Open Thread

Broadway.com reports: The newly formed Broadway in Memoriam Committee, a coalition of theater owners working alongside industry service organizations, has announced the launch of Broadway in Memoriam, a quarterly tribute to the memory of artists, creators and industry professionals who have made a lasting impact on the Broadway stage. On each Broadway in Memoriam evening, the marquees of all 41 …

Deadline reports: Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed says he has been targeted with thousands of death threats from Michael Jackson fans, as a result of making a documentary about two men who say the superstar abused them when they were children. Reed told The Guardian newspaper: “I’ve had murderers try to find me. I’ve had people threaten to shoot me …

Deadline reports: The Menendez brothers will have to wait another month to discover whether they have a chance of getting their sentences of life without parole reduced or reassessed. Unsurprisingly, the previously rescheduled resentencing hearing set to begin March 20 has been kicked down the road. Now, Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez will get their day(s) in court on April …

Variety reports: The USS Callister is taking flight once again. Netflix has released the trailer and first-look images for Season 7 of Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology series “Black Mirror.“ Breaking from tradition, Season 7 is the first time “Black Mirror” will revisit the characters of a previous episode: Cristin Milioti and other key characters from the standout Season 4 episode …

Variety reports: Amazon MGM is developing a movie about Tiger Woods with Barack and Michelle Obama’s company Higher Ground in talks to produce. Based on Kevin Cook’s book “The Tiger Slam: The Inside Story of the Greatest Golf Ever Played,” the biographical drama will chart the rise of the child prodigy turned golf star. The book includes accounts from caddies, …

Variety reports: Bill Burr recently appeared on NPR’s “Fresh Air” to promote his new Hulu comedy special, “Drop Dead Years,” and he ripped not only Elon Musk for “evidently” being a Nazi but also liberals for their scared reaction to Musk’s growing political influence. “I just refuse to believe it was an accidental two-time Sieg Heil. And he does it …

Variety reports: Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Monday that his office will withdraw its request to reduce the sentences of Lyle and Erik Menendez, saying the brothers have not shown full insight into their crimes. The brothers are serving life without parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. At a press conference Monday …

Variety reports: The Weekend Update anchors took on Trump’s address to Congress on this week’s SNL, taking down the commander-in-chief’s claim that “no president has changed government faster” than him. “Nobody changed airport security faster than Bin Laden,” Michael Che joked. “After imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Tuesday, President Trump reversed them on Thursday. It’s a cunning political …

Variety reports: Bong Joon Ho‘s “Mickey 17,” the first of Warner Bros.‘ eclectic, pricey 2025 slate of original films from name-brand directors like Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson, isn’t getting the warmest arrival at the box office. The sci-fi comedy, starring Robert Pattinson as a pair of interstellar doppelgangers, earned $7.7 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,807 …

Variety reports: Gene Hackman likely died about a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, passed away due to hantavirus, a medical examiner announced Friday. Hackman died of cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor, said Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. Arakawa likely died about a week earlier, …

Deadline Hollywood reports: The Kennedy Center just lost another patron. Whoopi Goldberg announced on The View today that she no longer will attend Kennedy Center performances in light of the Donald Trump board takeover that has prompted a raft of changes at the venue including firings and show cancellations. During today’s “Hot Topics” segment of the ABC daytime talk show, …

Washington DC’s NBC affiliate reports: If you care to find Cynthia Erivo, look to WorldPride! The “Wicked” star is set to headline the free WorldPride DC Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue. Hold space in your schedule for Saturday, June 7. Erivo is sure to draw gravity-defying crowds to the festival hours after the District’s LGBTQIA+ pride parade. Erivo came out as …

Variety reports: Chappell Roan made Elton John an honorary member of the “Pink Pony Club” Sunday night, placing a fringe-laden, pink cowboy hat upon his head as she dueted with the legend on her signature song as well as one of his own classics at his annual Oscar night party in West Hollywood. Roan’s hour-long set with her all-female band …

Variety reports: The 2025 Oscars got reflective with the traditional In Memoriam segment celebrating the entertainment figures who died over the past year as the names scrolled onscreen. Notable names in filmmaking including David Lynch, Maggie Smith, James Earl Jones and Donald Sutherland were recognized during the emotional segment. “Harriet the Spy” star Michelle Trachtenberg, who died the Wednesday before …

Variety reports: Angie Stone, the soul singer who rose to fame as a member of pioneering female hip-hop trio the Sequence and later became a prominent soul singer, died at the age of 63. Stone died in a car crash in Montgomery, Alabama early Saturday morning. The Grammy-nominated musician was best known for her 2001 hit “Wish I Didn’t Miss …

USA Today reports: New Mexico authorities are revealing actor and ‘Hoosiers’ star Gene Hackman may have died nearly 10 days before his body was found. The actor, his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, along with a dog, were found dead by neighborhood security officials, at their New Mexico home on Wednesday. Authorities are still investigating the cause, which at this point …

Variety reports: Investigators believe the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa are “suspicious,” according to a search warrant affidavit released Thursday morning. Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 63, were found dead in their home in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday afternoon. The bodies were found by two maintenance workers. Arakawa was lying on the bathroom floor. A …

Variety reports: The sequel to 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland,” subtitled “Surviving Michael Jackson,” will be available to watch on YouTube in the U.S. and Canada. Little Dot Studios, an All3Media company, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the exclusive U.S. and English Canadian rights to the sequel and will premiere it on Real Stories, Little Dot’s premium documentary YouTube …

E! News reports: Chris Pratt isn’t denying his wandering eyes. The Marvel actor – who is married to Katherine Schwarzenegger – shared his honest reaction to those scenes in The White Lotus which have seen his brother-in-law Patrick Schwarzenegger bare his bottom (and then some). “I know where my eyes went—I’m not blood related to him, I was looking at …

Variety reports: Lester Holt, the NBC News anchor known for his ability to lead hours of breaking news coverage without pause, is finally ready for a breather. The NBC News veteran plans to step away in early summer from his anchor duties on “NBC Nightly News,” which he has held since 2015. Holt’s exit is the latest in a parade …