Hollywood is recovering from Sunday’s shocking Academy Awards, where “Moonlight” took home the best picture trophy after it was mistakenly given to “La La Land.” And while the twists and turns of the presidency of Donald Trump continue, here’s what’s new and interesting in entertainment and the arts:
- Benedict Cumberbatch returning to TV with Showtime’s ‘Melrose’
- Ed Sheeran jams with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots
- 2017 Oscars updates: Show highlights | Red carpet arrivals | Best and worst dressed
- Two prominent Iranian Americans represented Asghar Farhadi at the Oscars
- New ‘Twin Peaks’ art is out, with a couple of very familiar faces
FX renews ‘Feud’ for a second season that will spotlight Prince Charles and Princess Diana
The salacious details of Britain’s Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana’s failed marriage will get the “Feud” treatment in Season 2 of the rookie FX series.
FX announced Tuesday that it has already renewed Ryan Murphy’s latest dishy anthology before Season 1 -- a showcase of the catfights between rival movie stars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis -- premieres on the cable network.
“Feud: Bette and Joan” will debut on Sunday and the drama will play out in eight episodes. The series chronicles the filming of the 1962 camp classic “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” which starred Crawford and Davis — two actresses who famously despised each other. Oscar winners Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon portray Crawford and Davis, respectively.
Meanwhile, the second season, “Feud: Charles and Diana,” will unfold in 10 episodes and is scheduled to debut in 2018.
Though plot details haven’t been revealed, the globally watched royal couple’s tumultuous marriage provided much tabloid fodder beginning with the early days of their courtship. From their lavish 1981 nuptials to the adulterous breakdown of their union, they dominated headlines in the 1990s and after Diana’s untimely death in 1997.
Murphy, the executive producer and scribe of such hits as “AHS” and “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” will write the Season 2 scripts with Jon Robin Baitz, the network said.
The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning producer recently revealed that an upcoming season of his horror anthology will pull from the 2016 election. Additionally, Season 2 of “American Crime Story” will focus on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Season 3 will investigate the 1997 murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace.
Benedict Cumberbatch lands next television project with Showtime’s ‘Melrose’
Benedict Cumberbatch has built a successful career from playing posh and prickly aristocrats, and his next role will be no exception.
Showtime announced Tuesday that Cumberbatch will star in the network’s five-part limited series “Melrose,” an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical Patrick Melrose series by Edward St. Aubyn.
The books chronicle the protagonist’s journey to overcome addiction and an abusive childhood while simultaneously serving as a caustic examination of upper-class society.
“I’ve been a huge admirer of Edward St. Aubyn’s novels for years and can’t wait to bring these dark, witty, brilliant books to the screen,” screenwriter David Nicholls (“Far From the Madding Crowd”) said in a press release. “Benedict is the perfect Patrick Melrose.”
Nicholls will write all five episodes of the upcoming series.
Filming for the series will begin in August and take place in New York, London and the south of France.
“Melrose” is a co-production between Showtime and Sky Atlantic.
Ed Sheeran shakes his banana for all it’s worth with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots
Anything goes in 2017.
Cats competing at the Westminster Dog Show, furry Crocs showing up in fashion shows and major awards ceremonies being derailed by the wrong envelope are all just part of our new normal.
And now here comes the latest edition of Classroom Instruments on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
British pop star Ed Sheeran turned in a fine performance on Monday night’s episode, joining Fallon and the Roots on a version of his latest hit “Shape of You.”
Classroom Instruments is a genuinely fun recurring bit for the show, but there’s still just something a little weird about watching Sheeran earnestly rattle a banana shaker while singing about how “my bedsheets smell like you.”
But strange is the order of the day now.
The question now is whether Sheeran’s appearance on “The Tonight Show” tops his gig at the Grammys. Judge for yourself.
‘Moonlight’ named best picture after onstage snafu at 2017 Oscars
The day after the Oscars’ craziest, shocking moment ever, questions still linger about why “La La Land” was announced best picture when “Moonlight” was the true winner.
L.A. Times’ film critic Justin Chang comes to the conclusion that the two movies’ fortunes were inextricable and the you-couldn’t-have-scripted-it finale oddly enough made sense.
FULL COVERAGE: Complete list of winners | Show highlights | Red carpet arrivals | Best and worst dressed
Lin-Manuel Miranda even sings karaoke better than you do
Los Angeles, what were you doing Thursday night? Unless the answer was “singing karaoke with potential EGOT winner Lin-Manuel Miranda,” you definitely missed out.
Miranda, ostensibly in town for Sunday night’s Academy Awards, dropped by the Lost Knight pub in Echo Park for the premiere party for the new Seeso series “My Brother, My Brother and Me” and sang karaoke with enthused revelers.
Before continuing, let’s clarify a few things.
Seeso is a subscription streaming service owned by NBC that features comedy content.
“My Brother, My Brother and Me” is a new series — featuring Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy — that started as a podcast and includes the brothers humorously answering questions posed by listeners or found online.
Miranda previously appeared on an episode of “MBMBaM” and even composed a song for the occasion. “Ghost Horse” is about — you guessed it — a horse that is a ghost.
Now that everyone’s on the same page, we can tell you that Miranda jumped at the chance (literally) to help out a crooner performing the opening number to his hit musical, “Hamilton,” leaping on stage just before his musical cue.
Miranda also had no problem rocking the mic on his own, offering his take on the R. Kelly classic “Ignition (Remix),” which is just as delightful as it sounds.
Watch the videos and regret all your Thursday night social choices below.
Two prominent Iranian Americans will represent Asghar Farhadi at Sunday’s Oscars
Oscar-nominated director Asghar Farhadi is standing by his decision to boycott Sunday’s Academy Awards by sending two prominent Iranian American citizens in his stead.
Anousheh Ansari, an engineer, the first Iranian in space and the first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station, and Firouz Naderi, a former NASA director for solar system exploration, will accept the award for foreign-language film on behalf of Farhadi, should “The Salesman” win the category Sunday night, according to Variety.
