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Thursday, June 30, 2022

Captain Marvel 2 Actress Announces Pregnancy With Tom Hiddleston - The Direct

Congratulations are in order for The Marvels actress Zawe Ashton and Loki's Tom Hiddleston. After revealing their engagement earlier this year, the MCU stars are expecting their first child together, as announced by Ashton via a photo shoot with Vogue chronicling her preparation for the red carpet premiere of Mr. Malcom's List in New York City.

zawe ashton tom hiddleston
Zawe Ashton and Tom Hiddleston

While no due date has been announced, this will be the first child for both Ashton and Hiddleston, who starred together with Daredevil actor Charlie Cox in the play Betrayal in London's West End and on broadway in 2019.

The two both have upcoming projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Loki's second season currently filming and The Marvels set to release in July 2023.

The couple has been notoriously private in their relationship; Zawe Ashton and Tom Hiddleston have reportedly been together since at least 2019 during their run in Betrayal but did not confirm their relationship until it was reported they were engaged earlier this year, which Hiddleston later confirmed in June.

Ashton and Hiddleston will be the first major MCU actors to have a child together. Hiddleston has played Loki in the franchise since 2011, while Ashton will make her own MCU debut in next year's The Marvels. While her role is currently undisclosed, she is reportedly playing a villain in the Captain Marvel sequel.

Now that the two are becoming more open about their relationship, it's possible fans may get to see them on a Marvel red carpet together in the near future, with both stars in the MCU pipeline. The MCU could even become a family affair eventually.

Several Marvel actors and directors have given roles to their children in various MCU projects, most notably Joe Russo's daughter Ava, who has appeared as Lila Barton in Avengers: Endgame and Hawkeye.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2022

‘Stranger Things’ Star Maya Hawke Says “F*** the Supreme Court” After Jimmy Fallon Encourages Her - Hollywood Reporter

Maya Hawke didn’t hold back while visiting The Tonight Show as she discussed her family history with abortion in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The Stranger Things star, whose parents are Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, joined host Jimmy Fallon on the NBC late-night show Tuesday and mentioned that she had been talking to her mom in preparation for this Tonight Show appearance. Hawke explained that she and Thurman ended up discussing the Washington Post op-ed that Thurman wrote in September 2021 about an abortion the Pulp Fiction actress described having had in her late teens.

“We just got into talking about the Supreme Court ruling and this essay that my mom wrote a couple of months ago when they were putting these further restrictions on abortion access, and it was sort of preceding this whole thing,” Hawke, 23, recalled. “My mom wrote this really beautiful essay about her abortion that she got when she was really young, and about how if she hadn’t have had it, she wouldn’t have become the person that she’d become, and I wouldn’t exist, and how both of my parents lives would’ve been totally derailed if she hadn’t had access to safe and legal health care — fundamental health care.”

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Hawke continued, “Of course, wealthy people will always be able to get abortions, but so many people, because of this ruling this week, will not only not be able to pursue their dreams, but actually lose their lives and be unsafe. And I just wanted to say that, like, fuck the Supreme Court.”

After the crowd cheered the message, which featured a bleeped expletive when airing on TV, Fallon told her multiple times with a smile, “You can absolutely say that.”

Hawke replied, “I can say, ‘Fuck the Supreme Court’? Oh, fuck the Supreme Court. Yeah, rock on.” As Fallon laughed, Hawke followed up with, “But we’re going to keep fighting, and we’re gonna win, like our grandmothers did.”

This led Fallon to tell her, “I appreciate you saying that.” He added, “Thank you for saying that message.”

In her essay, Thurman publicly shared for the first time that she had an abortion in her “late teens” in Germany after she was impregnated by a significantly older man while living overseas for an acting job. “The abortion I had as a teenager was the hardest decision of my life, one that caused me anguish then and that saddens me even now, but it was the path to the life full of joy and love that I have experienced,” the Oscar-nominated actress wrote at the time.

Hawke’s remarks follow Janelle Monáe holding up her middle finger and saying, “Fuck you, Supreme Court,” during the BET Awards that aired live Sunday.

Later during the interview with Fallon, Hawke spoke briefly about Netflix’s upcoming Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2, which drops Friday. The actress, who plays Robin on the popular series, said she hadn’t yet seen the episodes and claimed to have trouble remembering exactly what happens: “I’m excited because I’m so excited to see how it all wraps up.”

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‘Stranger Things’ Star Maya Hawke Says “F*** the Supreme Court” After Jimmy Fallon Encourages Her - Hollywood Reporter
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Tuesday, June 28, 2022

'Bowel Babe' Deborah James, who publicly battled cancer, dead at 40 - New York Post

Journalist and BBC personality Dame Deborah James has died at the age of 40.

James, known to fans as “Bowelbabe,” succumbed to Stage 4 bowel cancer after a public five-year battle that inspired many and helped raise awareness and millions of dollars for cancer care in the UK.

She passed away Tuesday while surrounded by family, who announced the sad news on her Instagram, in a post that read: “We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Dame Deborah James; the most amazing wife, daughter, sister, mummy. Deborah passed away peacefully today, surrounded by her family.

“Deborah, who many of you will know as Bowelbabe, was an inspiration and we are incredibly proud of her and her work and commitment to charitable campaigning, fundraising and her endless efforts to raise awareness of cancer that touched so many lives.”

