Open Thread

The right wing Daily Caller reports: John Rich just released his new song “Progress,” and it is absolutely going to be a mega American anthem, defining this moment in our history. While most people watch television or movies to tap into the social and political vibes of the time, music has always had a far better pulse on what real …

TMZ reports: The mystery hunk o’ man seated inside the Jan. 6th hearing — who’s being called “Clark Kent” for obvious reasons — is taking the Internet by storm, and TMZ’s learned his previously secret identity. Sorry to disappoint folks, but he’s not a superhero … although he’s in a heroic field of work. Sources tell us he’s 23-year-old Alex …

People Magazine reports: The court case against Ricky Martin has been dismissed. Martin’s nephew, who’d accused the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer of sexual abuse, asked to have the case dismissed in a Puerto Rican court on Thursday, and his request was obliged, attorneys for Martin told PEOPLE in a statement. “Just as we had anticipated, the temporary protection order …

Deadline reports: In the days this week before the UK suffered through all-time record temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius — or 104 degrees Fahrenheit — GB News host Bev Turner made light of a meteorologist’s warnings about the coming heatwave in a televised interview that bears a striking resemblance to the much talked-about fictional TV interview in Adam McKay’s Oscar-nominated …

Variety reports: Netflix reported its second-quarter 2022 earnings Tuesday, revealing it lost 970,000 subscribers during the three-month period that included the launch of the first part of “Stranger Things” Season 4. While that’s obviously a hit to the overall tally for the industry’s leading subscription streaming platform, it’s a far smaller hit than the loss Netflix forecast in April. The …

Deadline reports: Time to retrofit that Stormtrooper mask. The organizers of this week’s San Diego Comic-Con are requiring “all attendee groups, including but not limited to exhibitors, guests, staff, press, professionals, volunteers, and cosplayers…to wear an approved face covering regardless of vaccination status.” The organizers add the following: “Face coverings should completely cover the nose and mouth, fit snugly against …

Variety reports: The New York City Council has voted to officially bestow the name “Beastie Boys Square” upon the intersection of Ludlow Street and Rivington Street in New York City– the corner popularized by the rap trio’s 1989 album, “Paul’s Boutique.” Council member Christopher Marte confirmed in an interview with local news channel Pix11 that the effort, which had been …

USA Today reports: “Stranger Things” star Noah Schnapp is confirming a popular theory about his character’s sexuality. After Will Byers’ heart-wrenching speech in the Season 4 finale, Schnapp officially said his character is gay in an interview with Variety published Thursday. Schnapp previously left his character’s sexuality for interpretation as the show has hinted toward Will’s queerness. Now, he says …

Variety reports: Now, in her own great tradition of being extra, Lizzo has come out with an album that feels like it provides all the clubby, poppy endorphins a populace could really require for a single summer. The neo-disco force is strong, as anyone coming into the album from the lead single “About Damn Time” will have already sussed. “Everybody’s …

Variety reports: Is it illegal to work out naked? Chris Meloni, of “Law and Order” fame, would say no. At least, that’s according to his recent Peloton ad, which features the 61-year-old actor baring it all in a series of fitness positions. “Apparently, some people think the way I work out is strange,” Meloni says at the beginning of the …

Variety reports: A Virginia judge on Wednesday denied Amber Heard’s motion for a mistrial in her defamation suit with former husband Johnny Depp, finding no grounds to overturn the jury’s $10 million verdict in Depp’s favor. Heard had asked the court to nullify the verdict and order a new trial, after discovering that one of the seven jurors did not …

Variety reports: For the first time in memory, the Television Academy announced this year’s Primetime Emmys nominees without an acknowledgement of which network or platform leads the list. That left programmers like HBO and Netflix scrambling to count their nominations in the quest for this year’s bragging rights. Instead, the TV Academy argues that the shows are the thing, and …

Deadline reports: Lawyers for Twitter called Elon Musk’s planned termination of his $44 billion takeover of the social media firm “invalid and wrongful” in a letter disclosed to the SEC after the close of today’s trading. Twitter shares slumped 11% to close at $32.65, well below the $54 a share that Musk had agreed to pay in the spring. Continuing …

Variety reports: Disney’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the fourth standalone Marvel story about Chris Hemsworth’s hunky Asgardian superhero, hammered home a box office win with its $143 million debut. The movie, which is playing in 4,375 North American theaters, arrived ever-so-slightly behind estimates of $150 million, but those opening weekend returns are unquestionably something to celebrate. “Love and Thunder” also …

Deadline reports: The harassment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at a Washington, D.C. steakhouse may only be the appetizer to further incidents, if an activist group has its way. ShutDownDC is promising a bounty of $50 to anyone who provides a “confirmed sighting” of Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett or John Roberts …

Deadline Hollywood reports: If there wasn’t enough drama swirling around Johnny Depp’s win over Amber Heard in his multimillion-dollar defamation suit last month, things have turned judicially weird. According to today’s filing, it seems that there are two individuals residing at the same address with, at the very least, “the same last name” — one a 77-year-old individual and another …

TV Insider reports: Anson Williams, best known for playing Warren “Potsie” Weber on the beloved sitcom Happy Days, has revealed that he’s running for mayor in his hometown of Ojai, California. According to Ojai Valley News, Williams announced his campaign during an Ojai City Council meeting on June 28. Speaking during the public comment section of the meeting, the Golden …

Deadline reports: Kate Bedingfield plans to depart her post as White House communications director, according to White House officials. Bedingfield, who has been with President Joe Biden since the start of his term and, before that, was a senior official on his presidential campaign, plans to leave this summer and perhaps in the next few weeks. Her exit is the …

Variety reports: “Million Dollar Listing New York” — a key installment in Bravo’s long-running real estate franchise — won’t be returning anytime soon, sources tell Variety. Bravo never uses the word “canceled,” instead considering series to be “paused,” since it sometimes brings shows back years later, as was the case with the revived “Real Housewives of Miami” on Peacock last …

Broadway.com reports: Jim Parsons is returning to the New York stage. The four-time Emmy winner will star in the Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Terrence McNally musical A Man of No Importance at off-Broadway’s Classic Stage Company. John Doyle will direct the production, which will begin performances on October 11, open on October 30 and run through December 4. Parons …