Farhadi announced in January that he will not be attending the Oscars because of President Trump’s executive order banning Syrian refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S.
“Hard-liners, despite their nationalities, political arguments and wars, regard and understand the world in very much the same way,” Farhadi said in his original statement. “In order to understand the world, they have no choice but to regard it via an ‘us and them’ mentality, which they use to create a fearful image of ‘them’ and inflict fear in the people of their own countries.”
Trump’s travel ban was blocked by courts before the president repealed it with promises of a new executive order restricting travel in the weeks to come.
“The Salesman” is considered a favorite to win the foreign- language film award by many prognosticators, including The Times’ Glenn Whipp, who wrote of its chances: “A vote for the latest film from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has a dual purpose — rewarding excellence and showing solidarity with immigrants.”
Farhadi previously won the foreign-language Oscar for his 2011 film “A Separation.”
Find all of The Times’ Oscars coverage here.
New ‘Twin Peaks’ art is out, with a couple of very familiar faces
Bummer — no giants, log ladies or dancing dwarves in the new art for Showtime’s reincarnation of “Twin Peaks.” Did you really expect anyone other than Laura Palmer or Special Agent Dale Cooper as the faces of the show?
Showtime released images Friday for its limited-series reboot of the quirky 1990-’91 show from David Lynch, and while actress Sheryl Lee hasn’t aged a day, for obvious reasons, Kyle MacLachlan has matured. But in a good way.
The 18-episode series premieres May 21, if you didn’t get that already from the posters.
Karl Lagerfeld accuses Meryl Streep of selling out on Oscars red carpet
It’s only Friday, but there’s already Oscars fashion drama ahead of Sunday’s ceremony.
On Thursday, Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld told Women’s Wear Daily that representatives for 20-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep had requested the design house produce a gown for the star before changing their minds abruptly.
“I made a sketch, and we started to make the dress,” Lagerfeld told the magazine before saying he later got a second call from Streep’s team canceling the request.
“ ‘Don’t continue the dress. We found somebody who will pay us,’ ” Lagerfeld claimed Streep’s reps told him.
“A genius actress, but cheapness also, no?” Lagerfeld said.
Team Streep fundamentally disagrees with Lagerfeld’s tale, with a representative for the actress telling the Hollywood Reporter that the original claim is false and it’s against Streep’s personal ethics to be paid to wear a gown on the red carpet.
Either way, all eyes will be on Streep when she hits the carpet, no matter what she’s wearing.
PHOTOS: The red carpet looks of this year’s Oscar-nominated actresses
Find all of The Times’ Oscars coverage here.
Trump supporter Caitlyn Jenner calls president’s order on transgender bathroom issue a ‘disaster’
Caitlyn Jenner sent out a message Thursday calling out President Trump for dropping federal protections for transgender students’ access to bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity.
“I have a message for the trans kids of America: You’re winning. I know it doesn’t feel like it today or every day, but you’re winning,” said Jenner on a video posted to her Twitter account.
Urging support for the National Center for Transgender Equality and Gavin Grimm -- the transgender student whose fight for his right to use the boys’ restroom has sparked a national debate climbing all the way up to the Supreme Court -- Jenner went on to call out bullies (among whom she included Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions) and President Trump himself, telling him to call her, “from one Republican to another.”
“This is a disaster, and you can still fix it,” Jenner said, reminding Trump he had made a promise to “protect the LGBTQ community.”
Golden Kanye West-ish statue on Hollywood Boulevard is street artist’s annual Oscars effort
If it’s Oscar time, it must be time for another golden statue from publicity-savvy street artist Plastic Jesus. This time, the previously faceless dude has been decked out with an approximation of Kanye West’s face and a pair of black Yeezy shoes.
“False Idol” is inscribed on the base of the statue, which popped up Wednesday on Hollywood Boulevard at La Brea.
Last year, a faceless Oscar-ish statue snorted cocaine on Hollywood Boulevard, and 2014’s iteration injected heroin.
Plastic Jesus has dipped his toes into the Kardashian-West pool before, posting “No Kardashian Parking Anytime” signs around Los Angeles in 2015. Then in April 2016, he did a “No Trump Anytime” campaign.
The artist promoted the unveiling of the statue for a week on his Instagram page, where commenters were hoping the piece would look like President Trump.
Crucified Kanye’s Wednesday outing was a precursor to a one-weekend exhibit of art by Plastic Jesus and artist-musician Billy Morrison at the former site of Tower Records on Sunset. That exhibit opens with a VIP reception Friday and then to the public on Saturday.
Plastic Jesus and Morrison have, incidentally, “reinvented” the store’s iconic logo in their own image.
Ricky Martin wants a daughter -- and ‘the way we do babies,’ he says, he can set that up
Ricky Martin wants to have “Daddy’s little girl” once he and artist Jwan Yosef are married.
“I want a big family,” the singer said Wednesday night on “Watch What Happens Live,” answering a viewer’s question. “Daddy’s little girl has to come, of course. The way we do babies, I get to choose the sex, so definitely girls are coming.”
Martin, 45, welcomed twin boys via a surrogate in 2008 and said that if twin girls arrived next, that would be fine, too. If it happens, he told host Andy Cohen, it happens.
“And I’m talking about only my babies,” Martin said with a smile. “Then he’s going to have more babies as well” so Yosef has his own genetic connection to the next generation.
Martin and Yosef, who’ve been an item since January 2016, got engaged last November.
Who is this year’s Harvard Humanitarian of the Year? Hint: She shines bright like a diamond
Rihanna is on fire.
On Wednesday, the international superstar achieved a status earned only by the Beatles and Madonna — landing 30 songs in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
That same day, she also was named Humanitarian of the Year by Harvard University, shedding light on a lesser-known side of her stardom.
“Rihanna has charitably built a state-of- the-art center for oncology and nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat breast cancer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados,” S. Allen Counter, the Harvard Foundation’s director, said in a statement.
