The 24th edition of the Latin Grammys will bring together some of the biggest names across Latin music and some new faces that will vie for the award for best new artist. This time the event isn’t taking place in Las Vegas, instead it will be hosted in Sevilla, Spain.

Q: When, where and what time are the Latin Grammys?

A: The ceremony will take place on Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones in Sevilla. It will be televised by the Spanish-language network Univision at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Q: Who is hosting the show?

A: This year the Academy has chosen Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra, Mexican singer Danna Paola with an assist by Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega.

Q: Who are the performers?

Q: Who are the presenters?

A: The presenters for the awards ceremony include such names as Majo Aguilar, Anitta, Pedro Capó, Jorge Drexler, Luis Figueroa, Fonseca, Mon Laferte, Yandel, Natalia Lafourcade, John Leguizamo, Nicki Nicole, Carlos Ponce and Carlos Vives.

©2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Note that if you are headed into San Francisco, the massive APEC international conference running through Nov. 19 is going to pose traffic issues. More about that is here along with a map detailing the more heavily affected areas.

And, as always, be sure to double check event and venue websites for any last-minute changes in health guidelines. Meanwhile, if you’d like to have this Weekender lineup delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning for free, just sign up at www.mercurynews.com/newsletters or www.eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.

1 SEE, HEAR & LAUGH: Here comes Tiffany

Tiffany Haddish, one of the funniest humans on the planet (and there are a lot of funny humans on the planet) is headed to Oakland’s Paramount Theatre on Saturday. Here’s what she has to say about her comedy tour.

2 DINE: Mexican-Japanese deliciousness

Good Luck Gato, a new joint in Oakland, applies the fun izakaya formula to a Mexican-Japanese menu. Intriguing, huh? We checked the place out recently and here are our thoughts.

3 WATCH: Godzilla’s best performance since …

Yes, the giant lizard and underrated actor is back in the terrific new series titled “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.” It tops our list of new shows and movies you should totally watch this weekend.

4 COOK: Get a head start on Thanksgiving

No, we aren’t expecting you to start cooking your bird this weekend, but here’s how you can get a jump on the holiday. And if you’re thinking of grilling your turkey this year, here’s a sure-fire recipe for that.

5 BREW & QUAFF: Coffee cocktails, anyone?

Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen identify themselves as coffee journalists, so you know they must be brilliant. And their latest book explores how to employ coffee in some mighty tasty cocktails.

6 SEE & HEAR: Great shows are all over

Smuin Ballet is back with the company’s beloved holiday show (feather boa and all). And that’s just one of the great shows going on this weekend.

7 PLAY: Surprising new ‘Mario Bros’ game

We recently checked out the new “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” game. One of its charms is the way it keeps defying expectations.

Does Apple TV+ have the right series for you.

Bummed that the killers have been collared on “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Afterparty?”

Does FX have the killer mystery series for you.

Bummed that there aren’t any enough edgy, adult satires outfitted with a tremendous breakout performance that deserves an Oscar nom? Does Netflix have one shocking story for you – but it’s only in theaters for now.

Here’s our roundup.

“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”: After a few Hollywood stabs at resurrecting Godzilla and other kaijū, creators Chris Black (“Severance”) and star comic-book author Matt Fraction have come up with the right way to do it. In their exciting 10-episode blockbuster Apple TV+ series (the special effects are of the caliber of a big-budget Hollywood production), the Monsterverse expands and grows ever more intricate — in a good way, mind you, not in that overextended MCU way right now.

In the opening moments, we get brief flashbacks of the Golden Gate Bridge getting trashed in a smackdown between the radioactive lizard king and the Titans. That traumatic event was witnessed through the eyes of teacher Cate Randa (Anna Sawai) whose scientist dad went missing soon after. Cate, in the first episode, travels to Tokyo where she discovers she has a half-brother Kentaro (Ren Watabe) and meets his friends, the extra-smart and tech-savvy May (Kiersey Clemons). Each of them catches the attention of Monarch — a clandestine organization intent on monster surveillance and study that sprung up after World War II.

While that narrative begins, it’s threaded with another that originated decades before — at the inception of Monarch and the essential work of three of its major players – GI Lee Shaw (played Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell later; Wyatt is Kurt’s son), scientist Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) and cryptozoologist Bill Randa (Anders Holm, later played by John Goodman).