Prince William presented James with Damehood
Prince William visited Deborah James and made her dame.
Instagram / @bowelbabe

The post continued to note how James broke barriers, “challenged taboos and changed the conversation around cancer.”

The mother of two is survived by her husband Sebastien and children, Eloise, 12, and Hugo, 14.

In early May, James penned a heartbreaking farewell column for the Sun, announcing she had run out of treatment options and would be entering hospice at home.

Deborah James has chronicled her cancer battle with humor and grace
James chronicled her cancer battle with humor and grace.

“It’s not about lack of access to the latest fancy drugs — it’s not about feeling hard done by that I couldn’t get a life saving operation — it’s simply that I have an extremely difficult cancer in an extremely difficult area of my body that even today’s cutting-edge technology and techniques cannot cure… My body is so emaciated that I have no choice but to surrender to the inevitable,” she wrote.

But even after saying goodbye, she continued to make international headlines.

Columnist and radio host Deborah James chronicled her battle with bowel cancer
Columnist and radio host James chronicled her battle with bowel cancer.

James launched her charity the Bowelbabe Fund to finance clinical trials and cancer care. Within 24 hours, it raised over $1 million, and by the end of May, it had over $7 million in its coffers — a testament to her impact on the public and the cancer community.

Then a week later, Prince William visited her at home, making her a dame.

“Prince William actually came to our family house today!! I am utterly honoured that he joined us for afternoon tea and champagne, where he not only spent a generous amount of time talking to my whole family but also honoured me with my Damehood,” she wrote on her Instagram alongside a picture of her and the Duke of Cambridge.

James was diagnosed with her rare form of cancer, B-RAF mutation, just days before Christmas 2016 — at age 34.

Deborah James, her husband Sebastien and children Eloise and Hugo pose with Prince William.
James, her husband Sebastien and children Eloise and Hugo pose with Prince William.
Instagram / @bowelbabe

After receiving the devastating news, she became a cancer warrior and bravely chronicled her harrowing health journey with humor and grace in her regular column in the Sun.

Her death announcement included her final words of wisdom — sentiments she had frequently shared over her five-year bout with bowel cancer.

“And a few final things from Deborah…’find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope. And finally, check your poo — it could just save your life.'”

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'Bowel Babe' Deborah James, who publicly battled cancer, dead at 40 - New York Post
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‘Who’s The Boss?’ Sequel Starring Tony Danza & Alyssa Milano In Works At Freevee With Mike Royce & Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz Writing - Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: The Who’s the Boss? sequel series has found a home. The project, reuniting original stars Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano and executive produced by Norman Lear, has landed at Amazon Freevee for development.

The follow-up is being written/executive produced by One Day at a Time co-creator/exec producer/co-showrunner Mike Royce and co-executive producer Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz. Sony Pictures Television, which owns the rights to the original series and has been working on the sequel for the past two years, is the studio.

Danza and Milano are set to reprise their roles as Tony and Samantha Micelli. Set 30 years after the events of the original series, the sequel will focus on former Major League Baseball player/retired housekeeper Tony Micelli (Danza) and his relationship with his daughter Samantha (Milano). She is now a single mother, living in the family house. In line with Lear’s classic shows, the new comedy will explore generational differences, as well as opposing worldviews and parenting styles within the dynamic of a modern family in 2022.

The original Who’s the Boss? ran for eight seasons and 196 episodes on ABC from 1984-92 and drew more than 30 million viewers in its heyday. It was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards and became a syndication staple.

While Lear was not a creative auspice on Who’s the Boss?, it is part of the extensive library under his Embassy Communications banner, which is now owned by Sony Pictures TV.

Lear and his producing partner Brent Miller of Act III Productions as well Dan Farah of Farah Films executive produce the sequel alongside Danza, Milano, Royce and Muñoz-Liebowitz.

This marks a reunion for Royce, Muñoz-Liebowitz, Lear and Miller after their work together on the reimagining of Lear’s classic One Day at a Time for Sony TV.

For Muñoz-Liebowitz, Who’s the Boss? falls under the overall deal she has at Sony Pictures TV, where she also is executive producer/showrunner on Gordita Chronicles, the new comedy series for HBO Max.

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‘Who’s The Boss?’ Sequel Starring Tony Danza & Alyssa Milano In Works At Freevee With Mike Royce & Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz Writing - Deadline
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Monday, June 27, 2022

Bam Margera missing from rehab for second time in two weeks, police searching - Page Six

Bam Margera has gone missing from a rehab facility in Florida for the second time in two weeks, Page Six can confirm.

The “Jackass” star, 42, was last seen in the area around LifeSkills residential facility in Deerfield Beach, Fla., on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., a Broward County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson tells us.

The public information officer says Margera was “wearing a black shirt, black sweatpants and black sneakers” at the time.

“Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact BSO Detective Chris Blankenship at 954-321-4268 or the BSO non-emergency number at 954-764-HELP (4357).”

Staff at LifeSkills would not confirm to Page Six whether Margera was a patient there and did not immediately return requests for comment on the MTV alum’s abrupt exit.

In recent months, Margera has been staying at rehab centers following a court order.

Police officers responded to an emotional disturbance call at the Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, Fla., where the former skateboarder was staying, in September 2021.