Bursting onto the scene with 2005’s “Pon de Replay,” the 29-year-old singer has gone on to sell 60 million albums and more than 200 million digital tracks throughout her career. Known for her catchy pop anthems, edgy style and sass, the Barbadian also is involved with philanthropy.
In addition to promoting health, Rihanna is also passionate about education initiatives. She created the Clara and Lionel Foundation Scholarship Program, which supports students attending college in the U.S. from Caribbean countries. The musician also supports the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project, which gives girls in developing countries access to education.
Joining the ranks of previous recipients such as actor James Earl Jones, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and gender rights advocate Malala Yousafzai, Rihanna will accept the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award in a Feb. 28 ceremony on Harvard’s campus.
Lisa Marie Presley ordered to pay Michael Lockwood’s legal fees as divorce gets uglier
Lisa Marie Presley has reportedly been ordered to pay her estranged husband’s legal fees -- but not any spousal support -- as their divorce battle rolls on.
Presley has been ordered to pay $50,000 of Michael Lockwood’s legal bill in $10,000-a-month chunks, a source told People. A separate hearing about their postnuptial agreement will be held, and if it’s found to be invalid the daughter of Elvis Presley might be ordered to pay retroactive support, the source said.
Lockwood has requested $40,000 a month in spousal support and wanted $100,000 for his legal fees, according to documents obtained by the Daily Mail. Presley claims that their 2007 postnup rules out support payments. She has accused her estranged husband of mishandling her money, according to TMZ.
In those documents, Presley accuses Lockwood, a musician, of child neglect and possessing “inappropriate” and “disturbing” images and video of their twin girls. Beverly Hills police confirmed to People that they had served a search warrant after receiving a child-abuse complaint and had referred the case to authorities in Tennessee.
The 8-year-olds are currently being taken care of by grandma Priscilla Presley. “There is Lots of confusion, commotion and concern from all the talk circulating,” Elvis’ ex-wife said on Facebook. “Let me put this to rest... the girls have not been in foster care and never will be. The girls have been with me and will be until all this is sorted out.”
Lisa Marie Presley filed to end her 10-year marriage to Lockwood in June 2016. It will be her fourth divorce, following marriages to bass player Danny Keough, King of Pop Michael Jackson and actor Nicolas Cage.
Sinéad O’Connor apologizes to Arsenio Hall for saying he gave Prince drugs; lawsuit dropped
Arsenio Hall is reportedly dropping his $5-million defamation lawsuit against Sinéad O’Connor now that the singer has retracted and apologized for saying, weeks after Prince’s death, that the comedian had been the artist’s drug dealer.
“I sincerely apologize because those statements would be false, and I retract them unequivocally,” O’Connor told TMZ, which obtained a joint statement from her and Hall on Wednesday about the celebrity detente.
The Irish singer was far less serious last May when she first reacted to Hall’s lawsuit, which was prompted by Facebook posts saying she had reported him to the sheriff’s department that was investigating Prince’s death. She also posted a rambling story — since taken down — expanding on her accusation that Hall had “spiked” her joint with something other than marijuana at a 1991 party.
“I’m more amused than I’ve ever dreamed a person could be and look forward very much to how hilarious it will be watching him trying to prove me wrong,” she said on Facebook at the time.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in May, alleged that O’Connor “targeted Hall with wild and false accusations that he had been Prince’s drug supplier for decades and had somehow been responsible for Prince’s death.”
Nothing compares to truth?
READ MORE: Sinéad O’Connor’s headline-grabbing history: disses, disappearances and mental illness>>
Amber Tamblyn and David Cross have a daughter, and here’s what she’s not named
Amber Tamblyn got into the spirit of fake news as she and David Cross announced the birth of their daughter on Tuesday.
The baby’s name? “Dauphinoise Petunia Brittany Scheherazade Von Funkinstein Mustard Witch RBG Cross Tamblyn-Bey jr.,” the actress declared on Instagram, giving a nod to Beyoncé, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and, well, mustard.
Given the oddly fantastic baby names entertainers have been known to bestow upon their offspring, it’s almost plausible. No real details were posted, unless the kid’s real name is buried somewhere in that multiple-moniker pileup.
Tamblyn announced that she was pregnant with a girl in October, in an essay for Glamour. “I think constantly about the world I am bringing her into,” wrote the actress, whose comedy “Girlfriend’s Day” premiered on Netflix on Valentine’s Day.
Cross, 52, and Tamblyn, 33, have been married since October 2012. This is their first child.
Nick Cannon welcomes son, Golden ‘Sagon,’ with Brittany Bell
Nick Cannon has welcomed a second son. Golden “Sagon” Cannon was born Tuesday, the rapper, comic and former “America’s Got Talent” host announced on Instagram.
The new baby, whose mom is aspiring actress and model Brittany Bell, who was Miss Arizona USA in 2010, joins a family that includes Moroccan and Monroe, Cannon’s 5-year-old twins with ex-wife Mariah Carey.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy cometh in the morning!” Cannon wrote Wednesday. “No matter how hard the world may hit you, God always reminds us of our purpose!”
He and 29-year-old Bell aren’t a couple anymore, Cannon told People magazine last November, but the pregnancy wasn’t an accident either, he explained on Power 106 in December.
“Never an ‘oops baby!’ I’m so calculated with my moves,” Cannon said to host J Cruz. “I’ve always wanted five kids.”
Also: That “weeping” Cannon mentioned in his birth announcement? It might refer to a story that’s allegedly being prepared by the National Enquirer, questioning his mental health and stating that Carey is about to petition for full custody of the twins, who are with her now in the United Arab Emirates.
“If you report these lies, expect a slander and defamation lawsuit. Look everyone, see how the media is trying to break a King?” Cannon said Tuesday on Instagram as he shared part of what appears to be an email message giving his team a heads-up that a negative piece is coming down the pike.
“Me and my family, my mindset, and my spirit are all stronger than ever,” the 36-year-old continued. “I felt like releasing this so called ‘journalist’ info to the public so you all can get at them, but instead I release nothing but positive energy into the Universe.”