That’s a lot of names and narratives to keep track of, but the story lines intertwine nicely, even if you might need a list of the characters to reference. No matter. If you’re a kaijū fan and prefer jigsaw-puzzle-like storytelling, not to mention great action sequences, this one — or at least the eight episodes released for review — crushes it. Details: 3 stars out of 4; two episodes drop Nov. 17 with one dropping each week after that.

“A Murder at the End of the World”: It’s a familiar setup. A rich White entrepreneur (Clive Owens) invites famous movers and shakers to a reclusive retreat. One person winds up a corpse … . You get the picture.

Fans of Agatha Christie and Rian Johnson are well-versed in this old but reliable scenario. So are creators/directors/writers Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, who previously fired up our brain cells with the trippy “The OA” on Netflix. But they’re just not setting the table with the same tarnished cutlery. The savvy duo tweak the premise to satisfying ends, contemporizing an old trope by focusing on advancements in the tech world and replacing Miss Marple and Benoit Blanc with a tattooed amateur sleuth/hacker who likes to play around with her hair coloring. That tinkering with the formula plays a part in an  ingenious mystery.

Owen makes an ideal chill-to-the-bone Andy Ronson, a self-made billionaire who adores AI. Understandably concerned about climate change and how it will affect his son’s generation, he and his wife Lee (Marling), a former hacker who went underground after being doxed, seek input from the most brilliant minds to perhaps hash out solutions at that Iceland retreat.

One guest who remains uncertain as to why she’s included on the roster at this techy hotel in nowheresville is bestselling author, hacker and amateur crime-solver Darby Hart (Emma Corrin, fully clicking in the role and channeling “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” edge and energy).

She and another guest Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson, showing again why he is one of our best new talents) share quite a telling past that includes nabbing a serial killer. Other attendees — aka suspects — are given eyebrow-raising back histories (astronaut, filmmaker and so on) that make them suspicious. They’re played by pros that include Joan Chen, Alice Braga and Jermaine Fowler.

All these fresh elements brought to the table shine brightly next to the genre’s old-school cutlery, resulting in an absorbing, eerie brain twister that delivers a shocking denouement. (I’m sworn to secrecy). For mystery lovers, it doesn’t get much better than this. Details: 3½ stars; two episodes drop Nov. 17, followed by one new episode every Friday till Dec. 19.

“May December”: Director Todd Haynes comes up with one of his best features in years with this cynical, smart and bloody takedown of true-crime stories — both the people who tell them and the people who can’t get enough of them. Natalie Portman stars as a scruples-impaired Method actor intent on burrowing into the psyche of a tabloid sensation (Julianne Moore) who made headlines when she was married and worked at a pet shop and had an affair with a 7th-grade boy. Twenty years later, the “boy” is a 36-year-old father Joe (Charles Melton of CW’s “Riverdale”) and the couple has two kids in high school. Gracie (Moore) isn’t entirely happy to have Elizabeth (Portman) snooping around in her past and mirroring her every move and gesture — in the name of art, of course. Haynes keeps us off balance throughout, setting us up for a thriller, a black comedy and a satire — benefitting from screenwriter Sammy Burch’s magnetic and, yes, cynical script. Moore and particularly Portman (who delivers a perfect and chilling monologue near the end) are terrific, but it is Melton’s complex performance as emotionally stunted Joe that makes you wince and wonder what life could have been like for him if he had ventured down this path. It’s a physical and emotional performance that surprises you and holds so much ache. It’s well deserving of an Oscar. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Nov. 17; streams Dec. 1 on Netflix.

“Next Goal Wins”: What foils this feel-good sports dramedy from slamming it into the net is its own creator, Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit,” “Thor: Love and Thunder”). If only he would have decided to ditch his problematic narration at the start and taken himself entirely out of the cast (his role is minor, but annoying), this sitcom-like telling of how the American Samoa soccer team redeemed itself could have been far more effective. As is, “Next Goal Wins” is a tonal mess that’s sometimes entertaining. It focuses much of its attention on how a disgraced hot-tempered coach (Michael Fassbender) contends with his demons while trying to help a Bad News Bear-like team get into some semblance of shape. While there’s a certain charm about playing it loose here, and the film does have some fine moments — most involving a player who is transgender — it’s not enough. Waititi needs to reign in the goofiness, be less erratic and just let the story work its magic. Details: 2 stars; in theaters Nov. 17.