After finding Margera had a legal order against him requiring cops to take him to rehab, they transferred him to a nearby facility.

Bam Margera and Nicole Boyd posing with their son, Phoenix.
Margera and his wife, Nicole Boyd, share a 4-year-old son named Phoenix.
bam__margera/Instagram

One month later, Page Six exclusively obtained a 911 call that revealed the “Viva La Bam” alum allegedly attacked a woman while on cocaine during the incident. His reps at the time denied the claims made on the call.

Since then, Margera appeared to be getting back on track as he settled a major lawsuit with Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the “Jackass” team and laid relatively low for a while.

However, earlier this month, the father of one was reported missing for the first time after leaving a rehab facility in Delray Beach, Fla., without authorization on June 13.

The stunt performer allegedly told the facility’s manager of his plans to exit the premises and check into a different rehab center, but cops could not locate him.

Then, on June 15, Margera was found safe while hiding out in a Florida hotel room.

Sources told TMZ that the “Bam’s Unholy Union” alum was sober and cooperative when police picked him up and took him to a second treatment center, which is the facility from which he most recently escaped.

Bam Margera and Nicole Boyd posing with their son, Phoenix, at a baseball game.
Margera posted this photo with his family at a baseball game on June 4.
bam__margera/Instagram

Prior to his departure from LifeSkills, Margera had been active on social media.

One of his latest Instagram post was shared on Friday and featured a throwback picture of himself.

Margera said in the caption that his mother, April Margera, had been “scrapbooking,” and he added, “🤘💜#f–KYeah.”

Then amid reports he had gone “missing,” the TV personality posted throwback photos on Instagram of tattoos he had gotten from Kat Von D.

A rep for Margera did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment on his whereabouts.

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Bam Margera missing from rehab for second time in two weeks, police searching - Page Six
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The Wild History of the Real ‘Only Murders’ Building - The New York Times

Viewers of the Hulu series know it as the Arconia, but the Upper West Side building has a name — and a dramatic story — of its own.

Fans of the Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” which returns for its second season this week, know the building at the center of the drama as the Arconia, where Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez play an unlikely trio of residents who become amateur sleuths with a podcast. But the Renaissance-style apartment building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is actually called the Belnord, and it has been making headlines for more than a century.

The creators of “Only Murders in the Building” renamed the building the Arconia for the Hulu series, which stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, above, and Selena Gomez as an unlikely trio of residents who become amateur sleuths with a podcast.
Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu

From the get-go, the Belnord was a newsmaker — an edifice of excess, a home for hyperbole. When it was finished in 1909, covering a full city block at West 86th Street and Broadway, the architect boasted that it was the largest apartment building in the country, and maybe the world. Newspapers, including this one, touted the interior courtyard as the biggest in Manhattan — a half acre of open space, with a garden and a lawn “for a score of children to romp on,” crowned with a bountiful, tiered marble fountain.

They marveled at its capacious rental apartments, 175 of them, each 50 feet deep, stretching from street to courtyard, with interior decoration “in the style of Louis XVI” — pale, painted paneling and “harmoniously tinted silks” on the walls — and the most up-to-date modern conveniences. The refrigerators had ice machines, so no iceman would ever invade the Belnord, as one paper put it. On the roof, each apartment had a private laundry, a low-tech luxury that included a tub, ironing board and clothesline — for the convenience of one’s maid.

It would be its own city, this paper noted, with a population of more than 1,500. Over the years, there were notable tenants: Lee Strasberg, the dictatorial father of Method acting, who was often visited by his shy protégée Marilyn Monroe; Walter Matthau, when he was an up-and-coming theater actor with a young family; the actor Zero Mostel, who played Tevye in the original Broadway production of “Fiddler on the Roof”; and Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Nobel Prize-winning author, who liked to jog around the courtyard in a three-piece suit.

via The New York Public Library

But by the 1970s, that city was in chaos. The ornate limestone-and-terra-cotta structure was crumbling, the roof was leaking and the plumbing cracked. Ceilings were collapsing. Stalactites, The New York Times reported in 1980, had formed in the basement. The fountain had been broken for years, and the garden was a fenced-in jungle, off limits to residents.

The building’s owner, Lillian Seril, would earn the dubious distinction of being one of the city’s worst landlords: By all accounts, she was both litigious and recalcitrant, refusing to fix even the simplest issues, but energetic enough to sue not only her tenants but also the landlord association that threw her out for not paying her dues. (Tenants recalled buying their own refrigerators and sneaking them in with the help of sympathetic building staff, because Mrs. Seril would not allow their broken appliances to be repaired or replaced.)

The Belnord’s residents, many of whom paid just a few hundred dollars a month for their enormous, house-like apartments, organized and revolted. In 1978, they began what would be the longest rent strike in the city’s history.

For the 16 years that it went on, the Belnord battle was so contentious that one housing court judge declared that the two sides deserved each other, before washing his hands of the case when a settlement he had brokered collapsed. “I’m convinced the tenants and the owner are going to litigate the building to death,” he said. A city official likened the situation to the siege of Beirut.