If there’s a ‘Meryl Streep kind of moment’ at the Oscars, will President Trump be too busy to respond?
In an awards season already rife with politically charged acceptance speeches, Sunday’s Oscars ceremony could offer the most prominent platform of all.
And will President Trump, the target of most critiques so far, be tuned in?
That’s what Debra Saunders, White House correspondent for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, wanted to know at Wednesday’s briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
“The Oscars are Sunday night. Will the president be watching?” Saunders asked Spicer. “If there’s a Meryl Streep kind of moment, how do you think he’ll react? This has happened at other awards ceremonies. Why do you think this happens?”
The press corps chuckled at the question, and Spicer answered with a smile: “I have no idea. It’s a free country. I think Hollywood is known for being rather far to the left in its opinions.”
Spicer cast doubt on whether Trump would watch the Oscars, explaining that the president and first lady will already be busy Sunday.
“I think the president will be hosting the Governors Ball that night. Mrs. Trump looks forward to putting on a phenomenal event ... and I have a feeling that’s where the president and first lady are going to be focused on on Sunday night,” Spicer said.
Spicer was referring to an invitation-only evening with the president and first lady held at the White House during the National Governors Assn. winter meeting.
However, the NGA event begins at 6 p.m. Eastern and the Oscars don’t begin until 8:30 p.m. Eastern, leaving plenty of time for the commander in chief to catch (or not catch) some of the show.
Check out the Times’ complete Oscars coverage.
For the record: A previous version of this story misidentified the NGA event held Sunday night. The Reception for Governors will be held Feb. 27.
Watch Jimmy Fallon launch the Trump News Network
Comedy never takes a holiday, Jimmy Fallon.
“The Tonight Show” host featured a sketch Tuesday night all about President Trump launching his own (fictional) news network, TNN, to help combat the insidious threat of “fake news.”
In full Trump regalia, Fallon lampooned Trump’s continued obsession with fake news, as well as his inaccurate implication that some violent episode transpired in Sweden.
The one problem with Fallon’s sketch was that Presidents Day meant that “The Tonight Show” didn’t air until Tuesday, so jokes that felt fresh Monday on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers” were now stale and, worse, outdated.
Zingers about Trump’s Swedish confusion that were funny the day before were less so Tuesday, as news broke of rioting in a predominantly immigrant Stockholm suburb.
But Fallon’s sketch still had plenty to laugh at, including Jo Firestone’s stellar send-up of Betsy DeVos as a clueless weatherman, and a news ticker that simply said the president’s name over and over.
See all the jokes, timely and otherwise, below.
Bill Maher takes credit for, but not glee in, the downfall of Milo Yiannopoulos
Bill Maher weighed in Tuesday on the swift downfall of Milo Yiannopoulos days after the controversial pundit had appeared on his HBO show, “Real Time,” last week.
“By the end of the weekend, by dinnertime Monday, [Yiannopoulos is] dropped as a speaker at CPAC. Then he’s dropped by Breitbart, and his book deal falls through,” Maher told the New York Times.
“As I say, sunlight is the best disinfectant,” added Maher. “You’re welcome.”
Maher’s philosophy on exposure runs counter to the tack many late-night hosts took during the 2016 election. Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert faced criticism for their kid-glove treatment of Donald Trump during interviews, opting not to push the then-candidate on difficult issues.
When he appeared on “Real Time,” Yiannopoulos was still a senior editor at Breitbart News, a self-styled provocateur who had been accused of espousing misogynistic, racist and anti-Muslim rhetoric while touting the protections of the 1st Amendment.
While his televised time with Maher was fairly anodyne — to the dismay of viewers who thought Maher should have challenged his guest — Yiannopoulos quickly fell from grace when a viral video surfaced revealing the pundit seeming to defend pedophilia.
Yiannopoulos denounced pedophilia on Tuesday, claiming the video was taken out of context, but in the meantime lost a speaking invitation at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a six-figure book deal with Simon & Schuster and resigned from his position at Breitbart.
Maher, however, wasn’t joyous at the turn of events.
“I wasn’t trying to get him removed from society,” Maher said, noting that some had tried to do exactly that to him many times over the years. “It just rubs me the wrong way when somebody says, ‘I don’t like what this person is saying — he should go away.’”
Kaitlin Olson and ‘The Mick’ get second season renewal at Fox
It’s always sunny for “The Mick.”
The freshman Fox comedy starring Kaitlin Olson (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) scored a Season 2 renewal Tuesday.
“From the earliest stages of development, all of us at Fox had enormous faith in ‘The Mick’ and it hasn’t disappointed,” Fox president of entertainment David Madden said in a statement. “Kaitlin is a fearless comedic force, and the rest of the cast has just proven to be phenomenal. John and Dave Chernin have a very clear vision of what this show is, and they execute on that vision each week to perfection.”
Olson stars as Mickey Murphy, who suddenly finds herself overseeing her sister’s children, even though she can barely take care of herself.
Through its first nine episodes, “The Mick” has averaged a 1.9 rating in adults 18-49 and 3.61 million viewers the night it airs.
“The Mick” airs at 8:30 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday nights on Fox.
First cast photo from the ‘Star Wars’ Han Solo spinoff shows the early days aboard the Millennium Falcon
Principal photography has begun on the untitled Han Solo “Star Wars” spinoff film featuring the adventures of the space pirate and friends.
Lucasfilm released a photograph from the set of the film, currently in production at Pinewood Studios in London, featuring much of the cast posed around the flight console of the Millennium Falcon.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (“The Lego Movie”) co-directors of the film, were photographed with cast members Woody Harrelson (“Zombieland”), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”), Alden Ehrenreich (“Hail, Caesar!”), Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) and Donald Glover (“Atlanta”). Thandie Newton (“Westworld”) also stars in the film but was not featured in the photo. Chewbacca, portrayed by Joonas Suotamo, was, however.
