Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: Just hours after Broadway star Jodie Comer left the stage of the hit one-person show Prima Facie due to breathing issues caused by New York City’s poor air quality today, Actors’ Equity is urging its members to contact their union reps with safety concerns. Equity, which represents stage performers and stage managers, also offering guidance to employers …

Deadline reports: Prince Harry has inflamed his war with Piers Morgan by personally attacking the TalkTV and Fox Nation presenter in explosive court testimony. The Duke of Sussex was in the witness box today for the phone hacking trial he and other British celebrities are bringing against Mirror Group Newspapers, where Morgan worked as Editor of The Daily Mirror for …

Variety reports: Apple took the wraps off Vision Pro, an expensive pair of goggles the company promises will unlock a new universe of magical new virtual- and augmented-reality apps. The headset will be priced starting at $3,499, available starting in early 2024 in the U.S. (with other countries later in the year). Disney CEO Bob Iger made an appearance during …

Variety reports: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” webbed up a stellar $120.5 million in its domestic box office debut. Sony’s animated sequel is benefiting from great reviews and positive word-of-mouth, as well as goodwill from its predecessor, 2018’s Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Initial ticket sales were significantly higher than the first film, which introduced audiences to Miles Morales and the …

Deadline reports: The Associated Press style guide – which sets the agenda for how most major media uses its words and phrases in reporting, thus shaping society views – has come out with new guidelines on gender. The AP now instructs journalists to respect LGBTQ subjects’ preferred pronouns and to avoid terms like “biological sex.” The new guide also suggested …

Variety reports: In his upcoming memoir “Pageboy,” Oscar-nominated actor Elliot Page reveals he was once confronted by a homophobic actor at a birthday party in Los Angeles. The year was 2014, shortly after Page publicly came out as gay during a speech made at a Human Rights Campaign conference. “I’m here today because I am gay,” Page told the crowd. …

Billboard Magazine reports: We’re celebrating the Disney Century with our list of the 100 greatest songs from the Wide World of Disney — any composition, from pop numbers to showtunes to instrumental scores, that was specifically written for a Disney property. That means no pre-existing songs that have come to be commonly associated with Disney works (sorry, Sorcerer’s Apprentice fans) …

Variety reports: Danny Masterson, the former star of “That ’70s Show,” was convicted Wednesday on two counts of forcible rape. The jury could not reach a verdict on a third rape charge, deadlocking with a vote of 8-4 in favor of conviction. Masterson faces a potential sentence of 30 years to life in prison on the two charges. Shortly after …

Variety reports: Family audiences turned out in force, propelling Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” to the top of the box office over the Memorial Day weekend. The film, a live-action remake of the 1988 animated favorite, earned a splashy $117.5 million over the four-day holiday. It ranks as the fifth largest Memorial Day debut — last year’s “Top Gun: Maverick” set …

Variety reports: Zachary Quinto is making the rounds promoting “Historical Homos,” an upcoming docuseries about LGBTQ history that he produced. Historian Bash and film producer and actor Donal Brophy host the program.  “I do think it’s an incredibly important moment to proudly tell stories about our heritage and our past,” says Quinto, who came out as gay in an interview …

Variety reports: “The Little Mermaid” makeup designer Peter Smith King has responded to criticisms of the revamped Ursula look that Melissa McCarthy brings to life in the new live-action remake, specifically contending against a belief that a queer artist should have landed the job. Rob Minkoff, the character animator of the original 1989 film, pulled reference from the late drag …

Variety reports: Former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters took to social media Friday night to defend himself — as he often has in recent years — against charges of antisemitism, saying that “my recent performance in Berlin has attracted bad faith attacks from those who want to smear and silence me because they disagree with my political views and moral …

The New York Times reports: No one was harder on Mary Tyler Moore than Mary Tyler Moore. “I was brought up to be a perfect person, or to look like a perfect person,” she admitted in her first memoir, “After All” (1995). Her sitcoms convinced audiences she was the best girl in the world — and the pressure to measure …

Variety reports: Warner Bros. is giving audiences a closer look at “Barbie” in a new official trailer. While the story of the film has been mostly kept under wraps, the new trailer teases what Greta Gerwig’s summer tentpole is all about, as Barbie and Ken are set to officially enter the real world on July 21. Fatigued of their days …

Variety reports: Music makers and entertainers were quick to react to the news of Tina Turner’s death on Wednesday evening, penning touching tributes to the soulful diva across social media. Turner was said to have died peacefully in her home in Switzerland at age 83. In a statement shared with Variety, Angela Bassett, who earned an Oscar nomination for her …

Deadline Hollywood reports: As the WGA strike entered its fourth week, Tony Kushner swore, Steve Earle sang, Wanda Sykes led union chants and Busy Philipps told CEO jokes for more than 1,000 demonstrators and hundreds of onlookers who filled the street in front of NBCUniversal headquarters Tuesday in Midtown Manhattan. With a starry speakers list, celebrities dotting the crowd and …

Variety reports: Joaquin Phoenix is taking it up another notch after Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid,” teaming up with Todd Haynes for an NC-17-rated gay romance film. “The next film is a feature that’s an original script that I developed with Joaquin Phoenix based on some thoughts and ideas he brought to me,” Haynes told IndieWire. “We basically wrote with …

Variety reports: Robert De Niro blasted Donald Trump as a “stupid” man during the Cannes Film Festival press conference for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” comparing the former president to the twisted power player he portrays in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic, which premiered on Saturday night. De Niro admits he struggled to connect with William Hale, saying “I don’t understand …

The New York Times reports: For nearly a decade after Donna Summer’s death in 2012, her home in Nashville remained like a shrine to the Queen of Disco’s decades-long music career. Beaded gowns that she had worn onstage remained tucked away along with designer pumps in the upstairs closet; ephemera such as an annotated album cover design for “She Works …

Variety reports: In a reaction to the natural progression of life, Hollywood has engaged in de-aging effects for older actors to play younger versions of their characters, whether in franchises or standalone films — such as Robert DeNiro in “The Irishman,” Samuel L. Jackson in “Captain Marvel” and most recently, Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” …