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Today in Entertainment: CNN fires Kathy Griffin over gory Trump photo; Lebanon officially bans ‘Wonder Woman’

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Here’s what’s new and interesting in entertainment and the arts:

A Star Is Born: Morgan Freeman turns 80 today

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

I like to play characters who are the absolute opposite of me. I think the farther you get from yourself, the more fun you have because the real you is hidden away. Those are the kind of parts where you can become totally empty and let the character fill you up. That’s what I look for -- a role that gives me a chance to be someone completely different.

— Morgan Freeman, 1993

FROM THE ARCHIVES: No Sweat: Morgan Freeman Slides Into the Director’s Chair

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Chloë Grace Moretz addresses body-shaming controversy over Snow White movie

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Actress Chloë Grace Moretz has long been known as a strong voice when it comes to issues of feminism, whether it’s over-sexualization of female characters or equal pay for women. Now she’s speaking out against the marketing campaign behind one of her own projects.

Moretz went on social media Wednesday to address criticism that marketing for the animated film “Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs” — an updated tweak on the Snow White story, with Moretz as the voice of the classic fairy-tale character — engages in body-shaming.

“I have now fully reviewed the [marketing] for Red Shoes, I am just as appalled and angry as everyone else, this wasn’t approved by me or my team,” the actress wrote.

According to the website of the South Korean animation studio behind the film, its story centers on “a Princess who doesn’t fit into the celebrity world of Princesses — or their dress size.” When she puts on a pair of magical red shoes, she instantly becomes skinnier.

The film’s synopsis promises an empowering message in which Snow White “learns not only to accept herself, but to celebrate who she is, inside and out.” But the film’s trailer and other marketing materials have been blasted as fat-shaming.

Plus-size model Tess Holliday took to Twitter to criticize a billboard for the film that appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, where “Red Shoes” was seeking distribution, that suggested that the less svelte Snow White was “no longer beautiful.”

Hearing the complaints about the film’s tone-deaf marketing, Moretz agreed – and told her more than 3 million followers so in a pair of tweets.

Even as she apologized, she promised that the marketing doesn’t represent the complete picture and the film’s ultimate message is a far more positive one than initial impressions may suggest.

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Singing tween ventriloquist from ‘America’s Got Talent’ is the cure for what ails you

Had enough outrage? Here’s the cure for what ails you, courtesy of “America’s Got Talent.”

Take a deep breath, exhale slowly and witness one Darci Lynne Farmer, a 12-year-old singing ventriloquist from Oklahoma City, who on Tuesday night got the Golden Buzzer from “AGT” judge Mel B for a performance that exuded unadulterated joy.

Armed with bunny-puppet pal Petunia on lead vocals, Darci Lynne delivered a surprising version of “Summertime” for her audition. She ended up earning a ticket straight to the competition’s live shows.

“You made my heart melt,” said Mel B, who Darci Lynne later dubbed “the best Spice Girl.”

“I believe that that rabbit is a real separate person,” judge Howie Mandel said. “I love you. I believe you’re gonna go far. You just changed your life tonight, young lady.”

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John Legend makes case to take canceled drama ‘Underground’ elsewhere

(Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

John Legend is making a case for the recently canceled TV drama “Underground” to be picked up by other content providers.

The Oscar-winning musician, who is an executive producer and played abolitionist Frederick Douglass on the Underground Railroad-centered show, rallied fans to give it a second life when cable broadcaster WGN America announced Tuesday it would be canceling the series after two seasons.

The network has been scaling down its investment in original programming as part of a deal that its parent company, Tribune Media, made with conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. Sinclair’s purchase of Tribune gives it control of more than 200 local TV stations and WGN America.

The shift was not lost on Legend, who fired off a series of tweets to promote the content brought forth by “Underground” and its creators, Misha Green and Joe Pokaski.

“WGN America has been bought and is going a different direction strategically. We will find a new home for Underground!” he tweeted, adding, “Content wins. We’re not reliant on a particular network to make great content. We’re so proud of our show and the audience that supported!”

Legend, who has made no secret about his liberal politics, cautioned fans to “be wary of Sinclair” and claimed that “they’re trying to make local stations mini Fox Newses” that lean even further to the right.

He completed his plea by asking followers to “feel free to drop some hints to the network/streaming services you want to pick up #Underground. Show them who will be watching!”

“Despite ‘Underground’ being a terrific and important series, it no longer fits with our new direction and we have reached the difficult decision not to renew it for a third season,” Peter Kern, president and CEO of Tribune Media, said in a statement. “It is our hope that this remarkable show finds another home and continues its stories of courage, determination and freedom.”

Sony Pictures Television, the studio that produces “Underground,” is said to be trying to find it a new home.

See The Times’ roster of new, returning and canceled series here.

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Coachella 2018 dates and ticket sales announced

We already knew one thing about Coachella in 2018: Beyoncé’s headlining. And now we know when the world-famous California music festival will be held and when tickets are on sale.

Organizers announced Wednesday that the festival will again return to the expanded Empire Polo Club in Indio for two weekends, April 13-15 and April 20-22.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 11 a.m. PDT. Ticket prices start at $429 for general admission and $999 for VIP, and usually sell out within hours and well before a full lineup is announced.

Given that next year will see Beyoncé’s much-awaited, post-twins makeup set at Coachella, it’s fair to say they’ll go fast.

Lady Gaga performed at the 2017 edition of Coachella.
((Patrick T. Fallon / For The Los Angeles Times)
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Liam Gallagher plays new music at Manchester benefit show

In the wake of the terrorist attack outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, scores of artists joined forces to raise money for the victims. Among them was Liam Gallagher, the former singer and frontman for the city’s most beloved rock band, Oasis.

Gallagher played a benefit show for the bombing victims on Tuesday at the O2 Ritz Manchester. At the show, his first as a solo artist, he played several new songs, including the single “Wall of Glass,” which you can watch above. It was a preview of his forthcoming solo LP, “As You Were.” (Previously, Gallagher fronted the post-Oasis rock band Beady Eye.)

For Oasis fans, he played several classic tracks, including “Be Here Now” with Oasis guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and an a cappella take on “Live Forever.”

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CNN fires Kathy Griffin from New Year’s Eve show over controversial Trump picture

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Kathy Griffin is out of a job at CNN.

The cable network on Wednesday terminated its agreement with the comic, who for years has co-hosted its New Year’s Eve program with Anderson Cooper, after a photo of Griffin holding a bloody, severed head in the likeness of President Trump went viral on social media.

The image, taken by photographer Tyler Shields, elicited strong criticism from liberals and conservatives alike.

Griffin apologized for the gory image in a 30-second video posted online Tuesday night.

“I beg for your forgiveness,” Griffin said in the video. “I went too far.”

Trump denounced the image Wednesday, calling it “Sick!” and saying Griffin should be ashamed.

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Lebanon officially bans ‘Wonder Woman’ from theaters

If you live in Lebanon, “Wonder Woman” won’t be coming to a theater near you anytime soon.

On Wednesday, the country officially banned the superhero film just hours before it was set to arrive in theaters. The ban followed an effort by a group called Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel, which urged the Lebanese government’s Ministry of Economy and Trade to block the film because its star, Gal Gadot, is Israeli.

News of the ban, which had been the subject of speculation since Monday, was announced on social media by Lebanon’s Grand Cinemas and Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel.

Lebanon has had a contentious relationship with the state of Israel for decades and has an official law on the books that encourages boycotts of products from its neighbor to the south. Israeli citizens and anyone whose passport shows they’ve traveled to Israel are prohibited from entering Lebanon.

Earlier films featuring Gadot, including “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Furious 7,” have successfully screened in theaters in Lebanon, however. “Batman v Superman,” which introduced Gadot’s Wonder Woman, was the third biggest hit at the box office in Lebanon last year.

And, as has been pointed out, “Wonder Woman” was, in fact, made by three companies based in America and two based in China, so calling it an Israeli product is debatable.

But, on its Facebook page, the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel complained that Gadot had served two years in the Israeli Defense Forces (national military service is mandatory for Israeli citizens over 18) and “boasted about the army training her for Hollywood.”

“Wonder Woman” lands in American theaters on Friday and, fueled by overwhelmingly positive reviews, is expected to perform strongly. Read our recent profile of director Patty Jenkins, in which she explains why the world needs Wonder Woman, right here.

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If President Trump’s got the whole world in his hands, Trevor Noah says we’re in trouble

Having caught fire too late Tuesday for late-night TV, and with several hosts extending their Memorial Day weekend, the #covfefe hashtag would have to wait at least until Wednesday for its monologue moment.

There were, however, some late-night-related tweets reacting to Twitter addict @realdonaldtrump’s since-deleted mistyping of what is assumed to be the word “covering” or “coverage.”

“What makes me saddest,” wrote Jimmy Kimmel, “is that I know I’ll never write anything funnier than #covfefe.”

The account for CBS’ “Late Late Show” poked some fun at Trump’s gaffe, too.

Meanwhile, Trevor Noah and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” were back after a week off, above, catching up with President Trump’s whole first trip abroad. “International Hand Stuff” was the name of the segment, which framed the excursion in terms of the president’s mitts.

There were references to Trump touching the “glowing white orb” and Jerusalem’s Western Wall (“they build one wall 2,000 years ago,” Noah said in his Trump voice, “zero Mexicans in their whole country”); the question of whether First Lady Melania Trump swatted away her husband’s hand on the tarmac in Tel Aviv (“leave it to Fox News not to recognize what rejection from a woman looks like”); and Trump’s power handshake from new French President Emmanuel Macron (“the first time that President Trump was on the receiving end of an unwelcome hand grab”).

The last manual metaphor was given to the German chancellor, who, after her visit with the American president, said, “We Europeans must take our fate into our own hands.”

“Yeah,” said Noah, “clearly Angela Merkel got one look at Trump and was like, ‘All right, our fate is in our own hands, because his clearly ruin everything they touch.’”

Jimmy Kimmel also looked at Trump’s trip abroad, which he described, with probable irony, as “spreading joy and optimism all over the world.” Titled “Drunk Donald Trump: Sicily,” the segment replayed a portion of Trump’s speech at half-speed. The effect is uncanny.

Later, sitting outside on some steps -- urine-stained steps, apparently -- Kimmel asked a series of kids, who really do say the darnedest things, about the state of the union.

If we measure a late-night host solely by an ability to engage with children in a way that’s friendly, direct, deadpan and mostly honest, Kimmel is in a league with David Letterman, nearly.

How did he think Donald Trump was doing, Kimmel asked one boy.

“Not really well,” the child replied. “My sister told me that Donald Trump is against another state.”

“Which state? Is it … Nebraska?”

“Yeah, Nebraska.”

“A lot of people are happy that he is bombing Nebraska,” said Kimmel. (I did say “mostly” honest.) “Do you think it was a good idea?”

“No,” replied the boy, “‘cause they have, like, better bombs.”

“I think they’re going to be OK, though, I really do,” the host said. “Once football season starts, they’re usually pretty solid.”

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Kathy Griffin apologized for that bloody severed-head stunt. But few are forgiving her

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

First Lady Melania Trump is the latest detractor of Kathy Griffin’s bloody depiction of the president’s decapitation.

“As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing,” FLOTUS said in a statement to NBC News. “When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.”

Griffin’s photographs and video by photographer Tyler Shields showed the comic straight-faced, holding up a blood-splattered severed head that appeared to be Trump’s. The president denounced Griffin’s stunt, saying that she “should be ashamed of herself” and that the piece greatly disturbed his 11-year-old son, Barron.

Griffin’s apology wasn’t accepted by some on Twitter either, which spewed a variety of reactions, including several right-wing jabs that Griffin had been radicalized by Islamic State, the terror group that frequently beheads its victims. Several also sympathized with the president’s family, citing TMZ’s story about Barron believing that something horrible had happened to his father when he saw the images on the news.

CNN subsequently fired Griffin from her co-hosting duties for its New Year’s Eve broadcast, and she has also been dropped as a spokesperson for Squatty Potty.

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was delighted by the bathroom footstool maker’s response but criticized CNN for not immediately doing the same.

“So Squatty Potty pulls the plug on Kathy Griffin, but CNN still ‘evaluating’ and weighing their options,” the president’s eldest son tweeted. “Insane what’s going on there!!!” He then added, “Apologies for my last tweet. I didn’t mean to group Squatty Potty with CNN. Obviously one of them has moral/ethical standards.”

Griffin’s CNN compatriot, Anderson Cooper, who co-hosts the giggle-filled New Year’s Eve show for the cable news channel, did not come to his pal’s defense.

“For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate,” Cooper tweeted.

CNN host Jake Tapper also said on the air that he “thought the beheading imagery by Griffin about the president was disgusting and inappropriate.”

Meanwhile, others believed that Griffin’s apology was a step in the right direction.

“I think she did the right thing asking for forgiveness and acknowledging that this was a horrible mistake, so I think she can,” Minnesota Democrat and former “Saturday Night Live” writer Sen. Al Franken told CNN on Wednesday.

“Kathy’s a friend and she’s a terrific comedian, but this had no business being in our public discourse...,” Franken said. “And I talked to her. She has apologized — a real, fulsome apology. She’s actually begged for forgiveness, and I believe in forgiveness.”

Still, there was more snark to be had.

Update, 10:55 a.m.: Story added news that CNN has fired Griffin from its New Year’s Eve broadcast.

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Melania Trump questions Kathy Griffin’s mental health after inflammatory photo shoot

President Trump and Melania Trump
(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

As a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing. When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it.

— Melania Trump, responding to Kathy Griffin’s controversial stunt involving a “severed head” in the likeness of President Trump

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President Trump denounces Kathy Griffin’s decapitation stunt: ‘Sick!’

Kathy Griffin’s controversial presidential commentary didn’t go unnoticed by the president himself.

In the wake of the comedienne’s gory display photographed by Tyler Shields, which featured the “New Year’s Eve Live” co-host holding a severed likeness of Donald Trump’s head, the president took to Twitter early Wednesday morning to denounce her stunt.

UPDATE: CNN fires Kathy Griffin from New Year’s Eve show

“Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11 year old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!” he wrote.

Griffin has already apologized for the polarizing turn of events, which was publicized online on Tuesday. In a video statement on social media, she said she had asked Shields to take down the photos.

“I beg for your forgiveness,” Griffin said in the 30-second clip. “I went too far.”

It seems the controversy is far from blowing over, though. TMZ reports that the Secret Service is investigating the matter, and the site also posted stories about how Trump’s son Barron was indeed traumatized by the images.

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A Star Is Born: Clint Eastwood turns 87 today

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

If you want to be in for the long haul, you just have to trust your judgment about the material. ... If you go whoring for the money, the audiences will figure you out. They know when you’re being a jerk, when you’re just trying to get them in a room and show them a movie you don’t even care about.

— Clint Eastwood, 1993

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Clint, closing in on El Dorado

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Kathy Griffin posts apology for graphic Trump photo shoot, and CNN responds

After widespread condemnation, comedian Kathy Griffin issued an apology on social media Tuesday for a photo of herself holding a severed head in the likeness of President Trump.

“I beg for your forgiveness,” Griffin says in a 30-second video posted on social media. “I went too far.”

That didn’t smooth things over with Trump, though, who responded to the stunt on Twitter Wednesday morning, calling it “sick!”

UPDATE: CNN fires Kathy Griffin from New Year’s Eve show

Griffin’s “New Year’s Eve Live” co-host Anderson Cooper tweeted that he found the display “disgusting,” and CNN released a statement as well, saying: “We found what she did disgusting and offensive. We are pleased to see she has apologized and asked that the photos be taken down. We are evaluating New Year’s Eve and have made no decisions at this point.”

Update, May 31, 8:10 a.m.: Story added information about Trump’s reaction Wednesday morning.

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‘This Is Us’ not moving to Thursdays, after all

Consider it a flash-forward flashback: Poised to help NBC reclaim its “Must See TV” glory on Thursday nights, “This Is Us” is now staying put in its Tuesday time slot before the switch even happened.

The breakout drama from last season will keep hold of the 9 p.m. hour on Tuesdays where it performed mightily in its debut season, the network announced Tuesday. It’ll retain its lead-in, “The Voice.”

The move means some rejiggering for Thursdays. The revival of “Will & Grace,” which was slated to open the night, will now kick off the 9 p.m. hour. It will be surrounded by comedies “Superstore,” “The Good Place” and “Great News” to create a two-hour comedy block.

“Chicago Fire” will take up the 10 p.m. hour instead of “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.” That drama will keep its “This Is Us” lead-in by moving to Tuesdays.

Here’s NBC’s revised schedule:

Tuesdays

8 p.m. – “The Voice”

9 p.m. – “This Is Us”

10 p.m. – “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders”

Thursdays

8 p.m. – “Superstore”

8:30 p.m. – “The Good Place”

9 p.m. – “Will & Grace”

9:30 p.m. – “Great News”

10 p.m. – “Chicago Fire”

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Kathy Griffin shocks in gory photo shoot with Donald Trump’s (fake) head

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Comedian Kathy Griffin and photographer Tyler Shields may have pulled off the impossible with the creation of a gory photo that’s spurring outrage on both sides of the political aisle.

The picture, featuring Griffin wearing a navy pussy-bow blouse and holding aloft a bloodied imitation of President Trump’s decapitated head, was first published Tuesday morning by TMZ.

RELATED: Kathy Griffin posts apology for gory Trump photo shoot

Griffin herself shared the video from the shoot on her Twitter feed, while referencing Trump’s comments toward Megyn Kelly during the Republican presidential debates.

“I caption this ‘there was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his ... wherever,’” Griffin wrote, quickly following it with a tweet that clarified that she didn’t condone violence toward the president and was only mocking him.

Internet reaction to the vivid photo was immediate, with many condemning Shields and Griffin for exacerbating an atmosphere of violence some believe has already been established by Trump.

Both Shields and Griffin seem unfazed by the reaction, as the latter retweeted many critical comments.

In a tweet from last week, Shields pondered if it were possible to be jailed for an artistic statement, then went on to joke with BuzzFeed News on Tuesday that he hoped he’d be allowed to visit Griffin “in Guantanamo.”

Griffin reiterated the idea of the photo being an artistic expression in an interview with Yashar Ali on Tuesday afternoon.

Implications of violence are generally considered a step beyond in modern political discourse; outrage was the response Ted Nugent when he called for then-President Obama and Hillary Clinton to be tried and hanged, and when then-candidate Trump made reference on the campaign trail to “2nd Amendment people” stopping Clinton.

Though Nugent and Trump have both ended up in the White House at one point or another, it’s unclear if Griffin will escape this furor unscathed.

Griffin serves as co-host for CNN’s New Year’s Eve special alongside Anderson Cooper and pressure is rising for the cable news provider to drop Griffin from the festivities.

Representatives for Griffin and CNN did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

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Erin Moran died of cancer, autopsy report confirms

Erin Moran is shown in 1992.
(Wally Fong / Associated Press )

The coroner reportedly says “Happy Days” actress Erin Moran died of complications from cancer and cancer alone. That’s in line with what her husband said in an open letter written shortly after her death on April 22 at age 56.

Tests showed “no illegal narcotics were involved in her death,” according to an autopsy report obtained by TMZ on Tuesday from the coroner’s office in Harrison County, Ind.

Moran struggled with substance abuse earlier in her life, and media assumptions about her cause of death were amplified by a comment from Scott Baio during an early morning radio interview April 24.

When Baio learned his former costar had been battling cancer, he fell all over himself trying to set the record straight.

“I was asked ONLY about Erin’s troubled past due to drug & alcohol abuse. I was still upset and said I felt that living that kind of a lifestyle will catch up with you and nothing good would come of it,” he said on Facebook. “THIS WAS BEFORE THE CAUSE OF DEATH WAS ANNOUNCED STATING STAGE 4 CANCER.”

One of the former child star’s brothers, Tony Moran, told the Sun on May 30: “My first thoughts were she must have had a heart attack caused by years of substance abuse. She has always battled demons and in recent years things have gone from bad to worse.”

In reality, as described by her husband, Moran had discovered last December that she had squamous cell carcinoma of the throat. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, by April she could no longer speak, eat or drink. She had a feeding tube.

Baio posted the open letter from Steve Fleischmann, Moran’s husband of nearly 24 years, on his own Facebook page April 25. “It got so bad so fast,” Fleischmann said.

“The coroner told me it was really really bad. It had spread to her spleen, she had alot of fluid in her lungs and part of her brain was infected,” Fleischmann wrote. “The coroner said even if she was in the hospital being pumped full of antibiotics she still would not of made it. He said it was the best that she was with me and went in her sleep.”

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WGN America cancels ‘Underground,’ but will it really be the end?

A chat with Aisha Hinds and Jurnee Smollett-Bell, the “badass women” from “Underground.”

WGN America has canceled slavery-era-set drama “Underground.”

The fate of the series, which centered around the Underground Railroad, seemed doomed given how the network has been scaling back its investment in original programming. Until now, the drama, from creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski, had stood as the lone original scripted series on the network following the recent cancellation of “Outsiders.”

The shift away from original programming comes after Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the conservative-leaning Baltimore-based company, announced it had agreed to buy Tribune Media in a deal that would give it control of more than 200 local TV stations and WGN America.

“As WGN America evolves and broadens the scope and scale of its portfolio of series, we recently announced that resources will be reallocated to a new strategy to increase our relevance within the rapidly changing television landscape,” Peter Kern, president and CEO of Tribune Media, said in a statement. “Despite ‘Underground’ being a terrific and important series, it no longer fits with our new direction and we have reached the difficult decision not to renew it for a third season.”

Kern added: “It is our hope that this remarkable show finds another home and continues its stories of courage, determination and freedom.”

Sony Pictures Television, the studio that produces “Underground,” is said to be trying to find it a new home.

When “Underground” stars Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Aisha Hinds stopped by the Los Angeles Times’ video studio last week, both seemed hopeful that “Underground’s” story wasn’t over.

“We haven’t heard anything yet on the status of Season 3,” said Hinds, who joined Season 2 portraying Underground Railroad icon Harriet Tubman. “But I do know there is quite a bit more of this story to tell. And I know that we have engaged viewers waiting to see the story. If WGN is not our home, we’ll find a home.”

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Lebanon might ban new ‘Wonder Woman’ because of star’s Israeli heritage

A new foe has arisen to oppose Wonder Woman at the box office: Lebanon.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Lebanon is seeking to ban Warner Bros.’s new “Wonder Woman” movie because lead actress Gal Gadot is an Israeli.

On Monday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the Ministry of Economy and Trade was adopting measures necessary to ban the film from screening.

Relations between Israel and Lebanon have been strained since Israel’s independence in 1948, with Lebanon still abiding by the Arab League boycott of Israel adopted in 1945.

Lebanon does not recognize the State of Israel and does not accept Israeli passports or passports indicating a person has entered Israel.

But is “Wonder Woman” an Israeli product?

The film is produced by five production companies —DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual Films, Tencent Pictures and Wanda Pictures — three companies based in the United States and two in China.

Gadot, however, is proud of her heritage. She served two years in the Israel Defense Force as required by the country’s conscription requirements and has posted in the past in support of IDF during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.

The ban of the film would have to move quickly, as screenings are scheduled to begin in Beirut on Wednesday.

But such action would require approval from a six-member committee from the Ministry of Economy, a process that had yet to begin, according to the Associated Press.

“Wonder Woman” debuts in U.S. theaters Friday.

4:10 p.m.: This article was updated with information from Lebanon’s National News Agency.

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Olivia Newton-John has a new cancer diagnosis; her June shows are postponed

(Esteban Felix / Associated Press)

Olivia-Newton John has “reluctantly” postponed her June concert dates after learning that the back pain she’s been waylaid by recently is caused by breast cancer that has metastasized to her sacrum.

“I decided on my direction of therapies after consultation with my doctors and natural therapists and the medical team at my Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia,” the 68-year-old singer said Tuesday in a statement on social media.

Those therapies include a short course of photon radiation therapy in addition to “natural wellness therapies,” the statement said.

Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, at which time she underwent chemotherapy after a modified radical mastectomy with reconstruction. Her treatment also included acupuncture, which she said helped her with nausea, as well as yoga, meditation and massage.

Three weeks ago, Newton-John postponed her May shows, with her team citing “a bad issue with Olivia’s sciatica.” Now, her June shows in the U.S. and Canada have been put off. Ticket-holders are being directed to venues for refunds, and any rescheduled dates will be posted on Newton-John’s official website.

“Olivia ... is confident she will be back later in the year, better than ever, to celebrate her shows,” the Tuesday statement said.

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After Cannes delay, ‘Victoria & Abdul’ trailer debuts

One week after Focus Features scrapped plans to unveil the trailer for “Victoria & Abdul” during the Cannes Film Festival, a preview of the upcoming British drama has debuted online.

Set in 1887, the film stars Judi Dench as Queen Victoria and follows the monarch as she strikes up an unlikely friendship with a Muslim Indian (Ali Fazal) who has traveled to the U.K. to deliver a ceremonial coin to her majesty.

Focus, which is owned by Universal Pictures, was set to debut the trailer last Wednesday but postponed the release after the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, on May 22. A source told The Times the decision was made in part because “a big piece of marketing right after the attack could seem insensitive.”

Directed by Stephen Frears, “Victoria & Abdul” is set for release at the start of awards season in September. The trailer centers on the real-life relationship that blossomed between the two, with Abdul going from servant to teacher while informing the queen about everything from the Koran to the joys of Indian mangoes.

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Ready for Alanis Morissette’s ‘Jagged Little Pill’ as a musical? It’s happening

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Alanis Morissette’s angsty, groundbreaking 1995 album, “Jagged Little Pill,” always seemed like it had enough melodrama to make it into a theatrical production. Now it’s coming to a stage in Massachusetts.

The new production of “Jagged Little Pill,” helmed by “Juno” writer Diablo Cody and director Diane Paulus, will debut at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge next May. The musical will feature songs from the LP — famed for its unsparing look at relationships — along with other music from Morissette’s catalog and “Pill” producer Glen Ballard.

“This team that has come together for this ‘Jagged Little Pill’ musical is my musical theater dream come true,” Morissette said in a statement. “The chemistry between all of us is crackling and I feel honored to be diving into these songs again, surrounded by all of this searing talent.”

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Ariana Grande sets Manchester benefit concert; Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Coldplay and more in the lineup

Ariana Grande left Manchester quickly after the deadly bombing that followed her concert there a week ago, and now she’s returning in similar haste for a show this Sunday to benefit victims and their families.

The “One Love Manchester” show will feature Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Niall Horan and Pharrell Williams in addition to Grande, and will be held at the city’s Old Trafford cricket ground, publicists told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Take That, which had to cancel a number of its Manchester Arena shows the week after the bombing, also will perform.

People who attended the ill-fated May 22 concert can request free tickets to see the show; regular tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Manchester time Thursday. The Old Trafford cricket ground seats 50,000 when configured for a music event, compared with Manchester Arena’s 22,000-person capacity.

Proceeds will go to an emergency fund set up by the city of Manchester and the British Red Cross.

In a statement issued Friday, Grande promised a speedy return to Manchester to spend time with fans and put on a benefit concert, but at the time didn’t give additional details.

Grande left Manchester and flew home to Florida almost immediately after the May 22 bombing, arriving at the Boca Raton airport Tuesday. On Wednesday, she suspended her tour through June 5, with seven shows affected.

Her next scheduled Dangerous Woman tour stop, after the benefit, is a June 7 gig in Paris.

Perry responded with thoughts and prayers for all the people at Grande’s concert, after the suicide attack that left 22 people dead and scores more injured. Perry said she was “broken hearted” for the families of the victims, for 23-year-old Grande and for “the state of this world.”

Bieber, who like Grande is managed by Scooter Braun, also chimed in last week, and British rockers Coldplay did the same.

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FOR THE RECORD

11:37 a.m.: An earlier version of this post indicated the seating capacity for the Old Trafford soccer stadium was more than 76,000. The stadium seats 76,000. When set up for a musical event, the cricket ground seats 50,000.

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Ariana Grande’s mom has a message for Manchester bombing victims

Ariana Grande suspends tour through June 5

Ariana Grande returns home to Florida after Manchester attack

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Reunited ‘Brady Bunch’ kids fondly remember Florence Henderson on ‘Today’

It was a very Brady reunion on Tuesday.

“The Brady Bunch” kids Barry Williams (Greg), Christopher Knight (Peter), Mike Lookinland (Bobby) and Susan Olsen (Cindy) came together on NBC’s “Today” show to reflect on the iconic family sitcom and pay tribute to its late matriarch, Florence Henderson, nearly 50 years after the show debuted in 1969.

The syndicated series about a blended family of six children and their housekeeper has permeated the pop culture zeitgeist with its unmistakable style and earworm theme song. With numerous parodies and attempted reboots in its wake, the comedy has endured because of its wholesome values, the cast members said.

“What you have on ‘The Brady Bunch’ is something you’re not going to see these days, which is a family where the parents and the kids respect each other… today the formula is get the parents out of the show for the kids shows,” said Olsen, a.ka. “the youngest one in curls.”

“You know how you don’t grow old for yourself until you see yourself in a photo? Somehow you just don’t see it,” Knight explained. “It’s as though the show keeps us young in everyone’s mind, but we’re really this old.”

Added Williams: “Everyone always refers to us as kids. No matter how we mature, we’re still the kids.”

After acknowledging that they would always be best known for “The Brady Bunch,” the actors said, they realized early on that they would never be able to walk away from the series at different stages of their careers. For Williams it was when a teenage girl asked him to sign an autograph for her mother and for Lookinland it was when he realized that his fans now had grandchildren.

Knight said the show “was always going to be in the room before me and it was always going to be in the room after me.”

Olsen, who claimed that she had written some off-color lyrics attached to the theme song, added that “you spend a little while trying to run away from it, but you can’t. It’s like having a hunchback. You can’t disguise it, so you might as well dress it up.”

As for their TV mom, Henderson, who died in 2016, the kids remembered her fondly.

“Everyone she met felt better about themselves and about the world around them after having spent a moment with Florence,” Knight said.

“She was a mentor, a friend. We learned from her,” added Williams. “We learned how to interact with the public. She was so gracious with her fans, and we all learned how to do that graciously. Mostly she loved to make people laugh. You probably know that if you’ve been in her space.”

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Prince William talks about ‘taboo’ of mental illness and death of Diana in new interview

As the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales approaches, her son Prince William has opened up to British GQ about the loss.

“I would like to have had her advice,” William told the magazine. “I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up. It makes me sad that she won’t, that they will never know her.”

The prince was just 15 when his mother was killed in a high-speed car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, and he and younger brother Harry were left to deal with their grief under great public scrutiny.

While Prince William has of late found the words to speak publicly about his mother, the journey to that place has not always been easy.

“It has taken me almost 20 years to get to that stage,” William said. “I still find it difficult now because at the time it was so raw. And also it is not like most people’s grief, because everyone else knows about it, everyone knows the story, everyone knows her.”

It may have taken years, but William and Harry have found a way to honor their mother in a fashion that she would likely greatly appreciate: charitable work.

Known as the “People’s Princess,” Diana was a tireless advocate for those in need and worked to destigmatize AIDS in the 1980s, to fight the use of landmines and to better the lives of the underprivileged.

In the last year, William and his brother, alongside William’s wife, Kate, have expanded their involvement in Heads Together, a mental health campaign led by the Royal Foundation, which aims to start a productive conversation about the reality of mental illness.

“Smashing the taboo is our biggest aim. We cannot go anywhere much until that is done. People can’t access services till they feel less ashamed, so we must tackle the taboo, the stigma,” William said.

The Heads Together campaign has sparked several headlines for the royal family in recent months.

In April, Prince Harry admitted that the death of his mother left him “very close to a complete breakdown” for which he finally sought professional help three years ago.

“The experience that I’ve had is once you start talking about [mental health], you suddenly realized, actually, you’re part of a big club ... and everybody’s gagging to talk about it,” Harry said during the “Mad World” podcast with Bryony Gordon.

The GQ interview is not the only conversation that Prince William has had recently about mental health, either. He participated in a highly publicized FaceTime chat with Lady Gaga on the matter.

In the interview, Prince William acknowledged that his public persona might suggest otherwise, but privately, he is impassioned about the issue.

“I cannot understand how families, even behind closed doors, still find it so hard to talk about it. I am shocked we are so worried about saying anything about the true feelings we have,” the prince said.

Prince William’s full interview with British GQ is available in its July issue, on newsstands June 1.

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Ariana Grande’s mom has a message for Manchester bombing victims

Joan Grande, left, and Ariana Grande in September 2015.
Joan Grande, left, and Ariana Grande in September 2015.
(Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)

Days after daughter Ariana Grande issued a statement about last week’s post-concert bombing in Manchester, England, mom Joan Grande posted her own thoughts about the incident that left 22 dead and scores more injured.

“I join my daughter in extending my help & services to all those affected by the diabolical act of terror which occurred in Manchester!” she wrote on Twitter as a Memorial Day message that also thanked U.S. servicemen and women. “My heart goes out to all the victims: those who lost their lives, those injured, those recovering & all survivors of that night, along with the families and friends whose grief knows no bounds.”

The elder Grande was still in her front-row seat at the show, about to go see her daughter backstage, when the suicide bomb went off, TMZ reported. Mama Grande took about 10 kids who were seated around her to safety backstage, the website said.

Ariana Grande similarly offered her assistance to those in need on Friday in a statement declaring her intention to return to “the incredibly brave city of Manchester” for a benefit concert.

“We will never be able to understand why events like this take place because it is not in our nature, which is why we shouldn’t recoil,” the “Bang Bang” singer said. “We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win.”

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A Star Is Born: Wynonna Judd turns 53 today

(Peter Nash / For The Times)

Three years ago, I didn’t dig my mother at all. We were always fighting. We’d yell at each other, throw things at each other. There were times I’d think she was crazy. I still think that at times. I know she thinks I’m crazy too. But that’s normal.

— Wynonna Judd, 1989

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Here come the Judds: Loving and fighting and singing . . .

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A Star Is Born: Annette Bening turns 59 today

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

“[W]hen they teach you to act, they teach you about objectives. You have a need -- a kind of emotional imbalance -- it’s not neurotic, but you want something. I try to consciously beef up that motivation in order to intensify what I’m doing. You get an image in your head of what you want and then you find a way of expressing that.

— Annette Bening, 1991

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Regarding Annette

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Sweden’s ‘The Square’ wins Palme d’Or and Sofia Coppola wins best director at Cannes

Swedish director Ruben Ostlund reacts on stage after he was awarded with the Palme d'Or for the film 'The Square' during the closing ceremony of the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Swedish director Ruben Ostlund reacts on stage after he was awarded with the Palme d’Or for the film ‘The Square’ during the closing ceremony of the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
(Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images)

Ruben Ostlund’s “The Square,” “a ferocious drama of conscience,” according to Times critic Justin Chang, about how “a single lapse in judgment can cause a man’s entire life to unravel,” won the Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or on Sunday.

The Grand Prix award went to Robin Campillo’s “120 Beats per Minute.”

Sofia Coppola won best director for her film “The Beguiled,” which stars Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell. Kidman also won the festival’s 70th anniversary prize.

Joaquin Phoenix won best actor for Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here” and Diane Kruger won best actress award for Faith Akin’s “In the Fade.”

More coverage to come. Meanwhile...

Here is what Justin Chang wrote about Ostlund’s “The Square,” and Steven Zeitchik’s interview with the director, who talked about the element of surprise in his movies: “I really like scenes that when they end where you don’t know 100% where to put them. It starts funny or it starts sad and then it becomes something else. When you get that shift, you know you’ve succeeded.”

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A Star Is Born: Kylie Minogue turns 49 today

(Axel Koester / For The Times)

I have this following — mainly young girls. This album had to appeal to those fans. If the singing was too R&B, they wouldn’t like it, I guess. These producers think pop music is candy music. They’re saying: ‘Here, kids, have a piece of candy.’

— Kylie Minogue, 1988

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Fame, fortune, but no respect

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Cher, Cameron Crowe, Peter Frampton and others react to Gregg Allman’s death

Southern rocker Gregg Allman, the lead singer of the Allman Brothers Band known for his trailblazing sound and his equally blazing life, died Saturday at age 69 at his home in Savannah, Ga.

Those who knew the musician — who once said he hoped to die while “writing a new song” — immediately took to social media to express their grief.

Cher, to whom Allman was married for four tumultuous years in the 1970s, used pet names and a broken heart emoji to pay tribute.

Director Cameron Crowe, who used the Allman Brothers’ famously louche lifestyle as source material for his 2000 rock film “Almost Famous,” expressed his gratitude to the performer.

Ringo Starr and Allman’s fellow Southern rock crooner, Charlie Daniels of the Charlie Daniels Band, expressed their thoughts as well.

British rocker Peter Frampton described him as “a gentle soul with so much soul.”

And Melissa Etheridge posted a picture in which she admires Allman’s tattoos.

Read The Times obituary here.

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Gregg Allman, pioneer of Southern rock, dies at 69

Gregg Allman performs with the Allman Brothers Band in 1979.
(George Rose / Los Angeles Times)

Gregg Allman, the gravel-voiced singer who helped lift the Allman Brothers Band to prominence with a hard-churning brand of soulful rock that became part of the soundtrack of the 1960s and ’70s and set the coordinates for a musical genre known as Southern rock, died Saturday at the age of 69.

According to a statement posted on his official website, Allman, who had canceled concerts and entire tours in recent years as he battled a variety of health issues, “passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Ga.”

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: The art of the yacht deal, from Steven Spielberg to Steve Bannon

Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Zeitchik, with Chang behind the camera, recalls the time he wound

Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Zeitchik, with Chang behind the camera, recalls the time he wound up on a yacht with a future member of the Trump administration.

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: The time Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ was booed

Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Chang, with Zeitchik behind the camera, recalls the year Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” played in competition and was booed by certain members of the media audience.

Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Chang, with Zeitchik behind the camera, recalls the year Sofia Cop

That same year, when the film debuted in theaters, Times critic Kenneth Turan looked back on the boos at Cannes and concluded the reaction wasn’t just about the filmmaking. Here is the essay he wrote on Oct. 13, 2006:

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WHO OWNS HISTORY? And, more to the point, who owns Marie Antoinette?

Though they’re not usually phrased that way, those questions have swirled around Sofia Coppola’s quietly exuberant new film about the doomed young French queen (only 18 when she ascended the throne, 37 when she was executed) since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year to some scattered — and widely misunderstood — boos.

For the displeasure came not, as might be expected, from the French critics -- who’d already seen the film and whose generally positive notices were already on record in Le Film Francais, the French trade paper -- but from political types who had an ax to grind about the film’s portrait of the woman in question.

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A Star Is Born: Paul Bettany turns 46 today

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

If you get yourself to a point in your career where you can make a bunch of money really quickly and then you just keep on working and in 20 years’ time you realize, somebody else raised my kids, you lost.

— Paul Bettany, 2011

FROM THE ARCHIVES: ‘Priest’ star Paul Bettany: Don’t expect ‘vampires you want to bring home to your mum’

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Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor split after 17 years of marriage

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor have split up after 18 years together, 17 of them as husband and wife.

“With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate,” they said Friday in a joint statement. “Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time.”

The “Zoolander” director and the “Brady Bunch Movie” actress met in L.A. in 1999, while he was developing a pilot in which she was going to star. They started dating that April and by November were engaged. They got married in May 2000.

Stiller, 51, who proposed to Taylor while he was doing “Meet the Parents,” told Parade in 2013 that art imitated life when he was about to pop the question.

“I asked her father for permission before I did it…,” he said. “It was like ‘Meet the Parents’ in real life, because Christine’s father is an intimidating guy who owns a security company; we’re good friends now, but at the time I was in the basement rec room saying, ‘I really would like to marry your daughter...’”

Why the basement? “ “He was trying to find a place to sort of secretly ask my dad if it was OK to ask my hand in marriage,” Taylor told New York magazine in 2008.

The “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” costars have two kids together, daughter Emma, 15, and son Quinlan, 11.

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: The ‘home away from home’ for luminaries

Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and Steven Zeitchik are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Turan, with Chang behind the camera, brings us to the historic Hot

Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and Steven Zeitchik are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Turan, with Chang behind the camera, brings us to the historic Hotel Splendid, which over the last 146 years has been “a home away from home” for luminaries ranging from the French composer Jacques Offenbach to the late critic Roger Ebert.