Shooting for the film began Monday, but beyond the cast, which boasts Ehrenreich (pictured center, with leather jacket and a scruffy-looking nerf-herder hairstyle) as Solo and Glover (pictured right, who is beautiful, as always) as Lando Calrissian, little is known about the script penned by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan.
The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 25, 2018.
Josh Gad continues interrogating Daisy Ridley for ‘Star Wars’ spoilers
“Frozen” actor Josh Gad’s longtime trolling for “Star Wars” spoilers from Daisy Ridley has reached peak nerdiness with some surprising celebrity “Star Wars” fanatics.
Ridley, who plays main character Rey in the new episodic “Star Wars” franchise, has been hounded for weeks for “Star Wars” information by her “Murder on the Orient Express” castmate Gad on the set of their film. Thankfully, for us, each surprise interrogation has been diligently recorded by Gad for the public’s viewing pleasure.
SAG-AFTRA blasts Trump without ever saying his name
SAG-AFTRA, the labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television workers, released a statement Tuesday stating its unequivocal support of a free and unencumbered press and the protection of the 1st Amendment.
The statement comes after President Trump’s first month in office, during which the commander in chief expressed open disdain for the news media.
Though the union makes no direct reference to the president’s positions on journalistic outlets, the timing of its statement seems an unquestionable response to President Trump’s position.
The full SAG-AFTRA statement is below.
As a union whose membership includes broadcast and online journalists, SAG-AFTRA champions the rights of a free press, whose primary role is to provide citizens with the information they need to effectively govern a democracy. These rights are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which establishes that the press shall be free from government interference in the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions.
SAG-AFTRA, journalists and non-journalists alike, supports a free and unencumbered press and stands with any journalist who might find his or her ability to report on our government challenged or compromised.
SAG-AFTRA believes first and foremost that citizens in a democracy need the truth. Furthermore, SAG-AFTRA believes that journalists have an obligation to monitor and question those in power, pointing out wrongdoing when they find it, noting when facts asserted are not supported by evidence, and reporting inconsistencies in the positions of public figures.
As working professionals, members of the news media have an obligation to verify the accuracy of what they report, with loyalty only to their readers, listeners and viewers and not to any political party, affiliation, or ideology.
As a proud labor union representing more than 160,000 broadcasters, actors and entertainers SAG-AFTRA stands with all of its members in ensuring that the basic rights of a free and independent press continue to be upheld.
‘Oh, boy!’ Zoe Saldana welcomes third child
It’s children Vol. 3 for Zoe Saldana, who is now a mother of three boys.
The “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” star and husband Marco Perego welcomed their third child, and she announced his arrival over the weekend.
“Marco and I are elated to share the news of the the birth of our son Zen,” she wrote Saturday on Instagram, posting a snapshot of her twins and her newborn as he was on tummy time. “We couldn’t feel more blessed with the new addition to our family. #threeboys... oh boy!”
As for his name, Zen, we bet that household is anything but these days.
The notoriously private star, 38, who often obscures her children’s faces in social media posts, didn’t offer up additional details about Zen. However, several of the “Avatar” and “Star Trek” actress’ followers were flummoxed by the baby news and asked if she adopted Zen or used a surrogate since she showed no signs that she was pregnant at recent public appearances.
Saldana and Perego were spotted leaving Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on Monday with the newborn, Us Weekly reported.
More details about the little guy will likely surface as Saldana embarks on the press tour for “Guardians Vol. 2” this spring. She was markedly pregnant with her twins during the previous film’s publicity rounds.
Saldana and Perego, an Italian artist, wed in June 2013 and she gave birth to Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio in November 2014.
Another month, another mockery: Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert harpoon Trump’s Sweden gaffe
One month down, 47 (or 95) months to go.
As President Trump celebrated his first month in office Monday, late-night hosts lined up to take on his latest round of headlines.
Seth Meyers found plenty of reasons to break out his keenly honed Trump impression on Monday’s “Late Night,” opening the show with: “Today is Presidents’ Day, and you just know Trump was up at the crack of dawn, ready to open presents.”
Meyers mentioned Trump’s comments from the weekend in which the President compared his war on the media to that of Abraham Lincoln, whom he claimed “fought with the media and called them out.”
“Yep,” Meyers deadpanned, “that’s who Abraham Lincoln was most famous for warring with: The media.”
But wait, there’s more!
Meyers also dedicated his 10-minute segment “A Closer Look” to the latest weirdness from the White House, including Chris Christie’s anecdote about Trump forcing him to order meatloaf on a recent visit.
“Of course, the meatloaf was actually a second course for Christie, after Trump made him swallow his pride,” Meyers quipped, before taking aim at the president’s recent Sweden gaffe.
The host of the NBC late-night series pointed out Trump’s continued war on the free press, referencing a recent tweet in which the president called the media “the enemy of the American people” before talking about Trump’s reference to a nonexistent “incident” in Sweden.
For its part, Sweden was mystified.
“That’s how bad things have gotten under Trump,” Meyers said, “We’re getting roasted by Swedes now.”
Trump’s Swedish confusion came from a Tucker Carlson segment on Fox News on Friday night claiming an uptick in violent crime in the country that some attribute to immigration.
Over on “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert was similarly stymied by Trump’s reference to “what’s happening in Sweden.”
“You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden,” the president said at his Florida rally. “Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden!”
“No one,” responded Colbert, “would believe that.”
“Not no one,” he added, “but maybe someone who skips their intelligence briefings.”
Colbert then pointed out that former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt had some choice words about Trump’s comments on Twitter.
Check out all of Colbert’s tribute to the nonexistent victims of the nonexistent attack on Sweden below. (#NeverFjorget)
Special delivery: It’s a girl for new mom Hoda Kotb
Surprise! Hoda Kotb is a new mom. The “Today” co-host has adopted a baby girl.
The wine-sipping TV personality, who’s been absent from the her NBC morning show post and sharing all kinds of inspirational quotes on social media over the last week, announced on Tuesday that her daughter, Haley Joy Kotb, was born on Feb. 14.
