Open Thread

Variety reports: When Donald Trump left his seat in the boardroom as the star of his long-running NBC reality series “The Apprentice” in 2015, in order to run for president of the United States, he had a clear successor in mind. “I said, ‘The best person to hire would be Ivanka Trump,’” Donald Trump says. “I didn’t press it. But …

Deadline reports: Ghost of John McCain, the musical comedy set inside the brain of Donald Trump that got under the skin of Meghan McCain, will make its world premiere Off Broadway this fall, producers announced today. The musical, written by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola and produced by a team that includes political strategist Jason Rose and John McCain’s longtime …

Variety reports: Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman will star in “The Roses,” a reimagining of the 1989 classic “The War of the Roses.” The dark comedy, which is currently in development, will be directed by Jay Roach (“Bombshell,” “Meet the Parents”) and is written by Tony McNamara (“Poor Things,” “The Great”). The film follows picture-perfect couple Theo (Cumberbatch) and Ivy …

Variety reports: After three days of release, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” stands as the third-highest-grossing movie of the year. It has collected a mighty $194 million globally in its opening weekend, ranking behind only “Dune: Part Two” ($626 million after five weeks of release) and “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($347 million after four weeks of release) in terms …

Billboard Magazine reports: Nancy Sinatra has shared her thoughts on Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter track “Ya Ya” kicking off with a sample of her own work, the 1966 hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” “Ya Ya,” the 20th song on Beyoncé’s new album, reimagines Sinatra’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 in its call-and-response intro. On Friday (March 29), Sinatra posted …

Deadline reports: Dolly Parton is weighing in on Beyoncé’s new version of “Jolene,” and like just about everyone else who’s heard the drastically revised lyrics, the creator seems blown away. “Wow, I just heard Jolene,” Parton posted on Instagram this afternoon. “Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it!” She signs the message, “Love, Dolly P.” Beyoncé …

Variety reports: Netflix has released the trailer for Jerry Seinfeld‘s upcoming Pop-Tart movie, “Unfrosted,” set for release on May 3. Per Netflix’s Tudum, the logline for “Unfrosted” reads, “Michigan, 1963. Kellogg’s and Post, sworn cereal rivals, race to create a pastry that will change the face of breakfast forever. A tale of ambition, betrayal, sugar, and menacing milkmen, ‘Unfrosted’ stars …

Variety reports: With her new album “Act 2: Cowboy Carter” arriving tomorrow at midnight, Beyoncé has revealed the tracklist for the album ahead of the March 29 release date. In recent Beyoncé fashion, the singer took to Instagram to announce the tracklist. Notable inclusions are “Jolene,” which Dolly Parton previously mentioned may appear on the second installment of the “Renaissance” …

Deadline reports: The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg abruptly stopped the panel’s Hot Topics discussion today to scold an audience member apparently recording the proceedings with a cellphone. Getting up from her seat and walking to the side of the stage area, Goldberg sternly said, “Hold on a second. Sir, I have to stop you with the camera because I can …

Deadline reports: Nicolle Wallace added her voice to the NBCU personalities blasting the NBC News decision to hire former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel as a paid contributor. On this afternoon’s Deadline White House on MSNBC, Wallace did an extended segment on the controversy, reading from a passage in Timothy Snyder’s book On Tyranny before bringing the author on …

Variety reports: The Joker and Harley Quinn are set to serenade audiences in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” but if, and how many original songs will be included in the film, is a mystery. Insiders privy to filming and early versions of Todd Phillips’ eagerly awaited sequel to “Joker” tell Variety the movie leans heavily towards being “mostly a jukebox musical,” …

The A.V. Club reports: Given that the Beetlejuice movies are about, well, ghosts, the sequel trailer’s focus on the funeral of Charles Deetz raised a few questions, most notably about whether Jeffrey Jones would be appearing in the movie — an assertion that a representative for the actor has now shot down, telling The Hollywood Reporter that Jones is absolutely …

Variety reports: Kevin Bacon announced on “Today” that he will return to the high school where he shot “Footloose” more than four decades ago. The school is Payson High School in Payson, Utah, and its students have spent the last several months launching a social media campaign (#BaconToPayson) to get Bacon to visit on prom day. The students re-created scenes …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Warner Bros on Thursday released the teaser trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel to the classic 1988 movie that brings back Tim Burton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and Michael Keaton’s smack-talking ghost with the most. The pic is gearing up for its release September 6 with the teaser drop, after showing the first images from the film …

Variety reports: Falkor flies again! “The Neverending Story” — the beloved fantasy novel from late German author Michael Ende that was famously adapted into the cult 1984 film — is being revived for the big screen once more, with a new joint-venture partnership between Michael Ende Productions and prestige tastemakers See-Saw Films bringing the world of Fantastica back to cinemas …

Variety reports: Travis Kelce is considering how to gain yards on a new field of play. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is in discussions to host a celebrity-focused reboot of the long-running game show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” that would stream via Amazon Prime Video. The deal, if signed, would represent the football great’s latest move …

Variety reports: Wordle is celebrating a major milestone, as the popular online word-guessing game from the New York Times recently released its 1000th puzzle. As part of the #Wordle1000 celebrations, the newspaper released a list of the five hardest Wordles to solve, sharing both the puzzle number and players’ success rate. Now, Wordle is available to play off-line as well, …

Variety reports: London’s biggest screening party for the Eurovision Song Contest finals has been canceled, the venue Rio Cinema and organizer Eurovision Party London have said. “Following discussion with the organizers of Eurovision Party London, we have collectively decided not to screen the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest this year while Israel remains in the competition,” the Rio …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Iconic filmmakers Joe Dante and Roger Corman are teaming with Emmy-nominated veteran producer Brad Krevoy, CEO of MPCA, on Little Shop of Halloween Horrors, a reboot of Corman’s famed 1960 horror comedy, Little Shop of Horrors. A reimagining intended to jumpstart a new franchise, Little Shop of Halloween Horrors will be directed by Dante (Gremlins, The Howling), …

Variety reports: Abortion organizations hosted at Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Guts” tour will no longer be distributing emergency contraceptives at the singer’s concerts. Organizers tell Variety that after widespread media attention, local abortion funds were told Thursday afternoon that they were no longer allowed to hand out free emergency birth control pills and other reproductive health resources at the concerts. The initiative …