From left: via The Belnord; Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

The battle ended in 1994, when the developer Gary Barnett, who was then only 38, bought the building with a group of investors for $15 million. (As part of the deal, Mrs. Seril insisted on retaining a 3,000-square-foot rent-controlled apartment for herself — at her death, in 2004, she was paying just $450 a month.) A decade later, Mr. Barnett and his company, Extell Development, would build One57, the funnel-shaped, blue-glass skyscraper on West 57th that was the city’s first supertall tower and, in so doing, incur the ire of preservationists, urban planners and civic groups. But in those years, he was a hero. The Belnord was his first Manhattan property, and he would spend $100 million shoring it up.

He made various deals with individual tenants as he attempted to turn the place into a luxury rental building, with some apartments that leased for up to $45,000 a month. For a rabbi and his family who were paying $275 for a 4,000-square-foot apartment, Mr. Barnett bought a house in the New Jersey suburbs. Then there was the penthouse dweller who hankered for the desert: He flew her to Las Vegas to pick out a house with a pool, arranged for its purchase and paid her moving expenses. Other tenants opted to keep their low rents, but agreed to swap their vast, 11-room apartments for smaller ones.

Mr. Barnett once joked that the fountain he had resuscitated at enormous expense — a project that involved disassembling and carting it away for repairs — was the fountain of youth, because nobody ever seemed to die at the Belnord.

“It was a labor of love to restore that building,” he said recently. “But I didn’t really understand what I was getting into. It was quite a picture.”

Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

By 2015, Mr. Barnett was out of the picture, in a deal worth a reported $575 million.

Like everything else at the Belnord, the terms of Mr. Barnett’s mortgage had been problematic, and for a time, after he stopped making the loan payments, the city classified the property as “distressed.” (The calculus of the building’s debt and its rental revenue never quite added up.) And so a new group of investors swooped in — the cast of which kept changing, as various players dropped out because of insolvency, lawsuits and other calamities — to turn the place into a high-end condominium, converting the 100 or so available apartments into showplaces with Italian kitchens sheathed in marble.

Robert A.M. Stern, the architect whose firm handled the conversion, described the process as “a very high-class Botox treatment.”

Prices for the revamped units ranged from about $3.6 million to more than $11 million, although some tenants bought their own apartments at deep discounts. After a rocky start, the condos are now selling briskly, keeping pace with the high-end market in the city, said Jonathan Miller, the veteran property and market appraiser.

And now the Belnord is once again in the limelight, thanks to the Hulu series. John Hoffman, who created the show with Mr. Martin, was delighted and stunned to have scored the place for his production, particularly in the middle of a pandemic. While the atmospheric apartments of Mr. Martin, Mr. Short and Ms. Gomez’s characters were built on a sound stage, the story needed a building like the Belnord, with its grand appointments and panopticon of a courtyard.

“I was obsessed,” Mr. Hoffman said. “I knew we could make something as elevated as that amazing building. It’s a cliché to say that the building itself is a character, but I like the challenge of getting beyond that cliché a bit. What pulls us out of our apartments to meet people? How well do you know your neighbors? Do you only connect when it’s necessary? The ways in which we get pulled together when we live in these spaces is what’s really interesting.”

Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

One Friday evening in early June, Debbie Marx, a Latin teacher and longtime Belnord resident, led a visitor through her unrenovated classic seven, its meandering, book-lined hallways a time capsule from 1959, the year her parents moved in. Her father, Josef Marx, was an oboist and musicologist who had his own music publishing company; her mother, Angelina, had been a ballerina. Ms. Marx moved back into her childhood apartment in the late 1980s, when she was pregnant with her first child and her mother was living there alone. Ms. Marx’s father had died in 1978, a victim, in a way, of the Belnord battle, having suffered a heart attack in the courthouse during a hearing with his fellow tenants.

Ms. Marx recalled growing up in the building — playing handball in the courtyard, which was forbidden by Mrs. Seril, and slipping through the bars of the fence to the off-limits garden, by then a riot of shrubs and trees. She had her own courtyard gang, with Walter Matthau’s daughter Jenny and others, but their transgressions were mild: nicking the hat from a doorman, commandeering the service elevator, dropping the odd water bomb.

“It’s like an archaeological site,” Richard Stengel said of the building. “The further you burrow down, you get a different culture and history.”

Mr. Stengel, the author, journalist and former State Department official, has been a tenant since 1992, when he moved into an apartment that had been charred by a fire and left vacant for years. (If you see Mr. Stengel on MSNBC, where he is a contributor, with a deep red bookshelf behind him, he is broadcasting from his apartment at the Belnord.)

John Scanlon, the wily public relations man who died in 2001, was also a ’90s-era tenant. In those days, Mr. Scanlon was embroiled in another long-running New York City real estate battle: the first Trump divorce. (He was Ivana Trump’s spokesman.)

Like Mr. Stengel, Mr. Scanlon was a member of a Belnord demographic that you might call literary-and-publishing adjacent. He liked to tease Mr. Stengel, who was then the editor of Time magazine, when they collided in the courtyard: “How does it feel to be on the cutting edge of the passé?”

Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

Earlier waves of tenants included Jewish European émigrés, unreconstructed Socialists and scores of psychoanalysts.