“She’s a Valentine’s baby, so she’s a little nugget,” Kotb said while calling into the show and sharing a snapshot of her little girl. “She is the love of my life.”
The 52-year-old is getting a helping hand from her own mother, who arrived a few days ago to be with her daughter and granddaughter. Kotb said she is “among the strongest, most optimistic people I’ve ever met, because she believes anything is possible.”
The “Today” family promptly shared their well wishes during the show and on social media.
Carson Daly told her she would be an “incredible mother,” teasing: “You thought you drank a lot of wine before? You just wait.”
Kotb’s partner in wine, Kathy Lee Gifford, said she knew about the baby for some time but was tight-lipped.
“I’ve got the biggest mouth in the world and I’ve said zilch,” she said. “Hoda, we are thrilled for you, sweetheart. You were made to be a mom.”
Matt Lauer said Haley is “the luckiest girl on the planet,” Jenna Bush Hager said she couldn’t stop crying and Savannah Guthrie said she was “overjoyed.”
Kotb is dating Joel Schiffman and moved in with him last year. She was previously married to tennis coach Burzis Kanga for two years before they divorced in 2007.
Donald Glover will play Simba in Jon Favreau’s live-action ‘Lion King’ movie
Donald Glover continues his reign as Hollywood’s hottest hire, as it appears he will soon become the King of the Jungle, Simba, in Disney’s latest live-action adaptation.
Director Jon Favreau, who successfully brought “The Jungle Book” to life with voice actors such as Bill Murray, Idris Elba, and Scarlett Johansson, has moved onto his next big Disney project, “The Lion King.” And it looks like he has found his lead Simba.
Tweeting from his personal account, Favreau released an image of Glover with the caption “I just can’t wait to be king. #Simba.” While we can’t be sure if this means Glover will be voicing the character or participating in a motion capture type performance, we do know this. Donald Glover is so hot right now.
The actor took home multiple Golden Globes for the “Atlanta” series (on which he is an executive producer, writer and actor), he has been cast in the “Star Wars” origin movie about Han Solo as Lando Calrissian, and now he’s going to star in a big-budget Disney flick.
There is currently no release date set for “The Lion King.”
Update: And the Disney news just keeps coming. Shortly after this tweet Favreau announced yet another cast member for his “Lion King” and this one already has experience playing a king. James Earl Jones, will reprise his role as the voice of Mufasa. Truly, could anyone else fill that part?
Watch six late-night TV shows turn Trump news conference into one big joke
If you, like so many Americans, were unable to spare the 77 minutes necessary to watch President Trump’s Thursday news conference, late-night television has you covered.
So thoroughly covered, in fact, that it might take you just as long to watch all of the jokes as it would to sit through the conference itself.
Leading the charge against Trump’s accusations of “fake news” was “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” which opened with Meyers’ shredding the original script for the evening’s episode as he said, “Bye, dead jokes!”
Trevor Noah had a similar sentiment on “The Daily Show,” explaining his team had a perfectly nice show planned out before Trump called his last-minute conference.
On “The Tonight Show,” host Jimmy Fallon went full Trump and performed his own version of Trump’s tangle with the media, settling at one point for breaking out a “Magic Trump 8 Ball” and reciting Trump catchphrases for an interminably long time.
Over on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Kimmel seemed slightly dumbstruck by the events of the day, describing the president’s attitude this way: “like if your dad found a pack of cigarettes under your mattress.”
Kimmel then aired a super-cut of some of the most cringe-worthy moments, including the president’s asking April Ryan, a black journalist with American Urban Radio Networks, if she could set up a meeting between him and the Congressional Black Caucus.
For his part, James Corden on “The Late Late Show” was gobsmacked that the president mentioned Hillary Clinton 11 times, “Even lovesick teenage boys are like, ‘Move on, man. Let her go. She’s gone.’ ”
Finally, Stephen Colbert and “The Late Show” spent a good 11 minutes examining the conference, at one point failing to find the words for what he saw.
Colbert then looked to how news networks themselves reacted to Trump’s words, with Jake Tapper at CNN saying, “It was unhinged,” and a Fox News correspondent who appeared shellshocked at what she’d witnessed stating, “Wow. Alrighty then.”
For more extensive examinations of the Trump presidency from late-night shows, stay tuned for the next four years.
Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna split again
Reality TV stars Rob Kardashian and fiancée Blac Chyna have reportedly ended their volatile relationship -- like, for real this time.
The “Rob & Chyna” stars, who have been romantically linked since January 2016 and who welcomed daughter Dream Renée in November, called it quits a while ago and their wedding plans are off, according to People.
“They are both trying to be mature about it. It was less dramatic this time,” a Kardashian source told the mag.
Us Weekly reported that Kardashian thinks “it’s the right decision,” with sources noting that Chyna “has disappeared for days at a time without communicating or providing any updates.”
Kardashian, 29, and Chyna, 28, real name Angela Renée White, first split in March 2016 then again just before Christmas following a public he-said-she-said that played out on their social media accounts. Chyna moved out of their home, along with their newborn daughter.
“Chyna is super fed up with Rob and thinks he is way too emotional and depressed. She thinks he has terrible issues,” an insider who knows the couple told Us of the latest split. “He is always battling his own insecurities and is unstable. It’s a major turn-off to her, and she thinks it’s incredibly unhealthy for the baby and their family.”
Chyna, a former stripper who shares a son with the boyfriend of Kardashian’s half-sister Kylie Jenner, had been credited with bringing the recluse back into the spotlight by helping him work on his physical and mental health. The pair opened up about their history and showcased their heated arguments in their E! docu-series.
According to RadarOnline, Chyna was mainly going back to Kardashian because of business.
“Every time she tries to leave him, either he or his people come back with business reasons why they should keep the charade going for image or business purposes,” an insider told the site. “But she’s done with pretending and just wants out now.”
News of their coupling — soon followed by their engagement and pregnancy — solidified Chyna’s infiltration of the female-heavy reality TV dynasty. It also brought into question Chyna’s true motives, including whether she actually cared for Kardashian or was just making a strategic business move.
