Open Thread

Variety reports: Brendan Fraser’s highly-acclaimed comeback is front and center in the first trailer for “The Whale,” the latest film from director Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem for a Dream,” “Black Swan”) and A24. “The Whale” follows Charlie (Fraser), an English teacher living with obesity who has decided to eat himself to death. His pain and misery stems from the abandonment and …

CTV News reports: Justin Trudeau is swinging by the “werkroom” on an upcoming spinoff of “Canada’s Drag Race.” Producers of the drag queen competition series say the Prime Minister will make a special appearance on “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.” He’s the first world leader to visit the RuPaul-founded competition series, which has more than a dozen global …

Variety reports: In a collaboration that feels very stuck in 2020, AMC Theaters and Zoom will join forces to allow audience members to video chat from the comfort of their local multiplex. Beginning sometime in 2023, at least 17 AMC venues across the United States will work with Zoom to facilitate conference calls between “small, medium and large-sized groups in …

Variety reports: Although for official purposes all Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees are created equal, some are bound to loom larger than others when the rubber hits the road. And so, as much as hardcore fans of Duran Duran or Iron Maiden might have flooded into L.A.’s Microsoft Theatre in ordinate numbers for Saturday night’s ceremony honoring the …

Deadline reports: A few hours after a story emerged that indicated there’s little love for him among Twitter workers past and present, the service’s former Twitter CEO and cofounder Jack Dorsey has responded. The animosity toward Dorsey has reached a fever pitch in the wake of the service firing a reported 3,700 people from its 7,500 worldwide workforce. Many blamed …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: HBO has switched off Westworld. The network has decided to cancel the sci-fi drama after its recent fourth season. It’s an unexpected fate for a series that was once considered one of HBO’s biggest tentpoles — an acclaimed mystery-box drama that racked up 54 Emmy award nominations (including a supporting actress win for Thandiwe Newton). Last …

USA Today reports: After keeping a two-year relationship out of the public eye, a former Miss Argentina and a former Miss Puerto Rico secretly tied the knot, announcing their surprise via Instagram with a montage of clips of them together. Mariana Varela of Argentina and Fabiola Valentín of Puerto Rico confirmed their nuptials on Oct. 28 with photos and videos …

Variety reports: At the height of backlash against J.K. Rowling over her views on the transgender community, “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe published an open letter in which he proclaimed, “Transgender women are women.” In a new interview with IndieWire, Radcliffe opened up about why he decided to speak out publicly against the author who essentially gave him his acting …

Billboard Magazine reports: Taylor Swift scores one of the most historic weeks in the 64-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, as she becomes the first artist to claim the survey’s entire top 10 in a single frame. Swift surpasses Drake, who logged nine of the Hot 100’s top 10 for a week in September 2021. Leading the …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Ever since Elon Musk announced he would buy Twitter in April, a number of prominent showbiz types have had a sinking feeling. Some of them, like Mia Farrow, announced at the time that they were considering quitting. A range of other prominent figures have either threatened to quit (Stephen King), signed off for a break which may …

Variety reports: “Saturday Night Live”‘s cold open focused on the national drama surrounding hard-fought elections in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona in the opening sketch of Season 48’s fourth episode. Portraying Dr. Mehmet Oz, cast member Mikey Day, donned a Phillies hat and awkwardly spoke of having a delicious “Philadelphia Cheese and Steak.” Day, as Oz, referred to his Democratic rival …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas will air Thursday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Musical guests Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmie Allen, Zach Williams and Miley Cyrus join Dolly on the special. Tom Everett Scott, Angel Parker and Ana Gasteyer also star. The film is described as a modern-day movie musical about …

Deadline reports: Shelley Duvall (The Shining) is gearing up to return to screens via The Forest Hills — an indie horror-thriller from writer-director Scott Goldberg, which marks her first project in 20 years. Also starring Edward Furlong, Chiko Mendez and Dee Wallace, The Forest Hills follows a disturbed man who is tormented by nightmarish visions, after enduring head trauma while …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Hocus Pocus 2 set a record for streaming minutes by a movie on Nielsen’s weekly chart, drawing more than 2.7 billion minutes of viewing from September 26 to October 2. The Disney sequel premiered on September 30, meaning only its first weekend counted toward the total. Netflix’s Dahmer took the top spot easily with almost 4.4 billion …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Jules Bass, the animator, producer, director and composer who partnered with Arthur Rankin Jr. on the stop-motion holiday TV specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, has died. He was 87. Bass died Tuesday at an assisted living facility in Rye, New York, publicist Jennifer Fisherman Ruff told …

CNN reports: The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be honored with a new postage stamp in 2023, the US Postal Service announced Monday. Ginsburg, a longtime liberal member of the high court who died at age 87 in 2020, will be featured on a forever stamp that shows an oil painting of her “facing the viewer in …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Tributes are pouring in for beloved actor Leslie Jordan. Jordan, remembered for his portrayal of Beverley Leslie, on sitcom Will & Grace, among numerous other credits, died this morning in a single-car crash in Hollywood. Jordan played the Beverley Leslie character during Will & Grace‘s original run and when it was brought back in the late 2010s. …

Deadline reports: The massive injuries suffered by author Salman Rushdie have been confirmed by his agent, who says Rushdie has lost eyesight in one of his eyes and use of one of his hands. Agent Andrew Wylie told Spain’s El País about Rushdie’s condition, but would not say if the author was still hospitalized. He did note that Rushdie is …

Deadline reports: Channel 4 has sidelined news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy for one week after he was caught on tape describing Tory MP Steve Baker as a “cunt” following an interview. Guru-Murthy made the remark, which was not broadcast on television but was later picked up on a livestream, after an interview with Baker, during which he discussed Liz Truss’s government …

Variety reports: A woman who accused “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson of raping her in April 2003 said Friday that she fears retaliation from the Church of Scientology for testifying against him. The woman, who prefers to be identified as Jane Doe #1, told a jury that she fears the church could also go after her three children. She …