“When we moved in, it had the feel of an Eastern European shtetl,” said Peter Krulewitch, a real estate investor who arrived 35 years ago with his wife, Deborah, a retired Estee Lauder executive, and soon formed what became known as the Belnord 18, one of the many splinter groups of building tenants who tried to negotiate with Mrs. Seril. “There were these wonderful aging lefties that had been there for years — and fought Mrs. Seril for years.”

In many cases, those tenants had succession rights for their children. So despite the influx of condo buyers, Mr. Krulewitch said, the Belnord is a city that still — although just barely — has a population more culturally varied than the monolithic moneyed class that has taken over much of Manhattan.

As Mr. Krulewitch put it, “It has been quite an adventure.”

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

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Sunday, June 26, 2022

Alec Baldwin to Interview Woody Allen on Tuesday - Variety

Alec Baldwin has announced an interview with director Woody Allen, who has faced backlash after his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, alleged that he sexually abused her as a child.

That backlash was recently renewed with the 2021 release of HBO docuseries “Allen v. Farrow,” in which she and mother Mia Farrow further detailed the allegations they first came forward with in 1992.

Baldwin made the announcement on his Instagram account Sunday night, writing: “Let me preface this by stating that I have ZERO INTEREST in anyone’s judgments and sanctimonious posts here. I am OBVIOUSLY someone who has my own set of beliefs and COULD NOT CARE LESS about anyone else’s speculation. If you believe that a trial should be conducted by way of an HBO documentary, that’s your issue.”

The interview will take place on Tuesday on Instagram live at 10:30 a.m. ET. “I love you, Woody,” Baldwin said in a video post. “Instagram, I’m with Woody, Tuesday, 10:30. Be there.”

“Allen v. Farrow” included a never-before-seen home video of 7-year-old Farrow talking about the alleged assault shortly after she claims it occurred. During the #MeToo movement, his 2019 film “A Rainy Day in New York” was dropped by Amazon Studios and Hachette Book Group refused to publish his memoir. Allen denies the allegations, and called them “untrue and disgraceful” in a statement following the release of the docuseries.

Baldwin has also been the subject of recent controversy. In October, he was holding a prop firearm that fired and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on the set of the film “Rust.” The investigation into the incident by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office remains ongoing, as does a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ family against Baldwin, seven producers and other “Rust” crew members.

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Alec Baldwin to Interview Woody Allen on Tuesday - Variety
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Jussie Smollett Makes Hollywood Return on BET Awards Red Carpet - Urban Hollywood 411

Jussie Smollett returned to the spotlight Sunday at the BET Awards in Los Angeles.

The former Empire star stepped onto the red carpet wearing a tan suit paired with a white shirt, several gold necklaces, and black stud earrings.

Related StoryTaraji P. Henson and Janelle Monáe Slam Supreme Court at BET Awards

After posing for photos in the 90 degree heat outside the Microsoft theater, Smollett stopped to talk to Entertainment Tonight, and told ET host Kevin Frazier it’s “wonderful” to work his way back into Hollywood.

Smollett’s directorial debut B-Boy Blues premiered June 9 on BET+. The drama is an adaptation of James Earl Hardy’s best-selling novel by the same name, and follows the same-sex love story between a college educated journalist from Brooklyn and a homeboy-bike messenger from Harlem.

The actor has slowly been returning to public life since he was released from the Cook County Jail in Chicago on March 16, pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about an alleged hate crime attack, in which he said he was beaten and doused with bleach by two masked men who yelled racial and homophobic slurs and said, “This is MAGA country.”

Related StoryJussie Smollett Denies Staging Hate Crime and Trying to Benefit From the ‘Pain of Black Americans’

In his first interview since being found guilty of felony disorderly conduct in December 2021, the 40-year-old star sat down with SiriusXM‘s “Sway in the Morning” show on June 21.

During the interview, Smollett insisted he did not stage his 2019 attack and also confirmed that he spent time in a psych ward while jailed.

“I was there for six and a half days. I fasted for six and a half days,” he said, adding that fasting helped clear his mind. “I have never in my life, at least in my adult life, been as clear of mind as I was for those six and a half days… I was fasting until I found out whether or not I was gonna be in there for those five and a half months. I just wanted to know what my life was about to look like.”

He clarified that he was not confined to a straitjacket or held in restraints.

“Lord knows I wanted to get out. I was in a f–ing psych ward… I was sleeping on a restraint bed but I wasn’t restrained,” he said.

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Jussie Smollett Makes Hollywood Return on BET Awards Red Carpet - Urban Hollywood 411
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Spotify secretly launched a show with this controversial duo — it's already a hit - The Verge

Spotify has a brand new original topping its podcast chart, but it would probably prefer if you didn’t know about it.

Last week, Spotify launched a new pop culture show, Breaking Bread, on Spotify Live. Breaking Bread’s recordings now rank at number 11 on Spotify’s top podcast chart after holding the number two spot for most of the week, putting it just behind Joe Rogan. The show’s popularity — and the reason the company might be staying quiet about its new hit — is due to its two hosts: Jackie Oshry Weinreb and Claudia Oshry (aka Instagram’s girlwithnojob), who come with a huge built-in audience. While the sisters have delivered their massive fanbase to the app, they have a controversial history that could be problematic for Spotify at a time when the company is being extra cautious.