PewDiePie apologizes for anti-Semitic jokes but says the media took them out of context
PewDiePie is sorry that he made a joke in “not the best way” when trying to show “how crazy the modern world is.”
The Internet star, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, was dropped by Disney’s Maker Studios earlier this week following scrutiny concerning anti-Semitic jokes and imagery in his videos.
YouTube also distanced itself from its top star amid the backlash, announcing the cancelation of the second season of Kjellberg’s reality show, “Scare PewDiePie.”
Following a Tumblr post on Sunday responding to the backlash to his Jan. 11 video (which included two Indian men holding up a sign with an anti-Semitic message), PewDiePie returned to YouTube on Wednesday to apologize and once again address the controversy.
“I’m sorry for the words that I used as I know they offended people,” said PewDiePie. “I admit that the joke itself went too far. I do strongly believe that you can joke about everything, but I also believe that there’s a right way and not the best way to joke about things.”
He also took the occasion to attack mainstream media outlets, including Variety and the Wall Street Journal, which he accuses of misrepresenting him and taking his jokes out of context. He even called out J.K. Rowling.
“Old-school media does not like Internet personalities because they’re scared of us,” he said. “We have so much influence and such a large voice and I don’t think they understand it and that’s why they keep this approach to us.”
He characterized the Journal story about the situation with Maker as a “personal attack,” and said the publication cornered the biggest brands he worked with to force them to sever ties with him.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned about the media from being a public figure is how they blatantly misrepresent people for their own personal gain,” he said. “[They] even viciously attack people just to further themselves.”
You can watch the full video here. (Warning: It contains profanity.)
After finally getting a wide release, Prince’s streaming figures skyrocket
In life, Prince was one of streaming’s great holdouts. Now, less than a year after his death, his music has finally hit Spotify, Apple Music and the other major streaming services. And fans have stormed the gates to revisit his hit-heavy catalog.
Nielsen Music reported Thursday that after finally getting a wide release on Sunday, Prince’s streams have surged by a massive magnitude.
Those figures were no doubt boosted by the Grammys, where Bruno Mars and Prince collaborators the Time paid tribute in a medley performance on Sunday.
Bruno Mars channels Prince, Beyonce slays on stage, and more highlights from the Grammys.
Mel Gibson in talks to direct ‘Suicide Squad’ sequel
F. Scott Fitzgerald said there were no second acts in American lives, but he never said anything about Hollywood careers.
Mel Gibson is in talks to direct the sequel of “Suicide Squad,” the critically panned Warner Bros. supervillain film that nevertheless brought in more than $745 million at the box office.
Originally reported by the Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, Gibson confirmed the rumors during a Q&A after a “Hacksaw Ridge” screening Wednesday night at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.
When asked by the moderator if his talks with the studio were more akin to a deal or a first date, Gibson replied, “It’s kind of a first date.”
The news is the latest development in the career resurrection of the “Passion of the Christ” director.
Gibson had been a Hollywood pariah for nearly 10 years, following anti-Semitic remarks coupled with a drunken-driving arrest in 2006. But the “Lethal Weapon” actor finds himself back in the industry’s good graces with “Hacksaw Ridge,” his film about a conscientious objector fighting during World War II.
The acclaimed film is up for best picture at the Oscars next weekend, and Gibson scored a nomination for director, his first since he won both picture and director for “Braveheart” in 1996.
Despite Gibson’s buzz, the director might make something of a strange pairing for a “Suicide” sequel, given his well-publicized opinions about superhero films.
“I’m not interested in the stuff,” Gibson told Deadline in a September interview, after deriding “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
“Do you know what the difference between real superheroes and comic-book superheroes is? Real superheroes didn’t wear spandex,” he added. “So I don’t know. Spandex must cost a lot.”
Sara Bareilles to brave Broadway and star in ‘Waitress’
It’s a role tailor made for Sara Bareilles to play.
The singer-songwriter announced Thursday that she will be joining the Broadway cast of “Waitress,” the Tony-nominated musical for which she wrote the music and lyrics, for a 10-week run beginning March 31.
Bareilles will take over the lead role of Jenna, a waitress and pie maker trapped in an unfulfilling life. Jessie Mueller, who originated the role, is departing at the end of March.
The musical is an adaptation of Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 independent film of the same name.
“Waitress” scored four Tony Award nominations in 2016 -- for musical, lead actress, featured actor, and Bareilles’ score. The cast and Bareilles were also nominated at the 2017 Grammy Awards for musical theater album.
Bareilles’ limited engagement in “Waitress” runs March 31-June 11.
Los Angeles theater fans not heading to New York can catch a Bareilles-less “Waitress” when it debuts at the Hollywood Pantages in August.
Ryan Murphy reveals the next ‘American Horror Story’: The 2016 election (seriously)
In its six seasons so far, Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story” series has centered around a haunted house, an asylum for the criminally insane, a touring freak show, an isolated farmhouse, a supernatural hotel and the hometown of a coven of witches.
So it makes perfect sense that the seventh season of the horror-themed show will look at the 2016 presidential contest.
Wait, what?!? Even chatty host Andy Cohen was rendered briefly speechless when showrunner Murphy dropped that news Wednesday night on “Watch What Happens Live.”
“I don’t have a title,” Murphy said, “but the season we start shooting in June will be about the election that we just went through. So I think that will be interesting for a lot of people.”
You can exhale: Mariah Carey redeemed herself on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ last night
After a rough New Year’s Eve gig left people wondering, Mariah Carey reminded the world Wednesday night that she can indeed pull off a live performance.
The pop princess redeemed herself on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after difficulties (technical and otherwise) foiled her performance on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest.”
And we’re going to be generous and assume she was singing live on Kimmel, although it’s hard to tell at times, and clearly she was getting an assist from a backing track.
Donning a slinky red dress, Carey sang her new song “I Don’t,” an anthem inspired by the chanteuse’s high-profile broken engagement with Australian billionaire James Packer.
