Open Thread

Variety reports: Noah Schnapp, who plays the closeted gay teenager Will Byers on Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” has come out as gay. In a video posted to his TikTok account on Thursday, the 18-year-old actor wrote, “When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was …

Variety reports: Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were just teenagers when they electrified audiences in the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The film was a hit and was nominated for four Academy Awards, but it also stirred controversy over a bedroom scene which included images of Whiting’s buttocks and Hussey’s bare breasts. Now in their …

Variety reports: In its second week on the Top 10, Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion” became Netflix’s third most watched film in hours viewed in its first 10 days. During the Dec. 26-Jan. 1 viewing window, the “Knives Out” sequel film raked in 127 million hours watched. After a successful Christmas debut on the streamer which drew in 82.1 million hours …

TMZ reports: New video shows Jeremy Renner’s helicopter flight to a hospital shortly after his horrific snowplowing accident, and TMZ has learned new details about his injuries which caused him to lose a serious amount of blood. According to a neighbor, the plowing machine — called a Snowcat — accidentally ran over one of Jeremy’s legs, and he was losing …

Deadline reports: Drinking had nothing to do with it. CNN’s booze ban for its correspondents working New Year’s Eve couldn’t be blamed for a major gaffe in one segment of its broadcast, as the network missed the traditional countdown to midnight in the Central time zone. Network host Don Lemon was busy dancing to Juvenile’s sentimental “Back That Azz Up” …

Variety reports: “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” debuted on NBC last year to solid viewership. This year, the “Prisoner” singer’s Miami-based party will feature a star-studded lineup of performances from recording artists like Dolly Parton, Sia, Latto, Rae Sremmurd, Fletcher and Liily. In addition to performing her own set, Parton will take actor-comedian Pete Davidson’s place as co-host at this …

Variety reports: With 52 Oscar nominations, John Williams is already the second most-nominated individual after Walt Disney (and the oldest living person), who had 59 nods. With some of the most notable and recognizable musical movie scores ever, Williams has won five Oscars over his impressive career: “Fiddler on the Roof” (1971), “Jaws” (1976), “Star Wars” (1977), “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Today would have been Marvel Comics leader Stan Lee’s 100th birthday. To celebrate, Disney+ has announced that an original documentary on the man will arrive at some time in 2023. Lee died at age 95 in 2018. He was the co-creator of Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Hulk and the Fantastic Four, among many others, and …

Variety reports: “Avatar: The Way of Water” has sailed past $1 billion in global ticket in just 14 days, becoming the fastest movie this year to cross the coveted box office milestone. In total, only three films released in 2022 managed to surpass the billion-dollar mark, a short list that includes “Top Gun: Maverick” (which took 31 days) and “Jurassic …

Deadline Hollywood reports: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is close on its way to the $1B global box office mark, having more than handily crossed $900M worldwide through its second Monday. This is the latest benchmark for the highly-anticipated sequel, and comes just 13 days after global rollout began. With $955.1M through Monday, The Way of Water has …

Variety reports: Morrissey used Christmas as an occasion to spread some bad news about his career, putting a cap on what already seemed to be something of an annus horribilis for the polarizing pop star. In messages posted to his website, the British singer first announced that he’d split with his label, Capitol Records, before it even had a chance …

Deadline Hollywood reports: When it’s this cold, nobody wants to leave the house to go to the movies. CNN reports that 100 million people in the U.S. are under wind-chill alerts with those out of power reaching 1.7 million Saturday morning. Total weekend box office over three days for all titles is estimated to come in at an estimated $85.5M, …

CBS News reports: One person having no travel troubles this Christmas is Santa. NORAD is tracking him online. The site is run by the North American Aerospace Defence Command, and follows Santa as he leaves the North Pole and travels around the world to deliver presents to children. Saturday morning, he was in Hong Kong. He’ll make his way to our area …

Deadline reports: “I didn’t realize that there was a 3:30 also in the morning — until today,” said KWWL-TV sports reporter Mark Woodley doing a live remote in the middle of a blizzard for the channel’s morning show. Woodley was drafted onto the weather team when the storm hit, and he was unusually candid with his feelings about the assignment. …

Variety reports: Nearly a quarter of a century after the 1998 series premiere of “That ’70s Show,” the long-awaited trailer to its spinoff, “That ’90s Show,” is finally here. Stars of the original series reunited on-screen for the 10-episode Netflix spinoff series, which takes place in the summer of 1995 and follows Eric and Donna’s daughter, Leia Forman (played by …

Deadline reports: “At the heart of our republic,” Rep. Liz Cheney noted earlier this week, “is the guarantee of the peaceful transfer of power.” The illusion that such a principle would always be observed was violently shattered on January 6, 2021. Today, discovery+ unveiled a trailer for its upcoming documentary January 6th, which will take viewers inside that momentous day …

Variety reports: It’s about to be a very Pandora Christmas at the movies. “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which opened solidly last weekend to $134 million, is poised to dominate box office charts again in its second outing. James Cameron’s sci-fi sequel on Monday added a healthy $16 million, bringing its four-day domestic tally to $150 million. Internationally, the film …

Variety reports: Amber Heard will pay Johnny Depp $1 million to settle their long-running legal battle, in which each accused the other of domestic violence. The sum is a significant reduction from the $8.35 million she was ordered to pay after a six-week trial in Virginia earlier this year. The payment is expected to come from her insurance carrier. In …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Kate Andersen Brower’s Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit and Glamour of An Icon is billed as the first-ever authorized biography of the legendary actress, as her family and estate gave her access to Taylor’s private letters, photos and diaries. What Brower found was new insight into Taylor’s later-in-life emergence as an influential activist, using her star power to …

Billboard Magazine reports: What better way to celebrate being No. 1 by setting an enormous table for one? Mariah Carey had a lot to be excited about this week thanks to her perennial holiday classic, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” climbing back to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The song logged its ninth total …