“Journey to Bethlehem”: It’s a tricky undertaking to turn the Greatest Story Ever Told into a musical. Get too irreverent about the biblical story of Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus Christ, and expect to get some hate mail. Get too reverential, and you run the risk of boring or alienating some viewers. So let’s give Swedish director Adam Anders some credit for finding a middle ground with this peppy musical version with some catchy tunes, an appealing cast (starting with Fiona Palomo as Mary and Milo Manheim as Joseph) and some scene-stealing from Antonio Banderas as boo-hiss King Herod and Joel Smallbone as his hunky son Antipater and you have a snappy, satisfying seasonal-appropriate gem, complete with wisecracking Three Wise Men. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

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  The foyer. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

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  The living room. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

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  The former library is now another living room. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

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  The family room off the kitchen. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

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  The kitchen. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

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  The primary bedroom. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

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  The guest house’s main living area. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

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  A view of the pool area. (Photo by Bowman Media Group)

Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” cast member Elizabeth Lyn Vargas has put her La Quinta Polo Estates home on the market after a complete renovation for $8.995 million.

The list price is nearly triple the $3 million she paid for it in February 2021, records show.

“My blood, sweat and tears have gone into this remodel, and a lot of money, and I’m now finally finished,” Vargas said in an Instagram post in October.

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A post shared by Elizabeth Vargas (@elizabethlynvargas)

Built on a 2-acre lot in 1991, the roughly 10,000-square-foot home has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

Updates include new flooring, fixtures, interior and exterior paint and kitchen and bathroom remodels, according to TMZ, which first reported the listing, twice.

TMZ reported Vargas initially put the home up for sale at $9.95 million in March 2022. It resurfaced Nov. 10 at its current ask.

While the listing is spare on actual details, before and after MLS photos show its transformation from a red-roofed Spanish style with terracotta to a modern luxury home.

A towering portico leads to the foyer of the main house. Beyond it lies the living area where built-in display cabinets flank the fireplace surround and raised hearth in the all-white space with decorative ceiling beams and marbled floors.

What had been the library off the great room is now another living room.

French doors open the main living areas onto the lush, resort-style grounds that boast a large pond teeming with over 300 koi, a pergola-covered barbecue center and a great room with a fireplace, a swimming pool with a fountain feature, a spa and a tennis court.

There’s also a guest house.

Back inside the main house, a door separates the dining room from the eat-in gourmet kitchen with a waterfall island and a breakfast nook. The kitchen flows into the family room.

At the opposite end of the house is the primary suite. It has two walk-in closets and a bathroom with a jetted tub and a separate shower. French doors open the primary bedroom to a large sitting room, which leads to a home gym with a bathroom.

A perk of living in the gated community is access via private entrance to the nearby polo fields, where tournaments and music festivals are the big draw.

Bravo fired Vargas in 2021 after one season on the show. She’s opted to keep the listing in the Bravo housewife family with Gina Kirschenheiter, Travis Mullen and Dave Archuletta of First Team Real Estate.

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A post shared by Gina Kirschenheiter (@ginakirschenheiter)

In addition to reality television, Vargas is known as a businesswoman. Her brands include being the founder and president of Newport Beach-based Vargas Spirits, the parent company of Vargas Vodka. She also established the no-kill We Care Rescue Ranch foundation whose work includes raising money for free and low-cost spay and neutering.

According to an extensive new GQ profile, the charismatic Australian actor, 26, also is considered the latest heir to the Hot Young Actor crown, which Elordi acknowledges has been historically bestowed upon some of his own favorite old Hollywood icons, including Marlon Brando, James Dean and Steve McQueen.

But as much as Elordi has become “Gen Z’s favorite heartthrob,” he was curiously evasive about his romantic life in his interview with GQ. This is interesting, considering that his romantic life, up until recently, has consisted of a two-year, on-off relationship with Olivia Jade Giannulli, according to People. She’s the influencer who is still best known as the daughter of Lori Loughlin, the disgraced TV star and the face of the 2019 college admissions scandal.