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L.A. music fixture Rodney Bingenheimer will leave KROQ next month

Rodney Bingenheimer, the veteran radio DJ and rock-scene insider familiar to several generations of Los Angeles music fans, is ending his long-running show on L.A.’s KROQ-FM (106.7) after more than 40 years.

“Rodney on the ROQ” will air for the final time on June 4 at midnight, Bingenheimer, 69, wrote on Facebook Thursday.

“It has been an amazing run, and I will be thanking all of you when I say goodbye to KROQ next week,” he said in the post. “I am planning on some special callers and special music as I say a proper goodbye.”

In a statement to The Times, KROQ program director Kevin Weatherly called Bingenheimer “one of the most influential voices on the radio” and said he and his staff “will forever be grateful for the indelible mark that ‘Rodney on the ROQ’ has left on this station, our listeners and the alt-rock music scene.”

Bingenheimer launched his show on the influential modern-rock station in 1976, four years after he opened Rodney’s English Disco, a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard popular among the decade’s glam acts.

On the radio, Bingenheimer quickly became known for championing new artists including the Sex Pistols and Blondie; he continued playing music by up-and-coming talent over the years, throwing his considerable enthusiasm behind the likes of Oasis and Coldplay.

In his Facebook post, Bingenheimer — the subject of a 2003 documentary called “Mayor of the Sunset Strip” — didn’t say why he was leaving KROQ. But he noted that he’s not retiring from music.

“As this chapter closes,” he wrote, “I will be opening another chapter of my rock life soon.”

Here’s his full statement on Facebook:

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Ariana Grande to hold benefit concert in ‘incredibly brave city of Manchester’

(Valerie Macon / AFP/Getty Images)

Ariana Grande on Friday announced her intention to return to the “incredibly brave city of Manchester” to spend time with fans and play a benefit concert to assist victims of the suicide bomb attack launched after her show in the British city earlier this week.

“I have been thinking of my fans, and of you all, non stop over the past week. The way you have handled all of this has been more inspiring and made me more proud than you’ll ever know,” the 23-year-old singer said in a statement on social media.

“The compassion, kindness, love, strength and oneness that you’ve shown one another this past week is the exact opposite of the heinous intentions it must take to pull off something as evil as what happened Monday. YOU are the opposite.”

Grande gave no details about when she would return other than to say they’d be coming as soon as things were confirmed.

The statement was her first since a brief tweet after the bombing saying she was “broken” and “so so sorry.” That day, Grande and her mother left Britain for Florida.

She acknowledged her own reaction to the incident in saying she was “sorry for the pain and fear you must be feeling and the trauma that you, too, must be feeling.” She also talked about not wanting to “go the rest of the year” without being out there for her fans; at this point, her tour has been suspended only until June 5.

There is nothing I or anyone can do to take away the pain you are feeling or to make this better,” she said to the victims of the attack and their loved ones. “However, I extend my hand and heart and everything I can possibly give to you and yours, should you want or need my help in any way.”

Those who were most tragically affected, Grande said, “will be on my mind and in my heart everyday and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life.”

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Equality, not feminism, is the watchword at ‘Wonder Woman’ premiere

Victoria Ikerd from San Diego, left, and Sylvia Vale from Culver City strike their best Wonder Woman pose.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The stars of Warner Bros.’ “Wonder Woman” took to the red carpet outside Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre Thursday night to celebrate the film’s premiere with a unified message.

It just wasn’t the message some people might expect.

“I think the world needs all types of superheroes,” director Patty Jenkins said when asked why we need Wonder Woman. “What a beautiful message right now because we’re in a dark place, and that’s the only way we’re going to get to the other side, if everyone becomes a hero.”

(Warner Bros. canceled the film’s London premiere after Monday’s attack in Manchester.)

Despite the obvious girl power on display, many of the film’s stars and creators shied away from identifying it as a feminist film, hoping not to isolate the male fans in attendance.

SEE PHOTOS FROM THE “WONDER WOMAN” PREMIERE »

“I think that the film just takes a great character and tells a great story about how that character came to be,” Charles Roven, the film’s producer, told the Los Angeles Times.

“Obviously the character wouldn’t be who she is if she wasn’t a woman, but she’s a very specific woman,” Roven added. “There’s no other superhero character in the DC Universe who embraced their legacy and knew what they wanted to be and became [it]. And that’s completely inspirational to everyone, not just women.”

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Bella Thorne and Scott Disick together in Cannes? ‘Legit nothing’

(Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images, left; Lars Niki / Getty Images)

In what’s been called a battle of strategic hookups between exes Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick, Bella Thorne has put up a white flag and flown away.

Disick, 34, and Thorne, 19, were seen Monday at LAX on their way to the Cannes Film Festival, where — surprise! — Kardashian, 38, was already hanging out and getting handsy with Younes Bendjima, a 24-year-old boxer-turned-model. According to E! News, the latter twosome is for real but keeping it light. The Kardashian ex and the actress from “The DUFF”? Perhaps not so much.

Thorne and Disick raised eyebrows Wednesday with a high-profile cuddle-fest by a pool in Cannes.

Alas, by Thursday, word has it via TMZ, Thorne wasn’t comfortable with her party-boy travel partner when he got his drink on: After tweeting Thursday that “Yo this #cannes fancy life isn’t for me,” she told one person that she had been doing “Legit nothing trolololo” with Scott and another, “Hahahah I’m not talking to scott or anyone else.”

“Scott is partially using Bella and a few other girls as a crutch to make Kourtney upset and feel jealous,” a “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”-related source told People on Thursday, sounding like a description of an upcoming episode of the show. “They are both playing this ‘game’ with each other and at the moment neither one of them are backing down.”

Around 3 a.m. Friday, Cannes time, Disick was paying attention to another lady, putting this pic of his and Kardashian’s 4-year-old daughter, Penelope, up on Facebook:

Um, hashtag #supersad?

“Bye Cannes you were boring” Thorne said Friday on Snapchat, posting video from the seat of what appeared to be a private plane.

Kardashian, Bendjima and half-sis Kendall Jenner left Cannes on Friday as well.

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Netflix cancels London premieres of ‘Orange Is the New Black’ and ‘GLOW’

The fatal terrorist incident at an Ariana Grande concert Monday in Manchester, England, continues to resonate throughout the entertainment industry.

Netflix canceled its plans for a London premiere for Season 5 of “Orange Is the New Black” and the pilot for “GLOW,” the latest series from “Orange” creator Jenji Kohan.

“Following the terrible events in Manchester on Monday night, we have decided to cancel our special screening of ‘Orange Is the New Black’ and ‘GLOW’ on Tuesday [May 30],” a Netflix spokesperson told The Times on Friday. “Our thoughts are with all of those affected by this tragedy.”

According to those knowledgeable about the decision, the streaming service’s choice to forgo its screenings comes from internal discussions only, not from any pressure from local authorities.

This is just the latest cancellation in the wake of Monday’s tragedy, which took the lives of 22 individuals, including victims as young as 8 years old.

On Wednesday, Warner Bros. scuttled plans for a London “Wonder Woman” premiere, originally scheduled for May 31. Similarly, Universal Pictures announced Thursday that it had canceled its London premiere for “The Mummy” originally slated for June 1.

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Oasis’ Liam Gallagher schedules Manchester benefit show

(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher will play a hometown concert next week in Manchester, England, to benefit the families of Monday’s bombing at the Manchester Arena.

“It’s outrageous,” the singer told the Manchester Evening News regarding the terrorist attack that killed 22 people following a concert by Ariana Grande. “There are kids and people dying all over the world. And for what?”

He went on to say, “I want to try and help pick people up. People like me, doing what we do, it’s our duty to give people a good time.”

The show, scheduled for Tuesday night at the O2 Ritz, will serve as Gallagher’s first solo gig and comes ahead of the release of his debut solo single, “Wall of Glass,” from an album expected in October.

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Body-slamming? Late-night hosts remind us that Donald Trump once did that on TV

Lest America forget the nation’s history of political candidates with body-slamming tendencies, the late-night circuit offered a refresher course Thursday night.

Playing catchup to Wednesday’s news that Greg Gianforte, the billionaire Republican candidate in Montana’s special congressional election, had allegedly body-slammed a Guardian reporter after the journalist asked him about the Republican healthcare bill, TV hosts weighed in on the matter.

“Think about that,” “Late Night” host Seth Meyers said. “The GOP healthcare plan is so bad, Republicans would rather body-slam reporters than answer a question about it.

“His response to the question,” Meyers continued, “was to give the reporter a preexisting condition.”

“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert expressed faux skepticism about Gianforte’s ability to move past the incident and win the election.

“That happened the night before the election,” Colbert said. “I just don’t know how anyone could vote for a candidate who body-slams people.”

Cue a clip of Donald Trump performing such a move in 2007 when he appeared on “WrestleMania 23” and tackled WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the ground before shaving his head.

“I forgot,” Colbert said after playing the clip. “Nothing matters.”

During his “A Closer Look” segment, Meyers also played the Trump clip.

“That was a thing, a real thing that happened. and we still said ‘Yeah, he should be president.’”

For the record: Gianforte won Montana’s special election Thursday.

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A Star Is Born: Stevie Nicks turns 69 today

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

I think if people like to dress like a gypsy and they get a little inspiration from me to do it, then it’s great. It’s definitely something everyone should try at least once in their lives. Dress like a gypsy!

— Stevie Nicks, 1997

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Airy Godmother

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For the 40th anniversary of ‘Star Wars,’ see how fans packed L.A. theaters in 1977

When the original “Star Wars” opened on May 25, 1977, only about 40 theaters across the country initially screened the movie. In Los Angeles, fans packed showings in ways theater managers and moviegoers had never seen. For the 40th anniversary of “Star Wars,” we revisit this story examining the earliest stages of the “Star Wars” phenomenon. The Times originally published this story on June 4, 1977.

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George Lucas predicted ‘Star Wars’ Disney future in 1977 interview with The Times

Happy 40th anniversary, “Star Wars”!

Before the first-ever “Star Wars” premiered on screens across America on May 25, 1977, Los Angeles Times writer Paul Rosenfield sat down with the creator of a galaxy far, far away.

Then 33, George Lucas was just a few days shy from the release of his “space opera,” prophetically claiming that “Star Wars” was the movie he thinks “Disney would have made when Walt Disney was alive.” Who knew decades later that the droids and the mouse would reside in the same castle?

This story was originally published on June 5, 1977, and titled, “Lucas: Film-Maker With the Force.”

(Also from our archives, read The Times’ original “Star Wars” review here.)

I think of this as a movie Disney would have made when Walt Disney was alive ... I call it ‘space opera.’ That’s a genre that’s been around a long time, in the books of Burroughs and Heinlein, but never really done on film.

— George Lucas in 1977

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Sarah Hyland of ‘Modern Family’ talks bluntly about her weight — it ain’t anorexia, haters

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Sarah Hyland isn’t setting her self-esteem based on what online critics have to say about her looks and her weight, but she is setting the record straight with some fierce back story.

The “Modern Family” actress, who broke out of the half-hour sitcom box Wednesday as Lisa Houseman in ABC’s “Dirty Dancing” reboot, took advantage of the spotlight on the TV movie to air her thoughts via social media Wednesday.

What people see is not an eating disorder, the petite 26-year-old said — it’s a down period in a lifelong health battle.

“I write this because I’ve been accused of promoting anorexia. ... And I want young girls to know that’s NOT my intention,” she wrote in a message that was split into Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

Hyland, 26, was referring to a host of comments made on an Instagram post Tuesday where she promoted a T-shirt, from her boyfriend Dominic Sherwood’s apparel line, that gives part of the proceeds to an anti-bullying campaign. (Yes, she noted the irony.)

“My circumstances have put me in a place where I’m not in control of what my body looks like,” she wrote Wednesday. “Oh and no that’s not photoshop. Those are my legs. Those are my arms.”

Here’s the thing: Hyland was born with a host of health issues, including kidney dysplasia, as she previously described to Seventeen; her dad donated one of his kidneys to her for a transplant in 2012.

She’s “basically been on bed rest for the past few months” and is trying to keep her weight up despite the fact that the medications she is taking have, in part, played havoc with her tastebuds (prednisone has a way of doing that). She’s been told she can’t work out, and she’s lost a lot of muscle mass.

“I don’t mind when you say that I look pregnant. Or fat. Because I know that my face is swollen from medication that is saving my life. For those on prednisone I know what you’re going through and I commend you sticking it out as I have,” Hyland said.

“My self confidence is not rendered from your comments. Because I will always be too fat. I will always be too skinny. I will never have enough curves to be called a woman. And I will always be a slut for wearing a push up bra,” Hyland said.

“Love the you you set out to be. Be the best version of yourself. Be healthy. I’m a 26 year old woman who goes through more than you could even imagine on a daily basis. But I work hard. I love hard. And I got to where I am because I am STRONG and didn’t give up.”

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Guns N’ Roses is playing Los Angeles again

Guns N’ Roses will play two hometown concerts this fall, the reunited Los Angeles hard-rock band announced Thursday, one Nov. 24 at Staples Center and another Nov. 25 at the Forum.

The dates are part of a new extension of GNR’s Not in This Lifetime Tour, which launched in April 2016 with a show at the Troubadour that marked the first time in decades that frontman Axl Rose had performed in public with guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan. The tour went on to hit Coachella and Dodger Stadium.

Opening acts for the L.A. shows weren’t announced, but GNR revealed that country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson will warm up crowds at stadium shows in August in Denver; Little Rock, Ark.; and Miami. Other acts with opening slots on the tour include ZZ Top, Deftones and Royal Blood.

Tickets for the newly scheduled concerts go on sale June 3.

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Claire Foy shoots down Lisbeth Salander rumors: ‘I don’t know about any of this’

Claire Foy
Claire Foy
(Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

Claire Foy’s sister called her last week, none too pleased that her sibling hadn’t told her that she’d be playing Lisbeth Salander in “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” the long-delayed follow-up to the 2011 David Fincher film “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

“My sister’s like, ‘Oh, what are you doing?’ and I was like, ‘I’m not doing anything! I don’t t know about any of this!’” Foy told The Times Wednesday in an interview before an Emmy season promotional event for the actress’ Netflix series, “The Crown.”

“It’s really weird,” Foy added. “I’ve never experienced that before where there’s a rumor about a possible job like this. It’s very surreal.”

News broke last week that Foy was either “in talks,” “eyeing” or had been all but cast to play Lisbeth in the reboot of the Stieg Larsson book series.

So is Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth on “The Crown,” even in the running?

“No. I’m not even in the same arena,” Foy said. “I can’t even contemplate doing anything at all, to be honest, at this present time.”

The 33-year-old British actress just finished shooting Season 2 of “The Crown” last week. The ambitious series requires a nine-month commitment, meaning that Foy hasn’t had much down time the last two years. She also has a 2-year-old daughter with her husband, actor Stephen Campbell Moore.

So you can understand why, when asked about her immediate future, she emphatically states: “Good God, no. I have got no plans to do anything.”

Those sentiments would seem to preclude her from “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” which is scheduled to begin filming in September to make an Oct. 15, 2018, release date.

Then again, when asked what kind of role she’d like to do after playing the reserved Elizabeth, a woman nicknamed “Shirley Temple,” Foy replied: “I think I need to play somebody who expresses themselves and is able to communicate on a more open level, something really different.”

Like the avenging anti-heroine Lisbeth?

“Well ...” Foy answered, with a hint of a smile. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

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Sony taps Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct ‘Spider-Man’ spinoff ‘Silver & Black’

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Sony continues to get its superhero ducks in a row, with Deadline reporting Thursday that the studio had tapped Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct “Silver & Black,” a film centered around comic book characters Silver Sable and Black Cat.

Prince-Bythewood also will rewrite the script for the film, originally written by Christopher Yost, screenwriter of “Thor: The Dark World.”

Silver Sable and Black Cat are characters that originated in correlation to Spider-Man and have served as both allies and antagonists to the web-slinging superhero over the years.

“Silver & Black” is the latest Spidey-related endeavor for Sony, with “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” starring Tom Holland, premiering July 7, and “Venom,” starring Tom Hardy as the sometimes villain, sometimes anti-hero, hitting theaters Oct. 5, 2018.

The film will not be Prince-Bythewood’s first dalliance with superheroes. She directed the pilot for Freeform’s upcoming series “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger,” about two teenagers learning to deal with both superpowers and love.

Prince-Bythewood is an experienced director of critically acclaimed films including “Love & Basketball” and “Beyond the Lights,” and she is well-versed in the world of television, where Fox’s “Shots Fired,” the show she created and produced with husband Reggie Rock Bythewood, just concluded its first season.

The director becomes the latest woman tapped to helm a superhero film, with Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” debuting in theaters June 2.

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‘Happy puking’: ‘Baywatch’ is the summer blockbuster critics love to hate

Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and Priyanka Chopra star in “Baywatch.”

What’s more fun than seeing the new “Baywatch” movie? Having movie reviewers see it for you!

Los Angeles Times critic Jen Yamato was in the Enjoy It for What It Is camp, describing the film thusly: “[I]t not only owns its dumbness but hurtles itself all the way back around through a flurry of genitalia jokes and F-bombs to splash unapologetically in an R-rated surf of winking postmodernism, led by the charismatic Dwayne Johnson, Hollywood’s most unsinkable movie star.”

But although not everyone hates it — 64% of audiences dug it, according to Rotten Tomatoes — a lot of reviewers put the bouncing-beach-bodies flick firmly in its place, damning it, and then damning it with faint praise.

That said, here are a few snacks, both bad and (relatively) good, from the “Baywatch” snark buffet.

Over at the Chicago Tribune, they took the “Yeah, and ...?” approach to the review.

The Bad: “The movie’s comic instincts... are consistently coarse and frequently scrotal.”

The Good: “The bodies on screen are pretty, which I seem to remember was a selling point of the 1989-2001 TV series.”

As we said, yeah, and ...?

The Roger Ebert website perhaps cut closest to the bone, pulling few punches.

The Bad: “[T]his is another one of those raunchy comedies that’s barely a movie, that looks like it was edited by dumping a bunch of footage into whatever movie-cutting software they’re using and hitting ‘randomize.’”

The Good: “[T]he movie has a pervading air of crass amiability about it — it’s almost like a two-hour end-credits gag reel. (Nevertheless, it contains an end credits gag reel.)

Now could you tell us what you really think?:

Rolling Stone painted a vivid picture of the “Baywatch” experience.

The Bad: “Think of yourself sitting down for a big two-hour wallow in instant stupid with a vat of popcorn, slathered in fake butter and possibly a mound of melted M&Ms on top. It feels great chugging it down, then your stomach hurts, your head aches and you puke the whole thing up so you can forget about it in the morning. That’s ‘Baywatch’ in a nutshell. Happy puking.”

The Good: “Of the recent spate of moldy TV material morphing into movies, with ’21 Jump Street’ on top and ‘CHIPs’ bringing up the rear, ‘Baywatch’ barely escapes the basement. One reason it does: The Rock.”

Helpful! Turns out if you liked “21 Jump Street” and “CHiPs,” this flick is for you!

The New York Times loosened up its necktie for this one.

The Bad: “The digital effects — fire and water, mostly — are lackluster, and the whole thing has a crummy, overcast, second-rate-theme-park look to it.”

The Good: “Like its source material, “Baywatch” is sleazy and wholesome, silly and earnest, dumb as a box of sand and slyly self-aware. It’s soft-serve ice cream. Crinkle-cut fries. A hot car and a skin rash. Tacky and phony and nasty and also kind of fun.”

Tacky? Phony? Nasty? We didn’t know it was a date movie.

The Washington Post, of course, just couldn’t leave politics out of it.

The Bad: “It’s no shock that the women in ‘Baywatch’ don’t have much to do beyond look good. ... Maybe dodging bad lines was a relief for the actresses. It’s not like the screenplay, by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, gives performers a lot to work with.”

The Good: “If, indeed, Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson ditches Hollywood to become our next commander in chief, ‘Baywatch’ may be singled out as the low point of his pre-political career.”

Well, at least Johnson has that out of the way.

The Tampa Bay Times went deadpan.

The Bad: “Imagining Johnson and genetically gifted co-stars in swimsuits is all it took to pitch Baywatch. Director Seth Gordon and six writers didn’t come up with much beyond that.”

The Good: “What Baywatch has in its favor is Dwayne Johnson fireman-carrying a dead weight comedy to safety.”

We think that’s a compliment. Maybe.

Variety noted the film’s nods to current market and societal trends.

The Bad: “‘Baywatch’ ... is a stupidly entertaining trash folly, the kind that could only be made today: an obscenity-and-insult-laced, aggressively ‘competent’ adaptation of a 25-year-old TV show that manages to repackage every aspect of the series except, perhaps, the reason it was popular in the first place.

The Good: “They wear their butt-hugging red bathing suits with dignity and pride, which makes this a highly sexually responsible ‘Baywatch.’”

The reviewer at the New York Post appeared to be familiar with the TV series’ global success.

The Bad: “Even the action scenes need CPR, often undermined by effects so chintzy, you wonder if the money intended for them was instead eaten up by the production’s seven-figure waxing budget.”

The Good: “On the bright side, it’ll probably do killer business in Germany.”

Wait, were they just dissing the Hoff?

Finally, one need go no further than the AV Club to understand Rotten Tomatoes’ 19% positive critics’ rating.

The Bad: “[N]obody —not even the filmmakers —cares about ‘Baywatch’ all that much. Yet the joke’s on them: In spoofing something so forgettable, they’ve made something even less memorable.”

The Good: “Nobody cares about ‘Baywatch.’”

‘Nuff said.

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Seth Meyers says Trump’s ‘cruel’ budget cuts would harm the president’s supporters most

After a number of weeks filled with late-breaking developments on the Trump administration’s apparent ties to Russia, Wednesday night was a chance for late-night hosts to sort of catch their breath and essentially choose their own adventure.

Jimmy Kimmel focused on the seemingly less-than-happy photos of the pope with President Trump that circulated on Wednesday, while Stephen Colbert took a brief swipe at the $2-trillion double-counting error in Trump’s budget.

Seth Meyers, however, took advantage of his show’s “A Closer Look” segment to make time for all of the above.

After addressing the photo of the stone-faced pope with Trump, Meyers recapped the latest developments in the investigations into whether, among other things, the president engaged in obstruction of justice by firing FBI Director James Comey. But then Meyers took on the administration’s proposed federal budget, which could cause harm to many.

While noting the budget amounts to a wish list that Congress will battle over, Meyers said the proposal’s harshness was not to be discounted.

“What someone wishes for tells you a lot about that person,” Meyers said before recounting the many cuts the budget proposes to Social Security and Medicaid. The show then rolled a number of clips in which Trump the candidate promised not to do just that.

“This budget lays bare just how much of a fraud Trump’s campaign was,” Meyers added, noting how hard many of these cuts to the social safety net would hit Trump supporters.

He then squared off the pointed words of Trump the candidate versus his actions as president to underscore his point.

“Maybe it’s better those two never meet,” Meyers said. “I think they would hate each other.”

Watch the clip above.

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Universal Pictures cancels London premiere of ‘The Mummy’ in wake of Manchester bombing

Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis and Sofia Boutella star in “The Mummy.”

The specter of Monday’s terrorist attack in Manchester, England, continues to loom large. Universal Pictures announced Thursday morning the cancellation of next week’s London premiere of “The Mummy,” the second such development this week.

“All of us at Universal have been devastated by the terror attack in Manchester and continue to stand with the community and country as it recovers,” the statement from the studio read. “Out of respect to those affected by this tragedy we have decided not to move forward with the London premiere for ‘The Mummy’ scheduled to take place next week.”

The film, starring Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, serves as the launch of Universal Pictures’ ”Dark Universe,” an extended universe that will see the reboot of several classic monsters from the Universal vault, including the Invisible Man and Frankenstein’s Monster.

Cancellation of the June 1 London premiere for “The Mummy” comes just a day after Warner Bros. nixed its May 31 “Wonder Woman” London premiere.

Ariana Grande, whose concert was targeted in the Manchester attack that killed 22 people, similarly suspended her tour through June 5 on Wednesday.

A statement from the artist’s representatives said the suspension comes “until we can further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost.”

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A Star Is Born: Octavia Spencer turns 47 today

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

When I pick up a script, I have to find the character. I can’t play it if I don’t believe it, don’t understand the journey, don’t want to go on the journey. And if I don’t, how can I bring a truth that you can believe, or feel?

— Octavia Spencer, 2014

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Octavia Spencer can weather ‘Black and White’ clouds, shine elsewhere

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Al Gore on the French Riviera: Why he was reluctant to make ‘An Inconvenient Sequel’

Former Vice President Al Gore arrives on the red carpet for the screening of "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" at the Cannes Film Festival.
(Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty Images)

It has not been a very good year for those concerned with climate change. The U.S. is considering leaving the landmark Paris climate pact, a hostile appointee leads the Environmental Protection Agency, and right-wing websites chortle, “Trump’s Latest Move Will Make Al Gore Fry.”

But is Al Gore himself despondent or depressed about it all? Not in the slightest.

“I’ve been inoculated in the year 2000,” he says, combining a burst of genial good humor with a reference to his presidential election loss to George W. Bush. “I now have a resistance to being disheartened, the antibodies are still thriving in my bloodstream.

“As we all learn, one of the hidden secrets of the human condition is we learn the most from our most painful experiences.”

Former Vice President Al Gore at the Carlton hotel for the Cannes Film Festival, which is screening his documentary "An Inconvenient Sequel."
(Stephanie Cornfield / For The Times)

To spend time with Al Gore is to meet a man enough at ease with himself to dress as if for a Senate hearing in white shirt, suit and tie even though he’s in the south of France; a warm, engaged, surprisingly funny individual whose innate courtesy has him personally hang a reporter’s sports coat on a nearby hotel room hanger.

Yes, he does tend to stay on message when he talks (how could he not) and he likes to draw graphs in the air with his hands (“I’m going to get a little geeky for a moment,” he apologizes with a smile, “I’m sorry, it’s a failing”).

But he combines this with good-humored self-awareness and a fiercely committed intelligence.

“If you think I’m earnest now, you should have seen me earlier,” he says. “You can’t change who you are. At times I’ve tried, but I’m old enough to stop worrying.”

Gore is in Cannes to promote the worldwide release of an impassioned and involving new documentary, “An Inconvenient Sequel.” Due in U.S. theaters on July 28, it brings us up to speed on where the battle against climate change stands more than a decade after the Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”

“I’m here for a lot of to-ing and fro-ing” is how Gore puts it. “I think I’ve done 75 seven-minute interviews — Japan, Russia, Brazil, everywhere.

“The day before yesterday I was live on [the French cable channel] Canal Plus when the interpreter talking in my earpiece was evacuated from his building because of a bomb scare. The questioner was going a mile a minute in French, but because of those 75 seven-minute interviews, I picked up enough key words to fight my way through it.”

Gore has been concerned with climate change since he took a class with pioneering global warming theorist Roger Revelle as a college student in the 1960s. Not only did Gore “never imagine when I was a young man that this would become an all-consuming body of work for me,” he also never anticipated that the work would involve the movies.

More than that, he was frankly dubious about both of his films.

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Ellen DeGeneres says she’s ‘in’ for a Netflix stand-up comedy special

Ellen DeGeneres is working on a new comedy special — for the first time in a very long time — and this time she’s working with Netflix.

“Looks like it’s been 15 years since you did a stand-up special. ... How about one for Netflix?” the streaming service asked her Wednesday on Twitter. Minutes later, DeGeneres replied, “Let me think about it. Ok I’m in.”

Here’s how “in” she is: “I’m writing it now, I can’t wait,” DeGeneres said in a statement confirming the upcoming gig. “I’ll keep you posted when and where I’m gonna shoot my Netflix special. I’m excited to do it; I’m excited for you to see it.”

Previously, HBO was home for DeGeneres’ comedy specials: her “One Night Stand” in 1992, “Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning” in 2000 and “Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now.” The second and third shows notched two Emmy nominations each.

In March, the former sitcom star announced she’d be returning to prime time with “Ellen’s Game of Games,” which she’s hosting for six episodes on NBC. No air dates have been set.

“It’s going to be like a combination of ‘American Ninja Warrior,’ ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and a water park,” DeGeneres said in a statement. “OK, it’s nothing like that, but you should still watch.”

UPDATES

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with confirmation from Netflix and a statement from DeGeneres.

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It’s been 31 years. Where is the ‘Top Gun’ cast now?

Fresh off of Tuesday’s announcement that, yes, Tom Cruise has a “Top Gun” sequel in the works, it seemed natural to wonder what ever happened to the rest of the cast of that 1986 classic.

It’s been 31 years since the film’s release, and although none of his former co-stars is likely to be as well-preserved as Cruise — who appears to be in full “Benjamin Button” mode these days — it’s also likely that few have had as tumultuous a career as Cruise has.

Here’s what the cast and crew of “Top Gun” have been up to recently.

Tom Cruise

(Rick Rycroft / Associated Press)

Character: Maverick

Cruise has had a pretty eventful three decades since “Top Gun” launched him to superstar status. Between 1990 and 2000, Cruise won three Golden Globe awards and earned three Academy Award nominations for his performances in “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia.”

But Cruise soon ran amok of the tabloids after a high-profile marriage and divorce from Nicole Kidman, another high-profile marriage and divorce from Katie Holmes, an angry screed about the evil of psychiatry and that whole Scientology thing.

It took a few years, but Cruise is finally getting his career back on track, by embracing the action movies that made him a star with franchises including “Jack Reacher,” “Mission: Impossible” and this summer’s “The Mummy.”

Kelly McGillis

(Victoria Will / Associated Press)

Character: Charlie

Cruise’s love interest in the film, an astrophysicist and civilian Topgun instructor, was played by McGillis, who had risen to prominence the year before in “Witness” with Harrison Ford, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.

Though McGillis would go on to star in “The Accused” with Jodie Foster, a harrowing drama about the aftermath of a brutal gang rape, her career quickly dwindled into roles in TV movies.

McGillis was going through her own struggles in her personal life; after two failed marriages, she revealed that she was a lesbian in 2009. She has since settled in North Carolina, where she teaches acting and suffered a violent home invasion last year.

Val Kilmer

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Character: Iceman

Like Cruise, “Top Gun” made Kilmer a pretty big deal. After playing Iceman, Kilmer moved on to projects such as “Willow,” “The Doors” and “Tombstone” before being tapped to play the caped crusader in Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever.”

Portraying the third-best modern Batman on film (ranked: Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, Kilmer, George Clooney, Ben Affleck) seemed to stall Kilmer’s career somewhat. He nonetheless pulled out great performances in “Heat” and “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang.”

And then there was some weirdness last year when Michael Douglas claimed Kilmer had oral cancer, which Kilmer denied, until several weeks ago when Kilmer claimed to have had “a healing of cancer.”

No word yet on what, precisely, that means.

Anthony Edwards

Character: Goose

Since 1986: Edwards was perfect as affable wingman Goose in “Top Gun,” but it wasn’t until his transition to television that his career really took off.

The heart of early seasons of NBC’s “ER,” Edwards played Dr. Mark Greene, who meets an intensely tear-jerking end that rivals even Goose’s demise.

What has Edwards been up to since he departed “ER” in 2002? Nothing too notable beyond guest spots and an ill-advised series about clocks.

Tom Skerritt

Character: Viper

Since 1986: Listen, Tom Skerritt has had a very long and illustrious career. The man is 83. Leave him out of this.

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Chris Cornell’s body has been cremated, report says; funeral set for Friday

Chris Cornell in 1991.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The body of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who died last week in Detroit, was reportedly cremated Tuesday in Hollywood, and a funeral is planned for later this week.

Widow Vicky Cornell, brother Peter Boyle and friends Linda Ramone and singer J.D. King were at Hollywood Forever Cemetery for the cremation, sources familiar with the service told TMZ.

Cornell’s body was flown to Los Angeles from Detroit on Sunday, family attorney Kirk Pasich told Rolling Stone on Monday, and a private funeral will be held Friday. Pasich told Variety on Sunday that public memorials will be held “when it’s decided.”

The short time between the end of Soundgarden’s May 17 show and 52-year-old Cornell’s death was chronicled in a police report obtained by the Detroit News.

He and the band walked offstage around 11:15 p.m. May 17. Fifteen minutes later Cornell was in his hotel room, the report said, where bodyguard Martin Kirsten (who used to work for and date Heidi Klum) helped him fix his computer and gave him two Ativan.

At 11:35 p.m. Cornell was talking to his wife, Vicky, who said Friday through her attorney that she had been concerned because her husband was slurring his words and told her he might have taken a few too many anxiety pills. She called Kirsten at 12:15 a.m. Thursday and asked him to check on the singer, the report said; the bodyguard kicked in the hotel room door, then the locked bathroom door, and found Cornell.

At his final show, Cornell seemed “high” and “was out of character from note 1,” lead sound engineer Ted Keedick told TMZ in an interview published Wednesday. He said the Soundgarden frontman did not appear depressed.

However, Keedick said: “I’d never heard his voice that way before. He was having serious control problems.”

One concert-goer told the Detroit News last week that as far as she could tell, Cornell’s final show “was honestly great. Nothing seemed off.”

Tuesday at Detroit’s Fox Theatre, the site of that last performance, Norah Jones played a tribute to Cornell: an acoustic version of “Black Hole Sun.”

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Ariana Grande suspends tour through June 5

Ariana Grande’s tour has been suspended through June 5, her management team said Wednesday. That includes the cancellation of concerts planned for Thursday and Friday at London’s O2 Arena.

Twenty-two people died and at least 59 were injured in a suicide attack Monday night outside Manchester Arena, where Grande had just concluded a stop on her Dangerous Woman Tour.

“We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence,” the singer’s reps said in a statement. “Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together.”

The dates that have been put on hold “until we can further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost,” the statement said, are:

  • London, May 25-26
  • Antwerp, Belgium, May 28
  • Lodz, Poland, May 31-June 1
  • Frankfurt, Germany, June 3
  • Zurich, Switzerland, June 5

The next tour stop after that is a June 7 concert in Paris.

Speculation that the tour would be put on hold has been rife since the day after the bomb went off — actually, immediately afterward and before the number of casualties was known, many on social media were already worried that shows would be axed — but the situation had been in limbo until now.

An “exhausted”-looking Grande returned home Tuesday to Florida, where she and her mother were met at the airport by Mac Miller, who hugged and kissed his girlfriend in an “emotional reunion.”

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Warner Bros. cancels London ‘Wonder Woman’ premiere following Manchester attack

In the wake of Monday’s deadly terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, Warner Bros. has announced it is canceling a planned premiere in London next week for its superhero film “Wonder Woman.”

“Our thoughts are with those affected by the recent tragedy in the UK,” the studio said in a statement. “In light of the current situation, we will not be proceeding with our plans for the premiere and junket activities in London.”

Starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, the highly anticipated film – which is set in Europe during World War I – will hold its U.S. premiere on Thursday in Los Angeles. It arrives in theaters June 2.

The studio faced a similar situation last year when its European premiere of “Batman v. Superman” was scheduled to be held in London just hours after terrorist attacks struck Brussels, killing 32 people and injuring many others. In that case, the studio said in a statement that it had decided to go ahead with the event “rather than yield to terror.”

But as Britain mourns the 22 people killed in the Manchester bombing, with scores more wounded, and with the country’s security threat level raised to its highest, signaling the possibility of another imminent attack, Warner Bros. clearly determined that the circumstances called for a different course of action.

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New ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ trailer shows off Spidey’s tricked-out, Iron Man-style super-suit

Spider-Man has a few new tricks up his spandex sleeve, with the latest trailer for Sony’s upcoming franchise reboot “Spider-Man: Homecoming” offering a deeper look at Spidey’s newfangled, tech-enhanced super-suit.

Courtesy of billionaire inventor/playboy Tony Stark, the suit is embedded with Iron Man-style technology. A Jarvis-like computer assistant informs Peter Parker (Tom Holland) of the “576 possible web shooter combinations” he has at his command. A parachute can also be deployed out of the back of the suit when needed, and the chest piece can detach and turn into a drone.

For those who prefer their Spidey old-school, though, the trailer also promises a return to Parker’s teenage roots — though with a decidedly cockier spin than the shy, alienated high school nerd we’ve often seen depicted in the comics and onscreen.

Holland’s Parker is clearly feeling his superhero oats, boasting to Stark of taking down a petty bike thief and raring for bigger challenges, Spanish quiz or no Spanish quiz. (Cue Michael Keaton’s villainous Vulture.)

Informed by his best friend Ned that Stark has installed a “training-wheels protocol” on his super-suit to disable some of its abilities, Parker gripes, “I’m sick of Mr. Stark treating me like a kid.”

“But you are a kid,” Ned reminds him.

“Yeah,” Parker says, “a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands!”

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” hits theaters July 7.

Watch the trailer below.

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Performers move U.K. concerts after Manchester bombing, but for some, the show goes on

Floral tributes in Manchester's St. Ann's Square on May 24, 2017.
(Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images)

Manchester Arena has postponed concerts by Take That, an English pop group from the city that was to play there Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But it’s working to see that a KISS show proceeds next week.

“Unfortunately, due to the tragic events that unfolded on Monday night, it is not possible for the concerts to take place,” the arena said in a statement. “These have now been postponed and more information will follow.” In another statement, the arena cited the ongoing police investigation.

Take That had previously postponed a show at another location, saying Tuesday on its website, “Out of respect to all of the people and their families that were affected by the horrific incident last night at the Manchester Arena, we have decided to postpone our show tonight in Liverpool. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.”

KISS is scheduled to play Manchester Arena on Tuesday, and the venue said it is working on that show with promoters and police.

As far as the Ariana Grande concerts set for London’s O2 arena on Thursday and Friday, as of Wednesday morning no decision had been made.

“We’re still in contact with the tour promoters regarding a final decision,” the O2 team said on Twitter Wednesday morning. “As yet the tour is not officially postponed or canceled, despite media reports.”

Katy Perry, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Imagine Dragons, Shawn Mendes and the Chainsmokers will all go ahead with performances this Saturday and Sunday in Hull, England, at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, according to TMZ. Hull is about two hours from Manchester.

Blondie postponed a Tuesday-night show at the Round Chapel in London, saying in a series of tweets the day of the show that the move was “out of respect for the victims of the terrible attack at the Manchester Arena,” and noting that plans to reschedule the show were in the works.

The Afghan Whigs have moved their Friday show to the O2 Ritz Manchester from Manchester Cathedral, which, as of Wednesday morning, was still cordoned off by police. The Ritz said Tuesday that it would stay silent on social media for two days “in sympathy with those who lost their lives or were injured, physically or mentally,” but that it would have news Thursday about any rescheduled shows.

Other acts that had been scheduled to perform in the Manchester area but not in the arena in coming days, including Colour of Noise, Damien Dempsey, Shriekback and the Cranberries, canceled their shows for reasons unrelated to the suicide attack. Most announced those plans well before Monday.

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Tom Cruise confirms ‘Top Gun’ sequel -- 30 years too late

In what’s sure to have been the hottest news of 1987, Tom Cruise confirmed Tuesday that not only is a “Top Gun” sequel in the works, but that he aims to start filming it in the next year.

Cruise unceremoniously confirmed the news on the Australian morning show “Sunrise” to anchors who seemed somewhat dumbfounded by the revelation.

The original “Top Gun” came out in 1986 and Cruise played a cocky Navy aviator hungry to be the best of the best when he enters the competitive Topgun program based at the Naval Air Station in Miramar, Calif.

The film featured a lot of male posturing, a strangely erotic beach volleyball scene and, like, a lot of Kenny Loggins songs.

Given that literally nothing else is known about the film at this point, let’s enter into a bit of reality-based speculation.

There are a number of challenges to making a sequel to a film that was released more than 30 years ago. For starters, all of those actors playing beautiful, young fighter pilots are now, well, a lot older.

Then there are the facts.

Assuming that Cruise’s character, Maverick, stayed on the straight and narrow, he should have risen through the Navy ranks to a level that doesn’t see him regularly flying.

