Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: An iconic daytime drama is getting a primetime makeover. ABC is in early development on Pine Valley, a primetime version of the network’s beloved daytime drama All My Children, with popular alums Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos executive producing. In the All My Children followup, written/executive produced by Leo Richardson (Katy Keene, Star), a young journalist with …

Variety reports: Tom Cruise expressed his frustration with crew members on the set of “Mission: Impossible 7” after he saw them breaking COVID-19 guidelines, two sources close to the production confirm to Variety. In audio obtained by The Sun, Cruise can be heard saying: “We are the gold standard. They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of …

Variety reports: Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Ann Reinking, an actor, dancer and choreographer, died on Saturday night in Washington, her sister-in-law Dahrla King told Variety. She was 71. The star got her acting start in a Seattle Opera House production of “Bye Bye Birdie” in 1965. She soon found her way onto the Broadway stage when she was cast in …

Playbill reports: The Prom stars Ariana DeBose and Jo Ellen Pellman have teamed up to launch the Unruly Hearts Initiative, an effort to direct the film’s audience to various organizations that support LGBTQ+ youth, in addition to providing resources to those in need. Among the groups highlighted are the Point Foundation and Covenant House. The movie musical, which debuted on …

Variety reports: The legendary singer Dionne Warwick tweeted, “Kenan Thompson has been on SNL for as long as I’ve been alive. A very talented and funny young man” in the early evening on Dec. 12, which seemed like foreshadowing that she would turn up on that night’s episode of the NBC late-night sketch comedy series. And that she did, in …

Variety reports: “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” which premieres Saturday, Dec. 12, on HBO, is a gratifying, conventional, heartfelt documentary that tells the story of one of the great pop groups, but part of the film’s excitement is how thoroughly it explores the question of where, exactly, the Bee Gees fit into the pop firmament. …

Variety reports: A “True Blood” reboot is in the early development stages at HBO, Variety has confirmed with sources. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Jami O’Brien are attached to write the script with original series creator Alan Ball also attached to executive produce. At this time, none of the show’s original cast is attached to return. The original “True Blood” is based …

Playbill reports: Additional artists have joined the lineup for NBC’s One Night Only: The Best of Broadway, which will air December 10 at 8 PM ET hosted by Mean Girls Tony nominee Tina Fey. Celebrating the resilient Broadway community in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown, the two-hour special will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Joining the festivities are the …

Deadline reports: Nicolas Cage is continuing to lean into television – hosting unscripted comedy series History of Swear Words for Netflix. The Con Air actor is fronting the show, which explores the origins, pop culture-usage, science and cultural impact of curse words. Through interviews with experts in etymology, pop culture, historians and entertainers, the six-episode series dives into the origins …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Jimmy Fallon and The Prom actor Andrew Rannells recapped the year 2020 to the tunes of Broadway songs, including relevant lyrics that explored all the hallmark characteristics of the strange year: the coronavirus pandemic, Zoom calls, an abundance of time spent in Animal Crossing, the perils of home quarantine and more. “2020, oh what a journey,” …

NPR reports: Nearly 60 years after writing such counterculture classics as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” Bob Dylan has sold his entire songwriting catalog — more than 600 songs — to Universal Music Publishing Group in a deal announced Monday morning by Universal. The agreement is worth more than $300 million. The deal with Dylan may …

Deadline Hollywood reports: President Barack Obama expressed confidence in President-Elect Joe Biden’s character as the latter begins his transition into the White House. Promoting his new memoir A Promised Land, Obama sat down with The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon to talk his experience as Commander In Chief, his greatest accomplishment as president and the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus …

Variety reports: “Black Panther” star Letitia Wright appears to have deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts after receiving backlash regarding a video she posted on the platform Thursday night. The video, which was from the YouTube channel “On The Table,” questions the legitimacy of the COVID-19 vaccine. It also appears skeptical of climate change, accuses China of spreading COVID-19 and …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Stevie Nicks closed a deal to sell a majority stake in her publishing catalog late last month, on the heels of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” hitting the Billboard charts for the first time since 1977. Music publisher Primary Wave purchased an 80% interest in the copyrights, which are valued at about $100 million, according to people …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Pearl Jam, Lin-Manuel Miranda and other members of the cast of Hamilton are headlining online fundraisers to help Democrats win U.S. Senate seats in the coming Jan. 5 runoff elections. If Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win their races, the Senate will be at a 50-50 breakdown between the parties, but soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris would …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says widespread, national use of an efficacious vaccine this spring and early summer could allow Broadway to retake the stage by late summer or early fall. In an interview with NBC New York’s David Ushery last night, Fauci was asked when Broadway might safely …

Variety reports: Elliot Page will continue to play the role of Vanya Hargreeves in “The Umbrella Academy,” the Netflix series about a family of superheroes that’s become one of the streaming service’s biggest hits. Vanya is a cisgender woman whose superpower involves unleashing force through the use of sound. There are no plans to change the character’s gender, insiders told …

Variety reports: In recent days, New Jersey drivers may have been surprised to see billboards featuring native sons Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Jon Stewart wearing COVID masks under the words, “Wear a friggin’ mask!” The effort, launched just before the Thanksgiving holiday, is the first phase of a “Mask Up” campaign, spearheaded by New Jersey First Lady Tammy …

Deadline Hollywood reports:  Netflix should add a disclaimer to The Crown making clear to its 195M subscribers that the royal drama is partly a work of fiction, according to the UK government. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has piled pressure on the streamer to address historic fabrications in its flagship series, which is penned by Peter Morgan and produced by Left …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Heart’s Ann Wilson says a biopic about her band Heart is being produced for Amazon. The singer of the classic rock band made the announcement to host Lyndsey Parker on SiriusXM’s Volume West show. Wilson said Carrie Brownstein of the punk band Sleater-Kinney and the costar of IFC’s Portlandia, will write and direct. The Heart story will …