The sisters had a short-lived show in 2018 on Oath, Verizon’s now-defunct media brand, that was canceled after The Daily Beast reported that their mom is notorious conspiracy theorist and anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller and that the sisters had both previously posted racist and anti-Muslim statements on social media. The sisters apologized, deleted their Twitter accounts, and relaunched with The Morning Toast as an independent podcast. Some fans have been uncomfortable with their unwillingness to disavow their mother’s activities, but their audience is undeniable. The Oshry sisters have more than 3.5 million Instagram followers between them, their flagship podcast currently ranks in the top 100 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and they maintain what appears to be a robust Patreon base (the stats are now private, but as of 2019, they had more than 9,000 subscribers). The Oshry sisters did not respond to a request for comment.

But if the Oshry sisters are controversial, you wouldn’t know it from their show. The Morning Toast is mostly run-of-the-mill pop culture fare, and Breaking Bread is much of the same: Kim Kardashian’s Marilyn Monroe dress, Hailey Bieber’s skincare line, Britney Spears’ wedding. The Spotify Live platform also allows fans to participate in the show, asking for advice on light topics like puppy training and bachelorette woes.

Following the model of other Spotify Live shows like After Hours with Alex Cooper and Dating Harry Jowsey, the original show takes place on the Live app and is posted as a podcast on Spotify later. Unlike those shows, Breaking Bread received no promotion from Spotify. The company did not issue a press release about the show and did not push it on any of its social channels. The only promotion seems to have come from the Oshrys themselves on their social accounts and podcast.

That may have something to do with the backlash Spotify has received for its nine-figure deal with controversy machine Joe Rogan. Rogan has the undisputed biggest podcast in the world, and as Spotify grows its podcasting might, the company needs him. But Spotify’s unfailing support for Rogan has caused some reputational, if not monetary, damage. Spotify declined to comment on why they chose to partner with the Oshry sisters or whether their past has anything to do with the lack of promotion for the show, but with the way the company has approached Breaking Bread, it seems to be going for the Oshrys’ substantial fanbase without the baggage.

Even if Breaking Bread itself is inoffensive, it is debuting at a time when Spotify is being particularly careful. Last week, the company announced a Safety Advisory Council to assist in its content moderation policies (a move Geller called “a government sponsored internal coup”) and cut a new deal with Integral Ad Science to firm up its brand safety analytics for advertisers.

But the company also is trying to boost its social audio app Spotify Live (previously branded Spotify Greenroom) at a time when social audio is flailing, and Breaking Bread may be its biggest hit yet. If the Oshrys continue to deliver numbers, the show will be hard for the company to ignore.

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Watch Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen join Paul McCartney on stage at Glastonbury 2022 - NME

Paul McCartney ended the second main day of Glastonbury 2022 by headlining the Pyramid Stage (June 25), ending his set by inviting both Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen on stage. Check out footage and the setlist below.

The legend took to the stage after Noel Gallagher tonight, performing a stellar set of classics from throughout his colourful career – including solo staples alongside many numbers from his time with The Beatles and Wings.

After playing ‘Get Back’ by the Fab Four, McCartney beckoned the Foo Fighters frontman on stage.

“Now, I’ve got a little surprise for you,” teased McCartney, before inviting “your hero from the west coast of America – Dave Grohl!”

After some light banter of Paul offering, “Hi Dave,” before Grohl replied, “Hi Paul. How are you?” the pair then tore into The Beatles’ ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and Wings’ ‘Band On The Run’.

“This guy flew in especially to do this,” Macca then jovially told the crowd, revealing how Grohl overcame flight cancellations from Los Angeles. This moment also marked the first time that Grohl had appeared on stage since the death of his Foo Fighters bandmate Taylor Hawkins in March.

When the crowd thought that the surprises were over, McCartney told the crowd: “We’ve got another surprise for you”, teasing another guest “from the East Coast Of America”.

Then, to the awe of the thousands in attendance, Springsteen took to the stage to a rapturous response to perform his own ‘Glory Days’ and The Beatles’ ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’. This comes after the pair did the same in New York earlier this month.

“Are you kidding?” joked McCartney after turning to Springsteen. “Thank you for coming, man.”

After a virtual duet with John Lennon, McCartney and band then welcomed Grohl and Springsteen back to close the set.

Paul McCartney played:

‘Can’t Buy Me Love’
‘Junior’s Farm’
‘Letting Go’
‘Got to Get You Into My Life’
‘Come On to Me’
‘Let Me Roll It’
‘Getting Better’
‘Let ‘Em In’
‘My Valentine’
‘Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five’
‘Maybe I’m Amazed’
‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’
‘Love Me Do’
‘Dance Tonight’
‘Blackbird’
‘Here Today’
‘New’
‘Lady Madonna’
‘Fuh You’
‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!’
‘Something’
‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’
‘You Never Give Me Your Money’
‘She Came in Through the Bathroom Window’
‘Get Back’
‘I Saw Her Standing There’ (with Dave Grohl)
‘Band on the Run’ (with Dave Grohl)
‘Glory Days’ (Bruce Springsteen cover with Bruce Springsteen)
‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ (with Bruce Springsteen)
‘Let It Be’
‘I’ve Got a Feeling’
‘Helter Skelter’
‘Golden Slumbers’
‘Carry That Weight’
‘The End’

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Watch Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen join Paul McCartney on stage at Glastonbury 2022 - NME
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“Money Heist: Korea” Stars Yoo Ji Tae, Jeon Jong Seo, And Park Hae Soo On The Pressure Of Remaking A Hit Series - soompi

In a recent interview and pictorial for Elle magazine, Yoo Ji Tae, Jeon Jong Seo, and Park Hae Soo dished on their highly-anticipated new remake of “Money Heist”!