Further, if his rebel ways continued and he didn’t rise in command, then he likely would have been asked to leave after serving for 20 years or so.

At best, fans will be looking at Cruise to take on something like Tom Skerritt’s sage-advisor role from the original film. He’ll probably end up trying to shepherd a renegade pilot too much like himself, played by Ansel Elgort or Josh Hutcherson.

There’s also the matter that Miramar isn’t even a Naval Air Station anymore, transferring to the Marine Corps in 1999.

Not to worry, however, the Topgun program still exists; it’s just located in beautiful Fallon, Nev., now.

Fallon, Nev., in all its glory.
(Cathleen Allison / Associated Press)

Which is all to say that, despite Cruise being essentially ageless, this is probably not going to be the “Top Gun” sequel you were hoping for when you were 12.

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A Star Is Born: Bob Dylan turns 76 today

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

When people think of me, they are not necessarily going to buy the latest record anyway. They may buy a record from years ago. Besides, I don’t think interviews sell records.

— Bob Dylan, 1985

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bob Dylan -- Still A-Changin’

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Late-night TV hosts, U2 plead for love after Manchester bombing

After the news, late-night talk shows are television’s most topical forum. We turn there for the satirical distance and perspective that might allow us to process the day and get to sleep – for laughs when laughter is appropriate, but also for a thoughtful response when events go beyond ordinary human folly to the terrible and unthinkable.

Monday’s suicide bombing after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, was on the minds of some late-night hosts Tuesday night.

“There’s really nothing you can say that can approach the shock and the grief of the victims and their families,” said Stephen Colbert on “Late Show,” asking his audience to go online to hear what his CBS colleague James Corden, who follows him on “The Late Late Show,” had to say the night before.

“All we can add here,” said Colbert, “is that following acts of senseless violence like this, it’s all the more important not to be controlled by fear, but instead to be reminded by the action of people of Manchester who rushed to the aid of their friends and strangers alike. It is just more proof that evil cannot succeed as long as good people are willing to love each other.”

On NBC’s “Late Night,” host Seth Meyers had similar thoughts.

“At its best, being at a concert is an incredible collective experience,” he said. “It’s a chance through a shared love of music to connect with, to sing with and to dance with people you don’t know.... And so this comes down to the way we treat strangers, and while some cowards chose to treat strangers with hate, from everything I read, Manchester was filled with people last night who provided aid and comfort to help victims who were total strangers to them.”

He ended with a “plea for all of us to not need a tragedy to remind us of the importance of treating those we do not know with love instead of hate.”

The Irish band U2, in Los Angeles to perform concerts of their own, were among Jimmy Kimmel’s guests on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Kimmel brought up Manchester.

“I imagine that is something you guys have been thinking about,” he said.

“They hate music, they hate women, they even hate little girls – they hate everything that we love,” lead singer Bono replied. “The worst of humanity was on view in Manchester last night – but so was the best, as people took perfect strangers into their houses and queued up for blood banks. Manchester has an undefeatable spirit, I can assure you.”

Kimmel wondered how growing up in Northern Ireland in an era of political and sectarian violence had affected their music.

“It was so commonplace for a number of years,” answered the Edge, the band’s guitarist, “that it just became a constant background to life. And occasionally something particularly awful would happen and it would really affect you – but that was almost the worst of it. You got to the place where [it was] just ongoing every week, every month.”

Punk rock helped, added Bono. “It made us suspicious of partisanship, it made us up suspicious of sectarian ideas.”

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Elisabeth Moss and BBC America join forces for Typhoid Mary limited series

(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

“The Handmaid’s Tale” star Elisabeth Moss is wasting no time in lining up new projects.

BBC America announced Tuesday its partnership with Moss and Annapurna Television in developing “Fever,” a limited series focused on the tale of “Typhoid Mary.”

The series will adapt the novel of the same name, written by Mary Beth Keane and set in early 20th century New York, where Mary Mallon is unknowingly transmitting typhus to those around her.

“She was an immigrant in turn-of-the-century New York, a time of huge change and progress in America,” Moss said of the character in a statement released by the network. “She was incredibly unique, stubborn, ambitious and in fierce denial of any wrongdoing until her death where she lived out her days imprisoned on an island just off of the Bronx in N.Y.

“She is incredibly complicated, something I seem to enjoy playing,” said Moss.

Moss will star in the series and serve as executive producer alongside director Phil Morrison (“Enlightened,” “Junebug”) and writer Robin Veith (“The Expanse,” “True Blood”). Annapurna’s Sue Naegle and Megan Ellison will also serve as executive producers.

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Universal Music Group CEO on Manchester attack: ‘A level of evil beyond comprehension’

Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group, in November 2016.
(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

Lucian Grainge of Universal Music Group sent a company-wide memo Tuesday, calling it “a day of remembrance” of victims of the suicide attack in Manchester, England, and acknowledging that emotions were raw.

“[W]e grieve for all of those lost there, offering our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones,” said the chief executive of UMG, parent company of Ariana Grande’s recording label Republic, in a note obtained by Variety.

Twenty-two people, one only 8 years old, were killed Monday night and at least 59 were hurt when a bomb exploded as Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena was ending.

“This hits home for us as a music company,” Grainge said, “because so many of us, myself included, spend so much time out seeing our artists perform, let alone attending concerts as fans. That’s why we’ve chosen music as our career — or rather music has chosen us.”

No UMG employees, including Grande and her crew, were injured in the blast, he confirmed, and help from human resources and security was offered to those with questions or concerns.

“That said,” Grainge continued, “the fact that such an unspeakable act can be committed at a place where innocent people — including so many young people — come together peacefully to enjoy music reflects a level of evil beyond comprehension.”

READ MORE: Suspected Manchester suicide bomber identified as U.K. son of Libyan immigrants>>

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Ariana Grande returns home to Florida after Manchester attack

People attending a vigil for Monday's suicide-attack victims brought flowers to St. Ann Square in Manchester, England, on Tuesday.
(Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images)

Ariana Grande reportedly returned home to Florida on Tuesday after the bombing outside her Manchester, England, concert that left 22 dead and at least 59 injured.

As they exited a private plane, Grande, her mom and her dog were met on the tarmac in Boca Raton, E! News said, by family members and rapper Mac Miller, whom the 23-year-old has been dating since last summer. Miller gave Grande a long hug and a kiss, a source told E!

“It was a very emotional reunion and they stood talking for a minute before getting into the car,” the source said. “Ariana looked exhausted and like she didn’t get much sleep.”

A source described as close to the pop star told People that Grande “loves her fans and is absolutely crushed and devastated.... She can’t believe this happened. She just wants to be with her family and loved ones right now.”

Victims of the attack who have been identified so far include Saffie Rose Roussos, who at 8 years old is the youngest fatality so far, the Guardian reported. Many teens were also on the list of casualties.

Grande is scheduled to perform Thursday and Friday at the O2 Arena in London, but early Tuesday the status of those shows and the rest of the European leg of her Dangerous Woman tour was still in limbo.

Overnight, the “Side to Side” singer tweeted that she was “broken.” Meanwhile, support for her and for the victims came in from Grande’s peers.

“These are innocent vulnerable kids,” Rihanna tweeted. “This could have been any of us.”

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Katy Perry confirms it: She and Taylor Swift indeed have bad blood

It’s only taken four years but pop culture gossip hounds finally have the confirmation of the rumor they’ve been salivating over: Yes, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are beefing.

And, according to Perry, “She started it.”

Perry confirmed the rumors on James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” prime time special Monday night, explaining that the conflict began in a 2013 dispute over backup dancers.

According to Perry, three of her backing dancers wanted to tour with Swift on the Red tour in 2013, which Perry was in full support of because, in her words, “I’m not on a record cycle. Get the work. And she’s great.”

She did, however, caution her dancers that in a year, she would be back on a record cycle, so if they wanted to rejoin her, they needed to build in a 30-day contingency in their contract.

After the year passed, Perry contacted the dancers, whom she was “very close with,” and let them know she was readying a new tour. They replied that they’d contact management and were subsequently fired from Swift’s tour.

Perry’s story, up to this point, seems to jibe with what had previously been pieced together from various interviews.

A 2013 interview from Examiner featured one of the dancers in question, who confirmed that he and two other backup dancers who had previously worked on Perry’s “California Dreams” tour departed Swift’s tour to join Perry’s “Prism” tour.

This also vaguely aligns with a 2014 Rolling Stone interview wherein Swift confirmed that her hit single “Bad Blood” was about a fellow female artist she had a falling out with.

“She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I’m surprisingly nonconfrontational – you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It’s awkward, and I don’t like it,” Swift told the magazine.

This may or may not be where Swift and Perry’s narratives diverge.

After the dancers returned to her, Perry claims she reached out to Swift in an attempt to discuss the matter, and Swift refused.

“I do the right thing any time that it feels like a fumble,” Perry told Corden.

“So you did the phone call and it was a shutdown,” Corden clarified.

“It was a full shutdown and then she writes this song [‘Bad Blood’] about me,” Perry continued.

However, at Corden’s probing, Perry conceded that if Swift were to text her to say, in Corden’s words, “the beef is off the grill,” that she would, in return, take the beef off the grill.

“I think that women together and not divided and without any of this petty [stuff] — women together will heal the world,” Perry concluded.

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Vanity Fair’s ‘Star Wars’ covers are here — and one of them will tug at your heartstrings

“The Last Jedi” continues the episodic story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and a few original characters, including Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

There was a disturbance in the force Tuesday morning when Vanity Fair released its “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” covers photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

Tagged “The Force,” “The Dark Side,” “The Resistance” and “The Legacy,” the covers were broken down into four categories, each featuring the stars of the upcoming film.

“The Force” is made up of Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) appearing to pick up where they left off at the conclusion of “The Force Awakens.”

“The Dark Side” features Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) worse for wear after the events of the last film, but apparently readying themselves to clash anew with the rebel forces.

“The Resistance” offers an early peek at Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), a new addition to the cast, alongside Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega) and, of course, lovable rolling droid BB-8.

But it’s “The Legacy” cover that really packs a punch. General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) — who began the franchise as a tough-talking princess fully capable of saving herself and those around her and became the leader of freedom fighters — stands alone, cloaked in lush, unadorned robes.

It’s a fitting tribute to Fisher, whose unexpected death in December prompted questions about her continued presence in the franchise. The cover makes it crystal clear that, though Fisher is gone, she is not forgotten.

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Roger Moore remembered as the ‘have a drink with me’ James Bond

Roger Moore in Germany in June 2013.
Roger Moore in Germany in June 2013.
(Rolf Vennenbernd / EPA)

Kind, warm, witty — “the have a drink with me & hash it out” 007. Roger Moore, who died at 89 after a short battle with cancer, was remembered Tuesday on social media by friends, fans and, of course, Aston Martin, whose cars have been a James Bond staple.

“Oh no. As if today wasn’t already sad enough,” Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter, presumably referring to the Monday night bombing at Manchester Arena in Britain. “RIP Sir Roger Moore, 89. A wonderful actor & lovely man.”

OBITUARY: Roger Moore, debonair British actor who played James Bond in 7 movies

“Roger was a beloved part of the MGM family for decades and leaves behind a legacy of iconic film and television performances that will be revered for generations to come,” Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer chairman and chief executive Gary Barber said in a statement.

“His suave sophistication in his defining role as James Bond was matched only by his generosity and kindness. ... Roger will be sorely missed but always remembered, and our thoughts are with his family.”

Patton Oswalt put labels on all seven men who have played Bond, with Moore emerging as the “have a drink with me” incarnation of 007. Mia Farrow recalled the actor’s work with UNICEF, and PETA posted an essay that referred to him as “The Man with the Golden Heart.”

UPDATED, 12:45 p.m.: This story was updated with a comment from MGM’s Gary Barber.

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At Cannes, trailer for England-set Muslim drama postponed in wake of Manchester attack

President of the Cannes Film Festival Pierre Lescure, left, and actress Isabelle Huppert applaud after they observed a minute of silence for victims of the Manchester bombing.
(Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images)

As Cannes Film Festival attendees carried on their work with a heavy heart Tuesday, the Manchester bombing has also had an effect on at least one studio’s marketing plans.

Focus Features has ‎decided to postpone the trailer launch of “Victoria and Abdul” -- a fact-based drama about a Muslim Indian immigrant to England who becomes‎ a close confidante to Queen Victoria -- in the wake of the attack.

The Universal subsidiary was set to release a tease to the poster ‎Tuesday and a video trailer Wednesday.

But when executives at Cannes heard the news about the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert, they decided to postpone the launch to next week, said a person close to the plans who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to talk about them publicly.

The person cited a mix of reasons for the decision, primarily the fact that the film is an English-centric story and a big piece of marketing right after the attack could seem insensitive, as well as more secondarily the notion that the bombings had attracted the attention of a media-savvy adult demographic, also the intended audience for the film.

‎Starring Judi Dench and Ali Fazal, “Victoria and Abdul”‎ is set for release in the U.S. and U.K. in September. It tells a cross-cultural story of two people from vastly different classes and religions forging a close relationship.

Focus, which has a strong presence at Cannes ahead of the premiere of Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled” on Wednesday, has also been promoting “Victoria and Abdul” here. At an upfront-style event on the beach Friday, executives touted the movie as an upscale but accessible drama with mainstream appeal.

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James Corden reaches out to the ‘strong, proud, caring people’ of Manchester

James Corden reached out to Manchester, England, lon Monday night after taping “The Late Late Show,” calling the city “a place full of comedies and curries and character.”

Nothing but serious, Corden said: “When I think of Manchester, the place that I know, I think of the spirit of the people there, and I’m telling you, a more tightknit group of people you will be hard-pressed to find. Strong, proud, caring people with community at its core.”

He predicted the people of Manchester would become even stronger after the bombing, which police say was carried out by a lone male bomber who died at the scene. ISIS has claimed responsibility.

“It shocks me every time we hear this sort of news, that attacks like this can happen,” Corden said, “but especially when there will be so many children at this concert tonight.”

The attack left 22 people confirmed dead and more than 59 injured. A vigil will be held in Albert Square, in the center of the city, at 6 p.m. local time Tuesday, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said.

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Amid tight security, Cannes pauses for a moment of silence to honor Manchester victims

At 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the 70th Festival de Cannes observed a moment of silence in solidarity with the victims of Monday night’s terrorist attack at Manchester Arena.

Earlier that morning, the festival had issued a news release expressing “its horror, anger and immense sadness,” and described the incident as “yet another attack on culture, youth and joyfulness, on our freedom, generosity and tolerance, all things that the Festival and those who make it possible — the artists, professionals and spectators — hold dear.”

With that statement came the implicit acknowledgment that such an attack could, of course, happen here in Cannes. Not that anyone needed reminding, in light of the heightened security measures up and down the Croisette: the constant presence of armed police officers, the large planters lining the streets to protect against a vehicular attack, and the metal detectors set up at every entrance to the Palais des Festivals.

The festival had already weathered one false alarm on Friday, when a “suspicious object” that had been left behind in one of the screening rooms triggered a bomb scare. The Palais was evacuated, delaying by 45 minutes the first press screening of “Redoubtable,” Michel Hazanavicius’ film about the filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard.

Less than a year ago, the driver of a 19-ton truck attacked members of the crowd celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, about 20 miles from Cannes, leaving 86 dead and more than 430 injured.

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Ariana Grande’s tour dates in limbo after Manchester tragedy

Ariana Grande at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

There is much confusion in the aftermath of the Manchester terrorist attack that left 22 dead and more than 50 injured at an Ariana Grande concert Monday night. And now there are doubts that Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” tour will proceed as scheduled.

TMZ reported Monday night that the European tour had been suspended indefinitely, citing anonymous sources connected to Grande who was reportedly “in hysterics” after the concert attack.

Tuesday morning, CNN also reported the tour’s suspension, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.

The European leg of Grande’s third concert tour began May 8 in Stockholm, Sweden, and has 13 scheduled dates remaining, as well as Latin American, Asian and Oceanic legs planned for later this year.

Grande’s next scheduled tour stops are Thursday and Friday at the O2 Arena in London. They have yet to be canceled or postponed, but the venue’s official website features a message addressing the Manchester incident.

“Along with everyone else, we are shocked and saddened by the terrible tragedy in Manchester. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected and their families,” the statement reads.

“Ariana is due to perform at The O2 on Thursday and Friday and we will advise as soon as we can as to the status of those shows.”

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A Star Is Born: Joan Collins turns 84 today

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

I realize that any actress over 40 has a hard time finding roles. As you get older, it doesn’t matter how you look -- people think of you as your age. And you know the way the business is -- it’s still sexist to the extent that you can have Michael Caine, Jack Nicholson or Robert Redford, all of whom are in their 50s, playing romantic leading men. But I don’t see too many women in their 50s -- not even Jane Fonda anymore.”

— Joan Collins, 1991

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Life After Alexis

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After Manchester attack, support pours in for Ariana Grande: ‘This could have been any of us’

Ariana Grande performing at Wango Tango in 2016.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

In the hours after the Manchester bombing of an Ariana Grande concert, Twitter was flooded with messages of support for the the victims and their families and friends.

But not forgotten in the aftermath of the terrorist attack, which left 22 dead, including a victim as young as 8, is Grande herself.

“These are innocent vulnerable kids,” Rihanna tweeted early Tuesday morning. “This could have been any of us.”

The thought that it could have been any musician and any of his or her fans triggered empathy for Grande.

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Ariana Grande on Manchester bombing: ‘I don’t have words’

broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.

— Ariana Grande, tweeting Monday night about the Manchester bombing

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: the year the Palme d’Or was a split decision

Palme split: from left, best actress winner Holly Hunter, actor Sam Neill for director Jane Campion and director Chen Kaige accepting the shared Palme d'Or for "The Piano" and "Farewell My Concubine."
(Gilbert Tourte / Associated Press)

Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and Steven Zeitchik are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts). Here, Turan, with Chang behind the camera, recalls one of his favorite Cannes memories: the 1993 festival, when the jury split the Palme d’Or between Jane Campion’s “The Piano” and Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine.”

Both films went on to be nominated for Academy Awards, “The Piano” for best picture and “Farewell My Concubine for best foreign film, a split that caused some discussion ahead of the 1994 Academy Awards about what makes a film foreign.

More 70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds:

The time Lars von Trier talked about being a Nazi

70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: Discovering ‘Secret Sunshine

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At least 19 dead after explosion at England concert; Ariana Grande is ‘OK’

Police stand by a cordoned-off street close to the Manchester Arena on May 22 in Manchester, England.
( (Dave Thompson / Getty Images))

Pop star Ariana Grande is said to be safe after an explosion at the U.K.’s Manchester Arena, where she had a concert Monday night. A police statement said that at least 19 people were killed and about 50 were hurt in the blast, which was still in the hands of first responders as the news spread.

FULL COVERAGE: This developing story is being updated here.

“Ariana is OK. We are further investigating what happened,” said Joseph Carozza, the artist’s publicist with Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group.

The explosion happened just after Grande’s concert had ended, witnesses said.

“Emergency services responding to serious incident at Manchester Arena. Avoid the area. More details will follow as soon as available,” the Greater Manchester Police announced on Twitter.

Read More

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Zack Snyder to leave ‘Justice League’ following family tragedy; Joss Whedon to take over film

A rather stark reality hit the world of superhero fantasy on Monday, as the L.A. Times confirmed that Zack Snyder is stepping away from finishing the upcoming “Justice League” picture in the wake of the suicide of his daughter.

Originally reported at the Hollywood Reporter, 20-year-old Autumn Snyder died in March. “The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all-consuming,” Snyder said to THR. “And in the last two months, I’ve come to the realization … I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I’m having a hard time.”

Stepping in for Snyder to finish the high-profile movie starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa will be Joss Whedon. After making two films as part of the Disney/Marvel “Avengers” series, Whedon was recently announced as joining the Warners/DC universe for an upcoming “Batgirl” movie. “Justice League” is still expected to make its planned Nov. 17 release date.

Whedon will oversee the additional photography that had already been planned and carry the film through the end of its post-production. Snyder and Whedon are said to have a strong rapport and that Whedon is intent on seeing through Snyder’s vision for the film.

Snyder also said to THR that he planned to keep the matter of his daughter’s death private, but that once he decided to step away from “Justice League” he knew there would be a demand for answers.

“I knew there would be narratives created on the internet. They’ll do what they do,” Snyder said. “The truth is … I’m past caring about that kind of thing now.”

Snyder added, “In the end, it’s just a movie. It’s a great movie. But it’s just a movie.”

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Heath Ledger’s sister says it took blessing from Michelle Williams to get new documentary made

Universal debuts its spooky new Dark Universe and its upcoming ‘Bride of Frankenstein’

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From Twitter meme to reality: Rihanna, Lupita Nyong’o, Ava DuVernay and Issa Rae to collaborate on buddy picture

The 2014 Paris Fashion Week photo that sparked the Twitter memes that led to a new movie deal. From left, Lea Seydoux, Margot Robbie, Rihanna, Lupita Nyong'o and Elizabeth Olsen at the Miu Miu show.
(Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)

The hive-mind of the Internet has moved into development.

Among the news coming out of the Cannes Film Festival, EW is reporting that Netflix will finance a buddy crime film starring Lupita Nyong’o and Rihanna to be directed by Ava DuVernay, with Issa Rae in talks to write the screenplay.

The twist is that this idea stems largely from an idea hatched on Twitter in response to a photo taken when Rihanna and Nyong’o were seated next to each other at a Miu Miu fashion show in Paris in 2014. When a suggestion was made that they looked like they should be in a movie together, enthusiasm quickly grew.

Via Twitter, Nyong’o and Rihanna both signaled they were in. Then Rae and DuVernay also both posted they were up for it too.

Scheduling for this foursome is presumably no easy feat.

DuVernay first has to finish her adaptation of “A Wrinkle in Time,” set for release in spring of 2018. Rihanna, besides her career as a pop music superstar, will also be in “Ocean’s Eight.” the all-women spinoff from the “Ocean’s” franchise due in summer 2018. Nyong’o will be in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” later this year and Marvel’s “Black Panther” next year. Rae will see the second season of her HBO series “Insecure” premiere this July.

The Rihanna/Lupita/Issa/Ava axis has already exerted a powerful pull on Internet fandom. Whether this points the way to more fan-cast projects or is some sort of fantasy-league one-off will remain to be seen. But the power of the Internet is apparently quite real.

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Sasheer Zamata leaves ‘Saturday Night Live,’ leaving three black cast members

(Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images)

Add Sasheer Zamata to the list of “Saturday Night Live” cast members who marked their final shows this past weekend, along with Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer.

“Wow. What a fantastic end to a fantastic season, thanks SNL” Zamata said Sunday on Instagram, where she posted a picture of herself getting a hero’s carry from Colin Jost and host Dwayne Johnson.

The 31-year-old’s characters included Michelle Obama, Omarosa Manigault and Lt. Uhura from “Star Trek.” She was a regular in the “Black Jeopardy” sketches and played Seasonique Boniva Williams in the “Drug Company Hearing” bit with Octavia Spencer and Leslie Jones in March.

Zamata joined the “SNL” cast as a featured player midway through its 40th season in the wake of criticism that the show hadn’t had a black woman in the cast since Maya Rudolph left in 2007.

That weakness was acknowledged publicly during the show Kerry Washington hosted in November 2013, and Zamata showed up as Rihanna in January after a December audition that saw Jones added to the show as a writer.

Zamata became a repertory cast member for Season 41, which premiered in fall 2014. Jones got a featured player spot that October and joined the repertory this past season.

Zamata’s departure leaves “SNL” with three black cast members — Jones, Kenan Thompson and Michael Che —pending the announcement of any possible newcomers for Season 43. Jay Pharoah, who played President Obama, was let go during the hiatus before Season 42.

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‘Spider-Man’ star Tom Holland tapped for Sony’s ‘Uncharted’ adaptation

Tom Holland has signed on to star in Sony Pictures' live-action 'Uncharted' movie.
(Rich Fury / Getty Images)

After charming comic book fans into forgetting Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield previously slung webs as Peter Parker, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” star Tom Holland has landed his second major franchise.

The 20-year-old Brit is attached to star as a young Nathan Drake in Sony Pictures’ long-developing live-action ‘Uncharted’ movie, based on the popular Naughty Dog and PlayStation action adventure video game, Deadline reported Monday.

Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum”) is at the helm of the Sony project that’s been in development for almost a decade.

The story of Drake, a globetrotting, treasure-hunting adventurer, has been through a revolving door of filmmakers over the years, including directors David O. Russell (“American Hustle,” “The Fighter”), Neil Burger (“The Illusionist,” “Divergent”) and Seth Gordon (“Horrible Bosses,” “Pixels”).

In that time, the question of who would become the face of the live-action “Uncharted” franchise has also scrolled through a lineup of Hollywood’s hottest white male stars. Would it be Mark Wahlberg? Chris Pratt? Nathan Fillion, who sought the role so passionately he launched his own Twitter campaign to don Drake’s duds?

Sony is officially keeping mum on Holland’s casting, but Deadline reports that producers Charles Roven, Avi Arad, Alex Gartner and Ari Arad are bringing on a new writer to script the prequel based on the third “Uncharted” game, which focused on young Drake’s adventurous exploits with his mentor, Victor Sullivan.

Holland scored with fans and critics in his superhero debut as the high school-aged Peter Parker in Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War.” He reprises the role next month in his own July 7 Marvel Cinematic Universe standalone, “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

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Missed the Billboard Music Awards? Cher is all you need to know

Cher performs at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.
Cher performs at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Missed the 2017 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night? No worries — all you really needed to see was Cher.

The outspoken pop diva tore through hits “Believe” and “If I Could Turn Back Time,” the latter in classic Cher-style couture, spangles and high-heel boots included, before accepting the Icon award from Gwen Stefani.

PHOTOS: Billboard Music Awards 2017

“I’ve been doing it for 53 years. ... I’m 71 yesterday,” Cher told the Las Vegas audience. “Yes. And I can do a five-minute plank, just saying.”

She thanked her mom and Sonny Bono for telling her that she wouldn’t be the smartest, the prettiest or the most talented, but she would be special.

“And there was really nothing about me that led anyone to believe I was going to be special,” she said.

Looks like you got that, babe.

Backstage, even Celine Dion got in on the action, leading a sing-along and proclaiming: “Forget 71 years old, she’s the best. She’s amazing.”

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Universal debuts its spooky new Dark Universe and its upcoming ‘Bride of Frankenstein’

Universal Pictures doesn’t want to be the only Hollywood studio without a sexy film franchise that it can spin off forever and ever until there’s nothing left but action figures and ash.

Warner Bros. has its rapidly expanding DC Comics world, Disney has the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now Universal has its newly remodeled monster-verse.

Spooky!

The studio is reviving the classic Universal monsters for a scary new world officially titled the Dark Universe. We know only a little about who (or what) Universal will be resurrecting from its vault (which includes a plethora of creepy crawlies from the Wolfman to Frankenstein).

However, the official press release confirms that this new world will officially kick off June 9 with the Tom Cruise action film “The Mummy.” Next in line is “Bride of Frankenstein,” which will be directed by “Beauty and the Beast’s” Bill Condon.

Previously announced actors attached to this new world, including Johnny Depp (the Invisible Man) and Javier Bardem (Frankenstein’s Monster), posed for the first Dark Universe family picture with Cruise (Nick Morton), Russell Crowe (Dr. Henry Jekyll) and Sofia Boutella (the Mummy).

Noticeably absent from the shot is actor Luke Evans, who starred in the 2014 “Dracula Untold” feature. Looks like his iteration of the famous vampire didn’t make the cut -- for this announcement, anyway.

“The Mummy” director Alex Kurtzman and producer Chris Morgan are the brains behind the new reimagining, along with Christopher McQuarrie and David Koepp.

Check out the new “Dark Universe” logo (above) backed by a brand-new ghostly theme from composer Danny Elfman. Because if you’re going to write a scary song, you call Elfman.

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Netflix’s Ted Sarandos says Cannes film fest now ‘less attractive’ to streaming giant

Ted Sarandos
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Grab the popcorn and the Champagne: Ted Sarandos has lobbed the latest volley in the budding war between streaming juggernaut Netflix and the Cannes Film Festival over how films get seen.

In tres Cannes fashion, the Netflix head — whose company’s first Cannes premiere, Bong Joon-Ho’s magical pig flick “Okja,” sparked an all-out culture war over theatrical vs. digital distribution models — dropped the grenade on his festival hosts Sunday night at his own swanky party.

Prompted by outraged French theater owners who voiced loud opposition this year after Netflix films “Okja” and Noah Baumbach’s “The Meyerowitz Stories” were granted competition berths, Cannes hastily announced that, effective in 2018, only films with French theatrical distribution may vie for the Palme d’Or.

Asked by Variety if Netflix would return to Cannes under the new restrictions, Sarandos “at first said ‘no,’” reported the trade publication. He then walked that hard line back: “Well, I shouldn’t say that. It would be less attractive, for sure, because it would affect [Netflix’s] festival strategy around the world.”

Sarandos even gave the growing flap a cheeky nickname: “L’Affaire de Netflix,” quite a scandal indeed in a year with a disappointing lack of l’enfants terribles making Nazi jokes, or movie stars sporting paper bags over their heads, or any real controversy, really, on the Croisette.

The conflict has divided the film world and dominated festival chatter this year at Cannes, forcing filmmakers and industry veterans to take sides in a philosophical and practical battle that cuts to the fundamental crisis of modern movie watching: traditional vs. digital distribution as battleground for the war over what really matters in the consumption, and business, of film.

On Team Netflix: “Okja” helmer Bong, naturally, who shrugged off the press-screening projection snafu, the audience boos at the sight of Netflix’s logo on the big screen, and the public shade from competition jury head Pedro Almodóvar, who last week slammed watching movies on screens “smaller than the chair on which you’re sitting.”

But when Netflix’s deep pockets are increasingly financing and snapping up films that might otherwise land at traditional distributors, things get stickier. Working with Netflix was “a wonderful experience,” Bong enthused at his film’s presser.

“The expectation is always that your film will be seen on the big screen,” Baumbach said at Cannes days later. His “Meyerowitz Stories” was filmed independently on 16mm before Netflix picked it up for a streaming and limited theatrical debut.

“I believe in that; it is a unique, singular experience that is not going away,” he said.

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Beyoncé’s ‘push party’ proved she’s the queen of high-fashion pregnancy

Seen at a Clippers playoff game in April. Beyoncé hasn't let her pregnancy slow her down.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

So it’s the middle of May and we still don’t know whether Beyoncé is carrying boys, girls or glorious beings made of pure light. But we do know that she continues to have an exquisitely designed pregnancy.

On Saturday Beyoncé’s mama, Tina Knowles Lawson, shared videos and photos from the Carter Push Party (though Beyoncé and husband Jay Z are best known by singular monikers, their last names are Knowles-Carter and Carter, respectively). And it was an event for the ages.

A bevy of glamorous guests -- including tennis icon Serena Williams, actress Lala Anthony and Vanessa Bryant, wife of Lakers legend Kobe -- gathered in a room decked out with warm orange decor and African-style prints.

Also present were former Destiny’s Children Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé’s cousin Angie Beyince and celebrity jeweler Lorraine Schwartz.

Plenty of guests shared their own snaps from the party, highlighting their own impeccable fashion.

But Queen Bey was not to be outdone at her own baby shower, posting three black-and-white pictures from the festivities, displaying her glorious henna-tattooed baby(s) bump and big smiles from both her and Jay.

All things considered, it’s been a very Instagram-friendly pregnancy for the Carters, with Beyoncé announcing their impending arrival with a post in February and sharing plenty of bumptastic fashion photos in the months since.

No official word yet on when the Carter babies are due to make their bow, but expect the first Instagram snap to be epic.

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NEH Chairman William D. Adams resigns

William D. “Bro” Adams, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, announced his almost-immediate resignation on Monday.

Adams, who was appointed by President Obama in February 2014 and confirmed three months later, will be done as of Tuesday.

“Leading this important organization has been one of the most exciting and gratifying experiences of my life,” he said in a memo to staff. “I’m especially appreciative of the excellent and dedicated staff of the agency, who taught me so much about the importance of the humanities and the innovative and meaningful work that is going on at NEH and across the country.”

Before taking the reins at the NEH, Adams was president of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, for 14 years. A greeting from the beginning of his stint at the agency can be seen above.

The NEH awards grants to fund projects related to history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities. Deputy Chair Margaret Plympton will lead the agency until a new chairperson is appointed.

In March, the NEH and its higher-profile cousin, the National Endowment for the Arts, were the subject of much discussion as the budget proposed by the Trump administration would cut funding for both. (Read the Los Angeles Times’ recent “L.A. Without the NEA” series here.)

Earlier this month, Adams praised the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, passed by Congress and signed by the president, which not only continued funding through fiscal 2017-18, but increased it by $2 million.

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John Oliver looks at Trump’s ‘absolutely insane’ week of scandal, a.k.a. ‘Stupid Watergate’

Instead of diving deep into a seemingly boring topic -- dialysis, anyone? -- as he usually does, on Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver addressed the elephant in the room.

That would be the nonstop revelations related to President Trump, whose last week in office have yielded more “OMG, what now?” twists than a sweeps episode of “Scandal.”

Oliver spent a solid 24 minutes recapping the latest stream of developments in the crisis he called “Stupid Watergate,” in that it has “all the potential ramifications of Watergate” but “everyone involved is stupid and bad at everything.”

There was Trump’s sharing of classified intelligence with Russian diplomats and the possibility he fired FBI Director James Comey in order to kill the Russia investigation. There was the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to continue said investigation and the report that a senior White House advisor has been named a person of interest in the case.

And there was Trump’s claim he’d been treated worse than any other politician in history -- presumably including those killed by assassins, such as Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

“The last seven days have been absolutely insane, so much so that they may have broken Anderson Cooper,” Oliver said, cueing a much-discussed clip of the CNN anchor suggesting that Trump supporter Jeffrey Lord would tolerate any sort of objectionable behavior from the president.

As Oliver noted, Fox News pundits such as Tucker Carlson have done their best to ignore the drip-drip of revelations, but some personalities on the network, such as Jesse Watters, haven’t been able to quell all their doubts.

“A Fox host not being able to hold his doubts at bay for 48 hours is pretty much a canary in a coal mine, but then at this point Donald Trump is basically waist deep in canaries,” Oliver said.

But Oliver was not exactly convinced that impeachment is imminent, particularly because Republicans control both houses of Congress. Then there’s the fact that Trump has escaped near-certain ruin many times before. (Two words: “Access Hollywood.”)

“It seems like with President Trump that he’s always approaching the end of the line, but it never seems to come, as if for him, and him alone, the end of the line is drawn by MC [bleeping] Escher.”

You can watch the clip here, but beware: It contains some profane language.

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‘Twin Peaks’ fans have feelings about the revival: ‘a beautiful nocturnal animal no thinkpiece can capture’

It has been 26 years since David Lynch’s landmark ABC series “Twin Peaks” ended, but the wait for more cherry pie and damn fine cups of coffee is finally over.

Showtime debuted its “Twin Peaks” revival Sunday night, airing the first two (of 18!) hours of the Lynch-directed reboot.

The long-awaited premiere, which Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd called “a splendid, focused and wholly assured resurrection,” elicited all the buzz a show could ask for. There was celebrity adulation, gifs and “Simpsons” references. So very many “Simpsons” references.

Of course, others embraced the power of the DVR and focused on what really mattered Sunday night. Never change, Billy Eichner.

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Billy Bush regrets that ‘Access Hollywood’ tape, especially his daughter’s reaction to it

It’s been more than seven months since the leaked release of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape featuring Donald Trump and Billy Bush crudely discussing women in an exchange that Trump later dismissed as “locker room talk.”

Since then, one of those men has become president and the other has been unemployed.

Bush broke his silence over the now-infamous conversation in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter published Sunday, wherein he spoke about how he has spent the intervening months, passing the hours with yoga and meditation.

Subsequently fired from his gig on the “Today” show, Bush bemoaned his lack of opportunity to tell his side of the story, hurt by being the butt of late-night jokes.

“Many of them were very hurtful. To be the butt of monologue jokes — that’s all hurtful,” Bush said. “Having been in the job as long as I have, I developed a fairly thick skin. My skin is definitely thicker now, and my heart is a little softer underneath it.”

But it wasn’t the reaction of late-night comedians that most horrified Bush. He recounted a frantic call from his then-15-year-old daughter, Mary, in which he tried to assure her that everything would be all right.

“Why were you laughing at the things that he was saying on that bus, Dad? They weren’t funny,” Bush’s daughter pressed him.

“I have no answer for that that’s any good. I am really sorry. That was Dad in a bad moment a long time ago,” Bush responded.

Bush recalled that in 2005, he was often with Trump, given that “The Apprentice” was a monster hit.

“I spent a lot of time with Trump. He was my main assignment,” Bush explained before explaining his ignoble behavior on the bus.

“In my job, there’s a lot of downtime, and there are off-camera moments where you have a short period of time to, in a chameleon-like way, connect with people,” Bush said. “If it’s Martha Stewart, I would tell her about the new organic garden that I just started growing in my backyard.”

Because it was Trump, Bush seemingly went along with the crass, dehumanizing discussion of women.

Since his dismissal from “Today,” Bush has processed the events the best way he knew how.

“When you have a big, traumatic event, you go through stages, and it led to acceptance and understanding,” mused Bush. “And then I found myself in a place of soul searching. And I developed a commitment to become a better, fuller man.”

Bush hopes to return to television in some form and, in the meantime, he’ll reach out to others who have also found themselves under intense public scrutiny.

“I will be picking up my pen and writing them and calling them on the phone, and I will pursue these interviews and these moments with these people,” said Bush. “And through what I’ve learned and where I’ve been, I will tell them, ‘You have empathetic ears in me.’”

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Fox News fires Bob Beckel from ‘The Five,’ claims he made insensitive remark to black employee

After years of silence, activists are forcing music festivals to take sexual assault seriously

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A Star Is Born: Maggie Q turns 38 today

(Shizuo Kambayashi / For the Times)

The lucky thing for me is I entered the entertainment industry in Asia, and I was there for 10 years: Weirdness and ups and downs and articles and partying -- and I’m done. It’s wonderful. I’m an adult. I wake up in the morning with my animals and enjoy life.

— Maggie Q, 2007

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Sunday Conversation: ‘Just a ‘crazy dog lady’

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Why the twists in ‘The Lobster’ director’s newest film has Cannes calling it the next ‘Get Out’

Yorgos Lanthimos, foreground, and Nicole Kidman at a Cannes 2017 Film Festival press conference for "The Killing of a Sacred Deer."
(Antony Jones / EPA)

With provocations like “Dogtooth” and “The Lobster,” director Yorgos Lanthimos has been jolting audiences at the Cannes Film Festival and beyond for nearly a decade.

But even the most prepared Cannes filmgoers may not have been ready for “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” the Greek-born filmmaker’s latest and possibly craziest work, which premiered to reporters Monday morning at the festival.

To describe the movie in too much detail is to spoil the fun. Basically, the English-language film centers on an upper-class family living a perfectly manicured, disturbingly sterile life in an unnamed American suburb — cardiologist dad and ophthalmologist mom (Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman), well-behaved pre-adolescent son and even better-behaved teenage daughter — and what happens when a mysterious teenage boy enters their lives.

“What happens” isn’t easy to describe without unpacking the whole thing. Suffice it to say that in the cards are profound moral choices, themes of guilt and responsibility, and plot turns featuring illness and supernatural occurrences. But not, it should be said, in a baroque genre way — more in the chillingly slow-burn and unpredictable European vein.

That class is involved adds to the weight. And like that little February fad “Get Out,” “Deer” is an indictment of white privilege in the guise of a medical horror movie (and comes in this case with a Kubrickian influence and even more dark comedy).

Fest goers began debating the movie almost immediately after its debut screening — such are both its plot turns and layers of symbolic meaning. It’s a conversation that will no doubt continue and intensify when A24, the studio that put out “Moonlight,” releases the film in the fall.

Lanthimos, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying the back-and-forth. “I don’t like explaining what we’re doing because I don’t really know either,” he said with a small smile when a reporter at a post-screening press conference asked him to interpret one of the events in the film. “These are questions to take with you, I guess.”

