Open Thread

CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus,” “The Bear” and “Beef” gained momentum Saturday night as each show picked up big wins at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. HBO’s “The Last of Us” was by far the dominant favorite with eight wins. FX’s “The Bear,” Netflix’s “Wednesday” and HBO’s “The White Lotus” won four apiece. Netflix’s “Beef” took …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: Charlize Theron says that the efforts to curb the rights of drag performers is driven by fear and ignorance. In the opening episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, Theron gave a speech to contenders. “Given the climate in our country right now, there’s a lot of energy being put toward your community not existing. I truly …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: Nigel Lythgoe is stepping down as a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance,” after two lawsuits accused him of sexual assault. Lythgoe, an executive producer of the show, is accused of groping and forcibly kissing Paula Abdul in an elevator about 20 years ago. In a second lawsuit, two contestants on “All American Girl” also accused …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: English actor Glynis Johns, who played the daffy suffragette mother Mrs. Banks in the classic film “Mary Poppins,” died Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles, her manager Mitch Clem confirmed to Variety. She was 100. Johns won a Tony for her role as Desiree Armfeldt in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: ESPN sports analyst Pat McAfee apologized Wednesday for quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ prior comments on his show suggesting that comedian Jimmy Kimmel had ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Host McAfee addressed the Rodgers-Kimmel feud Tuesday with an apology, saying that Rodgers was “just trying to talk shit.” “I can see exactly why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: Thanks to Mario, J. Robert Oppenheimer and M3GAN, Universal Pictures ranked as the highest-grossing studio at the 2023 box office. The company’s slate — a range of 24 films that included “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Oppenheimer” and “M3GAN” — collected $4.907 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Universal’s victory is notable because it marks the first time since …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

NPR reports: An early Walt Disney movie featuring the first appearance of Mickey Mouse is among the copyrighted works from 1928 moving into the public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. That means people can creatively reuse only the Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie. But the cartoon creature who stars in the animated short Steamboat Willie isn’t a lot like the …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: Maybe it’s time for Dave Chappelle to try some new material. The comedian’s newest special, “The Dreamer,” debuted on Netflix on Dec. 31, and largely focuses on his early years in entertainment and how he manifested his success. But he floods the first 12 minutes of the set revisiting his favorite target in recent years: Transgender people. Chappelle …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: Tom Wilkinson, the British actor who appeared in films including “The Full Monty,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” died Saturday in the U.K., the BBC reported. He was 75. Wilkinson was Oscar-nominated for his roles in “Michael Clayton,” in which he played an attorney who has a manic episode; and Todd Field’s “In the …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

The New Jersey Advance reports: The vacant Seaside Heights nightclub Karma, made famous on MTV’s hit show “Jersey Shore,” was demolished Wednesday in preparation for the property’s new life as a much tamer mixed-use condo development. Demolition crews made quick work of tearing down the sprawling entertainment complex, video of the destruction showed. Located at 401 Boulevard, the former Karma …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Deadline reports: The BBC has criticized research accusing the UK broadcaster of peddling viewers a “steady diet of woke bias,” including news about slavery and gender diversity storylines in drama. The BBC accused the Campaign for Common Sense, a group that advocates for freedom of expression, of “cherry-picking” examples of so-called “woke” issues from thousands of hours of output. The …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: Lee Sun-kyun, a South Korean actor who starred in the 2020 Oscar best picture winner “Parasite,” died Wednesday morning, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. He was 48. He was found dead in a car in a central Seoul park. Police had been looking for Lee after his family claimed he wrote a suicide note and …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Deadline reports: Eddie Murphy is returning to the Beverly Hills Cop universe and reprising his role of Axel Foley in a fourth installment of the franchise. Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the release of the 1984 film, Murphy returns to play Foley and is opening up about the difficulties of getting back into the action sequences. “It was a …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Deadline reports: Alec Baldwin is not happy about live animals being used in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular‘s Nativity scene. In a letter written on behalf of PETA), the actor and producer asked Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation CEO James Dolan to stop using donkeys, camels and sheep as part of the yearly musical show. “The Christmas Spectacular already features …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: ‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the theaters, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” was the box office leader. The latest and final entry in the current iteration of the DC Comics universe got off to a less-than-splashy start with $13.7 million on opening day across 3,706 locations — getting a boost from showtimes in premium large …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Deadline reports: New York’s attorney general has sued SiriusXM, accusing the satellite radio and streaming service of making it intentionally difficult for customers to cancel their subscriptions. Attorney General Letitia James’ office said complaints from customers found that SiriusXM forced subscribers to wait in an automated system. That’s before often-lengthy interactions with agents who tried to persuade them not to …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Deadline reports: Last Christmas by Wham! has made pop history, topping the Christmas chart for the first time since it was released almost four decades ago. The popular song, written by George Michael when he was a teenager, has been a staple of the Christmas charts ever since, but never made it to the festive number spot before this year. …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Billboard Magazine reports: Billboard Hot 100-charting musician and occasional actor Ryan Gosling hasn’t tied a bow on his time as Ken just yet. To celebrate the holidays, the star temporarily stepped back into his role for a festive performance and music video of his hit Barbie ballad “I’m Just Ken” alongside Mark Ronson, with whom he also released a four-track …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Variety reports: Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies. Specifically, WBD and Paramount would have an interest in combining their Max and Paramount+ premium streaming services to better compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney’s Disney+ and Hulu. A merged WBD-Paramount Global would also be expected to combine …

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CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

The Associate Press reports: Jessica Vincent had just started surveying the shelves of a Virginia thrift store when a vase caught her eye. It was shaped like a bottle and had ribbons of color, aqua green and amethyst purple, that spiraled up its glass surface like stripes of paint. The piece looked old amongst the clutter of measuring cups, candles …

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