Open Thread

Deadline Hollywood reports: The Food Network is about to launch a true “high concept” television series. Chopped 420 is a spin-off of the popular Chopped series, in which four chefs battle it out through appetizer, main course and dessert stages using picnic baskets filled with challenging foods. As the name of the new series suggests, it will explore cannabis cookery …

USA Today reports: Lil Nas X fans, rejoice! His new single and music video, titled “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” are here – and Twitter users already have a lot to say. The video, out Friday, shows the singer in a colorful fantasy world, where he plays multiple characters and slays in elaborate makeup, hair and costuming. In a …

Variety reports: Late-night host and comedian Jay Leno has issued an apology for a series of jokes told over his career targeting Asian communities. The apology comes after a nearly 15-year campaign from the activist group Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) for remarks as recent as Variety‘s 2020 report that Leno cracked about Koreans eating dog meat — …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Sony Pictures has set a movie based on Bewitched, the classic TV series that starred Elizabeth Montgomery. Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, who ran the MacGyver and 12 Monkeys series, will write the script. John Davis and John Fox are producing through Davis Entertainment. Sony tried a romantic comedy movie version in 2005, which Nora Ephron directed …

Deadline Hollywood reports: HBO has set an April 7th release date for anticipated hybrid series, Exterminate All the Brutes. The four-parter from acclaimed director Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) will dissect the processes by which history is created and concealed. Per HBO, it will specifically examine the “exploitative and genocidal aspects of European colonialism,” asking viewers to think …

The Decider reports: Jeopardy fans have been treated to an ever-changing lineup of guest hosts since the show lost its beloved Alex Trebek last year, but the latest famous figure to take over the game show podium is causing a stir for all the wrong reasons. When the show promoted Dr. Oz‘s Jeopardy gig on Twitter, fans were outraged that …

Variety reports: With movie theaters beginning to reopen in Los Angeles at 25% capacity, L.A. moviegoers are celebrating the return of their favorite pastime. Variety‘s senior writer Matt Donnelly visited the AMC Theatres in Century City to check in with patrons about going back to the movies. Customers said they find it difficult to watch movies at home now after …

Deadline reports: An hour-long special designed to raise awareness on Covid-19 vaccinations will air next month on NBC. Roll Up Your Sleeves: Presented By Walgreens is set to air at 7 PM ET/PT on Sunday, April 18. The special will encourage Americans to get vaccinated with the somewhat controversial treatments available to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. NBC said the special …

Variety reports: Nobody – literally nobody – knows when or how Broadway will reopen. But now, a year into a shutdown that began March 12, 2020, the road map to recovery has begun to take shape. The pace and scope of vaccinations continue to accelerate and expand. With the science evolving and the specifics of government support still pending, major …

Variety reports: The anonymous woman who first made allegations about Armie Hammer on social media has come forward publicly. “I thought that he was going to kill me,” the woman, named Effie, said through tears on Thursday during a press conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred. Effie is accusing Hammer of violent rape and physical abuse, during their on-and-off four-year …

NBC News reports: Conductor James Levine, who ruled over the Metropolitan Opera for more than four decades before being eased aside when his health declined and then was fired for sexual improprieties, has died. He was 77. Levine died March 9 in Palm Springs, California, of natural causes, his physician of 17 years, Dr. Len Horovitz, said Wednesday. Levine made …

Deadline reports: Michelle Obama’s bringing her healthy eating initiatives to Jimmy Kimmel Live. In a clip promoting Obama’s upcoming late-night appearance, the former First Lady meets Jimmy Kimmel’s his daughter, Jane, who is reluctant to try vegetables. When Obama asks why she’s hesitant to try the veggies, Jane responds. “I don’t really like to try new things,” she tells the …

Deadline Hollywood reports: This morning, in a rare feat, composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross pulled a pair of Original Score nominations for Soul and Mank. Throughout film history, we’ve often seen a single composer earn two Academy Award nominations for different films, in the same year. The most recent to do so was Alexandre Desplat, who was nominated in …

Deadline reports: A Michigan hospital system is investigating an alleged The Price is Right-style game during operations. Although no one is shouting, “Come on down!” to start the game, social media photos have been posted of doctors playing a game segment called “Guess The Weight.” In one of the Instagram posts, an account run by 35 obstetrics and gynecology residents …

Variety reports: If the Grammys had a dress code this year, it might be: Wear your cardigan to the disco. It’s sweater weather, but also the season of the Studio 54 minidress, as Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa look likeliest to make headlines for picking up top honors Sunday night after the close of the Grammys. The album, record and …

Variety reports: “Avengers: Endgame,” the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Marvel superhero blockbuster, is poised to relinquish its title as the highest-grossing movie in history to “Avatar,” the previous record-holder. Prior to the release of “Endgame” in April 2019, James Cameron’s groundbreaking sci-fi epic held the ultimate box office crown for a decade with $2.7897 billion worldwide. “Avengers: Endgame” eclipsed that milestone ever so …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Seth Rogen’s newly launched cannabis lifestyle brand site, Houseplant, crashed on Thursday due to the overwhelming demand. The site was so inundated, Rogen said it needed to be taken down temporarily. The actor and marijuana advocate/businessman said previously that the site encountered a “tremendous amount of traffic” and for those trying to get in to have patience. …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Lou Ottens, the Dutch engineer who invented the cassette tape and helped develop the compact disc decades later, has died. He was 94. Amsterdam-based news outlet NRC Handelsblad confirmed the news but didn’t provide details. Working to alleviate the challenge of huge reel-to-reel decks and the portability of recordings, Ottens began working on the audio cassette when …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Deadline hears that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is seriously considering locating the 93rd Academy Awards at Union Station, the cavernous main railway station in Los Angeles. Nothing is set yet, but sources said that is the venue AMPAS and ABC favor at the moment. Even though the nominations will be revealed Monday and …

Variety reports: The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” has been smashing records practically since it was first released late in November of 2019 — and on Monday it broke what might be the most momentous one of all: It became the first song to spend a full year in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. That dwarfs the previous record, …