He did cop to the laughs as intentional. “Nicole likes to say I would tell her all the time we were shooting it [that] it was a comedy. And I believe that.”

Kidman offered her own take on the director’s dark vision. “The film has a hypnotic quality to it. A lot of times Yorgos’ direction is, ‘Please do nothing.’ And that’s very difficult to do as an actor,” she added. “After I saw the film I called him and said ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’”

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‘Alien: Covenant’ is No. 1, but it’s not the box office monster ‘Guardians’ feared

After almost 40 years, audiences are still interested in the “Alien” universe. Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant,” from 20th Century Fox, dethroned Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” which had topped the box office for two straight weeks. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ “Everything, Everything” and Fox’s” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” sequel battled for those not interested in R-rated scares.

“Alien” took in an estimated $36 million in the U.S. and Canada, coming in below analyst projections of $40 million to $50 million. Internationally, the picture pulled $30.3 million this weekend after already being open in territories across the globe. Its worldwide take rests at $117.8 million to date.

“It does endure the test of time,” said Chris Aronson, the studio’s head of distribution, “as does Sir Ridley Scott.”

Justin Chang reviews ‘Alien: Covenant,’ directed by Ridley Scott, starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, and Jussie Smollett. Video by Jason H. Neubert.

The latest in the aging franchise is the eighth film, counting the two widely panned “Alien Vs. Predator” movies. It’s also a sequel to 2012’s “Prometheus,” a heady quasi-prequel to the original 1979 “Alien.” The studio was able to drum up interest in the flick among core “Alien” fans with gruesome marketing and generally positive reviews. It may also help that the the famous creatures designed by surrealist H.R. Giger -- the xenomorphs and facehuggers -- which “Prometheus” lacked because of its origin-of-man backstory, were reintroduced.

Audiences (62% male; 66% 25 and older; 51% white) gave the picture a B CinemaScore; critics gave it an average 73% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Alien: Covenant” performed worse than its 2012 predecessor, which brought in $51 million in its debut. That film ended up collecting $400 million worldwide. But considering the studio saved more than 25% in production costs this go around, with a $97-million price tag, the future of “Covenant’s” profitability still looks promising.

Falling to second place in its third week was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” with a still-impressive $35.1 million this weekend. It has pulled in $301.8 million domestically to date for a global tally more than $732 million.

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Dwayne Johnson and Tom Hanks announce 2020 candidacy on ‘Saturday Night Live’ season finale

It was an eventful season finale for “Saturday Night Live.”

Not only did host Dwayne Johnson join the “Five-Timers Club” and announce his candidacy for president — with running mate Tom Hanks — “SNL” bid farewell to longtime cast members Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer.

Johnson and fellow Five-Timer Hanks — on hand to help Alec Baldwin welcome The Rock to the club — reasoned that their various film roles as men of action and integrity made them a lock for 2020.

The show opened with various cast members and previous guest hosts related to President Trump — including Baldwin and Scarlett Johansson returning as Donald and Ivanka, respectively, and Kate McKinnon as Kellyanne Conway-- convened around a piano.

The group sang a much more comic version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” than the one performed by McKinnon as Hillary Clinton after the election. (No sign of Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer, alas.)

Departing cast members Bayer and Moynihan both got multiple spotlights in their final episode.

Among other sketch appearances, Bayer played a vacuous woman in a fake ad for a Cartier fidget spinner as well as appearing on “Weekend Update” as nerve-wracked meteorologist Dawn Lazarus and, later, a spectacularly flatulent old-time Hollywood movie star.

In addition to a winking appearance in a high school graduation talent show sketch — which also featured Bayer — Moynihan trotted out “Drunk Uncle” for a final rant on “Update” and played a bone-toting but sperm-deficient wrestler withering under Johnson’s escalatingly personal attacks in a “Wrestlemania” promo.

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A Star Is Born: Al Franken turns 66 today

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

To make things work in comedy, it helps both to understand how much work it takes and also to know when to let go.

— Al Franken, 1994

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Q&A with Al Franken: He’s Doing the 12-Step Comedy Rag

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: Discovering ‘Secret Sunshine’

South Korean director Lee Chang-dong, center, with fellow Cannes jury members Isabelle Huppert, left, and Robin Wright at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in 2009.
(Francois Mori / Associated Press)

Justin Chang, Steven Zeitchik and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments (or thereabouts).

Here, Chang, with Zeitchik behind the camera, recalls one of his all-time favorite Cannes experiences: encountering Lee Chang-dong’s masterful 2007 film, “Secret Sunshine,” for the first time in the Salle Debussy, the screening room where so many Cannes discoveries are made.

70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: Justin Chang, with Steven Zeitchik behind the camera, recalls one of his all-time favorite Cannes experiences: encountering Lee Chang-dong’s masterful 2007 film, “Secret Sunshine,” for the first time in the Salle De

The year “Secret Sunshine” was in competition at Cannes, its star, Jeon Do-yeon, won the festival’s best actress award for her portrayal of a widow trying to start a new life. As the Korea JoongAng Daily noted, it was only the second time at that point that an Asian actress had won the award.

More 70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds:

The time Lars von Trier talked about being a Nazi

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Vanessa Bayer joins Bobby Moynihan in ‘SNL’ exodus

Vanessa Bayer, the longest-tenured current female cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” has decided not to return to the NBC sketch series.

Bayer’s exit after seven seasons follows the announcement earlier this week that Bobby Moynihan, a nine-year “SNL” vet, will be leaving the show to headline the CBS sitcom “Me, Myself & I.

Bayer announced her departure on Instagram today, hours before taping tonight’s season finale.

“Thank youSNL’ for 7 years of laughs, love and incredible memories,” she wrote. “It has been a dream come true.”

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John Lithgow’s ‘Trial & Error’ wins a second season

“Trial & Error,” the inventive NBC comedy that filtered the true crime legal procedural format through a mockumentary approach, has been renewed for a second season.

The John Lithgow-led show’s ratings weren’t great, but it received excellent reviews when it premiered in March. Times television critic Robert Lloyd called it “solid and impressively cast,” as well as “sweet and funny.”

The second season pickup is for 10 episodes.

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A Star Is Born: Cher turns 71 today

(Al Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

I make movies, but I don’t think of myself as an actress ... I never went from being what I was to being a serious actress. I don’t like labels and I don’t particularly like that one. I’m not a serious actor and I’m not a serious singer. I’m someone who feels a responsibility to the work that I do — whatever it is.

— Cher, 1991

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Cher Conundrum

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Anderson Cooper tells Jeffrey Lord: If Trump ‘took a dump on his desk, you’d defend it’

Anderson Cooper took issue with a guest’s defense of President Trump on his show Friday night.

Jeffrey Lord regularly appears as a pro-Trump commentator on CNN. On “Anderson Cooper 360,” Cooper asked Lord whether he thought Trump should be doing things like telling the Russians that fired FBI Director James B. Comey is a “nut job” while under investigation by the FBI.

“You can’t really defend it, in all fairness,” Cooper said. “You can’t defend what the president of the United States just said.”

“I don’t care what he says to the Russian prime – to the Russians,” Lord replied. “I mean, he’s the president of the United States. If he wants to say that, if Barack Obama wants to say whatever, if George Bush says ‘I looked in his eyes and’ – “

Cooper interrupted him: “If he took a dump on his desk, you would defend it.”

He continued: “I don’t know what he would do that you would not defend.”

Minutes later, Cooper apologized for saying it. He followed it up with a tweet:

Cooper recently earned the Internet meme treatment for an onscreen eye roll last week in response to Kellyanne Conway skirting a question about Comey’s firing.

Lord also lit up the Internet earlier this year when he called Trump “the Martin Luther King of healthcare.” Lord, who worked in the Reagan administration, was hired by CNN in 2015.

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Pop surrealist Mark Ryden continues his ‘Whipped Cream’ adventure with New York art exhibition

Pop-surrealist painter Mark Ryden designed the candy-colored costumes and sets for American Ballet Theatre's "Whipped Cream," which premieres at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 22.
Pop-surrealist painter Mark Ryden designed the candy-colored costumes and sets for American Ballet Theatre’s “Whipped Cream,” which premieres at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 22.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Pop surrealist Mark Ryden, known for his kitschy, brightly colored paintings blending pop culture and old master techniques, made his first foray into theatrical design in March with American Ballet Theatre’s “Whipped Cream,” which premiered at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

“It just seemed like an exciting adventure,” Ryden told us at the time, speaking to why he was drawn to the project, for which he created a haven of dessert-themed set pieces and costumes.

Well, the adventure continues.

“Whipped Cream,” which features choreography by ABT artist-in-residence Alexei Ratmansky, will see its New York premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on Monday. To mark the occasion, New York’s Paul Kasmin Gallery and ABT will present an exhibition of drawings, sketches and paintings that Ryden created for the ballet. “Mark Ryden: The Art of Whipped Cream” opens May 19 at the Met’s Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met and will be on view through July 8.

“There’s something very unsettling, disturbing, about his paintings, which hides behind the sometimes very sweet surface,” Ratmansky told The Times in March. “I just thought it was a good fit for the music and that it would make this 1920s work feel contemporary.”

“Whipped Cream” is based on an obscure, 1924 two-act ballet called “Schlagobers,” written and composed by Richard Strauss. It’s about a young boy who, after his first Communion, celebrates by wolfing down too many sweets at a Viennese pastry shop. He falls into a sugar-induced delirium and is rushed to the hospital, where a series of hallucinations bring his beloved desserts to life.

Follow me on Twitter: @debvankin

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Katy Perry’s ‘Swish Swish’ might be about Taylor Swift. And Ruby Rose is having none of it

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

You’re getting so very mean, girls.

Pop star Katy Perry has a new single out, “Swish Swish” featuring Nicki Minaj, and actress Ruby Rose doesn’t like it one bit. Well, she’s fine with the Nicki part, it’s just the rest of the song that had her on fire late Thursday.

See, there’s a really, really good chance that the new release is a diss track about Taylor Swift — or at least built to seem that way, because people do talk, right? — and Ruby and Taylor are pals, and Ruby took the bait and ran with it.

“‘Purposeful poop’ to ‘bomb a petit” to a sloppy mess of writing over the top of Funkagenda..stop trying to make ‘Wit..I mean ‘fetch’ happen,” Ruby said on Twitter, slamming Katy’s journey through her three latest singles, “Chained to the Rhythm” (“We’re going to call this era Purposeful Pop,” Perry told a fan about the politically minded tune), “Bon Appetit” (the track mashes up sex and food porn and instructions to save room for “the world’s best cherry pie”) and now “Swish Swish.”

“I just think with everything going on in the world to go from rebranding as political activist only to ditch it and go low.. is.. a bummer,” Ruby tweeted.

And how low can you go? Well, here are some lyrics from the occasionally explicit “Swish Swish”: “A tiger / Don’t lose no sleep / Don’t need opinions / From a shellfish or a sheep / Don’t you come for me / No, not today.”

And some more lyrics: “Your game is tired / You should retire / You’re ‘bout cute as / An old coupon expired / And karma’s not a liar / She keeps receipts.”

Feel free to fire up the Urban Dictionary if you need some translation help, but you get the idea. And, as Nicki says in her verse, “Silly rap beefs just get me more checks.”

So, will Ruby keep her anti-Katy fire roaring? We’ll see.

“I’m just another person with an opinion no better than anyone else’s opinion. I don’t overanalyze,” the actress told Cosmopolitan earlier this year. “I just write from the heart, post it, and hope for the best. Then I move on.”

On Thursday night that appeared to be her plan as well.

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What’s a kids film doing at Cannes? We ask Todd Haynes

Todd Haynes, director of "Wonderstruck," at the 70th Cannes Film Festival.
Todd Haynes, director of “Wonderstruck,” at the 70th Cannes Film Festival.
(Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA)

Todd Haynes has been to the Festival de Cannes before. His “Velvet Goldmine” took a special jury prize in 1998, and 2015’s “Carol” went on to earn six Oscar nominations. But he’s never been here with a film like “Wonderstruck.”

Indeed, he’s never made anything like “Wonderstruck” before.

“My films are not always the most conventional,” the director, exhausted by travel but completely involved, acknowledged the night before “Wonderstruck” debuted in competition at Cannes.

But with this engaging and richly emotional film, smartly adapted from Brian Selznick’s uncommon novel, he’s not only made his first-ever family film, but he’s done so very much on his own terms.

“The thing that excited me was that I’d never done a movie about kids, a film kids could see,” the director says. “But I wanted it to be as complex, sophisticated and rich as any cinematic experience, to make something really sublime for kids. Great kids films are great films.”

At Cannes' "Wonderstruck" screening, from left, actors Millicent Simmonds and Jaden Michael, writer Brian Selznick, director Todd Haynes and actors Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore.
(Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images)

In this goal he is helped by Selznick’s enormous novel, which tells the stories, first parallel and then intertwined, of two fearless and curious 12-year-olds, who, 50 years apart, run away from home chasing big-city dreams in Manhattan.

In 1977, young Ben (Oakes Fegley of the underappreciated “Pete’s Dragon”) takes off from Gunflint, Minn., for New York. In 1927, feisty Rose (newcomer Millicent Simmonds) leaves Hoboken, N.J., with the same destination in mind.

But that is only the beginning of the complexities that Selznick, whose first novel became Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” has layered into the story.

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Amber Heard’s Mera costume from ‘Aquaman’ looks like she swam right out of the comic book

Amber Heard and director James Wan were showing off Thursday with first-day shots of the actress as Mera in “Aquaman.”

“Lady MERA swept in from the sea. First day with the exquisite Amber Heard,” tweeted Wan, who began filming of the flick starring Heard and Jason Momoa on May 2. The “Furious 7” helmer credited still photographer Jasin Boland for the shot.

Heard chimed in: “Over a year of prep, 6 months of training, & countless hrs of denying myself pleasure, aka donuts, has led to this moment: Day 1,” the actress wrote on Twitter, posting a shot of herself in the makeup chair, kicking back and reading an Aquaman comic before getting into costume.

Heard will first hit screens as Mera in “Justice League,” which is set to open in November and is directed by Zack Snyder, an “Aquaman” executive producer and director of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “300” and “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.”

“I would love to capture the fun spirit of high-sea adventures, treasure hunts, sea monsters,” Wan told The Times last year. “That’s the spirit that I’m going for. Swashbuckling.”

Look down, and see if you think he’s heading toward hitting that mark.

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In emotional ‘Carpool Karaoke,’ Harry Styles nearly cries -- but ‘in a good way’

James Corden and Harry Styles pulled out all the stops during the latest iteration of “Carpool Karaoke” on “The Late Late Show.”

It was Styles’ first solo stint doing the popular segment since One Direction joined Corden for the bit in December 2015, a video that’s since been viewed on YouTube more than 100 million times.

Eager to promote his self-titled debut solo album released May 12, Corden and Styles first launch into two minutes of “Sign of the Times,” his first single.

Styles doesn’t hold anything back during the emotional sing-along, veins in his neck bulging, making it easy to see why the 23-year-old heartthrob continues to make people swoon.

After Corden admits that the song made him a little teary, Styles shares that sometimes when he’s performing it, the song makes him cry (but in a cool way).

They also tackle “Sweet Creature” — apparently Styles’ mom’s favorite track on the album — and “Kiwi.”

But the best part of Carpool Karaoke is always watching artists attempt other songs they love. For Styles, that meant Outkast’s “Hey Ya” and, after a brief negotiation, a stirring duet of “Endless Love” with the young Brit singing Lionel Richie’s part and Corden channeling Diana Ross.

Overall, Styles comes off as dreamy, yet approachable, with impeccable fashion sense and a frightening memory for romantic comedies.

The video, which went up in the early hours Friday, already has racked up more than a million views.

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Judge declares Prince’s six siblings the heirs to his estate

A Minnesota judge has ruled that Prince’s six siblings are the heirs to his estate.

In a ruling made public Friday, Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide declared that Prince died without a will and that his sister, Tyka Nelson, and five half-siblings are his heirs.

There are people who filed appeals after their claims of heirship were rejected. Eide said that if the appellate courts send those cases back to him, he’ll still fully consider them.

Eide also said Prince’s assets won’t be distributed without a formal court order and that nothing will be distributed that might adversely affect the claims of those with pending appeals.

Prince died April 21, 2016, of an accidental drug overdose. His estate has been estimated at about $200 million.

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Chris Cornell’s wife says suicide ‘inexplicable’ and suspects medication might have contributed

Chris Cornell's wife and family lawyer say a prescription medication the singer was taking may have contributed to his death earlier this week.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Cornell’s wife and the family’s lawyer responded Friday to the Soundgarden singer’s death following a concert Wednesday in Detroit, saying they suspect that an anti-anxiety medication he was taking may have contributed to what has been ruled by the Wayne County medical examiner as suicide by hanging.

“Without the results of toxicology tests, we do not know what was going on with Chris — or if any substances contributed to his demise,” attorney Kirk Pasich said in the statement. “Chris, a recovering addict, had a prescription for Ativan and may have taken more Ativan than recommended dosages.”

In the same statement, Vicky Cornell said, “When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him ....

“What happened is inexplicable and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details,” her statement continued. “I know that he loved our children and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life.”

Pasich added: “The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions.”

Cornell had struggled with drug and alcohol abuse during the rise of Soundgarden from the Seattle grunge rock scene of the early 1990s, and it contributed to the band’s demise in 1997. But after completing a rehab program, he was in recovery when he and members of Rage Against the Machine formed the band Audioslave in 2001.

“Chris’ death is a loss that escapes words and has created an emptiness in my heart that will never be filled,” Vicky Cornell said. “As everyone who knew him commented, Chris was a devoted father and husband. He was my best friend. His world revolved around his family first and of course, his music, second.

“He flew home for Mother’s Day to spend time with our family,” she said. “He flew out midday Wednesday, the day of the show, after spending time with the children. When we spoke before the show, we discussed plans for a vacation over Memorial Day and other things we wanted to do ....

“The outpouring of love and support from his fans, friends and family means so much more to us than anyone can know,” her statement concluded. “Thank you for that, and for understanding how difficult this is for us.”

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Justin Chang’s Cannes diary: The optimism of ‘Wonderstruck’ and ‘Let the Sunshine In’

Millicent Simmonds, left, and Jaden Michael arrive for the screening of their film "Wonderstruck" at the Cannes Film Festival.
Millicent Simmonds, left, and Jaden Michael arrive for the screening of their film “Wonderstruck” at the Cannes Film Festival.
(Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images)

Sometimes a film festival holds up a mirror to the world’s harshest realities, and sometimes it provides a welcome respite from them.

On Thursday, amid what felt like an unceasing wave of news alerts from the U.S. — the unexpected deaths of Roger Ailes and Chris Cornell, a fatal car crash in Times Square, the latest developments in the Trump-Russia saga — the Cannes Film Festival saw fit to unveil two pictures notable for their exquisite loveliness, their enchanting good vibes and their sweet yet tough-minded suggestion that everything might turn out just fine in the end.

Needless to say, neither of the films in question was directed by Michael Haneke, even if his latest picture does bear the (presumably ironic) title “Happy End.” (It will screen for the press on Sunday.)

Instead, festivalgoers queued up amid heightened security for the first screenings of Todd Haynes’ “Wonderstruck,” which premiered in the main competition, and Claire Denis’ “Let the Sunshine In” (“Un Beau Soleil Intérieur”), which opened the parallel Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.

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Sharing a Coke and memories at Cannes with Kubrick whisperer Leon Vitali

When Leon Vitali was working on Stanley Kubrick‘s “Full Metal Jacket,” he became involved in a disagreement with the director over the size of cabins in the shoot.

“I got a phone call at eight o’clock. ‘Your measurements are off by miles,’” Vitali, Kubrick’s longtime aide-de-camp and subject of the new documentary “Filmworker,” recalled the director telling him.

“It was ‘… Leon … Leon … Leon, you are off,’” Vitali continued, repeating Kubrick’s choice of obscenity. “I said ‘… Stanley … Stanley … Stanley. I am not.’ Ten minutes later, Stanley called back and said, ‘I’m sorry. I was given wrong information.’”

Vitali drew a breath. “That was one of the times I got an apology from him.”

Fans of Kubrick‎ know well how exacting the director could be. Far less recognized is the person who helped him carry out that exactitude, and endured some of its harshest consequences.

I’d work 14-, 16-hour shifts, seven days a week. It wasn’t like that some of the time. It was just normal.

— Leon Vitali, filmworker

For nearly a quarter-century since “Barry Lyndon,” Vitali — a successful British TV actor earlier in his career — served as Kubrick’s right-hand man. After starring as Lord Bullingdon in the 1975 period piece, Vitali shifted roles to work behind the scenes on signature Kubrick movies such as “The Shining,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “Eyes Wide Shut.”

When “Filmworker” premieres Friday at the Cannes Film Fes‎tival, it will offer a fitting addition to this cinephile gathering. The Tony Zierra-directed documentary is, in part, a profile in absentia of Kubrick, one of moviedom’s most studied and at times misunderstood masters.

But by spotlighting Vitali, an insanely devoted man who lived in that master’s shadow, it also illuminates a unique picture of creativity and its costs. Hollywood biopics can pull a muscle trying to tell us the crazed devotion that art requires. “Filmworker” effortlessly shows it.

To explain Vitali’s job is to try to trace the path of a worker ant. The best description might be ‘The Kubrick Whisperer.” At various points the diminutive Brit was — unofficially and often unexpectedly — a casting agent, an editor, a title translator, an on-set manual laborer, a foreign-license negotiator, a color-corrector, an actor workshopper and a marketing advisor. And a dozen other jobs that came up as needed, all because Kubrick trusted only him to handle them. (It was, for instance, Vitali who found Danny Lloyd, who played young Danny Torrance in “The Shining.”)

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At Cannes, Tilda Swinton reveals her secret to living a better life

Tilda Swinton at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19.
(Alastair Grant / Associated Press)

Tilda Swinton has long been a sought-after star at Cannes, not only because of her versatile talent but because she always seems to be be living smarter, easier, cooler than the rest of us.

Such qualities were on display Friday, when at a news conference for her new film “Okja”— which contains pro-organic, anti-capitalist undercurrents in its story about a lovable, genetically modified pig — she offered a prescription for Life According to Tilda. Here’s her guide.

“I live outnumbered by animals. You can read them as a lesson to all of us on how to live — loyalty patience, presence, love of a good walk, catching a ball, whatever. The feeling of dedication and simplicity that animals can teach us.

“It’s a very important directive at a time when capitalism is really upping its game to trick us that we are more consumers than sentient beings, more than people who love each other. We have to guard against these tricks. And I think the film offers a corrective against this trickery.”

Is there a lab somewhere that can modify us all into a Swinton GMO?

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Lin-Manuel Miranda joins the new ‘DuckTales’ cast

Looks like Alexander Hamilton is headed to Duckburg. OK, not quite, but the Tony Award-winning “Hamilton” scribe Lin-Manuel Miranda is headed for “DuckTales.”

Disney has announced that Miranda is joining the cast of its upcoming “DuckTales” series to voice Gizmoduck and his alter-ego Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera.

While the original Fenton Crackshell was Scrooge McDuck’s accountant, this new Fenton is a scientist. In “DuckTales,” Fenton is an intern working for Gyro Gearloose, Scrooge McDuck’s personal mad scientist. But that’s not the only change that was made when the character was re-imagined for the new series.

“Growing up as a Cuban-American comics enthusiast, I was always hungry for a Latino hero to call my own,” said “DuckTales” co-producer and story editor Francisco Angones in a press release. “In developing the new series, Matt and I leapt at the opportunity to adapt ‘DuckTales’’ marquee hero into a young scientist character with Latin-inspired roots.”

“Lin came to mind instantly for the role of Gizmoduck,” said “Ducktales” executive producer Matt Youngberg added. “His rapid-fire earnestness paired with his wide-eyed yet determined optimism made him the perfect person to yell ‘blathering blatherskite!’”

In the original “DuckTales,” Fenton accidentally activated the Gizmosuit by uttering his catchphrase, “blatherin’ blatherskite.” The robotic suit, which was invented by Gyro, transformed Fenton into Gizmoduck. As Gizmoduck he also worked for Scrooge as his bodyguard and part of his security staff.

Miranda is joining as a recurring cast member. The “DuckTales” voice cast includes David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck; Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz and Bobby Moynihan as Huey, Dewey and Louie, respectively; Beck Bennett as Launchpad McQuack; Toks Olagundoye as Mrs. Beakley and Kate Micucci as Webby Vanderquack.

“DuckTales” will premiere during the summer on Disney XD.

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A Star Is Born: Grace Jones turns 65 today

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

I feel very good about my career because I’ve never had to compromise. The trouble with so many people is they want to be part of the gang. They want to feel safe and fit in. You get married because society says you should do this or that. But look at society: It’s always changing its mind about what is right to do.

— Grace Jones, 1985

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bond That Ties Grace Jones To Hollywood

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Netflix’s first movie appears at Cannes, and so does the controversy

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho reacts during a May 19 conference for the film 'Okja' at the Cannes Film Festival.
(Laurent Emmanuel / AFP/Getty Images)

Well, so much for the storm quieting.

Any hope that the Cannes Film Festival could proceed with a focus on movies, instead of the way they’re delivered, was scuttled minutes into the first press screening of “Okja,” the first Netflix feature to screen at the prestigious French film festival.

The bilingual Bong Joon-ho movie is a genre screwball comedy about GMO ethics that’s financed and distributed by Netflix. At the sight of the streaming giant’s logo in the opening credits Friday, a number of viewers began booing. When the film began, the projection was misaligned to cut off half of the actors’ faces, prompting the audience to hoot and holler. The chaotic spectacle went on for several minutes until the movie was stopped and the problem corrected.

Such technical glitches happen (very) occasionally at the methodically run Cannes. But they came with an extra charge here because of the controversy concerning Netflix movies — which increasingly skip theatrical releases — at the traditionalist fest. Organizers first admitted two Netflix movies (Noah Baumbach’s latest is the other), then, after a backlash from French theater owners, said that in the future it will bar any movies from competition that don’t have French theatrical distribution.

The controversy deepened Wednesday when competition-jury president Pedro Almodovar criticized Netflix, saying the screen for films “should not be smaller than the chair on which you’re sitting.”

At a news conference, Bong took the expected pro-Netflix stance, saying he “loved” working with the company, citing its willingness to authorize a higher budget and calling it “a wonderful experience.” He avoided addressing his feelings about his movie largely staying out of theaters and also steered clear of criticizing the man who held the movie’s Cannes fate in his hands.

“I’m just very happy he will watch this movie [at the premiere] tonight,” he said of the Almodovar comments. “He can say anything; I’m fine‎.”

“Okja” star Tilda Swinton also weighed in on the Almodovar remark. “It’s really important the president feels free to make any statement he or she wants … but if you want to know what I really think — there’s room for everybody,” she said.

Bong was also asked about “rumors” the opening was “sabotaged” by anti-Netflix forces. He laughed. “I’m happy. You [journalists] can watch the opening twice.”

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Basquiat painting sells for $110.5 million, the most ever paid for an American artwork

A Sotheby's official talks about Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 "Untitled" on May 5, 2017.
(Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images)

A 1982 Jean-Michel Basquiat painting of a skull sold at auction Thursday night in New York for more than $110 million, the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by an American artist or an artwork created after 1980.

Yusaku Maezawa of Japan, an e-commerce entrepreneur and art collector, bought the Basquiat for $110,487,500 in 10 minutes of bidding, according to Sotheby’s auction house.

The large, untitled painting — done in acrylic, spray paint and oil stick on canvas, it is 72½ inches by 68½ inches — hadn’t been shown in public since 1984, when a private collector purchased it at auction for $19,000.

Maezawa, 41, intends to make it a centerpiece of a museum in his hometown, Chiba, Japan, but until then he intends to loan it to institutions and exhibitions worldwide, he told Sotheby’s.

“When I saw this painting, I was struck with so much excitement and gratitude for my love of art,” he said. “I want to share that experience with as many people as possible around the world — regardless of age or background or whether they are a collector or not.”

A week ago, a 1982 Basquiat self-portrait that had been featured in a number of major retrospectives sold for $57.3 million at a Christie’s auction in New York. It had been expected to go for about $40 million.

The presale estimate for the skull painting was $60 million.

Basquiat died of a drug overdose in 1988 at age 27.

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70 years of Cannes in 17 seconds: The time Lars von Trier talked about being a Nazi

Danish director Lars von Trier at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2011, showing his tattoo while promoting "Melancholia."
Danish director Lars von Trier at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2011, showing his tattoo while promoting “Melancholia.”
(Francois Guillot / AFP/Getty Images)

Steven Zeitchik, Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan are bringing us Cannes moments from the 70 years of the international film festival -- in 17-second increments. Here, Zeitchik, with Chang behind the camera, recalls the infamous news conference from 2011 in which director Lars von Trier stunned the room with his remarks on Nazis and Jews.

Sitting beside Von Trier was actress Kirsten Dunst, who reacted to the director’s Nazi comments with clear discomfort, as seen in this video.

All apologies to me are nonsense. It’s saying, ‘I did something wrong,’ but what does that help? I think it makes the whole situation much worse.

— Lars von Trier in 2011

Less than 24 hours later, Von Trier spoke with Zeitchik, who wrote that the director “added contrition to his repertoire, without letting up too much on the provocation.”

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Punk duo PWR BTTM ‘strongly contest’ allegations of sexual assault

Members of New York queer punk duo PWR BTTM finally issued statements Thursday about the controversy that has nearly, if not already, torpedoed the group’s career.

Last week anonymous allegations of sexual assault were leveled against band member Ben Hopkins.

“I strongly contest the account put forth in Jezebel,” Hopkins said in a statement, referencing an anonymous source quoted in a Jezebel article that claimed Hopkins assaulted her during a sexual encounter.

“I’ve waited to respond to the Jezebel article because the statements made about me by the anonymous source did not line up with any sexual experience I have ever had,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins said he deduced the identity of the person who made the claim and conceded they had a sexual relationship, but added, “I understood our interactions to be fully consensual. ... The allegation [of assault] was devastating to me as it is contrary to the intentional way I seek to interact with those around me.”

Shortly after the Jezebel article appeared online, in which a woman identified only as “Jen” claimed that Hopkins assaulted her while she was intoxicated after one of the group’s shows, PWR BTTM concerts were canceled and the band was dropped by its management and record label.

Its music, including a brand-new album, “Pageant,” was also yanked off online retailers and streaming services.

The full text of three statements — from Hopkins, PWR BTTM bandmate Liv Bruce and from the band — are on the group’s Facebook page.

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Ted Nugent says bring it on: ‘If Trump is found guilty of misdeeds, this is all good’

Hey, Justice Department: Ted Nugent, loyal supporter of President Trump, says bring it on.

The rocker on Thursday welcomed the appointment of former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to take over the investigation of all things Russian that could be related to the 2016 election, saying in a radio interview that he’s a truth fan even more than he’s a Trump fan. He also predicted the investigation would get a lot of Democrats in hot water.

In his words, here’s what Nugent told Rita Cosby on 77WABC Radio:

If Trump is found guilty of misdeeds, this is all good. I’m a Trump supporter, but more important than anything, I’m a truth supporter, and I want my elected employees at every level — right up to the White House — to be constitutionally accountable and honest. And if we find out violations and dishonesty, I want it to be exposed. 

— Ted Nugent

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Grunge icon Chris Cornell’s death ruled a suicide

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

“If I didn’t do what I do, I think for the most part I would have very few friends and be a shut-in most of the time,” Chris Cornell told The Times in 1991.

“It’s sort of a battle between that person and then the guy that wants to just let it all out in front of 2,000 people and rant and scream and say anything he wants.”

Over the following decades, those few thousand fans would become millions as Soundgarden, with Cornell, became one of the most commercially successful rock bands of a generation. Among the band’s biggest hits were “Rusty Cage,” “Jesus Christ Pose,” “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun.”

The artist’s death at age 52 was reported early Thursday after a Wednesday night Soundgarden concert in Detroit.

The Wayne County medical examiner’s office has ruled Cornell’s death a suicide by hanging, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement to The Times, Cornell’s publicist Brian Bumbery wrote that Cornell’s wife and family “were shocked to learn of his sudden and unexpected passing.”

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The CW’s first ‘Black Lightning’ trailer shows a retired superhero’s return to fighting crime

Ready to get lit up? The CW has released the first trailer for “Black Lightning,” introducing fans to the newest superhero family to join the network’s ever-growing roster of comic book TV shows.

The trailer reveals how Jefferson Pierce, who, as the superhero Black Lightning, worked to keep the streets safe in his New Orleans neighborhood fighting against a local gang known as the One Hundred, gave up his life of vigilante justice for his family.

Although Pierce devoted his life to being a good father and shifted his focus to having a positive effect on his community by being a good principal, eventually the violence on the streets pulls him out of retirement. Armed with a new super suit, Black Lightning returns to crime fighting.

With the power to harness electrical energy (a.k.a. shoot lightning), Black Lightning was one of the first black superheroes to appear in DC Comics.

The trailer also hints that much like in the comics, Pierce’s daughters, Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain), might have inherited some superpowers of their own.

“Black Lighting” is part of the CW’s midseason lineup.

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Leonardo DiCaprio and model Nina Agdal have broken up

(Brad Barket / Associated Press, left; Scott Eisen / Getty Images, right)

Leonardo DiCaprio and Nina Agdal made it nearly a year as a couple — but that’s it. The actor and the model have broken up, according to reports out Thursday.

It went down “a couple of days ago,” and the two are still friends, a source told People. The relationship just ran its course, the New York Daily News reported.

Agdal, who made the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue along with Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen a few years back, crossed paths with 42-year-old model-magnet DiCaprio before they got together last summer, E! News said.

“Of course I’ve met him, but Leonardo just goes out with the same group of people as everybody,” the 25-year-old told Cosmopolitan in a 2015 roundup of what a bunch of SI models had to say about DiCaprio. And no, at that point, he hadn’t hit on her, Agdal said.

“So I hate that people, like, start stirring stuff up, because he’s just in the same area. That happens a lot. But that’s gossip, right?”

Quick: Someone let Agdal’s prom date know she’s back on the market.

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Chelsea Manning introduces herself, post-prison, via Instagram

Chelsea Manning walked out of military prison Wednesday and straight onto Instagram, posting a portrait of herself and pictures of her first indulgences: pizza and Dom Perignon.

“Okay, so here I am everyone!!” the 27-year-old announced along with a #HelloWorld hashtag, posting a headshot that looks distinctly different from the news photos that abounded in 2013, when as Pfc. Bradley Manning she was convicted of espionage in the WikiLeaks case and sentenced to 35 years behind bars.

“I am looking forward to so much!” Manning said Wednesday in a statement issued upon her release. “Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past. I’m figuring things out right now — which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me.”

Rumor has it we’ll be seeing more of Manning soon in a fashion spread for Vogue, though the magazine hasn’t confirmed or denied that tidbit. (Why not do it? Her situation has already been fodder for opera.)

President Obama commuted her sentence in January, just days before President Trump was inaugurated. Manning, who spent about seven years in military prison, sued the federal government in 2014 to get hormone treatment for gender dysphoria and to be able to live as a woman; that treatment was approved in early 2015.

“Here’s to freedom and a new beginning. . . #ChelseaIsFree,” she said in the caption of a picture of a Champagne toast.

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Fresh from prison, Cameron Douglas is a ripped, tattooed version of Kirk Douglas

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Twilight Concert Series features Warpaint, Khalid and more

The Ferris wheel at the Santa Monica Pier.
(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

The popular Twilight Concert Series at the Santa Monica Pier has announced its 2017 summer schedule.

The shows include sets from L.A. indie-rockers Warpaint and the rising R&B singer Khalid, along with classic rockers Eric Burdon and the Animals, EDM-driven festival fixtures Miami Horror and Americana singer-songwriter Valerie June, among others.

The free series starts June 22 and runs through Aug. 17, with shows on most Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. Though the shows have come under some recent criticism for large crowds and security costs, after removing the beachside video screens in 2014, they have continued as a summer staple.

See the full schedule at twilightseries.org.

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Netflix collaborating with Jim Henson Co. on ‘The Dark Crystal’ prequel series

On the heels of its success with revitalizing “Gilmore Girls,” “Full House” and “One Day at a Time,” Netflix announced a new dip into the past with a continuation of the late Jim Henson’s 1982 film “The Dark Crystal.”

Produced by the streaming service in collaboration with the Jim Henson Co, “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” will act as a prequel to the animatronics-heavy fantasy film, which explored the contentious relationship between noble, peaceful Mystics, the grotesque Skeksis and the elf-like Gelflings. The 10-episode series begins filming in the fall.

Henson was best known for his pop culture contributions via “Sesame Street,” “The Muppet Show” and its subsequent movie spinoffs. His foray outside the Muppet universe was considerably darker than his previous work, with battles that were more akin to “Lord of the Rings” than “The Muppet Movie” and decidedly adult themes of balance and cosmic interconnectedness. As the teaser shows, it was a labor of love for Henson, who died in 1990.

The series will be filmed in the U.K. and will again feature Gelflings at its center. as well as new characters created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and Brian Froud, the conceptual designer on the original feature. Louis Leterrier of the feature films “Now You See Me” and 2010’s “Clash of the Titans” will serve as executive producer and direct.

“I can’t wait for families around the world to see how we bring these unique characters to life,” said Cindy Holland, vice president of original content at Netflix.

A premiere date has yet to be announced.

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Bobby Moynihan departing ‘Saturday Night Live’ for new CBS sitcom

Longtime “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bobby Moynihan is jumping ship and networks.

Moynihan was present at CBS’ upfront presentation Wednesday to introduce the series “Me, Myself & I,” a sitcom centered on one man’s life at three different stages.

The new series means that this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” season finale (8:30 p.m. PDT) will be Moynihan’s last as a cast member with the NBC late-night sketch comedy show.

Moynihan, who also lends his voice talents to Disney’s “Ducktales” reboot, is currently the second-longest-running cast member on “SNL,” having joined the show in 2008.

That leaves Kenan Thompson far and away the eldest statesman remaining on “SNL.” Thompson joined the show as a featured player in 2003, before being promoted to repertory player in 2005.

“Me, Myself & I,” also stars John Larroquette and Sharon Lawrence and is set to appear on Mondays at 9:30 p.m. this fall.

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CW showcases diversity, youth -- and catfights! -- at upfront

The CW strutted its stuff Thursday at an upfront presentation at New York City Center in Manhattan, highlighting an inclusive lineup of superhero dramas and youthful reboots.

Oh, and catfights.

“The CW lineup is better and broader than it’s ever been,” said network President Mark Pedowitz, who noted the efforts to create shows with “casts that represent and reflect everyone in our audience.”

Pedowitz boasted of the CW’s superhero shows, including “Supergirl” and “The Flash,” and a fall crossover event that has become an annual ratings draw. He also emphasized the network’s relatively young audience, with a median viewer age of 45 on linear television, 34 for video on demand, and just 26 for digital.

“The CW has evolved from a linear to a broadcast digital hybrid into a true multi-platform success,” Pedowitz said.

The little network that could previewed two new dramas for fall. “Valor,” starring Matt Barr and Christina Ochoa, is a military thriller about elite helicopter pilots. “Dynasty” is a reboot of the ‘80s primetime soap from “Gossip Girl” creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.

The update promises a more diverse cast and less voluminous hair than the original -- but plenty of dishy salaciousness and glamorous bickering. A clip in which the new Fallon Carrington (Elizabeth Gillies) takes a swing at her stepmom-to-be Cristal Jennings (Nathalie Kelley) and tells her to “bite me” drew an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd of ad buyers.

The network also repeatedly touted the diversity of its lineup, which will expand in the season ahead with “Dynasty” as well as the midseason drama “Black Lightning,” about a black superhero and his family.

Introduced by Pedowitz, “Jane The Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez delivered heartfelt remarks about the importance of “shows that reflect what America truly looks like.”

“Television has the power to bring someone into your living room you might not have had to meet otherwise, which is pretty dope, right?” she said, noting the network’s five female-led series. “The CW uses its platform to build bridges of understanding through inclusion and equality.”