Based on the hit Spanish series “Money Heist,” “Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area” follows an anonymous squad of robbers who join forces for an ambitious, large-scale heist on the fictional Unified Korean Mint. Yoo Ji Tae stars as the Professor, the mastermind behind the operation, while his star-studded crew of robbers includes Park Hae Soo (who goes by the name “Berlin”) and Jeon Jong Seo (known as “Tokyo”). 

Describing one of the biggest differences between the original series and the Korean remake, Yoo Ji Tae explained, “Two seasons’ worth of plot from the original version were condensed into just 12 episodes [for our remake]. There’s no exposition for exposition’s sake, and we only deliver the key plot points as necessary. There’s a certain pleasure that comes from the fast-paced plot development.”

As for how he prepared for his role, Yoo Ji Tae shared, “In this condensed version, I came to the conclusion that one way I could quickly show the Professor’s charms in one go was through his voice. After giving it lots of thought, I began developing the Professor’s voice while turning to narrations or animated dialogue for reference.”

Meanwhile, Park Hae Soo confessed that there had been a certain amount of pressure that came with remaking such a popular show.

“Of course there were concerns and pressure due to the fact that the original series received such a great response,” said the actor. “But while reading the script, I could clearly see the differences that were unique to ‘Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area.’ There was a fast pace to the story, and the characters definitively gave the Korean version its own strength.”

Park Hae Soo added, “Although Berlin is a fictional character, you could see him as a sort of metaphor for the situation between North Korea and South Korea, which makes his story even more forlorn.”

Finally, Jeon Jong Seo shared her thoughts on the strengths of their new remake.

“[The drama] does a great job portraying the near future,” she remarked. “The North Korea-South Korea situation adds an element of tension and suspense, and it also bears the meaning of unity. This two-sided situation completely fills up the background setting of the Mint.”

The actress also noted that viewers may be surprised by her version of the Tokyo character, commenting, “I think viewers will [go into the show] imagining the free-spirited charms and vibe of Tokyo from the original version. But the Tokyo in our remake is calmer, and she’s someone who steps up and tries to resolve the situation. I tried to maintain a cleaner and more aloof tone [for our version of Tokyo]. You can look forward to seeing a new side of Jeon Jong Seo.”

“Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area” premiered on Netflix on June 24. Check out a trailer for the drama here!

You can also watch Park Hae Soo in his previous drama “Chimera” with subtitles below:

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“Money Heist: Korea” Stars Yoo Ji Tae, Jeon Jong Seo, And Park Hae Soo On The Pressure Of Remaking A Hit Series - soompi
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Saturday, June 25, 2022

Lily Anne Harrison Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Peter Facinelli - Yahoo Entertainment

Lily Anne Harrison is going to be a mom!

The Vanished star, 33, announced that she and fiancé Peter Facinelli, 48, are expecting their first child together in a June 25 Instagram post. In the simple selfie, the actress' growing baby bump can be seen underneath a black and red floral top.

And, just in case it wasn't clear, Lily cheekily confirmed that it's not a food baby that she's expecting in her caption. She wrote, "Not a burrito belly."

In addition to their little one on the way, the Twilight star is also dad to three daughtersLuca Bella, 24, Lola Ray, 19, and Fiona Eve, 15—from his previous marriage to Jennie Garth, which ended after 11 years in 2012.

After sharing her post, Lily and Peter's closest friends flooded its comment section with love and support for the growing family.

Actress Sarah Wynter wrote, "so excited for you and @peterfacinelli LOVE this!!"

Celeb Baby Bumps

"Yessss!!!!! Can't wait to meet this beautiful bb," added DJ Lindsay Luv. "been waiting for this so happy for you and @peterfacinelli."

And White Collar star Ross McCall called dibs on being the first friend to meet the little one. He commented, "Hi, Lily. I've kidnapped @peterfacinelli We've discussed and we are both looking forward to being in the room."

Peter popped the question Lily before ringing in 2020 during a romantic beachside dinner at the Estrella del Mar Beach and Golf Resort in Mazatlan, Mexico.

"Peter and Lily got engaged over the holiday during a romantic getaway to Mexico," Peter's rep shared in a statement to E! News at the time. "Both are beyond elated and are very much looking forward to all that the New Year will bring."

Lily Anne Harrison, Peter Facinelli
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Before announcing the engagement to the public, Lily hinted on social media that something special went down on her trip.

"Bye 2019! Thanks for kicking my butt, making me stronger than ever, protecting my family and hurtling me toward my dreams," she wrote on Instagram New Year's Day 2020. "Also, not a bad way to ring in the new year with my sweetheart."

Peter was previously engaged to actress Jaimie Alexander. The two dated for over three years before calling it quits in 2016.