In the song’s music video, Carey sets fire to a wedding dress as she asserts, “Probably think I’m coming back, but I don’t.”
Rapper YG, the featured artist on “I Don’t,” joined Carey for her “Kimmel” performance, which was likely great practice for Carey, who launches a North American tour in March.
‘Everybody’s awake’: Watch Susan Sarandon defend her Bernie Sanders vote and scold MSNBC’s Chris Hayes
During the 2016 presidential campaign, actress and staunch Bernie Sanders supporter Susan Sarandon drew heat for telling MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that she couldn’t bring herself to vote for Hillary Clinton, even if it meant that Donald Trump would win the election.
“Donald Trump will bring the revolution immediately,” she said at the time.
On Wednesday evening, MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” aired a new interview with Sarandon, who appeared with “Gasland” director Josh Fox.
“Do you feel that you properly appreciated what a Donald Trump presidency would be?” Hayes asked.
“I think that ... analyzing and spending time and energy talking about blaming people who made mistakes or what should have happened is really wasting your time and energy,” Sarandon said. “Because what we have now is a populace that is awake.”
Discussing Trump, she said, “He’s so clumsy and so bad at putting these things through that everybody’s awake and saying, ‘Oh, my god, what’s happening to the EPA?’”
“Which in some ways,” Hayes responded, “you could see as a vindication of what you said.... Is it bringing the revolution?”
“I really am not a proponent for trying to have a revolution when we could have had peaceful change.... We could have had a revolution that was a legal revolution. I would much rather have seen it with a leader like Bernie Sanders.”
Looking forward, she said, “What we have to do now is spend our time and energy focusing on how to fight what’s going on. And so when people are attacking me or trying to say this could have happened.... Really? That’s where we want to spend our time and energy?”
She next turned her attention to Hayes. “You’re a journalist,” she said. “How many hours did you spend on Standing Rock?... What we need from you is to allow people to understand what’s happening.”
She and Fox then got into a discussion of pipeline protests, which they predicted will spread across the country in reaction to the new administration.
“The good thing about this horrible thing of having Trump is that people are awake and they’re participating and they’re having town meetings,” Sarandon said. “This guy is so fumbling that he’s given a whole lesson in how things work, or don’t work.”
She concluded, “As Leonard Cohen said, ‘The cracks are [how] the light comes in.’ And so now we have to be the light.”
Kanye West debuts a drama-free and SoCal-centric Yeezy Season 5 collection with Adidas
Kanye West presented the fifth season of his Yeezy collection collaboration with Adidas in a darkened Pier 59 studio space here Wednesday afternoon. And after last season’s logistical nightmare of a show (the last-minute location reveal of Roosevelt Island, an hour-and-a-half delayed start time, models appearing to faint in the hot sun), this season’s runway production was surprisingly drama-free.
Kicking off at just 22 minutes past the scheduled start time, it was well within the acceptable window of “fashionably late” by fashion week standards.
Instead, the question was whether to consider it a “runway show” at all. Most of the presentation consisted of images from the men’s and women’s collection projected one by one onto the surface of a giant black rectangle in the center of the room from a live feed of the turntable-mounted models backstage.
The street-cast models did appear in the flesh at the conclusion of the short-and-sweet 13-minute-long presentation.
The format wasn’t the only thing that was a marked departure from last season’s show. Instead of the familiar shades of beige and putty, there was some honest-to-goodness color in the mix -- most notably reds, greens and a shade of blue that fell in the teal/turquoise range. These appeared on a range of voluminous varsity jackets, velour (or possibly velvet) V-neck tops, hooded sweatshirts and track suits.
Details included prep-school-style crests on some of the tops and many outerwear pieces printed or appliquéd with Kanye’s (and the Kardashian family’s) SoCal stomping grounds. Among the place names in the mix: Calabasas (on the back of a hooded three-quarter-length coat), Lost Hills, Agoura and the 91302 ZIP Code (which appeared, along with Calabasas, on the back of a red, super-roomy cardigan-meets-cape piece), and Mulholland on the sleeves of a long-sleeve T-shirt.
Thanks to the view-blocking cube, we weren’t able to personally confirm the celebrity attendees that had everybody buzzing – including Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner, Tyga and Hailey Baldwin.
We’re actually not even 100% sure Kanye came out for the traditional post-show designer wave to the crowd.
But if it helps gets the collection seen – and in an efficient under-an-hour timetable from start to finish to boot – we’ll take a rectangular cube any day of the (fashion) week.
Plus, there’s always social media to tell us what we missed.
MORE FASHION WEEK COVERAGE:
In this new era, politics is on trend on the runways at New York Fashion Week
Niki Caro to helm live-action ‘Mulan’ movie
Disney’s live-action adaptation of its animated “Mulan” film will be directed by Niki Caro. “Crouching Tiger” producer Bill Kong is also joining the film as executive producer.
The Los Angeles Times has confirmed the news first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
Caro, who has directed films such as “Whale Rider” (2002), “McFarland, USA” (2015) and the upcoming “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” will be the second woman whom Disney has tapped to helm a movie with a budget of more than $100 million. She follows Ava DuVernay, who is directing Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time” adaptation.
The only other women who have solo-directed live-action films at that budget level are Kathryn Bigelow (2002’s “K-19: The Widowmaker”) and Patty Jenkins (the upcoming “Wonder Woman” film).
Kong, meanwhile, is a Hong Kong-based producer who has worked on films including “Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”
“Mulan” faced some early controversy when details emerged that the adaptation would focus on the story of a male, non-Asian love interest rather than Mulan herself. But Disney responded to the rumors by clarifying that screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver were retooling the original script purchased by the studio.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the “Mulan” team has had extensive conversations with Chinese cultural consultants about the film.
The cast for the “Mulan” adaptation has not yet been announced. A global casting search is underway for an actress to play the Chinese heroine, as well as the other main roles.
The film is due to hit theaters Nov. 2, 2018.