The stars of one of those female-led shows, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” also made an appearance.

Rachel Bloom, Vincent Rodriguez III and Donna Lynne Champlin sang a disco-inspired number, “We’ll Never Have Problems Again,” from the low-rated but critically beloved series.

Also on the horizon for the 2017-18 season are an animated Scooby-Doo crossover episode of the long-running “Supernatural,” and the midseason drama “Life Sentence,” starring Lucy Hale as a young woman whose life is upended when she finds out she’s not dying of cancer.

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Chris Cornell found another home for his music in movies

Chris Cornell at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2015.
Chris Cornell at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2015.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Right from his earliest days as lead singer of Soundgarden, it seemed as if Chris Cornell had come from central casting for rock-and-roll lead singer, a lean, long-haired sex god with an expressively outsized voice.

As there was always something so panoramic about his singing, it was a natural progression for Cornell’s music to make its way to the big screen.

Cornell earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2012 for the song “The Keeper” from the little-remembered Gerard Butler action-drama “Machine Gun Preacher.” That song found Cornell in a fairly straightforward singer-songwriter mode that didn’t quite capture his particular gifts.

Much better was the song “Seasons,” which he contributed to Cameron Crowe’s 1992 romantic comedy “Singles,” based on the Seattle music scene. Lightly psychedelic, tinged with the folkier side of Led Zeppelin (to which he was so often compared), the song brings out the more soulful side of Cornell’s persona. (Crowe has said he once considered Cornell for the role that eventually went to Matt Dillon. Cornell nevertheless made a cameo appearance.)

It was his song for the first James Bond picture starring Daniel Craig, 2006’s “Casino Royale,” that would prove to be Cornell’s greatest contribution to a movie. Co-written with the film’s composer. David Arnold, “You Know My Name” placed Cornell in a new context, where the theatrical bombast and throaty rumble of his singing made for a surprisingly good fit.

If “Casino Royale” was meant to be a rougher reboot of the Bond franchise, casting Cornell in the role of a grunge Shirley Bassey, finding the grit rubbing against the glamour, was unexpectedly inspired.

Even as he continued touring and putting out albums, Cornell was often drawn back to contributing songs for movies. Cornell sang the title song to the recently released film “The Promise,” starring Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac.

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‘So young, so sad’: Music world mourns the death of Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The reach of Chris Cornell’s voice was not merely to the back of any stadium, theater or nightclub. Through the music of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and his solo albums, that remarkable voice — one of the most revered in rock history — reverberated around the globe and throughout the music industry.

Many of the singer-songwriter’s fans, including fellow musicians and artists, took to social media on Thursday morning upon hearing of his death at age 52.

Cornell was remembered across genres and generations. Classic rockers Jimmy Page and Elton John joined the chorus with country musicians Jason Aldean and Zac Brown, both of whom had collaborated with Cornell. Indie rockers St. Vincent and Best Coast mourned alongside pop artists as divergent as Josh Groban and Duran Duran and actor Val Kilmer and “Selma” director Ava DuVernay.

Peers Rage Against the Machine (three members of which teamed with Cornell to form the supergroup Audioslave), Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and Maynard James Keenan of Tool also offered their condolences.

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‘Dude, let it go,’ an exasperated Seth Meyers tells President Trump

New developments surrounding the Trump administration’s dealings with James Comey, Michael Flynn and Russia have been relentless over the last few days.

It’s the sort of quickly evolving story that’s difficult to capture in a single article, much less a single late-night segment, but Seth Meyers gave it a shot in Wednesday night’s “A Closer Look.”

“The Trump White House is like the guy who tries to get out of a speeding ticket by punching the cop,” Meyers said, referring to Comey’s memo on Trump asking him to close the investigation of Flynn, his former national security advisor.

Comey’s memos offered a paper trail of conversation between the former FBI director and Trump, which Meyers reminded viewers included further discussion of the crowd size at the inauguration. “Oh my God. Dude, let it go,” an exasperated Meyers responded, his head in his hands.

The segment also touched on Trump’s comments about the scandal during the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s commencement, and the talk growing around Washington that Trump was guilty of obstruction of justice when he spoke to Comey, which may lead to his impeachment.

Meyers then looked to the many news networks that were trying to find someone in Trump’s Republican Party to comment as the controversy broke, but to no avail.

“Even Fox News can’t get Republicans to come on,” Meyers said. “That’s like E! not being able to book a Kardashian.”

Watch the clip above.

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A Star Is Born: Chow Yun-Fat turns 62 today

(Bryan Chan / Los Angeles Times)

John Woo always made characters for me that were between a bad guy and a good guy. The bad guy with a good heart. It’s the key to dramatic motion. We would watch French gangster movies or things like Steve McQueen in ‘The Great Escape’ or [Clint] Eastwood in ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.’ We loved those movies.

— Chow Yun-Fat, 1997

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Mister Fat Goes to Hollywood

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‘Arrow’ and ‘Jane the Virgin’ move nights as the CW mixes things up for the fall

Get ready for some catfights!

A reboot of the classic nighttime soap “Dynasty” is about to cozy up with the teen noir take on the Archie Comics universe on the CW next fall -- that’s a real sentence in 2017.

Ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers at the New York City Center, the network revealed its 2017-18 prime time lineup, and things are moving around.

The new shows -- four scripted series premiering both in the fall and midseason -- include “Dynasty” and the military drama “Valor.” To make room for their unveiling, the network has relocated some of its veterans.

One of its top-rated shows, the superhero drama “Arrow,” will move from Wednesdays to Thursday nights at 9 p.m., where it will face off some stiff competition from “Thursday Night Football” and “This Is Us.”

“‘Arrow’ withstands the NFL,” said network president Mark Pedowitz in a conference call with reporters Thursday morning. “We felt it was a very different audience than ‘This Is Us.’”

The telenovela spoof “Jane The Virgin” will move from Mondays to Fridays at 9 p.m. where it will be reunited with another critical darling, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.”

“We are very fond of the show,” said Pedowitz, noting that “Jane the Virgin” performs especially well in delayed and digital viewing, arguably making its place on the schedule less critical.

The new military drama “Valor” will take over its timeslot at 9 p.m. Mondays, following “Supergirl.”

The series, which follows an elite unit of helicopter pilots, is a slight departure for the CW, which in recent seasons has focused on superhero shows and other genre fare. Pedowitz said he has been trying to find a military-themed show for many years.

“It has great heart, it has a great feel to it, but we will have a slightly different take.”

“Dynasty” will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m., following “Riverdale,” a moody reimagining of the Archie comics.

The soap will update the tale of the fabulously wealthy Colbys and Carringtons for a new generation. It comes from executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the team behind “Gossip Girl” and “The O.C.” -- “two of the most iconic soaps of the 2000s,” as Pedowitz put it.

Esther and John Shapiro, creators of the original series, are also involved as executive producers. As for the possibility of bringing back returning cast members, like Linda Evans or Joan Collins, Pedowitz is “completely open to it,” but had no announcements to make.

Newcomers arriving midseason include the Lucy Hale-led comedy “Life Sentence” and new DC drama “Black Lightning.”

The CW’s fall prime-time schedule (new shows in bold):

MONDAY

8-9 p.m.: “Supergirl”

9-10 p.m.: “Valor”

TUESDAY

8-9 p.m.: “The Flash”

9-10 p.m: “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”

WEDNESDAY

8-9 p.m.: “Riverdale”

9-10 p.m. “Dynasty”

THURSDAY

8-9 p.m.: “Supernatural”

9-10 p.m.: “Arrow”

FRIDAY

8-9 p.m.: “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

9-10 p.m.: “Jane the Virgin”

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Meet the guys of ‘The Bachelorette,’ who look a little less alike this season

Chris Harrison and “The Bachelorette” gang dropped a hunky amuse-bouche array on Bachelor Nation on Wednesday in the form of an official look at this season’s cast before the season premiere next Monday.

If “The Bachelorette” were the Super Bowl, think of this Facebook Live presentation as those shows where they talk about the game for hours ahead of kickoff — even though this sneak peek takes only 16 minutes from start to finish.

“I feel like a dad that has a gift under the tree and I’m ready for all of you to unwrap it,” Harrison said gleefully about Rachel Lindsay’s upcoming journey, sounding only a little bit odd before returning to standard “Bachelorette” lingo.

“Trust me, it’s gonna be a phenomenal season,” he continued. “Yes, of course, it’ll be the most dramatic as well.”

In keeping with ABC’s selection of its first black Bachelorette, this season’s 31-man cast is probably the franchise’s most diverse to date, with about half the slots going to men of color.

The guys vying for 31-year-old Rachel’s attention range from 26 to 37. There are a few doctors and lawyers, a professional wrestler, an aspiring drummer, a male model and a guy who shows up in a penguin suit.

And then there’s Lucas, the “Whaboom” guy. Along with Jonathan the “Tickle Monster,” which we’ll apparently all understand soon, there had to be Lucas, the “Whaboom” guy.

“I don’t know if I want to strangle him in his sleep,” Harrison said about Lucas, “or if I find him endearing.”

Not sure if that observation is a reason to tune in at 9 p.m. Monday, or a warning to skip the thing entirely. Sounds like those “Bachelorette” viewing parties might do well to have a safe space.

Preferably, close to the box of wine.

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Jennifer Lawrence ‘had a BLAST’ trying to pole dance at a strip club — sorry, she’s not sorry

(Richard Shotwell / Invision)

Wait, you thought Jennifer Lawrence would be embarrassed by video showing her tipsy and attempting to pole-dance on stage at a strip club in Austria? Well, Internet, you thought wrong, wrong, wrong.

“I’m not going to apologize, I had a BLAST that night,” the Oscar winner wrote Wednesday on Facebook after Radar Online posted fuzzy video with a breathless description of the action from a source who spoke primarily in sentences that ended with exclamation points.

“Look, Nobody wants to be reminded that they tried to dance on a stripper pole by the internet,” Lawrence wrote. “It was one of my best friend’s birthdays and I dropped my paranoia guard for one second to have fun.”

As we know, the “Passengers” star definitely knows how to have fun.

Lawrence and her pals showed up close to midnight, Radar’s source said, and partied till around 4 a.m. at a Vienna nightspot called the Beverly Hills Club, which bills itself on the English-language version of its website as “more than a fine Lap Dance & Strip Club. It is a delicate and exquisite way to spend your precious time amongst the most gorgeous Ladies in a delightful environment.”

On Facebook, the 26-year-old actress corrected the website’s source on one factual matter: a claim that during “the more scandalous dancing,” she’d worn only a bra at the topless bar.

“[T]hat’s not a bra it’s an Alexander Wang top,” Lawrence said, “and I’m not gonna lie, I think my dancings pretty good. Even with no core strength...”

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Most-watched Stephen Colbert is the star of the show at CBS upfront

What a difference a year makes.

At CBS’ upfront presentation last spring, when “The Late Show” was lagging behind NBC’s “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” by nearly a million viewers, Stephen Colbert barely rated a mention.

Amid rumors he was going to take Colbert’s spot at 11:35, “Late Late Show” host James Corden opened the show with a “Hamilton”-inspired performance.

But Wednesday at CBS’ upfront presentation at Carnegie Hall, Colbert was the undisputed star of show. It’s little wonder: The most-watched network has also had the most-watched late-night show since January.

“If you think that I love Stephen more now just because he’s No. 1, you’re right,” joked CBS Chairman Les Moonves. “Who would have predicted Stephen Colbert would be winning late night on CBS and Bill O’Reilly would be doing a podcast in his underwear?”

The presentation began with a top-hatted Colbert doing a choreographed song-and-dance routine about the magic of CBS’ lineup. He also delivered a brief topical monologue, noting “The Late Show’s” ratings rise, riffing on the scandal consuming the new administration and -- lest we forget the purpose of the evening -- plugging his network’s lineup.

Colbert likened his task to that of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

“I’m just going to say whatever my boss told me to, and when it’s over I’ll leave without answering any of your questions.”

He name-checked the “hot new star of ‘Criminal Minds,’ James Comey -- every season is just him writing stuff down and getting fired.”

And in response to President Trump, who criticized Colbert for using coarse language because kids might be watching, he quipped: “Who says only old people watch CBS?”

“There’s only one word to describe this president, and the FCC has asked me not to use it anymore,” he said.

Following Colbert onstage, Moonves also made light of the controversy -- read: free publicity -- surrounding the comedian’s recent use of a controversial insult to describe Trump, joking that “The Late Show” was especially popular with “FCC investigators 18 to 49.”

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James Corden returning to host Grammy Awards’ 60th anniversary show in 2018

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

CBS is bringing back James Corden to host the Grammy Awards in 2018, the Los Angeles Times has confirmed.

When Corden hosted the 2017 Grammys in February, the host of “The Late Late Show” was generally well-received as he brought comedy — including a “Carpool Karaoke” rendition of “Sweet Caroline” — into the mix.

LL Cool J did the honors at the performance-heavy awards show for five years prior. Before that, the Grammys went seven years with no host at all.

For its 60th anniversary year, the show will return to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Recording Academy officials announced earlier this month. Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles has been home to the big production since 2003.

The Grammy Awards will air Jan. 28 on CBS.

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Playboy model Dani Mathers facing a criminal trial over body-shaming incident

(Daniel Knighton / FilmMagic via Getty Images)

Playboy model Dani Mathers’ criminal invasion of privacy case is going to trial.

An attorney for the 2015 Playmate of the Year argued unsuccessfully Tuesday to get the misdemeanor charge dropped, saying the body-shaming victim wasn’t easily identifiable and that the law about that was vague, the Associated Press reported.

In the face of online criticism last July, Mathers admitted to and apologized for taking a naked photo of a 70-year-old woman in an LA Fitness shower and posting it with a disparaging remark. The 30-year-old has said that she intended the image — and its caption: “If I can’t unsee this then you can’t either” — to be sent as a private message to a friend, not publicly posted.

Mathers was banned from all LA Fitness locations after the incident.

“While body-shaming, in itself, is not a crime, there are circumstances in which invading one’s privacy to accomplish it can be,” City Atty. Mike Feuer said in March, when he filed the charge. “And we shouldn’t tolerate that.”

Prosecutors want a conviction and four weeks’ Caltrans duty for Mathers, the AP said. A pretrial hearing is set for May 24.

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First trailer for ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ brings Vulcans, Klingons and space discovery back to TV

Ending months of speculation, CBS offered its first look at “Star Trek: Discovery” at its upfront presentation in New York on Wednesday afternoon.

To this point, details had been scarce about the latest addition to the Star Trek universe. We knew the ship’s name and, back in September, what it looked like, but beyond that the network had been cagey about the series, which initially was to be written by Bryan Fuller of “Hannibal” and “American Gods” fame but now that role has gone to Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts of “Pushing Daisies.”

A recently revealed promotional still from the series, which features Michelle Yeoh and Sonequa Martin-Green (pictured above), features a desert landscape and, some fans noticed, a certain resemblance to Daisy Ridley from “Star Wars.”

In Wednesday’s presentation, a few more details emerged. The series will be set 10 years before Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise, and CBS has upped its initial order of episodes from 13 to 15. The series will also come with its own post-show wrap-up, “Talking Trek.”

“Star Trek: Discovery” will premiere this fall.

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Univision touts its rebound from ratings struggles

Univision news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas in March 2016 at Miami-Dade College in South Florida.
Univision news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas in March 2016 at Miami-Dade College in South Florida.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Univision Communications on Tuesday touted plans to boost prime-time ratings with a slate of edgier shows, including a second season of its “El Chapo” drug-thug drama.

The nation’s leading Spanish-language media company pitched new shows to advertisers in New York in a bid to win a bigger slice of the estimated $18-billion television advertising pie that is up for grabs during the industry’s springtime ad sales auction, called the upfronts.

In the past, New York-based Univision shied away from shows about drug lords, called narco-dramas, because its minority owner and programming partner Grupo Televisa of Mexico did not want to offend the Mexican government — or glorify drug traffickers.

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Jordan Peele and Misha Green team up for HBO’s adaptation of ‘Lovecraft Country’

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

HBO has tapped comedian and director Jordan Peele to adapt Matt Ruff’s horror novel “Lovecraft Country” with “Underground” showrunner Misha Green.

The “Key & Peele” co-creator, who is basking in the success of his clever horror satire “Get Out,” is going back to television by teaming up with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television for the one-hour series.

Through his Monkeypaw Productions, Peele reportedly brought Ruff’s book to Bad Robot and enlisted Green to helm the project, according to Deadline, which first reported the news.

The Comedy Central star took to Twitter to clarify that the show “is more of a social thriller/horror/sci fi/ based on Matt Ruff’s book” than a drama.

Green, whose slavery drama “Underground” is on WGN America, also touted the new project, tweeting that there were no words for how excited she is “to tell genre stories where the black folks don’t die first.”

Peele and Green will serve as executive producers along with Abrams. Green will also pen the pilot and serve as showrunner.

Ruff’s 2016 novel is set in the Jim Crow-addled 1950s and revolves around Atticus Black, who embarks on a road trip to find his missing father. He and his traveling companions, Letitia and his uncle George, face a slew of cosmic horrors and racism along the way. The anthological horror series is meant to reclaim genre storytelling from the African American perspective.

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Alan Thicke’s sons take his widow to court over prenup; her lawyer blasts their allegations

Alan Thicke and his son Robin Thicke in 2012.
(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

Alan Thicke’s eldest sons are going to war with his widow, alleging that after losing her husband five months ago, Tanya Callau is now trying to bust her prenup while threatening to make the family dispute “tabloid fodder.”

“Blurred Lines” singer Robin Thicke and his brother, Brennan Thicke, filed a petition Tuesday asking the court to uphold an agreement their dad and third wife Callau signed before getting married in 2005.

“My clients made every effort to resolve this without the need for going to court,” attorney Alex Weingarten said Tuesday in a statement.

According to court documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Callau “threatened to make her claims fodder for ‘tabloid publicity’ unless the Co-Trustees agreed to participate in a mediation and succumb to her demands.”

Callau’s attorney, however, called those allegations false and pointed blame toward the sons.

“Tanya Thicke has never threatened to take private family matters public and she never has,” Adam Streisand told The Times on Wednesday in a statement, explaining that his client intends to handle the matter privately while she mourns her husband’s death.

“It is clear that Alan’s sons have chosen this distasteful public smear tactic to bully Tanya, by stirring up the tabloid media, filing a bogus lawsuit and refusing family mediation,” Streisand said.

It’s a fight the “Growing Pains” star likely wouldn’t have expected, given the level of planning apparent in the prenuptial agreement and a 1988 living trust that was updated in February 2016, both of which were included in the court filing.

Under the terms of the prenup, Callau, 41, was to receive $500,000 from a life insurance policy, 25% of her husband’s personal effects, all the furniture at the actor’s ranch property, all death benefits from his pensions and multiple union memberships, and 40% of the estate that remained after specific bequests are handled.

Ownership of the ranch — called out in the prenup as Alan Thicke’s separate property — was bequeathed to Robin, Brennan and Thicke’s youngest son, Carter, in equal shares, the documents said.

Callau was given permission to continue to live at the ranch as long as she kept up the property, paid expenses and agreed to consult with her late husband’s sons before making any major changes, the documents said.

“What’s better than some? More,” Weingarten told The Times on Tuesday in characterizing the argument against the validity of the Thicke-Callau prenup.

“We’re not going to litigate this in the media,” he said. “We’re not going to play games. This is too important. We’re talking about a man’s legacy.”

Alan Thicke passed away suddenly on Dec. 13, 2016, at age 69, after he collapsed while playing ice hockey in Burbank. The cause of death was a ruptured aorta.

UPDATED, 12:02 p.m. May 17: This article was updated with comments from attorney Adam Streisand.

This article was originally published at 7:29 p.m. May 16.

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Turner presentation gets political with Samantha Bee, CNN

Samantha Bee at the Turner upfront presentation in New York on May 17, 2017.
(Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images)

The Turner networks upfront presentation Wednesday in New York was supposed to be about its new programming slate. But politics, not surprisingly, took center stage.

True, the 90-minute presentation at the Theater at Madison Square Garden highlighted the many facets of Turner’s portfolio – which includes TBS, TNT, CNN, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, HLN, truTV and Turner Sports — leaving little time for a breath.

But with talent on hand such as Samantha Bee and Anderson Cooper, the sales talk also ventured beyond the usual industry jargon of “unique domestic views” and “fan engagement.”

Bee, whose weekly TBS talker “Full Frontal” has emerged as a standout in the political late-night comedy arena, hit the stage minutes into the presentation and sarcastically recalled the good ol’ days of last year’s event.

“Remember last May when we were all worried that Swamp Reagan — I’m sorry, I meant Ted Cruz — might capture the Republican nomination?” Bee said. “And now our former FBI director has destroyed two presidencies in just under six months and the House vote to repeal Obamacare was only two weeks ago. You know what, you know what? I’m going to stop myself.”

She explained: “I swore a blood oath to TBS that I would try to be as nonpartisan as possible this morning.”

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CBS does what it knows best -- a spinoff and procedurals -- as it unveils its 2017-18 schedule

CBS is looking to keep its status as television’s most-watched network with a 2017-18 fall slate that will launch six new programs, including a spinoff of its biggest comedy hit, “The Big Bang Theory.”

CBS is using “The Big Bang Theory” — the most popular comedy on television after 10 seasons — to get a sampling for two of those new shows.

The sitcom will start the season at 8 p.m. Monday, leading into “9JKL,” a new series starring Mark Feuerstein. The sitcom is based on Feuerstein’s life in New York City when he lived in an apartment adjacent to units occupied by his doting parents (played by Elliott Gould and Linda Lavin) and his competitive brother and his family.

In the fall, after “NFL Thursday Night Football” concludes its run on CBS, “The Big Bang Theory” will move to Thursdays at 8 p.m. and will serve as a launch pad for its prequel, “Young Sheldon,” beginning Nov. 2. The series tells the story of a 9-year-old version of Jim Parsons’ character, Sheldon Cooper, a-fish-out-of-water genius starting high school in an East Texas town where football rules. Parsons, an executive producer for the series, will provide narration for the program as the adult Sheldon.

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Kevin Hart is expecting a baby boy -- and his ex might have to babysit

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Funnyman Kevin Hart is expecting his third child -- his first with his second wife, Eniko Parrish.

The “Central Intelligence” actor announced the pregnancy on Mother’s Day.

“Celebrating Mother’s Day with my beautiful wife. We are laughing at the fact that this time next year we will be celebrating her 1st actual Mother’s Day. #Harts #Blessed,” the 37-year-old captioned a photo with his wife on Instagram.

The model-actress, who married Hart in August 2015, also shared a photo of her ultrasound on Instagram and confirmed they are expecting a boy.

The ever-present Hart is already dad to daughter Heaven, 12, and son Hendrix, 9, with ex-wife Torrei Hart, whom he was married to from 2003 to 2011.

Though there had been much acrimony in their volatile split, the two appear to be in a good place now. Torrei Hart, who also found out about the baby via Instagram, said she and her kids were excited about their new sibling.

“I’m actually pretty excited because my kids are excited so I’m kind of feeding off my kids’ energy,” she said in a video obtained by TMZ. “There’s only one downside, though, that I was thinking about: I might have to babysit a little because Eniko has been spending a lot of time with my kids so they might call me in for a baby-sitting favor ...and I’m done with diapers!”

“I can’t preach this enough, to blended families out there, just remember we’re all family.”

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The Eagles tap Glenn Frey’s son, Deacon, for Classic West/East concerts

The Eagles during a 2014 performance at the Forum in Inglewood.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The question of how the Eagles will return to action without cofounder Glenn Frey has been answered. Don Henley told a radio station that Deacon Frey, Glenn’s son, will step in to sing at the group’s upcoming Classic West and Classic East shows.

“Glenn’s son Deacon is a very talented young man, and he seems to be up for the task,” Henley told Dallas sports talk station KTCK earlier this week. “He’s enthusiastic about it and he’s been working real hard on it, and he’s gonna do it with us. And I think that’s appropriate.

“There’s an old system both in Eastern and Western culture called the guild system, where the father is the master and the son is the apprentice,” Henley added. “The trade, the craft, the business is handed down from father to son. I think it’s the only appropriate way to carry on. I don’t think I’d do it otherwise. Since it’s Glenn’s blood, it’s his son, I think that’s appropriate.”

The Eagles are booked to play the new festivals slated for July 15 and 16 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and July 29 and 30 at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. They’re part of a classic-rock lineup also featuring Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire and Journey.

Henley also told the radio station that one other musician will join the upcoming shows, but declined to give any further details.

Frey died last year at age 67 and was lead singer on many of the group’s biggest hits, including “Take It Easy,” “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Already Gone,” “Heartache Tonight,” and “New Kid in Town.”

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Amy Schumer and Ben Hanisch call it quits

(Charley Gallay / Getty Images)

Well, this is disappointing: “Snatched” star Amy Schumer and her boyfriend, Ben Hanisch, have broken up after dating for a year and a half.

“Amy and Ben have ended their relationship after thoughtful consideration and remain friends,” a Schumer representative told People, which first reported the news Tuesday night.

The couple’s relationship began in late 2015 and continued into awards season as the comic-actress was enjoying the toast-of-the-town status thanks to the success of “Inside Amy Schumer” and “Trainwreck.”

“Everyone’s treating it like I’ve never had a boyfriend before,” Schumer told the Los Angeles Times in January 2016 at the Golden Globes, where she was sharing a table with actress Jennifer Lawrence and “Trainwreck” producer-director Judd Apatow. “And after everything this year, like, that’s what you’re talking about? OK.”

On social media, Schumer and Hanisch shared moments as quirkily cozy as holing up together in a Paris hotel room last September as she dealt with a nasty bout of food poisoning. And Hanisch brought out the awws a month later with an Instagram post marking their one-year anniversary.

“A year ago I met the love of my life,” he wrote (via E! News). “We both weren’t looking for a relationship at the time, but something felt right from the very first night we met. We ended up spending 6 days in a row together. This pic was taken in New Orleans and was the night I knew I wanted to spend my life with her.”

The comic wished her boyfriend a happy anniversary publicly as well, adding the joking hashtag, “#iwanttoseeotherpeople.”

On Tuesday, Hanisch had no comment on the breakup when he was contacted by Radar Online.

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‘Arrested Development’ officially returning to Netflix in 2018

David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter and Jason Bateman star in Netflix's revival of "Arrested Development."
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Save room for some more frozen bananas and grade-A Bluth dysfunction: “Arrested Development” is officially coming back to Netflix for Season 5.

After years of teasing, the dark comedy will return with its marquee cast as well as series creator Mitchell Hurwitz in 2018, the streaming service announced Wednesday.

“In talks with Netflix we all felt that stories about a narcissistic, erratically behaving family in the building business -- and their desperate abuses of power -- are really underrepresented on TV these days,” Hurwitz joked in a statement. “I am so grateful to them and to 20th TV for making this dream of mine come true in bringing the Bluths, George Sr., Lucille and the kids; Michael, Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, George-Michael, and who am I forgetting, oh Tiffany. Did I say Tiffany? — back to the glorious stream of life.”

Actors Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Portia de Rossi, David Cross and Alia Shawkat will reprise their quirky roles and the painfully awkward shenanigans of the eccentric clan. Filmmaker Ron Howard will also return as narrator and executive producer.

“Whew! I can finally answer the question… Hell yes! Warming up my uncredited narrator vocal chords,” Howard said in the statement. “Now the only thing I will have to be coy about is all the craziness the Bluths are going to face this season.”

The fan favorite was among Netflix’s early efforts in original content programming and was the first series resurrected by the streaming service after its original run ended on broadcast television. The situation comedy was canceled by Fox after its third season and revived by Netflix for Season 4 in 2013, attracting new viewers to the evolving online service and fueling subscriber growth.

Coordinating the actors’ busy schedules was partially to blame for the delay, so for Season 4, Hurwitz creatively focused each episode around a different character, which resulted in less ensemble interaction than previous seasons and a bit of criticism from fans who were hoping to see the cast all together.

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Stephen Colbert finds out what it’s like to kiss ‘Sean Spicer’

Forget sharing secrets with Russia. Forget the Comey memos. What America wants to know is what it’s like to kiss Melissa McCarthy when she’s made up as Sean Spicer.

Stephen Colbert wasted little time in asking his Tuesday night “Late Show” guest, comic Ben Falcone, who’s married to McCarthy.

“How does it feel to be the only person that I know of that regularly makes out with Sean Spicer?” Colbert asked, showing a photograph of Falcone and McCarthy-Spicer with their faces pressed together. “That’s pretty sexy, man.”

“It’s pretty sexy,” Falcone admitted. “Bring a little bit of Spice into your bedroom, I guess. She’s pretty no matter which way it is. I remember kissing her, and I’m just like, OK, you’re not the press secretary, you’re my wife.”

“I bet he could use a little bit of tenderness too right now,” Colbert said.

“Perhaps so,” chuckled Falcone. “Perhaps.”

They then moved on to the less embarrassing question of which chapter in “The Lord of the Rings” is their favorite.

Later that night, without changing the channel, we learned what it would be like to have One Direction’s Harry Styles deliver the opening monologue on “The Late Late Show” in place of host James Corden. (Styles is currently a kind of “Late Late Show” guest-in-residence.) And we finally got around to Russia.

“Let’s do what we do every night and talk about the news,” said Styles, who showed no fear in the face of his crowd, who were delighted to begin with, nor of his material.

“Of course the big story today is that Donald Trump showed secret information with the Russians last week. The good news for Trump is that he has been named Employee of the Month by Russia.”

He’ll be there all week.

ALSO

Stephen Colbert has a special message for President Trump: ‘Please resign’

After Trump slams him, Stephen Colbert proclaims victory with a giggle — and ‘I won!’

Meet Robin Bell, the artist who projected protest messages onto Trump’s D.C. hotel last night

‘Spicy’ returns to ‘Saturday Night Live’ as Melissa McCarthy joins the ‘5-Timers Club’

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A Star Is Born: Enya turns 56 today

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

To me there’s nothing like a pretty melody. You get this soaring feeling when you hear one. It creeps into your heart and soul and taps all these emotions.  My melodies have the feel of traditional Irish music. They’re the real strength of my music, the real backbone. It almost doesn’t matter what the lyrics sound like. Nothing happens until there’s a melody.

— Enya, 1992

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Digging Up the Irish Roots of Enya’s Melodies

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Miley Cyrus takes over NBC, regrets ‘Wrecking Ball’ and hopes it isn’t played at her funeral

Miley Cyrus is taking over NBC.

The pop star interrupted Jimmy Fallon’s monologue on “The Tonight Show” Tuesday night to reveal her broad plans to promote her rootsy new single, “Malibu.”

“Because what better place to talk about Malibu than in New York City?” Cyrus told Fallon.

On Wednesday morning, she popped up in the “Today” show control room to further the scheme. She also said she would be returning to the morning talk show next week with her entire family for the “Today” concert series to perform “Malibu.”

The love song was written about her beau, “Hunger Games” star Liam Hemsworth,” and is a marked shift from her protracted enfant terrible phase.The 24-year-old Disney Channel alum recently sobered up and is cleaning up her anything-goes image.

During the first round of “Marry, Eff, Kill” about her songs, she revealed on “The Zach Sang Show” that she regrets her eye-popping 2013 hit “Wrecking Ball,” which purportedly was about her breakup with Hemsworth.

“Marry would probably be ‘The Climb’ because it still has a message I’m down with,” Cyrus said. “Eff would be ‘7 Things.’ Kill would be ‘Wrecking Ball.’ That’s something you can’t take away … swinging around naked on a wrecking ball lives forever. Once you do that in the mass that I did, it’s forever,” she said of the video directed by photographer Terry Richardson.

“I’m never living that down. I will always be the naked girl on a wrecking ball. No matter how much I just frolic with Emu [her dog], I’m always the naked girl on the wrecking ball. I just licked the sledgehammer… I should have thought how long that was going to have to follow me around,” she continued.

“That’s my worst nightmare is that being played at my funeral. That’s my worst nightmare … is being like, ‘We’ll always remember Miley,’ and then that. ‘She was a great person.’”

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The tiff that may have led Cannes to choose Marion Cotillard’s ‘Ghosts’ to open the festival

After a spell of opening-night selections from major studios — “Up,” “Robin Hood,” “The Great Gatsby” — the Cannes Film Festival over the past few years has gone for a more Francophile feel with its kickoff movie.

With Arnaud Desplechin’s French-language “Ismael’s Ghosts” set to open the festival Wednesday night, this marks the third year in four that the opener contains Gallic themes, after 2014’s “Grace of Monaco” and 2015’s “Standing Tall.”

Desplechin nabbed the choice spot after a reported tiff with fest programmers saw his “My Golden Days” passed over for the prestigious competition lineup two years ago, ending up instead in the sidebar Directors’ For‎tnight section.

The French auteur’s new film is itself about the world of filmmakers: Mathieu Amalric stars as Desplechin’s surrogate‎, Ismael, a director working on a spy movie when his long-missing wife Carlotta (Marion Cotillard) abruptly turns up.

A story of haunted love with a dusting of “Adaptation,” “Ismael’s Ghosts” received a solid if not overwhelming reaction after it debuted for media Wednesday morning. Desplechin (“A Christmas Tale”) has long been interested in the entanglements of family over time; he said with this movie he was keen to explore how people can become strangers to their loved ones, and themselves.

“Carlotta has an extraordinary ability to create a myth and then get rid of the myth as soon as it bothers her,” the director said of the character at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “And that’s the pure essence of l‎ife.”

The actress added that she was intrigued from the start by the character’s self-perception gaps. “She is mysterious,” Cotillard said, “yet at the same time she doesn’t view herself as mysterious‎.”

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Michael Moore’s secret anti-Trump documentary, ‘Fahrenheit 11/9,’ acquired by Weinsteins

Documentarian Michael Moore is working on a secret anti-Trump movie.
(Andy Kropa / Invision)

Famed documentarian Michael Moore has been secretly working on a film about Donald Trump’s presidential election. Titled “Fahrenheit 11/9,” the unknown flick still in production was personally acquired by the Weinstein Co.’s Bob and Harvey Weinstein on Tuesday, the pair announced.

“‘Fahrenheit ‪11/9’ will be presented with the mix of outrage and mischievous humor that has made Moore the most successful documentary filmmaker in the world,” reads a statement from the company.

The “11/9” in the doc’s title refers to the day Trump was declared president of the United States, at 2:29 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2016. The Weinsteins’ acquisition of the flick marks a re-teaming of the trio, as Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” about the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was also distributed by them (and set a $200-million worldwide record for the biggest-grossing documentary of all time).

Moore made headlines just weeks before the election by filming a doc in 11 days and releasing it in New York, Los Angeles and on digital platforms. It was titled “TrumpLand” and aimed at the “depressed Hillary voter.”

While there is no word if “11/9” will feature any of the same footage, the studio says it’s “expected to be key in dissolving Trump’s ‘Teflon’ shield and, in turn, his presidency.”

“No matter what you throw at him, it hasn’t worked,” Moore said in a statement. “No matter what is revealed, he remains standing. Facts, reality, brains cannot defeat him. Even when he commits a self-inflicted wound, he gets up the next morning and keeps going and tweeting.

“That all ends with this movie.”

The Weinsteins added: “There is no greater part of what we can do right now than to have the power to bring Michael Moore to a mass audience. When we had the opportunity to work with him on ‘Fahrenheit 9/11,’ we were so persistent that we ultimately had to part ways from Disney and we lost our beloved Miramax, named after our parents, because we believed so strongly in the message.

“The movie broke all records then, and we plan to do so again. This movie will have one of the most innovative distribution plans ever,” the statement continued. “Now more than ever, Michael’s appetite for the truth is crucial. We are ecstatic to be a part of this revolution.”

No release date is set as of yet, but TWC’s COO David Glasser is shopping the film this week in Cannes, where “Fahrenheit 9/11” won the coveted Palme D’or in 2004. To this day, it is still the largest-grossing Palme D’or winner in the 70-year history of the Cannes Film Festival.

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Miss USA Kára McCullough clarifies her stances on healthcare, feminism

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Don’t think the newly crowned Miss USA 2017 gave the “correct” answers Sunday night when — at that moment still merely Miss D.C. — she was asked about affordable healthcare and feminism? Where she said she considered the first one to be a privilege, not a right, and the second one better expressed as “equalism”?

Kára McCullough has given people who disagree with her another chance to get where she was coming from with those 30-second answers.

“Hey, I am privileged to have healthcare,” the 25-year-old chemist told Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, strongly emphasizing the second half of the p-word after noting that she did think healthcare was a right, one she hoped would be available to people worldwide down the line.

“I just want people to know where I’m coming from. Having a job, I have to look at healthcare like it is a privilege.”

McCullough is a government employee who gets coverage through her gig at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Turns out her workplace experience colored her comment on feminism as well.

“Where I work ... equalism is more of a term of understanding that no matter your gender, you are still given the same kind of accolades on your work. So I believe... the person does a good job, they should be credited for that,” McCullough told Strahan.

“But,” she added, “I don’t want anyone to look at it as if I’m not all about women’s rights, because I am. We deserve a lot when it comes to opportunity in the workplace as well as leadership positions.”

No, she wasn’t surprised at all by the backlash. “That’s what America is based on, having opinions and views,” she said.

Finally, asked what she intends to do during her year as Miss USA, McCullough told Strahan she intends to work on STEM enrichment for kids: science, technology, engineering and math.

Now that’s a really good answer.

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Beset by recent layoffs, ESPN assures advertisers: ‘We’re making changes’

(Brett Carlsen / Getty Images)

Sports media behemoth ESPN has been taking some tough knocks in the news media and on Wall Street lately for losing cable subscribers to cord-cutting and laying off more than 100 editorial staffers.

But, like an impassioned coach giving a locker room speech at halftime, ESPN Chairman John Skipper made a case Tuesday for the continued vitality of his business during the network’s upfront sales presentation to advertisers at the Minskoff Theatre in New York.

“ESPN is responding to change and we’re making changes from the most dramatic position of strength,” he said.

Skipper noted that even with fewer subscribers, ESPN reached 210 million viewers last fall, a new record for the channel, and it saw its prime-time ratings increase 15% in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the same period a year ago.

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Katy Perry confirmed as judge on ABC’s ‘American Idol’

(Christian K. Lee / Los Angeles Times)

Katy Perry is headed to ABC’s revival of “American Idol.”

During the network’s presentation to advertisers at Lincoln Center in New York, ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey confirmed that the pop star will serve as the show’s anchor judge.

“Katy is a superstar and a fantastic addition to the long list of
great ‘Idol’ judges,” Dungey said, adding that “we’re pulling out all the stops to make ‘Idol’ bigger and better than ever.”

The pop star, who announced her new album and tour on Monday, also shared her excitement in a statement.

“I am honored and thrilled to be the first judge bringing back the American Idol tradition of making dreams come true for incredible talents with authentic personalities and real stories,” Perry said.

“I’m always listening to new music, and love discovering diamonds in the rough,” she added. “From mentoring young artists on my label, or highlighting new artists on my tours, I want to bring it back to the music.”

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Stephen Colbert has a special message for President Trump: ‘Please resign’

Since President Trump’s high-profile criticism of Stephen Colbert last week, wherein he called the late-night host a “no-talent guy,” Colbert has seemed absolutely delighted at the thought of getting under Trump’s skin.

As such, Monday night’s show featured Colbert making a direct plea to the president to spare Sean Spicer’s job, but not before making a brief detour.

“Donald Trump, if you’re watching, first, you’re a bad president, please resign. Second of all,” Colbert deadpanned, holding for the roar of approval from the crowd, “Please, please please, don’t take Sean Spicer from us.”

Colbert theorized that Spicer was next on Trump’s “to fire” list after the president told Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro that Spicer would continue as his press secretary.

“OK, he’s firing Sean Spicer,” Colbert said.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Colbert had a lot of Trump material Monday night, particularly in the wake of reports that Trump had shared highly classified intelligence with Russian officials last week.

“I got good news and I got bad news,” Colbert said during his monologue.

“The bad news is, the Washington Post is reporting that Donald Trump revealed highly confidential information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador,” Colbert said, to set up his joke.

“The good news is Trump found the leaker.”

