Tag Archives: Open Thread

Variety reports: English actor Glynis Johns, who played the daffy suffragette mother Mrs. Banks in the classic film “Mary Poppins,” died Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles, her manager Mitch Clem confirmed to Variety. She was 100. Johns won a Tony for her role as Desiree Armfeldt in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little …

Variety reports: ESPN sports analyst Pat McAfee apologized Wednesday for quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ prior comments on his show suggesting that comedian Jimmy Kimmel had ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Host McAfee addressed the Rodgers-Kimmel feud Tuesday with an apology, saying that Rodgers was “just trying to talk shit.” “I can see exactly why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially …

Variety reports: Thanks to Mario, J. Robert Oppenheimer and M3GAN, Universal Pictures ranked as the highest-grossing studio at the 2023 box office. The company’s slate — a range of 24 films that included “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Oppenheimer” and “M3GAN” — collected $4.907 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Universal’s victory is notable because it marks the first time since …

NPR reports: An early Walt Disney movie featuring the first appearance of Mickey Mouse is among the copyrighted works from 1928 moving into the public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. That means people can creatively reuse only the Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie. But the cartoon creature who stars in the animated short Steamboat Willie isn’t a lot like the …

Variety reports: Maybe it’s time for Dave Chappelle to try some new material. The comedian’s newest special, “The Dreamer,” debuted on Netflix on Dec. 31, and largely focuses on his early years in entertainment and how he manifested his success. But he floods the first 12 minutes of the set revisiting his favorite target in recent years: Transgender people. Chappelle …

Variety reports: Tom Wilkinson, the British actor who appeared in films including “The Full Monty,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” died Saturday in the U.K., the BBC reported. He was 75. Wilkinson was Oscar-nominated for his roles in “Michael Clayton,” in which he played an attorney who has a manic episode; and Todd Field’s “In the …

The New Jersey Advance reports: The vacant Seaside Heights nightclub Karma, made famous on MTV’s hit show “Jersey Shore,” was demolished Wednesday in preparation for the property’s new life as a much tamer mixed-use condo development. Demolition crews made quick work of tearing down the sprawling entertainment complex, video of the destruction showed. Located at 401 Boulevard, the former Karma …

Deadline reports: The BBC has criticized research accusing the UK broadcaster of peddling viewers a “steady diet of woke bias,” including news about slavery and gender diversity storylines in drama. The BBC accused the Campaign for Common Sense, a group that advocates for freedom of expression, of “cherry-picking” examples of so-called “woke” issues from thousands of hours of output. The …

Variety reports: Lee Sun-kyun, a South Korean actor who starred in the 2020 Oscar best picture winner “Parasite,” died Wednesday morning, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. He was 48. He was found dead in a car in a central Seoul park. Police had been looking for Lee after his family claimed he wrote a suicide note and …

Deadline reports: Eddie Murphy is returning to the Beverly Hills Cop universe and reprising his role of Axel Foley in a fourth installment of the franchise. Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the release of the 1984 film, Murphy returns to play Foley and is opening up about the difficulties of getting back into the action sequences. “It was a …

Deadline reports: Alec Baldwin is not happy about live animals being used in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular‘s Nativity scene. In a letter written on behalf of PETA), the actor and producer asked Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation CEO James Dolan to stop using donkeys, camels and sheep as part of the yearly musical show. “The Christmas Spectacular already features …

Variety reports: ‘Twas the weekend before Christmas and all through the theaters, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” was the box office leader. The latest and final entry in the current iteration of the DC Comics universe got off to a less-than-splashy start with $13.7 million on opening day across 3,706 locations — getting a boost from showtimes in premium large …

Deadline reports: New York’s attorney general has sued SiriusXM, accusing the satellite radio and streaming service of making it intentionally difficult for customers to cancel their subscriptions. Attorney General Letitia James’ office said complaints from customers found that SiriusXM forced subscribers to wait in an automated system. That’s before often-lengthy interactions with agents who tried to persuade them not to …

Deadline reports: Last Christmas by Wham! has made pop history, topping the Christmas chart for the first time since it was released almost four decades ago. The popular song, written by George Michael when he was a teenager, has been a staple of the Christmas charts ever since, but never made it to the festive number spot before this year. …

Billboard Magazine reports: Billboard Hot 100-charting musician and occasional actor Ryan Gosling hasn’t tied a bow on his time as Ken just yet. To celebrate the holidays, the star temporarily stepped back into his role for a festive performance and music video of his hit Barbie ballad “I’m Just Ken” alongside Mark Ronson, with whom he also released a four-track …

Variety reports: Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global have held talks about a potential merger of the two media companies. Specifically, WBD and Paramount would have an interest in combining their Max and Paramount+ premium streaming services to better compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney’s Disney+ and Hulu. A merged WBD-Paramount Global would also be expected to combine …

The Associate Press reports: Jessica Vincent had just started surveying the shelves of a Virginia thrift store when a vase caught her eye. It was shaped like a bottle and had ribbons of color, aqua green and amethyst purple, that spiraled up its glass surface like stripes of paint. The piece looked old amongst the clutter of measuring cups, candles …

Variety reports: Marvel Studios has parted ways with Jonathan Majors — the actor cast to play Kang, the central antagonist in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — after he was convicted on Dec. 18 of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault of Grace Jabbari, his ex-girlfriend. In the verdict, Majors was also found not guilty of …

Broadway.com reports: A new musical based on the 1987 teenage vampire movie The Lost Boys is in development. The new musical will feature a book by Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor, writer and executive producer David Hornsby and Chris Hoch, with music by the Californian rock band The Rescues. Tony Award winner Michael Arden (Parade) will direct. The producing team …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: The Timothée Chalamet-led Wonka scored an opening day gross of $14.4 million from 4,203 theaters at the Friday box office, putting it on course to earn $38 million or more in its North American opening. That’s a promising start for a musical, a genre that has struggled in recent times. From Warner Bros. and Harry Potter …