“Now, Elordi finds himself negotiating his own hassles and concerns that come with stardom,” GQ writer Gabriella Paiella said. “People are paying attention to him, looking for cracks in the façade of mystery. They’re invested in his personal relationships … .”

But as Paiella reported, Elordi “shut down any questions about his romantic life with a cheeky ‘but I appreciate you giving me the space.'”

This GQ interview took place in the early fall. Two months earlier, People reported, Elordi was “officially back together with Giannulli.” The actor and Giannulli, 24, enjoyed a romantic getaway to Italy in June, where they were photographed lounging on a beach near Portofino, another People report said. They also were seen going for a swim and riding on a motorcycle together through a picturesque seaside village.

With Elordi’s request for “space,” it appears that he, and his representatives, know that it would be a distraction for him to acknowledge a romance with a woman who was recently embroiled in a national scandal. After all, Elordi is on the cusp of becoming “a bona fide movie star,” as GQ said. In addition to his performance in “Priscilla,” Elordi also stars this awards season in the drama “Saltburn,” and he’s otherwise very much in demand, including by such auteur directors as Paul Schrader.

Unfortunately for Elordi, Giannulli — whether or not she’s still his girlfriend — comes with serious baggage. Her mother and father, designer Mossimo Giannulli, were arrested in 2019 and accused of fraudulently maneuvering to get her and her older sister, Bella, admitted to USC. Loughlin, The “Full House” star, and her husband were among some three dozen wealthy parents who paid tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in brides to get their children admitted to top U.S. colleges. Loughlin served two months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges, and Mossimo Giannulli served five months.

A photograph of a teenage Giannulli, posing on a rowing machine, became an internet meme. The photo was released by the U.S. Justice Department in its prosecution of her parents. The photo, prosecutors say, was taken to help Giannulli gain admission to USC on the false pretense of being an elite crew team athlete. A legal expert told this news organization in 2020 that prosecutors could have charged Giannulli and her sister in their parents’ schemes. “They were absolutely complicit,” the expert said.

Shortly after news broke that Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli had been arrested, both their daughters withdrew from USC in disgrace. People began to zero in on Olivia Jade Giannulli, regarding her with either sympathy or annoyance when they learned she never had any desire to go to college; she just wanted to make YouTube videos, showing fans how to put on makeup and giving them glimpses of her privileged Hollywood lifestyle.

During a 2020 appearance on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk, Giannulli addressed the intense backlash she and her family received over the scandal. She insisted she didn’t “deserve pity.” She said, “We messed up. I just want a second chance to be like, ‘I recognize I messed up.'”

Perhaps not surprisingly, Elordi is absent from the Italian photos, though that didn’t stop one of Giannulli’s Instagram followers from asking, “Where’s Jacob?” People magazine also reported that Elordi accompanied Giannulli to Idaho in July to visit her parents, where the Giannulli family was enjoying summer vacation at a lake.

So, Elordi and Giannulli were apparently serious enough in July that he joined her on a family vacation. But it remains to be seen whether she’ll begin turning up with him on the red carpet to promote any of his films, now that the SAG-AFTRA strike is over. Given that she merited no mention in Elordi’s GQ profile, such an appearance in his presence isn’t likely.

Of course, several players who have worn the Sharks uniform are in the Hall, with former San Jose goalie Mike Vernon among the Class of 2023. Former Sharks general manager and captain Doug Wilson was inducted two years ago.

But those ex-Sharks players were largely voted in because of their accomplishments with other teams. Rusanowsky has been the Sharks’ radio play-by-play voice since he and Dennis Hull broadcasted the franchise’s first game in Vancouver against the Canucks on Oct. 4, 1991.

Now, close to 2,500 games later, he’s receiving hockey broadcasting’s highest honor, the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, given in recognition of members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their careers. Award winners are selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

“I’m representing the San Jose Sharks organization,” Rusanowsky said. “What should never be lost on anyone is who you’ve worked with and the experiences that have occurred for all of those 33 years. That’s really, really special for me.”

Rusanowsky, 62, named the newest recipient of the Foster Hewitt Award in June, will receive his honor at the Hockey Hall of Fame NHL Media Awards Luncheon in Toronto on Monday. With his place in the Hall, he’ll be alongside some of his broadcasting heroes in Dan Kelly, Sal Messina, Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin.