As though that weren’t enough, Colbert also lampooned a graduation speech given by the president at Liberty University over the weekend.

“Then Trump wrapped things up with a graduate-level demonstration of how to pad a speech by rambling about the football schedule with university president Jerry Falwell Jr.,” Colbert said before sharing a clip of the president doing just that for nearly a full minute.

It must be seen to be believed. Check out the two-minute mark on the clip below.

ALSO

Stephen Colbert finds out what it’s like to kiss ‘Sean Spicer’

After Trump slams him, Stephen Colbert proclaims victory with a giggle — and ‘I won!’

Meet Robin Bell, the artist who projected protest messages onto Trump’s D.C. hotel last night

‘Spicy’ returns to ‘Saturday Night Live’ as Melissa McCarthy joins the ‘5-Timers Club’

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Watch Emma Stone and Steve Carell as tennis legends Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in ‘Battle of the Sexes’ trailer

Emma Stone and Steve Carell might be early 2018 Oscar contenders. As co-leads of Fox Searchlight’s “Battle of the Sexes,” the two take on the historic match between tennis legends Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.

“Male chauvinistic pig versus hairy-legged feminist,” Carell’s Riggs says on the phone in a new trailer released Tuesday. “You’re still a feminist, right?”

“I’m a tennis player who happens to be a woman,” says Stone as a half-awake King.

The film, set in the early 1970s, chronicles both players’ lives on and off the court. As King was rising in her field, her supportive husband urged her to fight for equal pay. Meanwhile, King was struggling to come to terms with her own non-hetero sexuality.

As for Riggs, the picture directed by “Little Miss Sunshine” helmers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris contends that the former champ gambled away his legacy and reputation.

The tennis match was one of the most watched televised sporting events of all time and captured the cultural zeitgeist, sparking a global conversation about gender equality.

“Battle of the Sexes” hits theaters Sept. 22. Check out the trailer below.

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‘Perfect time’ for ‘American Idol’ reboot, says ABC’s Channing Dungey

Trent Harmon, a winner of "American Idol," celebrates with fellow contestants.
(Matt Sayles / Invision / Associated Press)

Not only is it not too soon to reboot “American Idol,” it is the “perfect time” according to ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey.

In a media call ahead of ABC’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on Tuesday, Dungey discussed the network’s planned reboot of the once mighty singing competition so soon after its “farewell season” on Fox.

“We’re thrilled and excited to have it as part of our slate,” Dungey said of “Idol,” which was a ratings powerhouse for a good portion of its 15-year run on Fox. “It feels like a perfect addition to our strong alternative franchises in ‘Dancing [With the Stars]’ and ‘[The] Bachelor.’”

Dungey was clearly a fan of the show, saying, “What I love about it, personally, is that I feel it’s about heartfelt, uplifting stories of people who make their dreams come true and, honestly, that’s our sweet spot at ABC. All of our alternative franchises deal in that. For me, that makes it feel like the perfect home at the perfect time.”

She did concede that the last-minute addition of “Idol” to the network’s schedule means fewer slots for new, scripted original series. “But,” she said, “we feel really confident about the shows that we have ordered and feel really good about where we are.”

Dungey said the network was not ready to announce a premiere date or time slot for “Idol” just yet.

“Quite honestly, we’re still looking at all of the different pieces for midseason and trying to figure out exactly where everything is going to fall,” she said. “There’s a lot of things up in the air still.”

Also up in the air is which personalities -- including host Ryan Seacrest and the multiple judges who sat on the panel over the years -- may be returning to the show, or which fresh faces might be joining up.

One person definitely not returning is Simon Cowell, who now has a seat at the judges table on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” He has said he was asked but declined to return.

Dungey would say only that ABC was in “a number of different conversations” with potential talent.

Given that the series had fallen from its once-high ratings perch by the time it concluded its run on Fox, ABC’s move seems like a financial gamble to some. However, Dungey said she was confident that the reboot would draw viewers -- and, more important, appointment viewers.

“The great thing for us, this is a show that viewers like to watch live,” she said. “Advertisers like shows that viewers like to watch live. We feel like it’s going to be a great promotional platform for us.”

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ABC’s ‘Scandal’ ending after next season

“Scandal” is coming to an end.

ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey announced that Season 7 will be the final season for the hit drama from Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland and starring Kerry Washington.

“Shonda has decided the series needs to come to a close, and while this is definitely a bittersweet moment for all of us gladiators, I have no doubt what she has in store for the final season will be as powerful as what’s come before, and we will be sure to honor that every step of the way,” Dungey said in a statement.

In a separate interview, Dungey added, “We had conversations with Shonda where she had had for a while a sense of how she wanted the story to end. We sat and we talked and she said, ‘Look, I really feel like Season 7 is where we want to wrap up the story. I always prefer to end the show where you’re feeling creatively on top as opposed to letting things drizzle out.’”

Rhimes said in a statement, ““Deciding how to end a show is easy. Deciding when to finish is quite simple when the end date is years away. But actually going through with it? Actually standing up to say: ‘This is it?’ Not so much.”

She continued. “So, next year we are going all out. Leaving nothing on the table. Creating this world in celebration. We are going to handle the end the way we like to handle the important things in our ‘Scandal’ family: all together, white hats on, gladiators running full speed over a cliff.”

The series — about a political fixer named Olivia Pope (Washington) and her team of associates who sacrifice their time and often their morals to handle what they called “unimaginable crises” — debuted in April 2012. It was a staple in ABC’s Rhimes programing block, which was called “TGIT.”

ABC said there is no decision about the number of episodes for the final season.

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‘Roseanne’ returning to ABC for eight-episode run in 2018

Roseanne, center, star of the longtime ABC sitcom "Roseanne," with co-stars John Goodman, left, Michael Fishman and Sara Gilbert after taping the last episode of the series in 1997.
(Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

Revivals continue apace on screens big and small, with word that “Roseanne,” the family sitcom led by comic Roseanne Barr, will be returning to its home network at ABC in 2018.

“The Conners’ joys and struggles are as relevant — and hilarious — today as they were then,” ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said in an announcement Tuesday morning. “There’s really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne.”

The original “Roseanne” ran on ABC from 1988 to 1997 and stood out in its time for its uniquely barbed humor in depicting a working class family making ends meet in Illinois.

In addition to Barr, the show featured John Goodman as her character’s husband, Dan, along with three children, who were played by Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman and a combination of Sarah Chalke and Lecy Goranson portraying the family’s oldest daughter, Becky. The series also featured Laurie Metcalf as Roseanne’s sister, Jackie. The original cast will all return for the reboot, according to ABC, and Chalke will also return in a different role.

A premiere date has yet to be announced, but the new “Roseanne” will return in midseason 2018.

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Michael Jackson just wants to be ‘a normal American dad’ in Lifetime biopic trailer

Michael Jackson’s tumultuous final years are getting the Lifetime treatment in the network’s latest biopic, “Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland.”

“He didn’t want to be the King of Pop,” one of his bodyguards says in a new trailer for the film. “He just wants to be Mike. A normal American dad.”

The teaser released Tuesday stars Jackson impersonator Navi as the beleaguered King of Pop leading up to his 2009 death. As Jackson, he juggles highly dramatized preparations for the “This Is It” tour, heated exchanges with the media and soapy moments with his kids at home.

Meanwhile, his bodyguards are at the crux of the story — shown being interrogated in Dr. Conrad Murray’s wrongful death lawsuit and ardently defending the pop icon.

“We loved that man. We were the only two people actually looking out for him,” bodyguard Javon Beard shouts in the trailer.

The biopic is based on “Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days,” the bestselling 2014 book written by his former bodyguards, Bill Whitfield and Beard, played by Chad L. Coleman and Sam Adegoke, respectively.

“Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland” premieres May 29 on Lifetime.

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Bill Cosby says he won’t testify in criminal trial, suggests racism is at play

Bill Cosby says he won’t testify in his sexual assault trial next month and is speaking out against his accusers, suggesting that racism is fueling the misconduct allegations leveled against him.

“I just truly believe that some of it may very well be that,” the embattled comedian said in an interview with Sirius XM host Michael Smerconish that aired Tuesday.

The 79-year-old sitcom star is charged with drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004, which is the only criminal case that resulted from the dozens of decades-spanning allegations that resurfaced in the last few years. Cosby has said the encounter with Constand was consensual and has sued some of the other women for defamation.

In his first recorded interview since he was charged in December 2015 (he spoke with a consortium of black-owned newspapers last month), the sometimes-rambling entertainer explained why he didn’t want to testify in the case.

“I just don’t want to sit there and have to figure out what I believe is a truthful answer as to whether or not I’m opening a can of something that [will leave] my lawyers scrambling,” he told Smerconish.

In regards to the racism claim, Smerconish -- who agreed to air three audio clips with Cosby’s daughters if Cosby agreed to sit for the interview -- pointed out that Cosby’s accusers are both black and white. But Cosby was undeterred and suggested that some of his accusers were trying to get revenge.

“When you look at the power structure, and when you look at individuals, there are some people who can very well be motivated by whether or not they’re going to work. Or whether or not they might be able to get back at someone,” Cosby said.

“So if it’s in terms of whatever the choice is, I think that you can also examine individuals and situations and they will come out differently. So it’s not all, it’s not every, but I do think that there’s some.”

Cosby’s attorneys also pointed to racism and bias in a motion to get the case dismissed in October.

He also said that the number of women coming forward created a “piling-on” effect that swayed public opinion against him.

“I think that the numbers came because the numbers prior to the numbers didn’t work,” Cosby said. “So, the piling on, so to speak, is a way, and certainly an impressive, impressive way, to get public opinion to come to the other side.”

When asked if all the women were lying, Cosby replied, “You know better than that. I won’t and I cannot answer that. It’s really not fair and you know that.”

The once-beloved comic faces 10 years in prison if convicted on the felony sex assault charges. The trial will begin in suburban Philadelphia on June 5, and jury selection will take place next week.

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Perfection can’t save Simone Biles in bewildering ‘Dancing With the Stars’ elimination

“Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”

That’s what Simone Biles taught the world on last week’s episode of “Dancing With the Stars. This week, the Olympic gold medalist learned that perfection doesn’t win you mirror-ball trophies.

Biles was eliminated from Monday night’s episode of “DWTS,” failing to make it to the season finale, despite earning perfect scores from the judges on both of her dances.

How could this happen?

Pretty easily, it turns out.

While the judges’ points matter, they don’t matter as much as you might think. And don’t underestimate the audience vote. Here’s how it works:

Each of the four remaining contestants — Biles, former baseball player David Ross, Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei and NFL running back Rashad Jennings — were judged on their two dances and given numeric scores, with a maximum of 40.

Biles
Jive: 40
Rumba: 40
Total: 80

Jennings
Rumba: 38
Quickstep: 39
Total: 77

Kordei
Waltz: 36
Jazz: 40
Total: 76

Ross
Foxtrot: 34
Tango: 36
Total: 70

The totals were then used to calculate the overall percentage of the judges’ points each couple earned. (Confused yet?) Since the judges awarded 303 total points Monday night, the breakdown looked like this:

Biles: 80/303 = 26.4%
Jennings: 77/303 = 25.4%
Kordei: 76/303 = 25.1%
Ross: 70/303 = 23.1%

Those percentages are then added to the percentage of overall North American viewer votes each contestant receives. If those votes had broken evenly, then it would be Biles, Jennings and Kordei moving to next week’s finals.

Since Biles dropped from first to last with the addition of audience votes, that means that Ross earned more than 3% more of the viewer votes than the Olympian.

So what caused “DWTS” fans to turn on Biles?

It’s possible that last week’s “smile” exchange -- during which host Tom Bergeron interjected during Biles’ judging, “I was waiting for you to smile at some of the compliments; you didn’t,” followed by Biles’ tart retort -- left a bad taste in viewers’ mouths.

Telling a woman to smile is treacherous territory, but perhaps some in the “DWTS” audience were put off by Biles’ refusal to embrace Bergeron’s critique.

Or maybe viewers just love to see a former baseball player dance.

The final “Dancing With the Stars” performances of the season will air on ABC next Monday, with the winner being announced the following night, May 23.

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ABC shuffles the deck and adds a slew of new shows for its 2017-18 schedule

Superheroes, a rapping mayor, a celebrity kids version of “Dancing With the Stars” and more are all coming to a reshuffling ABC.

Ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers at Lincoln Center in New York on Tuesday, the Alphabet Net revealed its 2017-18 prime time lineup, which included a clutch of new shows and time-slot switches for several returning series.

The new shows -- seven dramas, three comedies and two reality shows premiering both in the fall and midseason -- include “Marvel’s Inhumans,” “The Mayor” and “Dancing With the Stars Junior.”

Also touted in the release are two live musical event specials, “The Wonderful World of Disney: The Little Mermaid Live!” and “Rolling Stone 50” and another new alternative series, “The Bachelor Winter Games.”

The network also announced that Jimmy Kimmel will return as the host of the Academy Awards in 2018.

Premiere dates, including for the return of “American Idol,” will be announced at a later time.

ABC’s fall prime-time schedule (new shows in bold):

MONDAY

8 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”

10 p.m. “The Good Doctor”

TUESDAY

8 p.m. “The Middle”

8:30 p.m. “Fresh Off the Boat” (new time)

9 p.m. “black-ish” (new day and time)

9:30 p.m. “The Mayor”

10 p.m. “The Gospel of Kevin”

WEDNESDAY

8 p.m. “The Goldbergs”

8:30 p.m. “Speechless”

9 p.m. “Modern Family”

9:30 p.m. “American Housewife” (new day and time period)

10 p.m. “Designated Survivor”

THURSDAY

8 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”

9 p.m. “Scandal”

10 p.m. “How to Get Away with Murder”

FRIDAY

8 p.m. “Once Upon a Time” (new day and time)

9 p.m. “Marvel’s Inhumans”

10:00 p.m. “20/20”

SATURDAY

8 p.m. “Saturday Night Football”

SUNDAY

7 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”

8 p.m. “To Tell the Truth” (new day and time)

9 p.m. “Shark Tank” (new day and time)

10 p.m. “Ten Days in the Valley”

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Jimmy Kimmel set to return as host for next year’s Oscars

Jimmy Kimmel hosting the 89th Academy Awards in February.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The motion picture academy is just full of surprises these days, isn’t it?

On Tuesday morning, the academy and ABC dropped an unexpectedly early announcement that Jimmy Kimmel will return to host the 90th Oscars ceremony on March 4, 2018.

This year’s producers, Jennifer Todd and Michael De Luca, will also helm the show for the second year in a row.

“Jimmy, Mike and Jennifer are truly an Oscar dream team,” academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. “Mike and Jennifer produced a beautiful show that was visually stunning. And Jimmy proved, from his opening monologue all the way through a finale we could never have imagined, that he is one of our finest hosts in Oscar history.”

“Hosting the Oscars was a highlight of my career and I am grateful to Cheryl, [academy CEO] Dawn [Hudson] and the academy for asking me to return to work with two of my favorite people, Mike De Luca and Jennifer Todd,” Kimmel said in his own statement. “If you think we screwed up the ending this year, wait until you see what we have planned for the 90th anniversary show!”

For the academy, the announcement of the host and producers came months ahead of the typical schedule, perhaps indicating a desire to show steadiness and continuity in the wake of the embarrassing and chaotic snafu that capped February’s Oscars telecast, in which the wrong winner for best picture was initially announced.

Ratings for this year’s show dipped for the third straight year, but, despite the last-minute bungle, Kimmel’s hosting and the overall production received largely positive reviews.

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An artist projects his protest on President Trump’s D.C. hotel and goes viral

For a short period on Monday night, a large projection appeared on the facade of the Trump International Hotel in Washington that read “Emoluments Welcome,” along with an animation of the flags of nations where President Trump has business projects.

This was followed by a message that read “Pay Trump Bribes Here,” with an arrow that pointed to the front door of the hotel. Yet another featured an excerpt of the emoluments clause from the U.S. Constitution, which restricts members of the U.S. government from receiving gifts from foreign powers. (Trump is being sued by one watchdog group for potentially violating this clause.)

The projections were all part of an act of protest by artist, filmmaker and video editor Robin Bell, who has been creating these types of guerrilla light protests for more than half a dozen years. His latest action, however, began to go viral on social media almost as it was happening.

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A Star Is Born: Debra Winger turns 62 today

(Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

My life affects my work, and work affects my life. I work more and more toward homogenization. I don’t want to be the sort of person who puts on a hat by the door and goes out. You have to find a way to intermingle the two. You have to find a way to show your growth in your work.

— Debra Winger, 1990

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Debra Winger Sums Up Her Life: ‘No Regrets’

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Mo’Nique slams Lee Daniels, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey in harsh standup riff

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Mo’Nique once again let Lee Daniels have it — and this time added Oprah Winfrey to the mix — in profane fashion during a show over the weekend in New York City.

“I was not blackballed. I was whiteballed. ... Thank you, Mr. Lee Daniels. Thank you, Mr. Tyler Perry. Thank you, Ms. Oprah Winfrey,” Mo’Nique told the audience at the Apollo Theater on Saturday night, wrapping those comments in a more-than-generous amount of explicit, disparaging language. (A clip of the profanity-laden moment can be seen here.)

The supporting actress Academy Award winner initially alleged she had been treated unfairly by Hollywood — she didn’t think she got the roles she deserved after taking home the Oscar — in a 2015 interview in which she said “Precious” director Daniels told her she’d been “blackballed” over her alleged behavior during the awards season when the 2009 movie was up for consideration.

“I got a phone call from Lee Daniels maybe six or seven months ago,” the comic-actress told the Hollywood Reporter. “And he said to me, ‘Mo’Nique, you’ve been blackballed.’

“And I said, ‘I’ve been blackballed? Why have I been blackballed?’” she continued. “And he said, ‘Because you didn’t play the game.’ And I said, ‘Well, what game is that?’ And he gave me no response.”

“Almost Christmas,” a late-2016 foray into big-screen comedy, is one of only five post-”Precious” acting credits on Mo’Nique’s IMDB page.

Winfrey and Perry were executive producers on “Precious,” and Winfrey got a role in “The Butler” that Mo’Nique has said she was offered and then denied.

Daniels told CNN in 2015 that Mo’Nique — whom he called “brilliant” — was hurt by “unreasonable demands” she made during the “Precious” campaign.

“I told her, ‘You have to thank the producers of the film, you have to thank the studios,’” Daniels said. “And I think she didn’t understand that, and I said, ‘People aren’t going to respond well if you don’t.’”

At that time, he and Mo’Nique were gracious about each other. Saturday night, however? Gracious is not the first word that comes to mind.

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Music and sports are like peanut butter and jelly at Fox’s upfront presentation

It was all about the music — and sports too — at Fox’s upfront presentation Monday evening at the Beacon Theatre in New York.

The 90-minute-plus presentation spent a good chunk of time emphasizing Fox’s sports properties, with appearances by Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, who joins Fox Sports as a Major League Baseball analyst. All the praise isn’t surprising when you consider the network is poised to finish this season in second place in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic, up from third last season — largely thanks to a boost from Super Bowl LI and the record-setting World Series. The Fox NFL lineup and MLB rights got a lot of stage time talk.

But music even infused the sports part of the presentation, with Terry Bradshaw and his “NFL Sunday” cohorts taking the stage to do a football parody of Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic.”

Sports talk aside, Fox spent much of its time in a musical state of mind.

Longtime Fox collaborator Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy”), whose new sci-fi dramedy “The Orville” launches in the fall, opened the entertainment part of the program with a Frank Sinatra-esque comedic number — complete with an orchestra — before introducing Fox TV Group chiefs Dana Walden and Gary Newman as “the only people at Fox who haven’t been sued.”

In previewing the 2017-18 schedule, Walden and Newman went straight to touting Wednesday’s music takeover with a double dose of Lee Daniels’ dramas with “Empire” and “Star.” Last season, “Star” went into rotation during “Empire’s” break. Now the two will air together.

Fox is the perfect home to “Empire” and “Star,” said Taraji P. Henson, joined by her “Empire” co-star Terrence Howard, and “Star” faces Queen Latifah and Benjamin Bratt.

“In fact,” Henson added, “it’s the only network that could even contain shows this big. Other networks couldn’t handle this much Cookie ... let alone Cookie and the Queen.”

To which Latifah responded: “Get ready for Wednesdays, ‘cause Cookie and Carlotta are coming for you.”

That led into a musical performance from “Empire’s” Jussie Smollett and the cast of “Star.”

Walden spoke about the new schedule night by night after that, giving some encouragement to some newcomers: Marvel’s “The Gifted” and MacFarlane’s “The Orville” and the Adam Scott-Craig Robinson paranormal comedy “Ghosted.”

But the music continued, with a group of singers performing “Seasons of Love” to tout the network’s live staging of “Rent” set for 2018.

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‘Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly’ will arrive on NBC in June

Megyn Kelly, photographed in 2016.
(Victoria Will / AP)

If it’s Sunday, it’s Megyn Kelly on NBC.

The former Fox News anchor told an audience of ad executives at the NBC upfront sales presentation Monday at New York’s Radio City Music Hall that her new news magazine program will premiere in June. Airing Sundays at 7 p.m., it will compete directly against CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

NBC has not announced a title for the program, but according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, it will be called “Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly.”

Kelly, who signed with NBC in January, was introduced onstage by “Today” co-anchors Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie and “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt.

Lauer described his new colleague as “someone who shares our values and will help make us even better tomorrow.” It was a public show of unity, as New York tabloid gossip pages have pushed the idea that Kelly is a “Today” co-anchor in waiting.

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Amid reports she’s joining ‘American Idol,’ Katy Perry announces new album, tour

Katy Perry performs at Wango Tango fest on Saturday.
(Christian K. Lee / Los Angeles Times)

The Katy Perry full-court press is on.

On the heels of her performance over the weekend at KIIS-FM’s annual Wango Tango pop cornucopia in Carson, Perry has rolled out news of her new album — “Witness,” slated for a June 9 release — the companion Witness tour of North America commencing Sept. 7 in Columbus, Ohio, and a raft of TV appearances to promote both.

The news announcement arrives amid reports that Perry is “in active talks” to become a judge on the rebooted “American Idol” slated for next year, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

This week the “Chained to the Rhythm” singer will visit the sets of “Ellen” (Tuesday), “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (Friday) and “Saturday Night Live” (Saturday). And then she will appear in a “Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special” with “The Late, Late Show” host James Corden next Monday, May 22.

Fans who buy tickets for the tour also will receive a copy of the “Witness” album. General ticket sales will begin May 22, with presales starting May 18 through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program and for Citi card holders. Her new tour will roll into L.A.’s Staples Center on Nov. 7.

It’s been nearly four years since her “Prismatic” album came out, and nearly two years since she wrapped up her Prismatic Tour after 151 dates globally.

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Watch Alison Brie in the wrestling ring in first trailer for Netflix’s ‘GLOW’

Alison Brie, serious Reagan-era lewks and a fiery feminist streak dazzle in the first trailer for “GLOW,” Netflix’s upcoming summer series from the executive producers of “Orange Is the New Black.”

Brie stars as a struggling actress who finds herself in the ring as one of the unlikely founding stars of an all-female pro wrestling circuit. (Watch the trailer here, which we’re not posting because of adult language.)

Before the age of WWE Divas and the current crop of female wrestling stars (Charlotte! Bayley! Asuka! Sasha Banks!), there were the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW), a syndicated all-female 1980s promotion that put fierce female stars with names like Hollywood and Vine, Mt. Fiji, and Colonel Ninotchka front and center.

Brie stars as Ruth Wilder, an out-of-work L.A. actress who finds a shot at stardom among the misfit ring warriors of GLOW, including Betty Gilpin (“Nurse Jackie”) as Debbie Eagan, an ex-soap opera star. Comedian Marc Maron also stars as a has-been director tasked with putting together the promotion.

Created by showrunners Liz Flahive (“Homeland,” “Nurse Jackie”) and Carly Mensch (“Nurse Jackie,” “Orange Is the New Black”), “GLOW” is the latest femme-powered series from executive producers Jenji Kohan and Tara Herrmann (“Orange Is the New Black”).

Netflix ordered the 10-episode comedy-drama last year and will debut “GLOW” on June 23.

Check out the full gallery of “GLOW” stills here. >>

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Ben Higgins, Lauren Bushnell of ‘The Bachelor’ call it quits

(Isaac Brekken / Getty Images)

Another couple from “The Bachelor” franchise has called off their engagement.

Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell announced their breakup with “heavy hearts” Monday, telling People in a statement that they “feel fortunate for the time we had together, and will remain friends with much love and respect for one another.”

Earlier this month, they could be seen hosting “Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings,” but before that special aired they tap-danced around questions about their own wedding plans.

“Our life is pretty crazy, and we’re having a blast being engaged and enjoying that time without having the stresses of planning a wedding on top of it,” Higgins told “Entertainment Tonight.” Bushnell added: “We have been together for a year and a half now, so I don’t think we’re pushing it too far yet.”

The couple got engaged on Season 20’s “Bachelor” finale, which aired in March 2016, moved in together in April and then launched into an eight-episode docu-series, “Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After,” that aired in October and November.

They revealed to People in October that they were going through couples counseling through their church, and whether their wedding was on or off fueled the drama in the “Happily Ever After” finale, which concluded with Higgins saying “of course” the wedding was on.

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‘Bachelor’ couple Chris Soules, Whitney Bischoff call off engagement

Olivia Munn and Aaron Rodgers have broken up, reports say

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NBC looks to revive ‘Must See TV’ with ‘Will & Grace’ and ‘This Is Us’

The cast of "Will & Grace" -- from left, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes, Debra Messing and Megan Mullally -- in 2006.
(Reed Saxon / Associated Press)

NBC’s new schedule for the 2017-18 season will attempt to re-create the mystique of its vaunted “Must See TV” Thursday night lineups.

In the schedule announced Sunday, the network is moving its breakout hit drama “This Is Us,” to 9 p.m. Thursday, and will use the “Must See TV” tagline to promote its new night. The night will also have a revival of a past “Must See” favorite, “Will & Grace,” which returns to NBC for a 12-episode run with its original cast. It will air at 8 p.m.

NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said he believes that “This Is Us,” a show that received critical kudos as well as strong ratings, gives the network permission to dust off the “Must See TV” label.

“We think ‘This Is Us’ is a show that’s peerless at the moment in broadcast television and we decided to move it to Thursday night and not just throw it there and hope for the best, but strategically surround it with shows that are very strong and our hope is to create the return of ‘Must See TV,’” Greenblatt said in a telephone news conference.

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Seth Meyers brings some edge to NBCUniversal’s marathon upfront presentation

Seth Meyers brought a topical edge to NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation Monday at Radio City Music Hall.

The comedian, who has taken NBC’s “Late Night” in a more sharply political direction since taking over the reins three years ago, took jabs at his home network, the Trump administration-- and sometimes both.

“”Law & Order: SVU’ had a really big year. It got elected president,” said Meyers, who also joked that “someone had to revive Mike Pence” after he heard about the network’s upcoming revival of “Will & Grace”

He said that the upfronts -- an annual ritual in which networks put a sometimes desperate spin on their ratings and shamelessly plug soon-to-be-forgotten shows -- have been “post-truth from the beginning.”

“This week is the definition of fake news,” he said.

But Meyers didn’t have to make up any numbers when boasting about his former home, “Saturday Night Live,” which like “Late Night” has benefitted from the appetite for Trump-related humor.

“Saturday Night Live’ is having one of its highest rated seasons in history,” he said. “That always feels good to hear, ‘Hey, ever since you left, we started watching.’ It’s like if I found out my dad is going to Little League games now.”

Meyers was the only late night star from NBC to appear at Radio City. “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, who opened last year’s upfront with a “Hamilton”-inspired performance, did not make an appearance onstage this time around.

Meyers also noted the success of “This Is Us,” last season’s No. 1 new drama and a full-blown cultural phenomenon.

“‘This Is Us’ is the first NBC show in 13 years to be the top-rated program of the week, so maybe a better name for it would be ‘This Is Unlike Us,’” he said, likening NBC’s promotion of the show to “the way a girl shows off the diamond on her engagement ring.”

In truth, NBC was relatively restrained in its promotion of “This Is Us,” waiting a full 90 minutes before sharing a video of cast members surprising misty-eyed fans as they talked about their personal connection to the show.

The Season 2 hints were scarce, though star Mandy Moore promised it will “move you and probably make you cry.” (Well, duh.)

NBC also gave its revival of “Will & Grace” a place of honor near the beginning the presentation, with stars Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes performing “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from the musical “Sunset Boulevard.”

But NBC’s primetime lineup was but a small portion of the marathon presentation, which for the second year in a row combined a dizzying array of content from all of NBCUniversal’s networks, including Bravo, E!, USA, CNBC, Syfy and Telemundo, in a single pitch to advertisers and media buyers.

Among the cavalcade of stars who also graced the stage were Khloe and Kim Kardashian, plugging their little sister Kylie Jenner’s new E! series, “Life of Kylie,” and Bravo personalities Andy Cohen and Bethenny Frankel.

There was also a preview of the rebranded Oxygen, which is shifting to focus solely on true crime series, but keeping the now-ironic name.

“What’s great about today is it’s not just about NBC,” Meyers said. “It’s about an entire family of channels. NBCUniversal is home to the Golf Channel and Bravo, the two channels most often watched in different rooms of the same house.”

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Outfest to honor Bryan Fuller of ‘American Gods,’ announces 2017 gala screenings

Bryan Fuller, the prolific writer-producer, will be honored at this year's Outfest.
(Rich Fury / Invision / Associated Press)

Outfest, Los Angeles’ LGBTQ film festival, announced Monday plans to honor prolific writer-producer Bryan Fuller during the 10-day festival happening July 6-16.

It also revealed its gala screenings, including Francis Lee’s “God’s Own Country,” “Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall” and Trudie Styler’s comedic “Freak Show.”

This year is the 35th anniversary of the festival, a moment to be celebrated, said Executive Director Christopher Racster.

“What started as a three-day media conference on the campus of UCLA is now a year-round organization with global impact,” he said in a statement. “Outfest Los Angeles remains ahead of the curve in showcasing the work and stories of women, people of color and the trans community.

“When I look at the galas for this year’s Outfest Los Angeles, I can see that impact and leadership — with incredible efforts by female directors, the international discussion around trans rights and the dignity in their stories, and the spotlight on new avenues of storytelling to get stories out,” Racster added.

Fuller will be honored on the festival’s opening night with the Achievement Award, the organization’s highest honor presented to someone whose body of work has made significant contributions to queer film and media. He has been responsible for a number of television’s LGBTQ characters with shows such as “Dead Like Me,” “Wonderfalls” and “Pushing Daisies.” His latest creation is the much-talked-about “American Gods.”

Review: Starz ‘American Gods’ is as stellar as it is supernatural

“From the unabashed queer aesthetic in ‘Pushing Daisies’ to the groundbreaking sex scene between two Muslim gay men in ‘American Gods,’ Bryan has decidedly put LGBT lives into America’s living rooms,” Racster said. “It is through his unapologetic storytelling — its newness, its frankness and its honesty — that audiences have not only accepted these stories but asked for more.”

Lee’s feature debut, “God’s Own Country,” which won the coveted Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year along with a directing award at Sundance, will open the festival. Styler’s “Freak Show,” starring Bette Midler, Alex Lawther, Abigail Breslin and Laverne Cox, will close.

Additional gala screenings include: the West Coast premiere of the TV series “Strangers”; the groundbreaking, Japanese trans family drama “Close Knit” from Naoko Ogigami; the world premiere of Lori Kaye’s doc on makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, “Kevyn Aucoin: Beauty & the Beast in Me”; and Awesomeness Films’ “Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall” doc about the multi-hyphenate former YouTuber turned Broadway leading man and worldwide phenom.

The complete lineup for the festival will be announced June 1.

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Hollywood fondly remembers Brad Grey as ‘a self-made man’ and shrewd advisor

(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

Hollywood mourned the loss of former Paramount Pictures executive Brad Grey, whose credits included HBO’s “The Sopranos,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed,” sitcoms and various Bill Maher-hosted projects.

Grey died of cancer at age 59 and was remembered fondly by several of his colleagues on Monday.

“All of us at Paramount are deeply saddened by the news of Brad Grey’s passing,” said Paramount CEO and Chairman Jim Gianopulos. “He was at the helm of the studio for over a decade and was responsible for so many of its most beloved films. ... I was proud to call Brad a friend, and one I greatly admired. He will be missed by us all, and left his mark on our industry and in our hearts.”

Chris Dodd, the chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, released his statement on Twitter.

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Brad Grey, a colleague and friend,” Dodd said. “As a producer and industry leader, Brad brought great storytelling to audiences around the world, and his contributions to the creative community will be enjoyed for years to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Before Paramount, Grey was a partner at Brillstein-Grey Entertainment and represented actors such as Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler. The talent management agency called Grey “a unique force in our business and a self-made man.”

“Brad helped forge a new paradigm in representing artists and worked to reinvent how a management company can serve its clients,” the company said. “Our hearts go out to his family, whom he loved dearly. As a company, we are indebted to his legacy.”

MGM’s chairman and CEO, Gary Barber, told Deadline that he is “deeply devastated by the untimely passing of Brad. My thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Others reached out on Twitter and shared memories of the late producer.

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‘Will & Grace’ stars offer meta-musical teaser of comeback season

NBC offered a sneak preview of its planned revival of the sitcom “Will & Grace” at the network’s upfront presentation in New York on Monday, and by the looks of things the series’ creators are going into this comeback with self-awareness intact.

A sort of meta nesting doll addressing the show’s return, the five-minute teaser opens with Eric McCormack’s Will and Debra Messing’s Grace coming out of a meeting at NBC about the series’ revival.

Appearing to have second thoughts about returning to the series, Messing is ushered by McCormack onto the set where “Will & Grace” was shot from 1998 to 2006, which in a flash of sitcom lighting comes to life complete with Megan Mullally’s Karen and Sean Hayes’ Jack bantering and in character as if the show’s 11-year absence never happened.

“This one’s afraid to do the show again,” McCormack/Will tells them, gesturing to Messing, who evidently is now Grace. “What show?” Jack replies.

A group musical number ensues to the tune of “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from “Sunset Boulevard,” which was recast with of self-aware jokes referencing “the sitcom-sized apartment” and the passage of time -- although, the song insists, “everything’s as if we never said goodbye.” Will its 12 episodes be enough to bring back “Must See TV” on Thursday? NBC sure hopes so.

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A post-’Idol’ Fox shuffles prime-time lineup for 2017-18 schedule

Fox Broadcasting is rearranging much of its prime-time lineup in an effort to build better momentum across the week.

The network is poised to finish the season in second place in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic, up from third last season — largely thanks to a boost from Super Bowl LI and the World Series. However, when sports are excluded, the slate of entertainment shows was down 25%, compared with last season.

After a season that drew on properties with built-in audiences, such as “24” offshoot “Legacy” and “Lethal Weapon,” the network is largely going with the unknown next season with the launch of four new dramas and two new comedies. The familiar will come with its staging of two live musical events — “Rent” and “A Christmas Story” — and another chapter to “The X-Files” revival.

“The past few seasons were about building a foundation of strong new shows,” Fox Television Group Co-Chairman Dana Walden said in a Monday conference call ahead of the network’s presentation to advertisers in New York.

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As networks court advertisers for the new season, addressing ad-skipping viewers remains key

High-definition 3D television screens at the 2010 IFA technology and consumer electronics trade fair in Berlin.
(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

It’s the television industry’s biggest week of the year. Thousands of advertisers on Monday will descend on New York City’s most prestigious venues — Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall — to get their first glimpse of the major networks’ new fall schedules before agreeing to shell out billions of dollars for TV time.

But the gathering comes at a troubling time for the industry: TV’s advertising model is under siege.

“Television advertising in 2017 is in a state of total upheaval,” said Steven Amato, chief executive of the digital agency Contend in downtown Los Angeles.

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The new Miss USA raises some eyebrows with her thoughts on healthcare and feminism

The District of Columbia has another consecutive Miss USA -- and this one believes healthcare is a privilege and the term feminism should be transposed with “equalism.”

Twenty-five-year-old Miss D.C. Kara McCullough, a chemist working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ascended to Miss USA on Sunday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg was the runner-up, and Miss Minnesota Meridith Gould came in third place.

Naples-born McCullough dazzled judges Julianne Hough, Ashley Graham and Terrence Jenkins -- and piqued social media interest -- with her answers in the Q&A portion of the competition, which covered healthcare, social media, women’s rights and issues facing teenagers.

When asked if she thinks affordable healthcare is a right or a privilege for U.S. citizens, McCullough said it was a “definitely” a privilege.

“As a government employee, I am granted healthcare. And I see firsthand that for one to have healthcare, you need to have jobs,” she said. “So therefore, we need to continue to cultivate this environment that we’re given the opportunities to have healthcare as well as jobs to all the American citizens worldwide.”

The answer raised the ire of social media, as well as her denouncement of feminism.

“As a woman scientist in the government, I’d like to lately transpose the word feminism to equalism,” she said when asked what she thinks feminism is and if she considers herself a feminist. The audience loudly cheered her response, according to the Washington Post.

“I don’t really want to consider myself — try not to consider myself like this diehard, you know, like, ‘Oh, I don’t really care about men.’ But one thing I’m gonna say, though, is women, we are just as equal as men when it comes to opportunity in the workplace,” she continued. “And I say firsthand: I have witnessed the impact that women have in leadership in the medical sciences, as well as just in the office environment.”

She also said that as Miss USA, she “would hope to promote that type of leadership responsibility globally.”

McCullough, one of five contestants who immigrated to the U.S. as youngsters and are now citizens, took the crown from Army officer Deshauna Barber, also from the District of Columbia.

Barber won the Miss USA title last year in the aftermath of host Steve Harvey’s infamous Miss Universe gaffe and the departure of former pageant owner Donald Trump after NBCUniversal and Univision ousted him for offending Latinos during his White House run.

McCullough will go on to compete on the Miss Universe pageant.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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‘Big Bang Theory’ star Jim Parsons marries longtime partner in NYC ceremony

Queer punk band PWR BTTM cancels tour, loses label amid sexual abuse allegations

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‘Big Bang Theory’ star Jim Parsons marries longtime partner in NYC ceremony

It was weekend wedding bells for Jim Parsons, star of “The Big Bang Theory,” as he married longtime partner, graphic designer Todd Spiewak, on Saturday.

Parsons promised “more pics to come” on an Instagram photo posted Monday morning, featuring the pair strolling down the aisle post-ceremony, holding hands.

The ceremony was held Saturday at New York’s legendary Rainbow Room, on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Parsons came out via a New York Times profile in 2012, which confirmed that he was in a committed 10-year relationship.

In October, the four-time Emmy winner for lead actor in a comedy series posted a throwback Instagram photo commemorating the pair’s 14th anniversary, featuring the couple at karaoke.

“I met this guy (the one with the mic) 14 years ago today and it was the best thing that ever happened to me, no contest,” Parsons captioned the photo.

Parsons’ weekend wedding allows the actor to have his metaphorical (wedding) cake and eat it too, as “The Big Bang Theory” ended its 10th season on a cliffhanger with Parsons’ character, Sheldon Cooper, proposing to his longtime girlfriend.

Maybe that proposal will get a resolution as lovely as real life did.

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A Star Is Born: Chazz Palminteri turns 65 today

(Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

I don’t get the fascination with dysfunction on TV and the whole idea that privacy is gone. It’s like a train wreck we have to look at. There were some really great shows in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s like ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show.’ Now, you take a guy cheating on his wife, put it on YouTube and call that entertainment.

— Chazz Palminteri, 2009

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Chazz Palminteri’s New York state of mind

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Trailer for Fox’s new Marvel series ‘The Gifted’ expands the X-Men universe beyond Xavier’s school for mutants

“The Gifted,” Fox’s newest piece of the “X-Men” universe, tells the story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers.

The network has dropped the latest full-length trailer, giving audiences a taste of what a live action X-Men drama series may look like. Tying the show to the Marvel universe are mentions of the X-Men and the Brotherhood [of evil mutants?] and the name Lorna Dane (played by actresses Emma Dumont), who comic book fans will recognize as the daughter of Magneto.

