Tag Archives: Hollywood

NPR reports: At Sunday’s Oscars, on a night when almost everything went as planned and as usual, the one true surprise came in the biggest moment of all. For the first time ever, a film in a foreign language won best picture when Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, a comedy-drama-thriller about class and secrets, took the big prize. Bong also won the …

Variety reports: Kirk Douglas, the son of a ragman who channeled a deep, personal anger through a chiseled jaw and steely blue eyes to forge one of the most indelible and indefatigable careers in Hollywood history, died Wednesday. He was 103. “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Almost a year after Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox closed, the studio is making some name changes. The Fox moniker has been dropped from the studio’s 20th Century and Searchlight labels, which will now be branded as, simply, Searchlight Pictures and 20th Century Studios. The original 20th Century Fox was formed in a merger in …

The Washington Post reports: The nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced this morning, hosted by actress Issa Rae, and many questions were answered: “Marriage Story,” with acclaimed performances by the likes of Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Laura Dern, is a front-runner for the acting races. The Oscar voters loves “Joker” as much as Golden Globes voters did. …

USA Today reports: The Oscars will be host-less, once again. ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke confirmed Wednesday at the TCA Press Tour that the Feb. 9 Academy Awards will go on without an official host. “Let me confirm it now, together with the Academy, that there will be no traditional host this year,” Burke said, emphasizing that she thought 2019’s …

Variety reports: Harvey Weinstein has been hit with a new sex crimes charge for “raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents over a two-day period in 2013,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced on Monday. He’s being charged with one felony count each of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Once again, Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais did not shy away from hot-button topics in his monologue, even as he told the stars attending on Sunday not to elongate their acceptance speeches by referring to contentious current events. At the top of the annual ceremony at the Beverly Hilton, Gervais ended his monologue by telling the …

From the Hollywood Reporter: The mysterious sexual assault lawsuit brought by an anonymous massage therapist against Kevin Spacey is ending, according to papers filed in federal court Monday. “John Doe” died, and after the accuser’s attorneys informed Spacey, the actor’s attorneys filed a notice of death in court. This began a 90-day clock for the accuser’s estate to be substituted …

The Associated Press reports: The Force was a little less strong with “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” J.J. Abrams’ Skywalker finale couldn’t match its recent predecessors on opening weekend, but it still amassed a $175.5 million debut that ranked far, far away from all but a dozen films. “The Rise of Skywalker” came in with worse reviews than any …

Variety reports: Award-winning actor Robert De Niro, a vocal critic of President Trump, went after the president once again Friday, saying that Trump needs to be “confronted and humiliated.” “He needs to be confronted and humiliated by whoever his opponent is, his political opponent,” De Niro told acclaimed filmmaker Michael Moore on his new podcast “Rumble with Michael Moore.” “They …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Following hints from J.J. Abrams that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker would include an LGBTQ moment or character, the film’s premiere on Monday revealed the scene to which the director was referring. In a celebration sequence in the film, two female members of the Resistance share an exuberant kiss during the joyful moment. They are …

The New York Times reports: After two years of legal wrangling, Harvey Weinstein and the board of his bankrupt film studio have reached a tentative $25 million settlement agreement with dozens of his alleged sexual misconduct victims, a deal that would not require the Hollywood producer to admit wrongdoing or pay anything to his accusers himself, according to lawyers involved …

The New York Times reports: Rip Taylor, a flamboyant mainstay of the comedy circuit who was known for his gags involving confetti, his brand of self-deprecating humor in which he would remove his toupee and his extensive voice work, died on Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 84. Mr. Taylor, who introduced himself to legions of television viewers on “The …

From the Hollywood Reporter: An anonymous massage therapist who claims to have been sexually assaulted by Kevin Spacey has died, according to a notice filed in court by the actor’s attorneys. The individual, suing as a “John Doe,” filed claims in Sept. 2018 with the allegation of being forced to grab the actor’s genitals twice during a massage two years …

Variety reports: MoviePass, the long-struggling theater subscription service, finally appears to be down for the count. On Friday, MoviePass notified all of its remaining subscribers that it would be shutting down the service effective Sept. 14, 2019, because “its efforts to recapitalize MoviePass have not been successful to date,” parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics announced. “The company is continuing …

The Daily Beast reports: On Friday, a federal judge sentenced actress Felicity Huffman to 14 days in jail after she pleaded guilty in May to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. “Trying to be a good mother doesn’t excuse this,” Judge Indira Talwani said after handing down the sentence, which included a $30,000 …

Courthouse News reports: Signaling an uphill battle in the fight to revive a blocked California law that requires a popular entertainment industry website take down actors’ ages upon request, a Ninth Circuit panel on Monday struggled to understand how the restriction will deter age discrimination in Hollywood. “No one disputes your compelling interest, but how does the statute accomplish this?” …

The New York Post reports: President Trump tore into actress Debra Messing in a Sunday tweet after the “Will and Grace” star called for outing those who ​show up for the president’s​ big-money fundraiser ​later this month in ​Beverly Hills. Messing and her NBC co-star Eric McCormack ​said they would shame the Trump supporters in Hollywood who attend the fundraiser, …

People Magazine reports: Peter Fonda, the son of Henry Fonda and the younger brother of Jane Fonda, has died, PEOPLE confirms. He was 79. Peter’s family confirmed the sad news in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE on Friday and said that the actor died after suffering respiratory failure due to lung cancer. “It is with deep sorrow that we share …

The New York Post reports: Actress Faye Dunaway relentlessly berated her gay personal assistant on play “Tea at Five,” calling him “a little homosexual boy” before he was fired for complaining, a new lawsuit alleges. Michael Rocha says in his Manhattan Supreme Court suit that he began working for the Broadway-bound production — from which Dunaway was eventually fired — …