Open Thread

Variety reports: Billionaire businessman Ron Burkle is the new owner of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County. Burkle, a one-time associate of Jackson and co-founder of the Yucaipa Companies investment firm purchased the 2,700-acre property in Los Olivos, near Santa Barbara for $22 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. First listed in 2016 for $100 million, the …

Variety reports: Kevin Spacey posted a Christmas-themed YouTube video, marking the third year in a row that he has shared clips to his channel. This year’s video, titled “1-800 XMAS,” was a more somber affair than past years, offering compassion to people struggling over the holiday season. The videos first began in 2018 in the midst of felony charges Spacey …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Americans spent a lot of time streaming TV shows and movies over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Nielsen. The top 10 programs in the ratings service’s rankings for Nov. 23-29 accounted for the most viewing time of any week in the four months Nielsen has been releasing weekly lists. Led by Netflix’s The Crown, the top …

Deadline reports: Onetime Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron hosted yet another Christmas caroling protest with unmasked singers in close proximity. Local news reports pin the number of attendees at about 100. The event was held in the parking lot of The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks. It’s the third such event the Fireproof actor has held this December. Meanwhile, Covid-19 …

Variety reports: Amazon Studios has unveiled the first trailer for “Coming 2 America,” which sees the return of Eddie Murphy as the charming Prince Akeem. In the upcoming sequel, Prince Akeem, who is set to become the king of the fictional country of Zamunda, finds out he has a son he never knew about — a street-savvy Queens native, Lavelle. …

Variety reports: Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” became the singer’s third album in 16 months to sell a million copies globally in its first week, and the eighth straight studio release to sell that many in a week in her career, according to Republic Records. Only her debut album, “Taylor Swift,” failed to sell a million worldwide in at least one given …

Variety reports: Twitter has added a new label on President Donald Trump’s tweets containing inaccurate information on the presidential election results. Trump’s tweets disputing Joe Biden’s election victory now include a label clarifying that “election officials have certified Joe Biden as winner of the U.S. Presidential election.” The bold text is linked to Twitter’s official election page, featuring news coverage …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Jim Carrey is moving on from his impersonation of President Elect Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live. The Truman Show star has impersonated Biden on Saturday Night Live, since the show returned on October 4 for its 46th season. He has not appeared on the show for the last two weeks and revealed on social media that …

Variety reports: In keeping with his annual tradition, Barack Obama today shared his favorite films and television series of 2020. Obama’s movie list includes “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” David Fincher’s “Mank,” Pixar’s animated adventure “Soul” and the acclaimed documentary “Time.” Among the TV series that captivated Obama include the Michael Jordan docu-series “The Last Dance,” Netflix’s water-cooler hit “The Queen’s …

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 …