Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: On what would have been her 100th birthday, the beloved TV legend Betty White is being remembered with online tributes, special screenings and animal charity challenges. The Cincinnati Zoo even named a newborn penguin in her honor, calling the blue penguin chick “Rose” after White’s Golden Girls character. “We think Betty would approve,” the Zoo tweeted. In …

Billboard Magazine reports: Ariana DeBose brought a little taste of West Side Story to Saturday Night Live. The Golden Globe-winning actress, who stars as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of West Side Story, made her SNL hosting debut on Jan. 15, bringing lots of laughs to the first episode of 2022. Wearing a shimmery white blazer and a matching …

Variety reports: NBC announced that “Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl,” a new hour-long special, will air on Jan. 31 at 10 p.m. and become available to stream on Peacock the next day. “Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl” will feature tributes from different celebrities and friends of White, who died on Dec. 31, 2021 at age 99 after suffering …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Netflix is raising prices in the U.S. and Canada, with its most popular subscription tier going from $13.99 a month to $15.49 in the U.S. The lowest level of service climbed $1 to $9.99 and the premium tier is now $19.99, up from $17.99. Shares in Netflix immediately jumped on the news, reaching as high as $538 …

Variety reports: Kanye West has been named as a suspect in a battery report taken by the LAPD’s Newton Division early on Thursday morning, Variety has confirmed. He was not arrested; a rep for West did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to LAPD spokesperson Redina Puentes, the incident occurred at about 3 a.m. at South Santa Fe …

Billboard Magazine reports: After two years of postponements and cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Billboard has confirmed Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s official 2022 lineup, including Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Swedish House Mafia. Billboard confirmed the lineup with a source after a poster with the names began making the rounds early …

Billboard Magazine reports: Six years after saying he “ain’t never eating a motherfucking hot dog” again, Snoop Dogg is apparently planning to launch his own brand of frankfurters called “Snoop Doggs,” according to a recent legal filing at the federal trademark office. Attorneys for the hip-hop legend – real name Calvin Broadus – applied last month at the U.S. Patent …

NBC News reports: And the category is…Golden Globes history. On Sunday, Michaela Jaé “Mj” Rodriguez, 31, took home a Golden Globe for best actress in a TV drama for her role as housemother and nurse Blanca on the FX show “Pose.” It marks the first time in history a transgender actor has won a Golden Globe. This is also the …

Variety reports: Michael Lang, the co-creator and organizer of 1969’s Woodstock Music and Art Fair, and its follow-ups Woodstock ’94 and the ill-fated Woodstock ’99, died Saturday at the age of 77 at Sloan Kettering in New York City. The cause of death was a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to family spokesperson Michael Pagnotta. He last appeared publicly …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Production has been suspended on Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard after more than four dozen cast and crew members tested positive for Covid, sources have confirmed to Deadline. Lead Patrick Stewart is not among them, we hear. The series is just the latest forced to temporarily halt production because of a recent surge in Covid cases. It …

Deadline Hollywood reports: President Joe Biden praised Sidney Poitier as a “once-in-a-generation actor and advocate whose work carried so much dignity, power, and grace that it changed the world on and off the big screen.” In a statement released by the White House, Biden said that Poitier “was more than just one of the finest actors in our history. His …

Variety reports: Peter Bogdanovich — whose “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon” solidified his reputation as one of the most important filmmakers in the New Hollywood of the ’70s, but whose personal life threatened to overshadow his career behind the camera — has died, Variety has confirmed. He was 82. “Picture Show” went on to earn eight Academy Award …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Following speculation and amid an unprecedented wave of Covid infections fueled by the Omicron variant, CBS and the Recording Academy have officially put the 64th Annual Grammy Awards on hold. The awards show had been scheduled for Jan. 31; no new date has been set yet. “After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health …

Via press release from Netflix: Netflix has launched its first LGBTQ+ podcast – The Gay Agenda, produced by MOST, the home of LGBTQ+ storytelling. The new podcast takes an entertaining and honest look into the lives of LGBTQ+ creatives at the top of their fields across different industries and celebrates their success stories in the community through a loving and …

Variety reports: After months of negotiations, David Bowie’s estate has sold the singer’s formidable publishing catalog to Warner Chappell Music for a price upwards of $250 million, sources confirm to Variety. The catalog spans six decades and includes such songs as “Heroes,” “Changes,” “Space Oddity,” “Fame,” “Let’s Dance,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Golden Years,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “All the Young Dudes,” his 1981 …

Variety reports: Another weekend, another chance for Sony’s superhero adventure “Spider-Man: No Way Home” to flex its box office dominance. It now ranks as the 10th-highest grossing domestic release in history, supplanting Disney’s “Incredibles 2” ($608 million). “Spider-Man: No Way Home” currently has its sights on spots eight and nine, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ($620 million) and “The Avengers” …

Vulture reports: As the nation continues to mourn the loss of Betty White, it’s almost impossible to not take a moment to laugh with her during one of her many famous cameo appearances. White became the oldest person to host Saturday Night Live at the age of 88. A spokesperson for Saturday Night Live confirmed that they will air an …

Deadline reports: The official Times Square New Year’s Eve lineup includes live performances by Journey, Ashanti and Ja Rule, among other appearances throughout the evening Friday, highlighting a slew of options to help ring in 2022 while Omicron continues to surge. Co-organizers the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment’s annual and official Times Square event, which shares the NYC stage …

Variety reports: The BBC has apologized for broadcasting an interview with Jeffrey Epstein’s former lawyer Alan Dershowitz without disclosing that Dershowitz has also been accused of sexual abuse by one of Epstein’s victims. Dershowitz appeared on BBC News live from New York on Wednesday evening, shortly after a jury handed down the guilty verdict in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial. “The interview …

Variety reports: LL Cool J is pulling out of this year’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022″ after testing positive for COVID-19. The ABC special, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, is still moving forward as planned with hosts Seacrest and Liza Koshy, but will have to make an adjustment due to the hip-hop …