thrones season 8.

Many fans would likely agree that Game of Thrones went out not with a bang, but a profound whimper. After dominating pop culture for nearly 10 years, the hit HBO series concluded with a trio of episodes that were universally reviled by both fans and critics alike. The show's lackluster, ham-fisted finale led to its popularity seemingly vanishing into thin air. In the five years since it aired, time hasn't been kind to Game of Thrones season 8.

To this day, many people still discuss the series' final season with a mix of bitterness and disbelief, and those fans won't find any disagreement about the quality of Game of Thrones' last few chapters here. As disappointing as its eighth season remains, though, April 21 marked the five-year anniversary of its noteworthy second episode, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The fan-favorite installment ranks not only as its season's best chapter, but also as the last great episode that Game of Thrones ever produced.

Read more