Recipients are recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame as Media Honorees — a separate distinction from individuals inducted as Honored Members. For instance, Wilson was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020 and is an Honored Member.

Rusanowsky took a red-eye flight from Las Vegas to Toronto after the Sharks played the Golden Knights on Friday night. Now that he’s in that city for Hall of Fame weekend, everything has started to sink in. He saw his plaque inside the Hockey Hall of Fame for the first time on Sunday.

“Still shaking my head,” said Rusanowsky, a Milford, Conn. native. “It’s pretty amazing.”

Nothing like seeing your name in the Hockey Hall of Fame…

and yes… it’s spelled right pic.twitter.com/om5CxM3z0q

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 12, 2023

Rusanowsky said he’s always been comfortable on stage and with public speaking. As a kid, he was involved in plays and musicals but found that it wasn’t a perfect fit.

Then hockey found its way into Rusanowsky’s life. In 1971, when Rusanowsky was 10, his uncle took him to Madison Square Garden to see the New York Rangers play the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not only was he captivated by the game, but he enjoyed listening to the pre-and postgame shows and realized there was a performance side to the sport.

Not only did he begin to listen to Rangers games with Messina and Marv Albert from his home in Connecticut, but by turning the radio dial at night, he could also hear broadcasts from Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Boston, and Montreal.

“So basically, what it did was it created a whole new world for me, a sense that I was imagining what it was like in all of these NHL buildings and what it was like to see these players,” Rusanowsky said. “I think that it just captivated my imagination.

“That’s what I try to do. When I’m doing a game, I want to make sure that if there’s another young person who’s listening, it captivates their imagination. … That’s sort of what captivated me in the very beginning.”

Rusanowsky began his broadcasting career as an 18-year-old in 1979 as the voice of St. Lawrence University’s NCAA Division I hockey program and the American Hockey League’s New Haven Nighthawks. After the city of San Jose was awarded an NHL franchise in 1990, Rusanowsky was among those who applied to become the team’s radio play-by-play voice and secured the job after multiple rounds of interviews and a visit to the city.

Rusanowsky had broadcast 725 straight regular-season games and 49 consecutive playoff games when a car accident in San Jose on Nov. 25, 2000, nearly ended his life.

In the hours before a Sharks game, another vehicle ran a red light and hit the side of Rusanowsky’s car, causing numerous injuries, including a partially collapsed lung, a ruptured diaphragm, a fractured left femur, a cracked pelvis, and cracked ribs.

Looking back, Rusanowsky said had it not been for an alert doctor spotting the ruptured diaphragm via X-ray, he might not have survived.

“What a doctor could theoretically do since the fractured femur is so serious, they don’t see (the ruptured diaphragm) then they might start on (the leg) and then it’s a waste of time because I am not going to live,” Rusanowsky said. “It was very fortunate that way.”

Rusanowsky endured an arduous rehabilitation process and the accident gave him an appreciation for what hockey players go through – both physically and mentally – as they return from their injuries.

That was one byproduct of the accident. There was another that was perhaps a bit more unexpected.

“The hardest part is how it affects your wife, your family, and everything else,” Rusanowsky said. “But I always tell people, that the natural fear of death was lessened by going through the experience. I can’t explain how or why, I can’t explain that exactly, but that was an aftereffect of it.”

Remarkably, Rusanowsky returned to play-by-play duties on Dec. 30 of that year. Now in his 33rd year with the Sharks, he’s called every huge play and heartbreaking moment in franchise history.

In that time, Rusanowsky has missed just 28 games, including Sunday. His connection to the team and its fans is something he values deeply.

“I’m very, very proud of it and it’s something I always wanted, but it’s also a big responsibility,” Rusanowsky said. “Arturs Irbe used to always say, ‘Every day that goes by is one day closer to the Sharks winning their first Stanley Cup,’ and I’m very hopeful that’s going to happen and that I’m calling the action when it does.”

Haddish’s father left when she was a child, and after her mother suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident, she was put with her siblings in foster care. While there, her social worker took notice of her comedic talents, and encouraged her to channel her class clown charisma into a full on career.