The series stars Stephen Moyer (“Shots Fired”), Amy Acker (“Person of Interest”), Sean Teale (“Reign”), Jamie Chung (“Gotham”), Coby Bell (“Burn Notice”), Blair Redford (“Satisfaction”), Natalie Alyn Lind (“Gotham”), Percy Hynes White (“Night at the Museum 3”) and the aforementioned Dumont (“Aquarius”).

The show is written by “APB” and “Burn Notice” writer Matt Nix, but Marvel storytellers pepper the executives behind the Fox property, including Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: Apocalypse,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”), Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Marvel’s Jessica Jones”) and Jim Chory (“Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Marvel’s Jessica Jones”). And to top it all off the pilot is directed by Bryan Singer, longtime X-Men movie maker and the eye behind four mutant-centric feature films.

There’s no official premiere date, but Fox’s press release stated that it’s angling for fall 2017.

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Seth MacFarlane gets dramatic and ‘Rent’ gets the live-musical treatment as Fox unveils its 2017-2018 prime-time lineup

‘Spicy’ returns to ‘Saturday Night Live’ as Melissa McCarthy joins the ‘5-Timers Club’

Aziz Ansari has ‘legit’ pasta-making skills, says ‘Master of None’ co-creator Alan Yang

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Seth MacFarlane gets dramatic and ‘Rent’ gets the live-musical treatment as Fox unveils its 2017-2018 prime-time lineup

Fox unveiled its 2017-2018 schedule in a Monday morning call ahead of its upfront presentation in New York.

Four new dramas, two new comedies and two live musical events are on tap.

For the fall, the network plans to premiere the Seth MacFarlane space drama “The Orville,” the family adventure series “The Gifted” and “Ghosted” a paranormal buddy comedy with Craig Robinson and Adam Scott.

Joining them in midseason will be the medical drama “The Resident” with Matt Czuchry and Emily VanCamp,”9-1-1” an emergency response drama from Ryan Murphy starring Angela Bassett, and the Dylan McDermott comedy “LA to Vegas.”

Joining the previously announced “A Christmas Story” musical to air in December, will be Fox’s take on the classic “Rent” at an as yet to be determined date.

And as also previously announced, the next chapter of “The X-Files” will return midseason with 10 new episodes.

FOX FALL 2017 SCHEDULE

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8-9 p.m. “Lucifer”

9-10 p.m. “The Gifted” (new)

TUESDAY

8-9 p.m. “Lethal Weapon”

9-9:30 p.m. “The Mick”

9:30-10 p.m. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

WEDNESDAY

8-9 p.m. “Empire”

9-10 p.m. “Star”

THURSDAY

8-9 p.m. “Gotham”

9-10 p.m. “The Orville” (new)

FRIDAY

8-9 p.m. “Hell’s Kitchen”

9-10 PM “The Exorcist”

SATURDAY

7-10:30 p.m. “Fox Sports Saturday: Fox College Football”

SUNDAY

7-7:30 p.m. “NFL on Fox”

7:30-8 p.m. “The OT” / “Bob’s Burgers

8-8:30 p.m. “The Simpsons”

8:30-9 p.m. “Ghosted” (new)

9-9:30 p.m. “Family Guy”

9:30-10 p.m. “The Last Man on Earth”

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Fox bosses talk ‘American Idol’ move to ABC: ‘It’s a tough one for us’

Katherine McPhee, from left, Casey James, Carly Smithson, Jessica Sanchez, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard and Amber Holcomb perform at the "American Idol" farewell season finale in 2016.
(Matt Sayles / Invision)

The confetti and dashed singing dreams had barely been swept off the stage of “American Idol” before ABC announced last week its decision to resurrect the long-running Fox franchise for the 2017-18 season.

The revival had many perplexed, though not entirely surprised. Talks about the return of “American Idol,” which wrapped its 15-season run on Fox just last year, have been swirling for months, with NBC in the running as a possible home at one point.

“American Idol” premiered on Fox in 2002 and quickly became a ratings powerhouse for the network. At its peak, the singing competition series drew an average of 30 million viewers a week. Even as its viewership dropped considerably in its later seasons — to about 9 million viewers — such numbers are coveted in a fractured media landscape, particularly for ABC.

Of the show’s move to ABC, Fox Television Group co-chairman Dana Walden, in a Monday conference call, noted “It’s obviously a tough one for us. We loved ‘American Idol.’ It’s so connected to the Fox brand.”

“I would say it was a bit of a complicated process over the past year to figure out whether we were interested or not,” Walden continued. “We sat down with [‘Idol’ producer] Fremantle just a month or two after the end of the show. They were determined to get the show back on the air as quickly as possible. We felt very strongly — the ratings bounced back a little bit in the final season. We spent about $25 million sending a clear and persistent message that it was the farewell season, and fans responded and the ratings ticked up. It felt to us, sitting in those initial meetings with Fremantle, like it would be extremely fraudulent to bring the show back quickly, that our fans would not appreciate being told one thing and then have the show brought back right away.”

With those differing opinion and the ratings over the four years prior to the final season dropping almost 70%, Walden says Fox asked for trims. Fremantle did not want to make significant cuts or test out a new judging panel and, she says, Fox respected that and decided to dub last season the “farewell season.”

Walden says Fox was eyeing 2020 as a more reasonable return date in order to give the creators and producers a chance to tinker with the show, but Fremantle was not interested in waiting.

“They wanted it back on the air and they thought ABC was a good opportunity.”

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‘The Crown’ fails to win any BAFTA TV awards

“The Crown,” Netflix’s epic true-life drama of the British aristocracy, was poised to be the top winner Sunday night at the BAFTA TV awards. After all, it nabbed two Golden Globes and two Screen Actors Guild statues earlier this year. The streaming service’s show, dubbed the most expensive television series ever, however was not successful.

The show led the night with five nominations but was completely shut out.

REVIEW: Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ is a winning tale of royals and the weight of tradition

Taking home best drama series was “Happy Valley,” beating out “The Crown,” “The Durrells” and “War & Peace.” “Happy Valley’s” female lead Sarah Lancashire also won best actress, an award most thought would go to Claire Foy as Elizabeth II in “The Crown.”

“The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story” won the night’s international award. It was accepted by Cuba Gooding Jr., who starred in the FX series that became a cultural phenomenon.

Check out the full list of winners below:

COMEDY & COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

“Charlie Brooker’s 2016 Wipe” — Production team: House of Tomorrow/BBC Two

CURRENT AFFAIRS

“Teenage Prison Abuse Exposed” (Panorama) — Production team: BBC Productions/BBC One

DRAMA SERIES

“Happy Valley” — Sally Wainwright, Juliet Charlesworth, Nicola Shindler, Neasa Hardiman: Red Production Company/BBC One

ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE

Michael McIntyre, “Michael McIntyre’s Big Show” — Hungry McBear/BBC One

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

“Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway” — Production team: ITV Studios/Mitre Television/ITV

FACTUAL SERIES

“Exodus: Our Journey to Europe” — Production team: KEO Films/The Open University/BBC Two

FEATURES

“Who So You Think You Are?” - Colette Flight, Sarah Feltes, Anna Kirkwood, Helen Nixon: Wall to Wall Media/BBC One

FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAM

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “Fleabag” — Two Brothers Pictures/BBC Three

INTERNATIONAL

“The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson — Fox 21 Television Studios/FX Productions/BBC Two

LEADING ACTOR

Adeel Akhtar, “Murdered by My Father” — BBC Studios/BBC Three

LEADING ACTRESS

Sarah Lancashire, “Happy Valley” — Red Production Company/BBC One

LIVE EVENT

“The Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration” — Production team: ITV Studios/Spun Gold Television/ITV

MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAM

Steve Coogan, “Alan Partridge’s Scissored Isle” — Baby Cow Productions/Sky Atlantic

MINISERIES

“National Treasure” —- George Ormond, Marc Munden, Jack Thorne, John Chapman - The Forge/Channel 4

NEWS COVERAGE

“Victoria Derbyshire” E Victoria Derbyshire, Louisa Compton, Jo Adnitt — BBC News/BBC Two

REALITY & CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL

“Muslims Like Us” — Love Productions/BBC Two

SCRIPTED COMEDY

“People Just Do Nothing” — Production team: Roughcut TV/BBC Three

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY

“Hillsborough” - Production Team: Very Much So Productions/Passion Pictures/BBC Two

SINGLE DRAMA

“Damilola, Our Loved Boy” — Levi David Addai, Euros Lyn, Susan Horth, Colin Barr: Minnow Films/BBC One

SOAP & CONTINUING DRAMA

“Emerdale” — Production team: ITV Studios/ITV

SPECIALIST FACTUAL

“Planet Earth II” — Michael Gunton, Tom Hugh-Jones, Elizabeth White, David Attenborough — BBC Studios/BBC Natural History Unit/BBC America/ZDF/France Television/BBC One

SPORT

The Open. Production Team — Sky Sports/European Tour Productions/Sky Sports 1

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tom Hollander, “The Night Manager” — The Ink Factory/Demarest/Character Seven/BBC One

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Wunmi Mosaku — “Damilola, Our Loved Boy” — Minnow Films/BBC One

VIRGIN TV’S MUST SEE MOMENT

“Planet Earth II: Snakes vs Iguana Chase”

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Janelle Monáe gives graduates her three secrets to life, while Will Ferrell sings Whitney Houston

Graduation is in the air, and Hollywood has a way of taking center stage during this season as well.

Among a number of celebrities who will bestow words of encouragement upon college graduates, Will Ferrell and Janelle Monáe took their turns this weekend.

Ferrell, a 1990 graduate of USC’s journalism school, returned to the Trojan campus Saturday. While his speech was comedic and inspiring all at once, perhaps the one moment graduates will be talking about for years to come is the actor’s tribute to Whitney Houston.

“Class of 2017, I just want you to know you will never be alone on whatever path you may choose,” he said. “If you ever have a moment where you feel a little down, just think of the support you have from this great Trojan family and imagine me -- literally picture my face -- singing this song gently into your ear.”

He then launched into a not-too-shabby version of Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

Halfway across the country, actress, singer, and goddess of everything Monáe imparted words of wisdom to Dillard University’s graduating class of 166 men and women. At the commencement ceremony for the historically black liberal arts college in New Orleans, she shared her three secrets to life:

“No. 1, the importance of being gracious, No. 2, the importance of being proud, and No. 3, the importance of choosing freedom over fear.”

Monáe, who never graduated from college but attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, accepted the school’s invitation after playing the NASA physicist Mary Jackson in the Oscar-nominated “Hidden Figures” earlier this year.

“It’s important that I continue to push their legacy forward,” she said of Jackson and her colleagues, Dorothy Vaughn and Katherine Johnson, the “Hidden Figures” played by Octavia Spencer and Taraji P. Henson, respectively.

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‘Spicy’ returns to ‘Saturday Night Live’ as Melissa McCarthy joins the ‘5-Timers Club’

When Melissa McCarthy was spotted tooling through the streets of New York City behind a motorized lectern dressed as Sean Spicer earlier this week, viewers knew that it meant the return of her widely praised “Saturday Night Live” impression of the White House spokesman.

“Spicy” made an appearance during McCarthy’s landmark fifth “SNL” hosting stint, emerging from the bushes to take over a briefing from Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (played by Aidy Bryant).

When members of the White House press corps suggest Spicer might be fired and replaced with Sanders, it spurs a soul-searching rolling lectern trip from D.C. to New York -- and, ultimately, New Jersey -- where Spicer seeks reassurance from President Trump (the returning Alec Baldwin).

Instead, he gets the “Godfather II” Fredo kiss, i.e. the kiss of death, despite Spicer’s protestations that “I’m married!”

The episode, which again aired live coast to coast, doubled-down on Trump by also using Baldwin in a cold open spoofing his interview with NBC anchor Lester Holt, played with increasing incredulity by “Weekend Update” co-anchor Michael Che.

At the close of the show, Steve Martin appeared to surprise McCarthy and welcome her into the “5-Timers Club.” Kate McKinnon helped her into the coveted jacket.

ALSO

Melissa McCarthy takes her Sean Spicer impersonation to the streets

Here’s what NBC’s fall schedule will look like

Trailer for Fox’s new Marvel series ‘The Gifted’ expands the X-Men universe beyond Xavier’s school for mutants

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Here’s what NBC’s fall schedule will look like

After a string of cancellations—and one reversal that saved “Timeless”—NBC is mostly sticking with what it knows when it returns in the fall.

Though the network is adding five new dramas and three new comedies to its lineup, much of its fall schedule is anchored by veteran shows.

“The Voice” retains its booster role, serving as the lead-in on Mondays to new military drama “The Brave.” On Tuesdays, the singing competition series will now be the primer to returning comedies “Superstore” and “The Good Place.”

Signature dramas—“The Blacklist,” “Law & Order: SVU” and “Chicago P.D.” --reign on Wednesday night. And the network is making another hard push to recapture the “Must See TV” glory of Thursday nights. The 12-episode revival of “Will & Grace” will air Thursdays, along with “Great News.” They’ll lead into NBC’s breakthrough drama “This Is Us,” which moves from its Tuesday time slot. (The popular family drama has also landed the coveted post-Super Bowl slot next year.) Meanwhile, Dick Wolf’s new event series, “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders,” starring Edie Falco, will end the night.

Fridays, meanwhile, will be home to “Blindspot” and “Taken.”

The bulk of the network’s newcomers, which include the Mindy Kaling comedy “Champions” and the Jason Katims drama “Rise,” won’t arrive until mid-season.

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A Star Is Born: George Lucas turns 73 today

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

I’ve never had to do a movie because I needed the job. Fortunately all my life I have been in that position. I’ve always done it because I really care about something that in a lot of cases nobody else cares about. And I have to struggle to get it done, but I’ve always been successful that way.

— George Lucas, 1992

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Rethinking Indiana Jones : George Lucas Picks Up Where Indy Began, Breaking TV’s Rules in the Process

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A Star Is Born: Lena Dunham turns 31 today

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

So much of what happens sexually today is from porn. My entire sex life has been against that backdrop. What did it used to be like? I’d have to sit down with my mother and compare and contrast her early 20s sex life, and that’s not a conversation I feel like having.

— Lena Dunham, 2013

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Lena Dunham analyzes three episodes of ‘Girls’

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Annie Hardy’s new video for ‘Train’ hints at her unimaginable loss

“Here comes the train, here to take my baby away.”

It’s a lyric as old as any mournful blues song, but this hook to Annie Hardy’s new single, “Train,” is riven with loss.

Hardy, as fans of her old band Giant Drag may now know, has endured incomprehensible personal pain over the last few years, losing both her newborn baby Silvio to sudden infant death syndrome and her partner, Robert Paulson, to an overdose just a year later.

Songwriting was the one thing to pull her out of that miasma of grief, and “Train” is one of her most plainspoken expressions of raw pain. Half of it is lost in a reverbed fog of memory and disconnection, the other half is ruptured by feedback so intense it feels like physical illness.

Watch the new video for the song above.

Given Hardy’s giddily vulgar past rock projects, this deeply-wounded vulnerability makes “Rules” one of the bravest and most harrowing local albums of the year.

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Basically, you don’t know me, Kylie Jenner says in ‘Life of Kylie’ first look

Kylie Jenner is revealing what little of herself the public and her 175 million social-media followers haven’t already seen.

“When you grow up on camera, everybody feels like they know you. But they don’t,” the reality star says in a teaser for her upcoming E! spin-off series, “Life of Kylie.”

The “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” alum, who gave all the Barbie vibes in Flaunt magazine’s pink-hued plastic paradise, debuted on the reality juggernaut at age 9 and transformed from a sweet youngster into a business-savvy bombshell.

She of the plump pout and pert posterior is forging her own reality TV destiny as she shifts away from her famous elder siblings and headline-grabbing parents’ orbit.

The eight-part docu-series is the latest in the network’s ubiquitous Kardashian-Jenner spin-offs and, per E!, follows the 19-year-old Snapchat queen in her endeavors as “an entrepreneur, fashion designer, author, television star, style icon and CEO/Founder of Kylie Cosmetics.”

“There’s an image that I have to keep up with,” Jenner narrates over throwback images of “KUWTK” in the teaser. “Then there’s me: Kylie.”

“Life of Kylie” premieres on the cable network July 6.

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‘Twin Peaks’ anticipation builds as Kyle MacLachlan offers Jimmy Fallon a spoiler

Kyle MacLachlan, better known as Agent Dale Cooper from David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks,” stopped by “The Tonight Show” on Thursday night to share a secret about the upcoming Showtime revival of the series.

The secret?

“It was damn good coffee.”

MacLachlan’s callback to his character’s drink of choice sent host Jimmy Fallon into a fit of pleasure.

But perhaps the best part of MacLachlan’s appearance on “The Tonight Show” was the moment the Roots broke out a rendition of “Twin Peaks” moody theme song (around the 3:13 mark in the video above).

The “Twin Peaks” revival debuts on Showtime on May 21.

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Listen to Prince’s unreleased ‘Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden’

Prince’s fans are getting the latest taste of unreleased music from the late musician’s vault with the release of a two-song medley, “Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden.”

The songs, released Friday by NPG Records/Warner Bros., will be featured on the upcoming deluxe issue of “Purple Rain,” the beloved 1984 album that’s heralded as his greatest work.

“Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden” was recorded live at Minneapolis’ First Avenue (the nightclub featured in the film) during a show on June 7, 1984 — Prince’s 26th birthday.

The tender ”Our Destiny” features vocals from Lisa Coleman of the Revolution before Prince takes over on the exuberant “Roadhouse Garden,” where he’s joined on the chorus by Coleman and Matt “Dr.” Fink.

Prince’s “Purple Rain” reissue will come in two forms: “Deluxe” and “Deluxe — Expanded Edition.” Set for release on June 23, the project includes six tracks that have “never been released or distributed in the collector or bootleg community,” according to the label.

The previously unheard works include a 1983 solo version of “Possessed,” a studio version of “Electric Intercourse,” which was not known to exist until it was unearthed at the musician’s Paisley Park estate (it was the first track released to tease the reissue), a full version of “Father’s Song,” a finished master of “Katrina’s Paper Dolls” and a 10-minute take on “We Can… .”

In the deluxe packaging, fans will get the 2015 Paisley Park remaster of the original “Purple Rain” tapes along with a “From the Vault & Unreleased” disc, while the expanded version will include the aforementioned, along with a third disc, “Single Edits & B-Sides,” and a concert DVD from Prince and the Revolution’s March 1985 gig at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

“Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden” and “Electric Intercourse” are available on streaming services and as instant tracks with a preorder of the album.

Listen to “Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden” here.

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Melissa McCarthy takes her Sean Spicer impersonation to the streets

After a politically turbulent week, it’s reasonable that staffers at CNN didn’t quite believe their eyes when they saw the spectacle taking place outside their building this morning.

According to the tweets of several employees of the cable news network, Melissa McCarthy appeared to be tooling down the streets of Manhattan via a motorized podium, in full Sean Spicer mode.

But their eyes did not deceive them.

McCarthy is filming a sketch titled “Spicer Returns” for her gig hosting “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. This is just the latest in a series of buzzy tidbits leading up to Saturday’s episode.

On Wednesday, McCarthy and “SNL” released a promo featuring the actress lip-syncing and dancing as she was transformed into Spicer.

The next day, McCarthy, again in full-Spicer makeup, posted on Instagram a reference to Washington Post reports that Spicer and his staff waited “among bushes” in the wake of President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.

McCarthy has made a splash since the start of Trump’s administration with her portrayal of Spicer, leaving many highly anticipating Saturday’s episode with musical guests Haim.

The episode will air on NBC at 8:30 p.m. PDT.

In anticipation, please enjoy Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer as the White House Easter Bunny in the video below.

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After Trump slams him, Stephen Colbert proclaims victory with a giggle — and ‘I won!’

It’s Rosie O’Donnell vs. Donald Trump, James Comey edition

From Anderson Cooper’s eye roll to Chuck Todd’s ‘Wow’: The media react to Comey firing

Melissa McCarthy is oh so pretty in delightful new ‘SNL’ promo

Late-night TV hosts have a field day with Comey’s firing

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Kelly Clarkson to coach on ‘The Voice’ in 2018. (‘American Idol’ who?)

A pregnant Kelly Clarkson performs via video on Fox's 2016 "American Idol" finale.
(Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

Kelly Clarkson is joining “The Voice” next spring, she and Blake Shelton announced Thursday.

“Hey, I’m finally not knocked up and I can join your show,” Clarkson said as she and Shelton, a longtime coach on the show, had a drawl-versus-drawl FaceTime chat on Facebook Live. She said she had been interested in “The Voice” for a long while, but “the timing’s not been right.”

The show’s fall lineup of coaches will be Shelton, Adam Levine, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson, who said Wednesday on Instagram, after her gig was announced, that she was “[i]n tears thinking of what this means and represents to me and knowing and walking the journey.”

Hudson, like Clarkson, is a former “Idol” contestant, though the “Dreamgirls” star didn’t take home the prize.

Clarkson, the original “Americal Idol” winner, is a mother of two who delivered her son Remington Alexander a little more than a year ago, just a week after she performed via remote video on the series finale of Fox’s “Idol.” Daughter River Rose was born in June 2014.

Just a couple of days ago there was talk that Clarkson was going to be a judge on ABC’s reboot of that long-running singing competition rather than appearing on “The Voice.” TMZ said Friday that the “Idol” team is less than pleased.

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Rare ‘Harry Potter’ prequel vanishes after U.K. home burglary

Let’s get the Gringotts goblins on this one: “Harry Potter” scribe J.K. Rowling is appealing to anyone who might come across a burgled prequel she wrote about the bespectacled boy wizard’s father.

A rare, handwritten postcard on which she penned the story was taken from a Birmingham, England, home — along with jewelry — during a break-in in Kings Heath that took place between April 13 and 24, West Midlands police said in a statement Friday.

“The only people who will buy this unique piece are true Harry Potter fans. We are appealing to anyone who sees, or is offered this item for sale, to contact police,” investigating officer PC Paul Jauncey said in the statement.

The 800-word manuscript — about James Potter and his pal Sirius Black’s run-in with Muggle cops three years prior to Harry’s birth — was written on both sides of an A5 postcard for a 2008 charity auction benefiting literacy organization English PEN. It sold for £25,000, according to the Daily Mail, which published a full transcript of the lesser-known story.

Rowling and police are appealing to Harry Potter fans all over the world to help retrieve the “extremely valuable” untitled piece. The billionaire author also issued her own plea.

“PLEASE DON’T BUY THIS IF YOU’RE OFFERED IT. Originally auctioned for @englishpen, the owner supported writers’ freedoms by bidding for it,” she tweeted.

Hira, the burglary victim who would be identified only by his first name, told the BBC that the work was “priceless” and had potential to raise money for additional good causes if sold again legitimately.

“I don’t think whoever took it or stole it or who might purchase it will really understand the benefits to people out there, what it can do,” he said. “If it’s destroyed, or if it’s lost, it’s a great loss.”

ALSO

Jude Law cast as Dumbledore in ‘Fantastic Beasts’ sequel

Hollywood Bowl’s 2017 lineup: ‘Harry Potter,’ Misty Copeland, ‘Mamma Mia!’ and more

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ heading to Broadway in 2018

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After Trump slams him, Stephen Colbert proclaims victory with a giggle — and ‘I won!’

For Stephen Colbert, a bash from President Trump is a badge of honor.

It’s no secret “The Late Show” host has reveled in mocking and taunting the president from his late-night perch on CBS. And it was only a matter of time before Trump — ever the TV watcher — took notice.

In an interview with Time magazine earlier this week, Trump said: “You see a no-talent guy like Colbert. There’s nothing funny about what he says. And what he says is filthy. And you have kids watching. And it only builds up my base. It only helps me, people like him.”

Trump went on to take credit for “The Late Show’s” improved ratings.

In his Thursday night monologue, Colbert addressed Trump’s comments — with utter delight.

“The president of the United States has personally come after me and my show,” he said. “And there’s only one thing to say.”

Breaking into a gleeful laugh, he proclaimed: “Yayyyy!”

Colbert punctuated the sentiment by blowing kisses as the audience began chanting his name.

“Mr. Trump,” Colbert continued, “there’s a lot you don’t understand. But I never thought one of those things would be show business. Don’t you know I’ve been trying for a year to get you to say my name? And you were very restrained. Admirably restrained. But now you did it! I won!”

Colbert did offer Trump one suggestion on how to get revenge on “The Late Show.”

“Resign,” he said. “If you did that, what would I talk about then? ... Except your resignation because that’d be fun.”

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Melissa McCarthy takes her Sean Spicer impersonation to the streets

From Anderson Cooper’s eye roll to Chuck Todd’s ‘Wow’: The media react to Comey firing

Melissa McCarthy is oh so pretty in delightful new ‘SNL’ promo

Late-night TV hosts have a field day with Comey’s firing

Merriam-Webster reminds President Trump that he didn’t invent ‘prime the pump’

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A Star Is Born: Burt Bacharach turns 89 today

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

I like people rediscovering my songs. It gives [the songs] renewed life. They were written with the concept that they were suitable for only one artist, made with [that artist] in mind. You hear Dionne [Warwick] singing in your head, and that’s how you do the song. But [the covers] show the songs can be done another way.

— Burt Bacharach, 1995

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bacharach longs to be close to us

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It’s Rosie O’Donnell vs. Donald Trump, James Comey edition

President Trump has poked a familiar bear: Rosie O’Donnell, who famously has been getting into it with POTUS since back in the days when he was just the Donald.

Of course, O’Donnell has been poking the president almost nonstop on social media for a long time now.

“We finally agree on something Rosie,” Trump wrote Thursday afternoon on Twitter.

Trump was agreeing with a December tweet from O’Donnell calling for the firing of recently pink-slipped FBI Director James Comey.

No surprise, Rosie wasn’t about to let Trump’s heckle go unanswered.

She tweeted directly at him, suggesting that those who had worked for Comey at the FBI were loyal, and that Trump would be facing a world of hurt.

There was no immediate reply from Trump, though he made his feelings about O’Donnell known years ago.

In 2002, for example, he called her “not a smart person,” “a stone cold loser,” “a bully” and a “very unattractive woman both inside and out.”

Then again, maybe his opinion of Rosie has changed since then? It could happen.

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Watch Chris Pine and Sasheer Zamata spoof ‘The Bachelorette’ in ‘SNL’ sketch

“Saturday Night Live” didn’t give a rose to its “Black Bachelorette” spoof last weekend.

The show took aim at ABC’s match-making competition but the sketch never hit the airwaves. Instead, NBC released a Cut for Time edition on Thursday that featured Sasheer Zamata as Rachel Lindsay, “The Bachelor” alum who is the first black woman to front “The Bachelorette,” the long-running dating reality series.

“One charming and accomplished lawyer. Twenty-five hot dummies,” the narrator says of the new bachelorette, touting “the most progressive season ever” that promises to be inspiring, brave and break down barriers.

In typical premiere episode fashion, Zamata’s Lindsay greets her queue of bachelors introducing themselves while they appropriate -- and misappropriate -- black culture to win her affections. Host Chris Pine tries his luck several times and is especially skilled at putting his foot in his mouth.

“We’re both systematically oppressed,” he says of their commonalities, claiming “white males are the new minority.”

Her other suitors include Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, Alex Moffat, Pete Davidson and finally Kenan Thompson, who does something so egregious that it warrants his ouster before Pine’s.

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Don’t ‘ambush’ Steve Harvey: When he wrote harsh memo, host needed a little privacy

Steve Harvey just wants to be alone. And he means it.

That’s the message in a blunt memo sent months ago by the radio and TV personality, who on Thursday wrapped up five years of “The Steve Harvey Show” in Chicago as he prepares to start a show out of L.A. titled, simply, “Steve.”

“I want all the ambushing to stop now,” Harvey told staffers at the beginning of Season 5 via a leaked memo published Wednesday by Chicago media blogger Robert Feder. “That includes TV staff. You must make an appointment.”

The “Little Big Shots” host explained the genesis of the memo — which he isn’t apologizing for — to “Entertainment Tonight” on Thursday: His longtime open-door policy had been abused.

“I could not find a way to walk from the stage to my dressing room, to sit in my makeup chair, to walk from my dressing room to the stage or to just sit and have lunch without somebody just walking in,” Harvey told “ET.” No knock, no respect for his privacy, he said; he didn’t want to have to hide to get a moment to himself. Hence, the memo.

The missive seemed like a reasonable request on many levels, since in it Harvey explained that he was “seeking more free time” for himself during the day and asked that people not “take offense to the new way of doing business.” Problem was, it also included a litany of all-caps laden, don’t-you-dare directives, plus a threat that anyone standing at the dressing room door hoping to speak to Harvey would be removed by security.

“[I]n hindsight,” he told “ET,” “I probably should’ve handled it a little bit differently.”

Here’s a taste of how he did handle it:

  • “Do not open my dressing room door. IF YOU OPEN MY DOOR, EXPECT TO BE REMOVED.
  • “Do not approach me while I’m in the makeup chair unless I ask to speak with you directly. Either knock or use the doorbell.”
  • “Do not wait in any hallway to speak to me. I hate being ambushed. Please make an appointment.”
  • “I promise you I will not entertain you in the hallway, and do not attempt to walk with me.”
  • “If you’re reading this, yes, I mean you.”

The Times has reached out to a rep for Harvey for comment.

Harvey, who recently won two Daytime Emmy Awards for his hosting work on “The Steve Harvey Show” and “Family Feud,” will debut his new daytime talk-show “Steve” in September.

Updated, 3:05 p.m.: This article has been updated with comments from Steve Harvey.

This article was originally published at 11:11 a.m.

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Merriam-Webster reminds President Trump that he didn’t invent ‘prime the pump’

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

In news that few will find surprising, it appears that President Trump did not, in fact, invent the term “prime the pump” as he asserted in a recent interview with the Economist.

Merriam-Webster set the record straight.

The surreptitiously sassy source for questions about language tweeted a thread Thursday morning clarifying the origins of the phrase, which actually dates to the early 19th century.

This is just the latest example this week of Merriam-Webster weighing in on current events.

Searches for the word “atrocity” were up more than 5,200% Wednesday after White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders alleged that fired FBI Director James Comey had committed “basic atrocities” during his tenure, Merriam-Webster reported Wednesday.

The dictionary shared its findings via its “Trend Watch” feature, which monitors what words are being searched for in light of recent news and cultural events.

In January, the language experts made waves with a tweet that clarified the definition of the word “fact” after Kellyanne Conway dismissed arguments over the crowd size at the presidential inauguration as relying on “alternative facts.”

Peter Sokolowski, editor at large at Merriam-Webster, recently appeared on Slate’s “Trumpcast” to discuss the current administration’s relationship with language and how he perceives the dictionary’s role in political conversation.

“The dictionary has always called balls and strikes on spelling and meaning,” Sokolowski said. “That’s a traditional cultural role that we are asserting, that existed long before I ever got this job.”

Sokolowski continued, “But if a public figure uses language in a remarkable way, that’s fair game for us to comment on.”

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Singer Johnny Mathis praises late Nancy Reagan for helping him kick drinking problem

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Legendary singer Johnny Mathis owes a debt of gratitude to former First Lady Nancy Reagan.

The 81-year-old crooner credited Reagan with helping him kick his drinking habit after she saw him overindulging at a reception.

“We were sitting around, you know. I was drinking, and she suggested I might have a problem,” Mathis said in an upcoming interview with “CBS This Morning’s” Nancy Giles.

“I said, ‘Probably not, but what do you have in mind?’ And so she sent me to a place called Havre de Grace in Maryland, and I was there with a bunch of Jesuit priests. I had three weeks of finding out why I drank, how I could stop. And it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my life.”

The influential presidential wife, who championed the fight against drug abuse with her “Just Say No” campaign, died last year of congestive heart failure at 94.

Mathis, who pioneered the greatest-hits album genre and is releasing a collection of contemporary songs produced by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, previously admitted his vice was champagne.

However, he also famously struggled with drug addiction following his dealings with “Dr. Feelgood” Max Jacobson. Jacobson administered so-called vitamin shots that contained amphetamines, which did wonders for Mathis’ ailing voice but left him with a drug addiction.

Mathis’ wide-ranging interview is set to air Sunday and covers his history with racism, rebounding from losing his home in a 2015 fire and the fallout from coming out in 1982.

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Miley Cyrus goes to ‘Malibu’: Listen to her rootsy new single

“I never would have believed you three years ago / You told me I’d be here writing this song,” Miley Cyrus declares in her rootsy new single, “Malibu,” which after much anticipation hit the Internet early Thursday.

But what’s so surprising about it?

Serial reinvention has been Cyrus’ stock in trade since she broke out of “Hannah Montana” a decade ago. First she was a hard-rocking rebel, then a bubbly pop star, then a hip-hop troublemaker, then a happy hippie (to use her unfortunate term).

So it’s not exactly a shock to hear that she’s changed up her style yet again for “Malibu,” which sounds like, I dunno, Linda Ronstadt fronting Mumford & Sons?

My initial reaction is that the jangly, hand-clappy tune is a bit meh — certainly not the miracle Cyrus presents it as (nor the act of heroism that Apple Music’s Zane Lowe laughably described during his premiere).

But hey — it definitely beats Cyrus’ excruciating 2015 collaboration with the Flaming Lips. So there’s that!

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L.A. rock band the Dream Syndicate will release its first album in nearly 30 years

The Los Angeles band the Dream Syndicate was hardly the city’s most successful rock band during its existence in the 1980s, but for a few brief years, it was one of its most accomplished.

Best known for its 1982 debut album, “The Days of Wine and Roses,” the Dream Syndicate tore its own ragged hole in the city’s music scene, even if it never achieved the success of, say, the Bangles, Black Flag or the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

On Thursday, the band’s stubbornly original guitarist, singer-songwriter Steve Wynn, announced that the reformed Dream Syndicate will release its first album in nearly 30 years through the respected L.A. label Anti- Records.

Joining Wynn will be original drummer Dennis Duck, who has carved his own fascinating path as a central figure in the improvisational collective of the Los Angeles Free Music Society.

Formed as a quartet featuring Wynn, Duck, guitarist Karl Precoda and bassist Kendra Smith, the Dream Syndicate’s first iteration lasted only a few years and became connected with the so-called Paisley Underground movement, with groups including the Rain Parade, the Bangles, the Long Ryders and the Three O’Clock.

“The Days of Wine and Roses” has gone on to be a touchstone album, its feedback-drenched, drone-heavy songs drawing fans as varied as Yo La Tengo (which regularly has done a searing version of “Halloween”), Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes and crime novelist and TV writer George Pelecanos.

The band went through a number of iterations across four studio albums, but after going through the A&M Records’ ringer during a particularly bad time and then landing at the fading indie Enigma, Wynn and the band split.

In the years that followed, Wynn continued as a singer and songwriter with dozens of solo albums (some with backing group the Miracle 3). Most prominently, he teamed with R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck and others to form the Baseball Project, which performs songs only about America’s pastime.

In 2012, a reformed Dream Syndicate toured to celebrate three decades of “The Days of Wine and Roses,” and the group has continued to perform road gigs. In the fall, the band will embark on a European tour. Joining Duck will be longtime Dream Syndicate bassist (and Miracle 3 member) Mark Walton and guitarist Jason Victor.

The forthcoming Anti- album doesn’t have an official release date or a title, but Wynn has written a statement on the Dream Syndicate’s website that says it’ll come out in September.

It reads, in part: “What can we tell you about our new record?

“”Well, let’s see. It’s true to our history, a bounty of gifts for everyone who’s been there since the old days and yet unlike anything we ever did before. It’s a post-millennial existential screed that feels like RIGHT NOW and at the same time a timeless joyous thrill ride. It’s psychedelic, it’s rocking, it’s garage, it’s classic, it’s indie and it’s even a soul and jazz record in the most literal sense, a sonic and emotional journey to the deepest recesses of your mind. It’s what we do on stage and yet it’s brand new. Most of all, we dig it. A lot.”

Until it arrives, here is the reformed band performing the song “The Days of Wine and Roses” in 2014.

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Ryan Seacrest returning as ‘American Idol’ host? The plot thickens

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

“American Idol” is coming back, and heralding its return are a bunch of rumors about who’s going to host and who’s going to judge.

Most of the talk has been about the hosting gig: Ryan Seacrest is reportedly being considered to reprise his classic “Idol” role as ABC reboots the Fox show, with one outlet saying Seacrest’s return to the show has been the plan for a while now.

Another familiar face popping up for the revival is Kelly Clarkson, Fox’s first “American Idol” winner. She’s interested in a seat at the judges’ table and ABC is expressing “serious interest,” according to TMZ. Supposedly Clarkson is “clearing her schedule” for the months the show would be in production.

“She was so remarkable and sincere and lovely when she came on at the last season,” Seacrest told “Entertainment Tonight” on Wednesday in response to the rumors. “I think she’d make a fantastic judge.”

So yeah, back to Seacrest. Whether that’s nearly a done deal or just something some folks are chatting about is up for debate, according to Variety. A source described as close to Seacrest said the latter, allowing that “Ryan has a lot of affection for ‘American Idol’ given the show’s significance to his career” but labeling talks as being only “in the early stages.”

However, another source, described as an “insider,” told Variety the situation was down to the “final tweaks,” and TMZ said days ago that the deal between Seacrest and ABC was all the way to “closed.”

During “Live With Kelly and Ryan” on Monday — the day before the “Idol” reboot news was officially announced on “Good Morning America” — Seacrest told Kelly Ripa that he’d heard rumors about the show coming back only the week before and played dumb about returning to his former contestant-wrangling duties.

“I said at the end of the series, ‘Goodbye for now,’ hoping somewhere it would come back,” he told Ripa, who enthusiastically encouraged him to re-up as host. She even told him she’d cover for him on “Live” so he could “disconnect” when he had to do “AI,” which is a pretty nice favor to do for someone who’s been your cohost for less than two weeks.

But there might be a reason for Ripa’s unbridled enthusiasm. On Wednesday, a Page Six source painted Seacrest’s gee-I-don’t-know act as a cover for what’s really going on.

“This isn’t some spur-of-the-moment deal,” an “insider” told the New York Post’s gossip column. “It’s a part of his move to ABC.”

“It’s a no-brainer,” the source continued. “He took the job for ‘Idol’ and to host ‘Live.’ It’s the only way ABC could pay him enough money to come over.”

Seacrest’s trademark phrase, by the way, is pinned at the top of the official “American Idol” Twitter page.

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Comey’s firing forces Samantha Bee’s ‘Full Frontal’ to scrap initial opening

Fresh from a break for “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” special last week, Samantha Bee’s “Full Frontal” returned to TBS on Wednesday.

And, because breaking news affects those who make fun of it as much as those who cover it, her show had to scramble in the wake of President Trump’s surprise firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday night.

“Ooh, what a fun time to be alive!” she mock-enthused Wednesday night before a montage of shocked network reactions to Comey’s dismissal. Her show was equally caught off guard. (The full segment, which includes coarse language, is available on YouTube.)

“At 6 p.m. with our show written and the staff on their second whiskey,” she said in front of a shot of a sad writer’s room, “our dumb democracy ran into a wall with a bucket on its head again.”

In a segment partly dubbed “Our Weekly Constitutional Crisis,” Bee went on to recount Comey’s dramatic ouster, including the O.J.-evoking coverage of his SUV on a Los Angeles freeway, Sean Spicer (shown as a row of hedges) asking not to be recorded by the press and Richard Nixon’s presidential library distancing itself from Trump as the affair unfolded.

The segment even made room for pundit Jeffrey Toobin, appearing on various networks and repeatedly declaring that this sort of thing is “not normal,” a descriptor that Bee now finds inaccurate.

All in all, it was impressive work given the short lead time the show was forced into. And, fortunately, the Internet is a vast space where no material need go to waste.

“Full Frontal” posted its original opening segment, which focused on the House of Representatives’ passage of the American Health Care Act, on Facebook.

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A Star Is Born: Shohreh Aghdashloo turns 65 today

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

My success is also the success of the Iranian girl still in Tehran. When she sees me or reads about me, she realizes that she shouldn’t give up hope for a better future, for freedom, for democracy.