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App

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Lily Anne Harrison Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Peter Facinelli - Yahoo Entertainment
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Jennifer Aniston Pays Tribute To Legendary Father John, 88, At Daytime Emmy Awards: Watch - HollywoodLife

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Image Credit: Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock

Jennifer Aniston paid tribute to her father John Aniston at the Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, June 24. The Friends actress, 53, gave an emotional speech while presenting the iconic Days of Our Lives actor, 88, with a lifetime achievement award. Although John was not in attendance at the in-person ceremony at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and Jennifer previously recorded her message, it was undoubtedly a special moment as the pair had been formerly estranged for quite some time.

 

“It’s an opportunity to not only pay tribute to a true icon in the daytime television world, but it’s also a chance to recognize the lifelong achievements of a great and well-respected actor who also happens to be my dad,’ Jennifer began in her speech. “John Aniston has been working in television consistently for over half a century. He started acting in 1962, garnering roles on all types of now-classic television programs like Combat!, Mission: Impossible, Kojak and later made many guest appearances on shows like Airwolf, Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Star Trek: Voyager, Mad Men, the list goes on. All while simultaneously appearing in nearly every soap opera imaginable. You name it, I’m sure he’s been on it,” she quipped.

She then went on to highlight the role John took in 1985 that made him a household name: Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives. “For over 30 years, his dedication to that show has gained him the respect and admiration of his fellow actors, deep friendships, and thrilled millions of fans around the world,” Jennifer concluded. “His career is literally the definition of lifetime achievement.”

Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston and John Aniston were estranged when she was a child. (Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock)

The show of love and support was a far cry from Jennifer and John’s relationship in the past, where the pair were estranged after John left his wife and Jennifer’s mother, Nancy Dow, and Jennifer when the star was only nine years old. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999. Jennifer said she didn’t see her father until a year later. “He just called one day and said, ‘Let’s go see The Fantastickes.’ So we had a little dinner and saw the show. After that, I started seeing him on weekends, and this new way of life just unfolded.” The pair eventually made amends. “As best he could, my dad explained and apologized, and it’s enough. We’ve made up. There’s still parts that are hard for me, but I’m an adult. I can’t blame my parents anymore.”

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Thursday, June 23, 2022

Kate Middleton wears The Vampire's Wife in royal portrait with Prince William - Page Six

One of Kate Middleton’s favorite dresses will live on forever.

The first-ever joint portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was unveiled at a museum in Cambridge, England today — and the duchess chose a familiar outfit with a twist for the historic piece of art.

Dressed in the glittering green dress by The Vampire’s Wife ($1,955) that she previously wore to the Guinness Storehouse in March 2020, Middleton gazes off to the distance as she wraps an arm around Prince William in the glamorous painting.

Kate Middleton and Prince William
A new portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was unveiled today, with the duchess choosing the Vampire’s Wife dress and some meaningful jewelry.
Getty Images

She gave the old fit a new look with some glittering accessories, including an important loan from the Queen that has a special tie to Cambridge.

According to royal blog The Court Jeweller, the brooch pinned to Middleton’s dress in the painting is actually called “The Duchess of Cambridge’s Brooch.”

Kate Middleton painting
The duchess takes a look at the new portrait hanging in Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum today.
Getty Images

The pearl-and-diamond piece dates back to the late 1800s and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel, who was married to the Duke of Cambridge at the time, Prince Adolphus. It’s been worn by generations of royal women since — including the current Duchess of Cambridge.

She chose two other significant pieces for her portrait, wearing Princess Diana’s Collingwood pearl drop earrings and three-strand pearl bracelet, both of which Middleton has worn on previous occasions.

Jamie Coreth
Artist Jamie Coreth poses with his painting of the Cambridges, which he called “the most extraordinary privilege of my life” in a statement.
Getty Images

The 40-year-old royal made a further fashion statement by wearing the crystal-buckled Manolo Blahnik pumps ($995) made famous by Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex and the City” for her portrait, choosing an emerald shade to match her shimmering frock.

Vampires Wife dress
The Vampire's Wife

The piece, which was painted by award-winning artist Jamie Coreth, will hang in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge before moving on to other locations, including London’s National Portrait Gallery in 2023.

To view the special new painting today, Middleton re-wore a pink, purple and blue patterned L.K. Bennett dress ($540) she wore to a 2015 event — although the exact color is no longer sold, it’s now available in both a blue and peach printed version.

She topped the dress with a pale blue coat and added blue-gray accessories for the occasion, sporting yet another color of her favorite Emmy London “Rebecca” heels ($415) and the matching clutch ($370).

Kate Middleton and Prince William
The duchess looked pretty in pastels to view the extraordinary portrait.
PA Images via Getty Images

The duke and duchess are visiting a series of places in the Cambridge area today, including East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) as part of Children’s Hospices Week in the UK.

Middleton — who serves as royal patron of EACH — rolled up her sleeves and donned a floral-print mask as she engaged with children, taking part in some painting activities and speaking with families of patients.

Kate Middleton and a young girl
The duchess had her hand painted by a young girl, Willow Bamber, at EACH’s Milton facility.
Getty Images

From viewing a painting of herself to holding a brush, Middleton has had quite the day.

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Richard Belzer, Extraordinarily Smart-Ass as a Comic and a TV Cop, Dies at 78 - Hollywood Reporter

Richard Belzer, the beloved comedian who began as an edgy stand-up performer before finding further fame as the cynical but stalwart detect...