Haddish followed this advice and began performing at comedy clubs, but she has said that it was not an easy climb. There were desperate times when she was homeless, or living in her car, but she didn’t give up. Comedy performances led to appearances on a variety of television shows and then regular roles on such shows as “The Real Husbands of Hollywood” and “Carmichael.”

Her big breakthrough came in a starring role in the 2017 road-trip film comedy “Girls Trip” with Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah (a performance dubbed by the New Yorker as one of the “best in the century” so far). Today, Haddish is a successful comedian with several stand-up specials, film and TV roles, music releases, as well as an autobiography under her belt. She was the first Black woman comedian to host “Saturday Night Live,” an appearance that would earn her a 2018 Emmy Award.

While Haddish has come along way, she has continued to encounter challenges and personal issues that have thrown her life and comedy into controversy. She was arrested and charged with DUI in January 2022, and was sued with fellow comedian Aries Spears for alleged child abuse for in connection with several comedy skits the two created involving several kids. The suit was later dropped.

Haddish is on a stand-up tour with friend and “Carmichael” co-star Lil Rel Howery, which stops at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre Nov. 18. She talked to us about her tour and knack for using humor to heal.

Q: What can audiences expect from your show in Oakland?

A: They can expect a really great, straight-up comedy show, because I’m bringing it this time. I’m going to be talking about what’s been going on in my life for the last two years. Digesting this whole Hollywood thing, dealing with grief and making mistakes in front of the whole world has not easy, but what I’ve learned to do is find the joy. Find the funny. So I’m going to teach people how to do that, and how to heal. You can’t heal from something unless you can laugh about it.

Q: You’ve been very open in your comedy about dealing with difficult moments in your life. How do you toe that line between humor and hardship?

A: It’s a conscious effort for me. The thing is, I’m not a victim … . I made choices to put me in certain places. Being a kid was the worst time of my whole existence, because I didn’t really have a choice. I had no power, no voice, no control. Now, as an adult, I have all this power to control my existence, so I’ve decided I’m not anybody’s victim. I’m going to share my experiences, and share the choices that I’ve made that got me in these situations. In my show, I do talk about some deep, dark stuff, but by the time I’m done, I’d hope that people might be walking about of there feeling a thousand times better. They might laugh so hard they lose a little weight.

Q: You joined laughter and darkness with your recent role in “Haunted Mansion.” Your character in the film is a medium, but do you personally believe in ghosts?

A: I believe that there are different dimensions and different realms that affect us in different ways. My grandmother, her physical flesh has passed, but maybe your loved ones are always with you, because she keeps showing up in my dreams, and I’m tired! She made me do a full boot camp last night! She’s getting me ready for success, telling me “Oh, that deal is no good, cancel that deal! Don’t do this, don’t do that!” I’m like, why is it always no, no, no? Where are the yesses, lady? You go back to heaven, I’m going back to sleep. My subconscious is off the chain. So yes … I believe in ghosts.

Q: Did your grandmother tell you to go on tour with Lil Rel? What made you two decide to team up together?

A: Well, Rel and I have been friends since 2004 or 2005. Before the fame, before the big time, we would do shows together. He would come to L.A., or I’d go to Chicago, and we would do little pop-ups here and there. Then, his big movie came out, my big movie came out, and life got crazy. We still talk on the phone for hours though, and I’m just like, “I miss doing our shows! Let’s go on tour!”

He can’t stand me though, because every time I say something, I’m adamant about it, and it always ends up being true. Like when we were younger, I’d be like, “Bro, we’re going to make movies together, we’re going to be in TV shows, we’re gonna be touring the world together.” That was around 2006 when I told him that. Cut to 2023, and it all happened.

Q: Which do you prefer, doing comedy shows or shooting for a movie?

A: Stand-up comedy is way more difficult than doing sketch comedy or comedy movies, because  you’re on stage by yourself. You’re up there, all alone, in the lights. Luckily, when you’re shooting a production, there’s a crew there, so my goal is always to make the crew laugh. If I can make someone laugh during a take, then I win.

With stand-up though, it’s immediate, instant gratification. That’s why its my drug of choice. I hit those jokes hard. I’m scratching and itching for a laugh. Laughter sets off our dopamine, and that’s why people like being around funny people. It gets you high, and I get high on my own supply.

Q: How does it feel when you know that people are enjoying your comedy, or when you see people referencing your jokes in real life, like your iconic “she not ready” bit?

A: It makes me so happy, because I know that joy is spreading. I want that to spread like herpes, or like COVID. If everybody tried to make one person laugh every day, life would be so much better. There would be less hate, less violence, less pain. So when I hear people do my bits, or even if another comedian steals my joke, I’m like, still do it! Go for it! Bring the joy!

Q: With your background, does your success as comedian ever feel surreal, or do you ever get imposter syndrome?

A: No, I don’t think I’ve ever had imposter syndrome. I’ve always just seen myself as a regular person. As a foster kid, as someone that was homeless, struggling, but having this dream and being able to accomplish it, I know I’m being effective. I know there’s other foster kids that are seeing me and saying “If she could do it, I can do it. If she didn’t give up on herself, I won’t give up myself.” If you have that dream, you have to make it happen.

TIFFANY HADDISH

Performing with Lil Rel Howery in the Best Friends Comedy Tour

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18.

Where: Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland.

Tickets: $52-$102; 510-465-6400, paramountoakland.org/

The EGOT winner’s famous male friends and lovers include Marlon Brando, a friend who wanted to sleep with her, and Jon Peters, the one-time hairdresser who became her boyfriend and enjoyed a short reign as one Hollywood’s most powerful and toxic producers.

To Streisand’s fans, sexism is the reason she became notorious for being “demanding” when she simply had a drive for control and perfection. The 81-year-old star also said she had to combat chauvinism while trying to do her best work, the New York Times said in a story about Streisand’s memoir. For example, Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin’s son who was her co-star in the Broadway version of “Funny Girl,” took revenge when she rejected his advances by verbally abusing her onstage to the point that she developed stage fright.

But another hurtful moment, Streisand said, came years later when she signed up to co-star with Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in “Meet the Fockers,” the 2004 sequel to the 2000 hit comedy “Meet the Parents.” In “Fockers,” Streisand and Hoffman play the free-spirted, hippie-ish parents of Stiller, who wants to introduce them to his fiancee’s conservative father, a retired-CIA operative played by De Niro.

For the most part, Streisand said she had a positive experience on “Meet the Fockers,” the Daily Beast reported about her book. She had always wanted to work with Hoffman—whom she’d known since before either were famous—and had always liked De Niro, who continues to send her flowers every year on her birthday.

But Streisand said she was aggravated to learn about the huge pay discrepancy between her and Hoffman, according to the Daily Beast.

“This was the first time I felt the effect of Hollywood’s unequal pay scale for men and women,” she wrote.

“I didn’t ask what the other actors were making, but I was definitely hurt when I found out that Dustin was getting three times as much as me, plus a tiny percentage, which is significant on a movie that made $520 million,” Streisand said, the Daily Beast reported. “I was given some excuse about how I had been the last to sign, but the only thing that made me feel better was when my dear friend Ron Meyer, who was the head of Universal, gave me a bonus… the first and only time I ever got one. I guess he, too, thought it was unfair.”

But Streisand’s mention of being unfairly compensated for her work — compared to Hoffman — could remind people that the actor, who won best actor Oscars for “Kramer vs Kramer” and “Rain Man,” was accused of being one of Hollywood’s toxic men in 2017, in the months after sexual abuse allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein launched the #MeToo movement.

A total of seven women came forward in late 2017 to accuse Hoffman of sexual misconduct or assault in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, when he was at the height of his career. According to Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other publications, two of the women said they were teenage girls when Hoffman exposed himself to them, while a third said the actor forced her to have oral sex with him in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., where he was staying while filming “All the President’s Men” in 1975.

Hoffman apologized to one of the women, a writer who said Hoffman harassed her when she was a 17-year-old intern working on Hoffman’s 1985 TV version of “Death of a Salesman,” the Los Angeles Times reported. However, he denied any wrongdoing, saying: “I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. … It is not reflective of who I am.”

Note that if you are headed into San Francisco, the massive APEC international conference running Nov. 11-19 is going to pose traffic issues. More about that is here. And here is a map detailing the more heavily affected areas.

And, as always, be sure to double check event and venue websites for any last-minute changes in health guidelines. Meanwhile, if you’d like to have this Weekender lineup delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning for free, just sign up at www.mercurynews.com/newsletters or www.eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.

1 SEE & HEAR: Great shows are all over

Despite the possible complications from APEC, there are a ton of great shows, concerts and exhibits to catch this weekend and beyond, from a new “Barber of Seville” at Opera San Jose to a heartfelt Elvis/drag queen-themed comedy in Walnut Creek.

2 SIP & EAT: Perfect pairings

Some folks employ almost NASA-worthy standards to match the correct wine with various pasta or meat dishes. Isn’t it time that we did the same thing for pizza and beer?

3 READ & HEAR: Are we not stoked?

If you are excited about seeing the punk/new wave/art rock icons Devo on Tuesday in S.F., here’s what to read this weekend to get ready.

4 COOK & EAT: Vegetarian splendor

This delish acorn squash entree tastes and even looks festive. It’s hearty but not heavy and perfect for a weekend meal, holiday or otherwise. Here’s how it’s done.

5 WATCH: Love, murder … whatever floats your boat

From a David Fincher movie about a fussy hitman to a comedy exploring the nature of “soul mates,” here are some cool movies and shows to catch this weekend.

6 SEE & HEAR: A Season-al wonder

Frankie Valli, he of the iconic Four Seasons group and owner of one of the world’s most famous falsettos, is headed to the Bay Area. Read all about it here.

7 PLAY: Go nuts … as in chestnuts

We’re headed into the time of year when chestnuts are becoming more and more important. And finding the perfect ones can be fun.

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood’s actors union reached a tentative deal with studios Wednesday to end its strike, bringing an end to months of labor strife that ground the entertainment industry to a historic halt.

The three-year contract agreement must be approved by votes from the union’s board and its members in the coming days, but the leadership declared the strike will end at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

More than 60,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Performers went on strike July 14, joining screenwriters who had walked off the job more than two months earlier. It was the first time the two unions had been on strike together since 1960. Studios chose to negotiate with the writers first, striking a deal that their leadership marked as a major win and bringing their strike to an end on Sept. 26.

The details of the agreement were not immediately released, but are likely to be shared with the actors and the public in the coming days. Issues on the table included both short-term compensation and future royalty payments for film and TV performances, along with control over actors’ images and likenesses regenerated with artificial intelligence.

Executives from top entertainment companies including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal had a direct hand in negotiations, which like all Hollywood union talks were led by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Although the writers strike had immediate, visible effects for viewers, including the monthslongsuspension of late-night talk shows and “ Saturday Night Live,” the impact of the actors’ absence was not as immediately apparent. But its ripple effects — delayed release dates and waits for new show seasons — could be felt for months or even years.

Actors could quickly return to movie sets where productions were paused, including “Deadpool 3,” “Gladiator 2” and “Wicked.” Other movies and shows will restart shooting once returning writers finish scripts.

And beyond scripted productions, the end of the strike would fully free actors to return to red carpets, talk shows and podcasts, as Hollywood’s awards season approaches.

The only major awards show directly effected by the strike was the Emmys, which was moved from September to January. Now, the usual fall Oscar campaigns are likely to mobilize.

But any feeling of industry normalcy could prove temporary. The circumstances that brought on the strikes — the shift from traditional theatrical and broadcast media to streaming, and emerging tech like AI — have not been slowed. And the gains made by the strikes may embolden other Hollywood unions, or these same guilds in negotiations that will come up again in just a few years.

“I think it’s a conversation now about the culture of big business, and how it treats everybody up and down the ladder in the name of profit,” SAG-AFTRA President and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher told The Associated Press in an August interview.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the executive director and chief negotiator who led the team that struck the deal for the guild, told the AP in August that he was “honored to be part of making sure that our members get a fair contract that’s going to protect them going into the future and make sure that the 14-year-olds I talked to on the Disney picket line still have the ability to be an actor when they turn 18.”

The agreement, if approved, also means a return to sets for thousands of film crew members who have left with nothing to work on during the strikes. SAG-AFTRA sought to offset their hardship by allowing sometimes controversial interim agreements for some smaller productions to proceed, and by making their strike relief fund available to all workers in the industry.

Associated Press Writer Krysta Fauria contributed to this report.