— Shohreh Aghdashloo, 2004

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Triumph of a person, a people

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South Korea has the top-notch election graphics that America deserves

If President Trump truly wanted to make America great again, he could turn his attention to the country’s flagging election graphics.

Election night 2008 may live on in history for seeing Barack Obama elected president, but it will live on in infamy thanks to CNN’s ill-advised hologram correspondent.

Thankfully, South Korea is doing the hard work of revolutionizing election coverage, as evidenced by several examples from this week’s presidential election.

This clip from the Seoul Broadcasting System, borrowing heavily from the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” placed elected presidential candidate Moon Jae-in‘s likeness on a man riding a fire-breathing dragon. In a way, it’s a far more insightful indictment of modern politics than anything U.S. cable networks came up with in 2016.

But the innovation didn’t stop there.

It also appears that Korean networks had the foresight to ask presidential candidates to dab to facilitate trendy election-night coverage.

Wouldn’t the 2016 election been that much more electrifying if MSNBC had had Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton doing the dougie on a perpetual loop?

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Patti LuPone out-divas Madonna: ‘She’s dead behind the eyes’

Patti LuPone didn’t just throw shade at Madonna — she summoned a full-on solar eclipse.

“Madonna is a movie killer,” the star of stage and screen said bluntly Tuesday night on “Watch What Happens Live after a viewer called and asked whether the two stars of “Evita” had ever chatted about their “iconic performances” as Eva Perón.

LuPone, who is 10 years’ Madonna’s senior, starred in the original 1979 Broadway cast of “Evita” and clearly wasn’t afraid of hurting any feelings in assessing the pop star’s performance in the movie version of the show.

“She’s dead behind the eyes. She cannot act her way out of a paper bag,” LuPone said. “She should not be ... in film or on stage. She’s a wonderful performer for what she does, but she’s not an actress.”

And to think, after she had clashed with “Evita” co-writer Andrew Lloyd Webber, LuPone simply told the New York Times, “I have nothing nice to say about the man, so I choose to say nothing at all.”

Turns out that LuPone and Madonna have had almost no contact, except for one time when they were at the same theater.

“The only thing Madonna has ever said to me,” LuPone told host Andy Cohen, “was, ‘I’m taller than you.’ Bada-bing!”

In 1996, before the “Evita” movie opened, Madonna talked to the Los Angeles Times about her star turn, saying she felt like everyone was waiting for her to stumble.

“I consider it an act of God that I got the part,” the “Lucky Star” singer said. “There were lots of other actresses who are considered big box office and much more respected for their acting than me.”

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Melissa McCarthy is oh so pretty in delightful new ‘SNL’ promo

“Saturday Night Live” just dropped a fun and fancy-free teaser for this week’s episode, hosted by Melissa McCarthy.

The comedic tour de force twirls through the promo in a light pink pussy-bow blouse and floral skirt while lip-syncing to “I Feel Pretty” from “West Side Story.”

The gag may be telegraphed from a million miles away, but that doesn’t make it any less delightful when it lands, as McCarthy ends up dancing her way to the makeup stage for her transformation into White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

But the bit doesn’t stop there, as McCarthy-as-Spicer continues her dance, ending with a triumphant spin, arms thrust to the sky.

The actress has made a splash with her portrayal of Spicer in recent episodes of “SNL,” and it seems fair to expect more of the same this week.

In fact, the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey and the related Washington Post report that “Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes” outside the White House will no doubt be lampooned come Saturday.

McCarthy will host Saturday night’s episode with musical guests Haim live across all time zones. The episode will air on NBC at 8:30 p.m. PDT.

To sate fans until then, enjoy one of McCarthy’s greatest hits below.

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NBC is bringing its live musicals to Easter Sunday 2018 with ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’

NBC is set on bringing some musical pizzazz to next Easter Sunday with a staging of the 1971 rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

The event, titled “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!,” will air April 1, 2018, and joins the peacock network’s growing list of live musical productions.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the musical’s creators,will serve as executive produces alongside longtime collaborators Neil Meron and Craig Zadan -- both of whom have worked on each of NBC’s previous live musical stagings. “La La Land” producer Marc Platt will also be an executive producer.

“Casting has just begun, but we want to fill out this classic show with as many recording artists as possible to give proper voice to what is the original rock opera score,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt in a statement.

“Jesus Christ Superstar,” which features music by Webber and lyrics by Rice, was originally conceived as an album in 1970, then debuted the following year on Broadway. It depicts the last days of Jesus’ life and climaxes with his crucifixion.

Over the years, it has been produced many times on stage and adapted for film. Most recently, a planned 2014 production that was set for a North American tour featuring Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child) and John Lydon (Sex Pistols) was abruptly canceled before it even hit the road.

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Cannes Film Festival and Netflix square off over the inclusion of streaming releases

(Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

As the movie industry continues to grapple with the migration of millions of eyeballs – not to mention filmmaking talent – to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, the Cannes Film Festival has decided to draw a line in the sand.

On Wednesday, the festival decreed that, beginning in 2018, “any film that wishes to compete in Competition at Cannes will have to commit itself to being distributed in French movie theaters.”

The new rule follows the earlier announcement that two Netflix films, Bong Joon-ho’s “Okja” and Noah Baumbach’s “The Meyerowitz Stories,” will be included in the lineup of this year’s fest, which begins next week.

In a statement, the festival noted the “anxiety” the inclusion of the films had stirred up among some cinephiles, saying that it had “asked Netflix in vain to accept that these two films could reach the audience of French movie theaters and not only its subscribers” but that “no agreement has been reached.”

Responding to the announcement, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings quickly fired back in a post on Facebook.

“The establishment closing ranks against us,” Hastings wrote. “See ‘Okja’ on Netflix June 28th. Amazing film that theatre chains want to block us from entering into Cannes film festival competition.”

Indeed, despite the pushback from Cannes and elsewhere, Netflix has shown no interest in altering its distribution model, which involves either releasing films concurrently via streaming and in theaters or solely via streaming.

In an interview with The Times last year, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos touted the company’s streaming-centered approach as a boon to many filmmakers whose movies might otherwise struggle to reach a wide audience in theaters alone.

“I think movies are special because of how well they’re crafted, how well they’re acted and shot – not because of the room that you saw them in first,” he said, adding, “I don’t believe it’s sensible to hold back 81 million people from watching a movie so that a couple of hundred people can see it in a theater.”

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‘Deadpool’ animated series from Donald Glover is headed to FXX

Marvel’s next big superhero team-up is with Donald Glover. An animated “Deadpool” series helmed by the “Atlanta” creator is headed to FXX.

Joining Glover in this new project is his brother and “Atlanta” writer Stephen Glover. The duo will serve as showrunners, executive producers and writers of the untitled show.

“How much more fun could this be? Deadpool, Donald and FX – the perfect fit for the Merc with the Mouth!” Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s head of television, said in a news release. “We’re thrilled that our relationship with FX that started with Legion continues with what is sure to be a groundbreaking show in adult animation.”

The 10-episode first season of the animated “Deadpool” series is slated for a 2018 debut.

“Deadpool” is one of Marvel’s most well-known R-rated superheroes, but FXX is no stranger to adult animation. The network is already home to “Archer,” the animated series following the adventures of the secret agent Sterling Archer. The show is currently in its eight season.

The new “Deadpool” series is the latest Marvel show headed to one of Fox’s family of networks. Others include FX’s “Legion” and the recently announced “Gifted,” which is headed to Fox.

Donald Glover, of course, is already a part of the Marvel family with a role in the upcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

Loeb, as well as Marvel’s Jim Chory will also serve as executive producers of the “Deadpool” series. The show will be produced by Marvel Television in association with FX Productions and ABC Signature Studios for FXX.

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‘Scandal’ reportedly ending after Season 7

Could it be that current political scandals are making it impossible for ABC’s “Scandal” to measure up anymore?

TVLine reported that the long-running ABC drama created by Shonda Rhimes will make its seventh season its last, with the announcement to be made during the network’s upfront presentation next week.

ABC declined to comment when contacted by The Times.

The political thriller, starring Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn, has three episodes left in its current season.

At its peak, the series was pulling in nearly 9 million live+same day viewers each week, in contrast to the average 5.7 million viewers it’s garnering for this current season.

The Season 6 finale of “Scandal,” directed by Goldwyn, is set to air May 18 at 9 p.m. PDT.

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Garth Brooks to play the Forum in July

Garth Brooks performs in New York.
(Julie Jacobson / Associated Press)

Garth Brooks is bringing his tour to Los Angeles.

The country megastar will play at the Forum on July 29 as part of his current world tour, which also features fellow country star (and Brooks’ wife) Trisha Yearwood.

Brooks’ July gig marks the first time he has performed at the Forum in 21 years and it will be the final show for California, Nevada and Arizona, according to the announcement.

He’s been on the road since 2014 for his massive comeback tour, which is now on its seventh leg.

The tour, his first in 13 years, has broken the record for the most all-time concerts in a single tour — a record Brooks previously notched with his 1996-’98 trek — and is well on track to become one of the highest-grossing tours of all time.

Tickets for the Forum show go on sale May 19 through Ticketmaster.

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Harry Styles album documentary to debut on Apple Music

Harry Styles will release his debut album on Friday.
Harry Styles will release his debut album on Friday.
(Ian Gavan / Getty Images)

A documentary that chronicles the creation of Harry Styles’ highly anticipated solo debut is set to premiere on Apple Music.

“Harry Styles: Behind the Album” will be available exclusively on the streaming service beginning May 15, just days after Styles’ self-titled record arrives.

Produced by Fulwell 73, the film chronicles the recording process of the album and follows Styles as he worked in Jamaica, Los Angeles and London.

“I’ve never had the process of making a full album in the way that I did with this one … I kind of wanted to see if I could write something that people liked without knowing everything about me,” Styles says in the film’s trailer.

A mix of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, the film will also feature Styles and his band performing songs from the album for the first time at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Executive produced by Jeff Bhasker, Styles’ self-titled debut arrives on Friday.

Watch the trailer for “Harry Styles: Behind the Album” below.

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‘Unikitty!’ show headed to Cartoon Network

Say goodbye to frowny faces, bushy mustaches and negativity of any kind. Unikitty is getting her own animated TV show.

Cartoon Network has announced it has greenlit “Unikitty!”, a new series following the adventures of the fan favorite emissary of positivity from “The Lego Movie” from Warner Bros. Animation.

In “The Lego Movie,” Unikitty was introduced as the princess of Cloud Cuckoo Land, a happy fantasy land devoid of rules, governments and bedtimes, who joined Emmet and Wyldstyle’s mission to stop Lord Business.

The new series will follow the adventures of Unikitty as she rules her kingdom. Her daily responsibilities include making sure everybody is happy, promoting creativity and vanquishing any negativity. That all sounds sugary sweet, but Unikitty also has a bit of an edge when anyone gets in her way.

Joining Unikitty at the castle are her brother and best friend Puppycorn, her trusty bodyguard Hawkodile and the resident scientist Dr. Fox.

“Unikitty!” will feature the voices of Tara Strong (“Teen Titans Go!,” “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”), Grey Griffin (“Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!,” “The Loud House”) Kate Micucci (“Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!,” “Steven Universe”), Roger Craig Smith (“Regular Show”), Eric Bauza (“The Adventures of Puss in Boots”) and H. Michael Croner (“Review”).

“The Lego Batman Movie” and “The Lego Movie’s” Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Roy Lee, Jill Wilfert and “Teen Titan Go!’s” Sam Register will serve as executive producers, with “Teen Titan Go!’s” Aaron Horvath as supervising producer. Edward Skudder (“Dick Figures”) and Lynn Wang (“Star vs. the Forces of Evil”) will serve as producers.

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Anderson Cooper’s eye roll steals the spotlight from Kellyanne Conway

Even James Corden couldn’t resist Anderson Cooper’s Kellyanne Conway-induced eye roll.

“Best. EyeRoll. Ever,” the “Late Late Show” host tweeted late Tuesday, posting a clip from the CNN anchor’s contentious interview with Conway about President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Cooper simply couldn’t contain his “I can’t even” moment.

The verbal fencing match also included a moment, at the 1:40 mark, when Cooper looked down at his notes in confusion after Conway said to him, “I think you’re looking at the wrong set of facts here.”

So not only did CNN answer the question posed over the weekend by “Saturday Night Live” — Where in the world is Kellyanne Conway? — it delivered more memorable moments too.

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It’s a ‘Daily Show’ reunion as Jon Stewart and friends appear on Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’

CBS featured a blast from the Comedy Central past on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Late Show,” as host Stephen Colbert hosted a reunion of friends from “The Daily Show” in a look back at the good old days.

It was a murderer’s row of late-night and comedy all-stars including Jon Stewart, Rob Corddry (“Ballers”), John Oliver (“Last Week Tonight”), Ed Helms (“The Office”) and Samantha Bee (“Full Frontal”), all reminiscing with Colbert about “Daily Show” assignments that had them chatting up homophobes and nearly getting killed by the Ku Klux Klan.

Colbert shared his KKK story wherein members got wind that he was from Comedy Central and he threw his producer to the metaphorical wolves.

“[My producer] came over at the moment and she goes, ‘What’s the problem?’” Colbert recounted. “He [the Klansman] goes, ‘What’s this comedy thing, are you making fun of the Klan?’ and she goes, ‘Look, guys, the president of the Klan over there across the field, he knows all about what we’re doing, go talk to him.’ And they say, ‘We’re going to!’ and they walk off across the field and she goes, ‘HAUL ASS!’ And we ran as fast as we could.”

But it was Stewart who made the most cogent observation of the evening.

“Why has age ravaged me? You were the ones out in the field, I’m in a studio surrounded by craft services. And yet, in a Benjamin Button scenario, I’m at the beginning of the movie and you all seem fine,” a silver-haired Stewart complained.

“You look like a garden of earthly pleasures,” Stewart added, “and I am a small handful of potpourri.”

Of course, the gang couldn’t let an opportunity for a timely skit pass them by. They re-enacted Colbert’s final day at “The Daily Show” in 2005, replete with the antics of George W. Bush and topical references to Bill Cosby and Jared Fogle. Watch the full clip above.

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After Comey’s firing, celebrity voices chime in: ‘Trump will go 2jail!’

Cher, right, had some choice words regarding the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
(Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press, left; Chris Pizzello / Associated Press, right)

After FBI Director James Comey was fired Tuesday by President Trump, some of the more politically outspoken celebrities on Twitter chimed in with their thoughts about POTUS’ personnel move.

George Takei attempted to rally Democrats around the firing as well as around proposed healthcare legislation, while Chuck Woolery offered a conservative counterpoint to the timing of the ouster.

Debra Messing was outraged, Alyssa Milano was more subtle and John Legend kept it short and sweet.

Some, however, descended directly into hateful statements about the president.

Chelsea Handler went on a tear, as did Cher, with the former alleging — as one does — that Trump has a sexually transmitted infection that’s affecting his thinking.

“Way to bite the hand that handed you the election. @realDonaldTrump,” Handler said in a series of tweets, not necessarily in this order. “Trump’s now fired his first NSA, the acting AG, the FBI Director, and Meatloaf on Celebrity Apprentice.”

“Cnn just reported that @seanspicer is literally hiding in the bushes on the south lawn. Grab a life boat, buddy,” she said. Handler continued Wednesday, stating that Trump shouldn’t be allowed to appoint any more high-ranking officials while he’s being investigated for ties to Russia.

Cher, meanwhile, among other things called the president a traitor who gets money from Russia and predicted he would to jail. “DIDNT EVER THINK I COULD HATE LYING,SCHEMING,TRAITORMORE, “ she wrote.

OK, Cher, now tell us what you really think ...

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Late-night TV hosts have a field day with Comey’s firing

President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey Tuesday, and as if to solicit insult over injury, he did it early enough so that late-night hosts could weigh in that evening.

Stephen Colbert began Tuesday’s “Late Show” by announcing, “Huge story that broke just minutes ago… FBI director has just been fired by Donald Trump.”

When this brought reflexive cheers from the audience, Colbert, surprised, remarked, “Wow, huge Donald Trump fans here tonight,” then pointed out that the firing “shows no gratitude at all. Did Trump forget about the Hillary emails that Comey talked about? [As Trump:] ‘I mean, thanks for the presidency, Jimmy, now don’t let the door hit ya where the electoral college split ya.’”

Colbert later asked his audience for clarification. “When I said that Comey was fired by Trump, y’all cheered. Why? Was it because of what he did to Hillary?” He said that Comey’s investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia would “now evaporate like cotton candy in the ocean” (though he later noted that it wouldn’t).

On “The Daily Show” (whose former host, Jon Stewart, was a guest on “The Late Show” that same night), Trevor Noah said, “You can’t just fire the FBI director. If he’s gone, who’s gonna investigate Russia’s ties to – ooohhh.”

Noah called the president’s reasoning, which blamed Comey’s “handling of the conclusion of the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s emails,” “a masterstroke.”

“That is the most gangsta excuse I’ve ever [heard]. Basically Trump is, ‘I’m doing this to clear my good friend Crooked Hillary because James Comey, folks, clearly just wanted to lock her up, lock her up, lock her up.”

On “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host Kimmel called Comey’s termination “kind of like O.J. firing Judge Ito halfway through the trial.”

“This is the kind of thing reality TV hosts do,” Kimmel said. “They fire someone every week. Maybe that’s what happened. He thinks he’s still on ‘The Celebrity Apprentice.’ It was between James Comey and Meat Loaf, and well, the Loaf won again.”

Kimmel said he would be selling “Comey Is My Homey” T-shirts and held up an example.

“If you are one of the millions of Americans who are angry about this shameful and disgraceful move,” he said, “send me $29.99 and I will use some of that money to send a very nasty letter directly to the Oval Office. Also available in women’s and baby T’s.”

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A Star Is Born: Bono turns 57 today

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

In Los Angeles, people are very nice. You park your car and someone will say, ‘Hi, I love your new album.’ In Dublin City, it’s more like, ‘Oh, hi. Your new album is [expletive].’ And they haven’t even heard it yet. It’s just part of the humor and the wit of the city.

— Bono, 2000

FROM THE ARCHIVES: U2 (2000): Far down the road, a sudden U-turn

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Former ‘Dance Moms’ star Abby Lee Miller sentenced to prison for bankruptcy fraud

Abby Lee Miller
(Darrell Sapp / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

Abby Lee Miller, the Pennsylvania dance instructor who rose to prominence on Lifetime’s “Dance Moms,” was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of bankruptcy fraud in June.

The reality television star was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, in addition to being fined $40,000 and ordered to pay a $120,000 judgment.

Miller’s saga began in October 2015 when she was charged with hiding nearly $800,000 of income while going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings between 2012 and 2013.

Further, Miller was accused of smuggling $120,000 in Australian currency into the country without declaring it at customs as is mandated.

Prison is likely to be a stark wake-up call for the woman who built a brand out of screaming at young girls for not meeting her exacting standards. Derision for Miller’s teaching style aside, “Dance Moms” did give the world tiny Sia avatar Maddie Ziegler.

As for the fate of the series, Miller left the show in March, with “Dancing With the Stars” alum Cheryl Burke taking her place for the conclusion of Season 7.

It’s unclear whether Lifetime will renew the series for an eighth season.

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The women of ‘Orange is the New Black’ rise up in new Season 5 trailer

The prisoners of Litchfield Penitentiary are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it anymore.

That much is evident from the latest “Orange is the New Black” Season 5 trailer, released Tuesday by Netflix.

Enflamed by the death of a beloved inmate last season, the fury that began as a riot in the fourth-season finale has now bloomed into full-on insurrection.

In a series first, the whole of Season 5 will take place over the course of just three days within the prison, beginning with the immediate aftermath of the last season’s finale.

Perhaps most notable about the trailer is its commitment to giving the show over to its ensemble.

Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), still ostensibly the center of the series, makes a brief appearance but is otherwise relegated to the sidelines, the perfect choice for a season that looks to commit itself to the struggle of the marginalized, particularly women of color, in a broken system.

Instead, leading the charge against the gross failures of the prison system, is Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson (Danielle Brooks), whose jovial, mothering instincts have transformed into a fire for justice and reform.

Brooks spoke with The Times in a recent interview about what fans can expect from Taystee in the upcoming season, as well as how the series has helped her find her own voice in activism.

Danielle Brooks talks about her busy schedule working on TV’s “Orange Is the New Black” and onstage in “The Color Purple.”

Despite a hacker’s recent claim that the new season was stolen and uploaded online, Netflix will release Season 5 in its entirety June 9.

Watch the new trailer here.

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Mary J. Blige keeps it very real about the divorce that inspired new album ‘Strength of a Woman’

Mary J. Blige has confronted heartbreak, addiction, toxic relationships and self-hatred in her music. Now she's tackling divorce.
Mary J. Blige has confronted heartbreak, addiction, toxic relationships and self-hatred in her music. Now she’s tackling divorce.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

When Mary J. Blige announced she had split with her husband and manager of 13 years, there was palpable excitement for new music -- and her latest album, “Strength of a Woman,” is no doubt a divorce record.

The album, her first since 2014’s “The London Sessions,” just debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, making it her highest-charting album in more than seven years after “Stronger With Each Tear” bowed at No. 2 back in 2010.

On the eve of the album’s release -- and amid a slew of gossip headlines about her husband’s affair -- Blige sat down with The Times for an in-depth conversation, and nothing was off limits.

The very public demise of her marriage was a focal point of our early morning conversation, and not everything made it into the story. Here’s some choice words from Blige about when she knew it was over:

I did everything, and I was like, ‘OK, maybe this is what marriage is about.’ Let me just stick this out and maybe he is telling the truth. But I knew in my gut something was completely wrong the whole time. I knew what it was, but I was hoping that’s not what it was. You want to make it work. You want to believe in people. You want to believe in your husband. I wanted to believe.

— Mary J. Blige on the demise of her marriage

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With a new baby, Zooey Deschanel adds a Wolf to her growing animal kingdom

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

It’s a new boy for Zooey Deschanel and husband Jacob Pechenik, who appear to accumulating quite the menagerie of wildlife when it comes to their children’s names.

The couple has welcomed their second child, a little guy named Charlie Wolf Pechenik.

“Zooey, Jacob and their daughter Elsie are overjoyed to welcome the newest member of their family,” her rep said in a statement to People.

The “New Girl” star delivered her new son in Los Angeles last week, sources told the mag. News of the HelloGiggles co-founder’s pregnancy bubbled up in January when people close to production on “New Girl” leaked the story. Images of Deschanel’s growing belly popped up online soon after that.

The adorkable actress’ daughter, Elsie, who was born in July 2015, touts the middle name Otter because she and Pechenik “found that we had a mutual love for otters,” she told Ellen DeGeneres in 2016. Should we really be surprised given that “zoo” is part of Mom’s first name?

It’s unclear if Charlie’s arrival will affect Deschanel’s Fox comedy, but the actress was grateful that she was able to take additional time off when Elsie was born (and actress Megan Fox stepped into the series).

“We live in a country that doesn’t give paid maternity leave. I felt very lucky to have an employer who was understanding and let me have, like, four months with my baby before I had to go back to work,” she told Cosmopolitan in October.

The sitcom aired its Season 6 finale last month, but it’s unclear if it will return for a seventh season.

“Fox won’t tell us [whether the show will be renewed],” Deschanel’s costar Jake Johnson told the Daily Beast in March. “But we shot a finale where, if this was the end, the core fan base would be OK.”

Reps for Deschanel and Fox did not immediately respond to The Times’ requests for comment.

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Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini and Thomas Rhett top 2017 CMT Music Awards nods

Keith Urban is photographed at East West Studios in Los Angeles on April 1, 2016.
Keith Urban is photographed at East West Studios in Los Angeles on April 1, 2016.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini and Thomas Rhett topped the list of nominees for the 2017 CMT Music Awards, the network announced Tuesday morning.

Urban, Ballerini and Rhett scored four nominations each for Country Music Television’s fan-voted ceremony, including the night’s biggest honor, video of the year — which has a whopping 14 entries this year.

Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert are among the first announced performers for the telecast, which is set for June 7 in Nashville.

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Country star Jason Aldean, pregnant wife Brittany Kerr literally put a bun in the oven

(Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

It appears Jason Aldean has been doing some baking — the kind that results in a baby announcement photo shoot.

The country star and his wife, “American Idol” alum Brittany Kerr, are expecting their first child together, taking to Instagram on Monday to share the news with a few Pinterest-ready pregnancy pictorials complete with “baby mama” and “baby daddy” T-shirts.

“SURPRISE!!! WE ARE PREGNANT!!!” Kerr, 28, wrote. “This was the hardest secret we’ve ever had to keep. This journey for us has been full of many happy times & also many tears... The biggest rollercoaster we have ever been on, without a doubt! All of the moments of heartache were followed by the biggest blessing in the entire world!! We will never take one moment for granted & can’t wait to meet you, sweet baby!!!”

Kerr’s image showed Aldean touching her belly and featured a bed in the background sprinkled with pink and blue balloons.

The “Dirt Road Anthem” singer, 40, shared a family portrait on his Instagram account in which they are lounging in the kitchen with their dogs while a single bun sits in an open oven. He added that it’s “been hard to keep this secret but we couldnt be happier to add to our family. This year just gets better and better. #bunintheoven”

No word yet on how far along Kerr is nor the gender of the baby.

The new baby will be the first child for Kerr and the third for the country hit-maker. He has two daughters — Kendyl, 9, and Keeley, 14 — from his 12-year marriage to Jessica Ussery that ended in April 2013.

Aldean and Kerr — the former NBA cheerleader he was caught kissing in a bar while he was still married to Ussery in 2012 — officially debuted as a couple at the CMT Awards in Nashville in 2014 and tied the knot in Mexico in 2015.

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A third ‘Hellboy’ is coming -- without Guillermo del Toro

A third “Hellboy” movie is happening and it’ll be rated R -- but short Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman.

The new adaptation of the demonic superhero’s story will star “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour as the red Man-Beast, the comic’s creator, Mike Mignola, announced late Monday.

Horror director Neil Marshall, who has worked on “Game of Thrones,” “The Descent” and “Doomsday,” will direct the reboot.

The long-awaited third film has a working title of “Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen,” according to the Hollywood Reporter, which said that Millennium Films is in negotiations with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin for the relaunch of property written by Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Mignola. Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Entertainment is also producing.

The latest installment comes in the wake of Del Toro’s middling two-film franchise starring “Sons of Anarchy’s” Perlman. The 2004 debut film and its environmentally conscious 2008 follow-up essentially broke even at the box office with the help of international markets.

Fervent Hellboy aficionado Del Toro has spoken of his hopes of making a third film but shut it down earlier this year.

Creative differences and surpassing Mignola’s finite timeline for the comics appeared to be an issue.

“The heartbreak for me is that I know how it ends and I don’t know if I want to see that ending,” Del Toro told Cinemablend in 2011.

That ending, which presumably kills off the Big Red, appeared to outpace Mignola’s comic book plans.

“And here’s where we have the big conflict,” Mignola said in 2011. “My version of Hellboy in the comics is a finite story, but it’s going to take me 15 years to get to the ending. If he makes ‘Hellboy III; and it’s the death of Hellboy, I’m left doing the comic going, ‘But I’m not done yet.’”

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Back on TV, Jimmy Kimmel slams critics of his healthcare plea

Jimmy Kimmel zinged his critics as he returned to late-night TV and resumed arguing that Americans deserve the level of healthcare given his infant son.

Back on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday after a week’s absence, he said baby Billy is recovering well from open-heart surgery for a birth defect and thanked well-wishers. Then he charged back into the fraught topic.

“I made an emotional speech that was seen by millions, and as a result of my powerful words on that night, Republicans in Congress had second thoughts about repeal and replace” of the Affordable Care Act, he joked. “I saved health insurance in the United States of America!”

“What’s that? I didn’t save it? They voted against it anyway?” Kimmel said. The House approved the American Health Care Act last week.

He dismissed those who labeled him an elitist — as a youngster, his family bought powdered milk because they couldn’t afford fresh, he said — and pretended to repent for his previous comments.

“I’d like to apologize for saying that children in America should have healthcare. It was insensitive, it was offensive, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” Kimmel said.

He took on former U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich, saying his claim that all children would receive the same surgery as Kimmel’s son in an emergency fell short of addressing what follows.

“That’s terrific if your baby’s health problems are all solved during that one visit. The only problem is that never, ever happens. We’ve had a dozen doctor’s appointments since our son had surgery,” Kimmel said.

Kimmel brought on a current GOP lawmaker, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician, who had suggested that the Senate’s upcoming healthcare legislation should have a “Jimmy Kimmel test” of covering preexisting conditions but in a fiscally conservative way.

During a satellite interview with Cassidy, Kimmel asked about his position on issues including uninsured workers and protection of children under a revised healthcare bill.

The senator called on viewers to contact their representatives and urge support of final legislation that fulfills President Trump’s promise to lower premiums combined with coverage that passes the Kimmel standard.

Kimmel called for his namesake test to guarantee that no family be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can’t afford it.

“You’re on the right track,” Cassidy said, but the country has to be able to pay for it.

“Don’t give a huge tax cut to millionaires like me,” Kimmel replied.

On last Monday’s show, the host detailed how Billy’s routine birth April 21 suddenly turned frightening when he was diagnosed with a hole in the wall separating the right and left sides of the heart and a blocked pulmonary valve, a condition known as tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia. He successfully underwent surgery, but will face more as he grows.

Using his son as an example, Kimmel called for healthcare for all and for preexisting conditions to remain covered as provided by the Affordable Care Act passed under President Obama.

If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. ... Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?

— Jimmy Kimmel

“If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. ... Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?” he said.

The video of Kimmel’s tearful monologue went viral, drawing praised by some, including Obama, and harsh criticism from others.

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A Star Is Born: Rosario Dawson turns 38 today

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

I’ll check in with myself once in a while, see how I’m doing. I have to do that because if I don’t, I’ll just lose all sense of reality. It’s good to have timeouts, to keep in check because otherwise I’ll probably freak myself out, and there’s just too many experiences I would really like to have.

— Rosario Dawson, 2002

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Chameleon, rising

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ABC announces revival of ‘American Idol’ next season

ABC says it will revive “American Idol” after it has spent only one year off the air.

The network announced Tuesday that the music competition show that dominated television in the 2000s and minted stars Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson will begin sometime in the next TV season. That season starts in September.

The series originally aired on Fox and was canceled due to fading ratings. But ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey called it a “pop culture staple that left the air too soon.”

ABC left plenty of questions unanswered, including who will be the host and judges. ABC recently hired the show’s old host, Ryan Seacrest, to be co-host with Kelly Ripa on the daytime talk show “Live.”

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Richard Simmons sues National Enquirer and accuses former assistant of blackmail

(Richard Shotwell / Associated Press)

In the latest development in the ongoing saga of Richard Simmons, the former fitness guru filed a lawsuit Monday against American Media Inc. — the publisher of National Enquirer and Radar Online — claiming libel and invasion of privacy.

According to documents acquired by The Times, Simmons alleges that former assistant Mauro Oliveira had “blackmailed, extorted and stalked” him and that the outlets “acted in reckless disregard for the fact that information provided by Mr. Oliveira was false and that he was not a credible or reliable source.”

The lawsuit also references Simmons’ retreat from the public eye, beginning in early 2014, before detailing Oliveira’s alleged attempts at “destroying the career and reputation of Mr. Simmons” with the sale of false information to outlets such as the National Enquirer.

“On information and belief, Mr. Oliveira contacted the National Enquirer on at least three separate occasions, offering three separate stories as to why Mr. Simmons has been absent from the media in the past few years,” the suit reads.

“Mr. Oliveira first contacted the National Enquirer on or around May 2015, stating that Mr. Simmons’s absence was due to him being ‘frail, weak and spiritually broken,’ and ‘in desperate need of help.’”

The lawsuit comes after renewed interest in the life of Simmons, spearheaded by a recent podcast titled “Missing Richard Simmons” that purported to investigate why the fitness enthusiast had retired from public life.

A spokesperson for American Media told People, “While we have not seen Mr. Simmons’ complaint, we stand by our reporting about him, all of which was based on solid sourcing and material evidence. Should he choose to proceed with his lawsuit, we will defend it vigorously, and we look forward to the public vindication of our reports.”

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Sleater-Kinney, Ween to headline Music Tastes Good festival

Janet Weiss, left, and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney, will be part of the Music Tastes Good fest.
((Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Sleater-Kinney, Ween, Ride, Charles Bradley, Big Freedia and Of Montreal are among the acts booked for Long Beach’s Music Tastes Good.

The two-day festival, presented by KCRW, will take over Marina Green Park in downtown Long Beach the weekend of Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Alvvays, Los Lobos, Dr. Octagon, Heaven 17, Dengue Fever, Peaches and nearly two dozen other acts also are slated to perform. The full lineup, which includes several chefs, is here.

Music Tastes Good debuted last year, and the festival’s focus is the cross section of music, food and art.

Organizers have placed extra emphasis on the festival’s culinary programming this year, with the addition of the “Taste Tent,” which will assemble some of the top chefs from both Long Beach and New Orleans for what’s being dubbed a “Port-to-Port” experience.

The festival’s return will mark the one-year anniversary of the death of its founder and chief curator, artist/musician Josh Fischel, who died in September after a battle with liver disease.

“My sweet husband was brimming with vision and creativity and passion and love for art in all its forms. It is no small task to create a fest that truly represents the man he was, but I think we have done him justice,” his wife, Abbie Fischel, said in a statement.

“Josh’s favorite thing was to give people the gift of experience ... experience that hits on multiple levels: sight, sound, taste, touch, emotion,” she said. “Through this fest, he continues to give that gift to us all.”

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through the festival’s website. There are three ticket types available for each day as well as weekend passes.

Music tickets start at $65 (single-day general admission) and $120 for the weekend. Music Tastes tickets begin at $140 and include single-day admission and food pass. And Music Tastes Good VIP tickets start at $210.

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‘Bachelor’ Chris Soules formally charged with felony hit-and-run after fatal Iowa crash

Chris Soules attends a NASCAR event on June 19, 2015.
(Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)

“Bachelor” alum Chris Soules has formally been charged with a felony hit-and-run in Iowa in connection with a fatal car crash last month.

The April 24 crash, in which officials say Soules rear-ended a tractor driven by 66-year-old Kenneth Mosher, resulted in Mosher’s death. Monday’s charge is essentially the same as Soules’ initial charge of “leaving the scene of a deadly crash, resulting in death,” according to local NBC affiliate KWWL-TV.

The reality star’s attorneys claimed last week that Soules offered “reasonable assistance” to Mosher before he died.

Soules, 35, called 911 from the scene, identifying himself to dispatchers and saying he “rear-ended a guy on a tractor” who was hurt.

Soules’ attorneys argued that the information he provided in the 911 call “fulfilled the requirements of the reporting statutes” and he “gave law enforcement on-the-spot identification and location information and reasonably provided treatment to Mr. Mosher,” Entertainment Tonight reported.

The 8:20 p.m. crash reportedly sent Soules and his pickup into a ditch on one side of the road and Mosher and his tractor into a ditch on the other side. Mosher was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The court determined that Soules “did drive a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the death of any person and did not immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close as possible, and/or failed to return to and remain at the scene of the accident,” ET reported.

Soules will be arraigned May 23 in Iowa’s Buchanan County Courthouse and is expected to enter a plea to the Class D felony. If found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine, according to the Des Moines Register.

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Find her an empty lap, fellas: Bette Midler-led ‘Hello, Dolly!’ cast recording now streaming

Worried you won’t make it to New York in time to see the Divine Miss M star in the new revival of “Hello, Dolly!”? The Internet has you covered.

Ahead of the cast recording’s release on Friday, NPR is now streaming the album via its First Listen program, offering fans the opportunity to hear Bette Midler belt out the role of Dolly Levi, matchmaker extraordinaire.

Midler has earned rave reviews in the revival, which opened April 20 and has already nabbed a Tony nomination for actress in a leading role of a musical, one of 10 nominations overall.

Though the end of Midler’s stint as Dolly has yet to be announced, two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy (“Passion,” “The King and I”) will be stepping into the role for Tuesday night performances beginning June 13.

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Banksy reveals Brexit-inspired mural during France’s election

Banksy’s back.

The anonymous guerrilla street artist has claimed responsibility for a new Brexit-inspired mural that appeared in England over the weekend. In an act of perfect timing, the artist took credit for the work by posting photos on Instagram the same day of France’s presidential election.

The giant blue mural depicts a worker chiseling away at one of the 12 stars of the European Union’s flag. It was unveiled in Dover, England, the ferry port that connects France to the United Kingdom.

On Sunday, France voted for centrist Emmanuel Macron to become the country’s next leader, the youngest president-elect in its history. In a landslide victory, Macron beat far-right rival Marine Le Pen, who led a pro-nationalist and anti-immigrant campaign.

Banksy is no stranger to political and cultural criticism.

In 2015, the artist created several murals depicting Syrian refugees. One included Apple founder Steve Jobs, in reference to his Syrian heritage.

In March, Banksy created the Walled Off Hotel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The guesthouse, described as the “hotel with the worst view in the world,” is packed with his works.

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Wedding bells — in an English castle — ring out for newlyweds Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley

Tom Daley, left, and Dustin Lance Black appear in September 2015.
(Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images)

“So ... what did you do this weekend?”

That’s what Dustin Lance Black asked Monday, showing off how he spent his: The screenwriter married Olympic diver Tom Daley over the weekend at a castle in England.

“We shared the day with 120 of our closest friends and family, from Texarkana to Plymouth!” the Oscar winner said on Instagram. “Thank you to everyone who made this weekend the most special weekend of our lives!”

Daley is from Plymouth, England, about 22 miles away from Bovey Castle, where the nuptials were held.

Daley, 22, and Black, 42, announced their engagement quietly in the Times of London in October 2015, in the spirit of Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter before them. They’d been dating since 2013.

The two were smitten almost from the moment they laid eyes on each other, with a “first date” that was an hours-long conversation in a Los Angeles hotel bar, according to a joint 2016 interview with Out magazine.

“Truly, it was hours and hours of sharing and talking about things that really mattered to us,” Black told Out. “Pardon the pun, but we dove right in. I remember the moment clearly when I thought, ‘Uh-oh, I’m in trouble.’ Because not only is he unbelievably attractive to me, and that goes beyond just how he looks, but he gets me. He understood my competitive spirit.”

The couple — Black’s a native Californian — now live in London.

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See Harry Styles soar above mountains in mystical ‘Sign of the Times’ video

Who can walk on water and soar over mountains without ruffling his handsome, chic trench coat?

If you guessed James Bond or Jesus, you’d be mistaken.

In the music video for his debut single, “Sign of the Times,” Harry Styles soars like an eagle across a lush countryside, high above the mountains and down low enough to walk-run across a lake.

The cinematic video -- shot in Isle of Skye, Scotland -- is high on drama. There’s plenty of shots of Styles in full wind-swept, heartthrob mode, with his brooding eyes and perfectly tousled hair getting serious camera time to match his David Bowie-esque power ballad.

Nothing really happens in the clip, but who needs a narrative when you’ve got a gorgeously shot video to introduce your solo stardom to the world?

“Sign of the Times” is the first offering from One Direction’s de facto frontman.

His self-titled debut, executive-produced by Jeff Bhasker, arrives on Friday. Fans will get to see his brooding in person (sorry, he probably won’t be flying) when his solo tour kicks off in September -- that is, if you were lucky to get a ticket, considering the shows sold out in mere seconds.

To promote the album, Styles will perform a weeklong residency on CBS’ “The Late Late Show With James Corden” next week.

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Debra Messing’s direct appeal to Ivanka Trump and 5 other zingers from her GLAAD speech

Actress Debra Messing rallied the LGBT community to take on President Trump and flood the congressional switchboard with complaints about the administration’s treatment of women and the gay community.

The “Smash” and “Will & Grace” alum, who was the recipient of the excellence in media award at the 28th GLAAD Awards on Saturday, clapped back by delivering a caustic acceptance speech that took aim at Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump for their complicity in the administration’s discriminatory tactics.

“We have a lot to do, but I’m not going to stop -- I mean, I can’t now that you’ve given me an award -- because at the end of the day it’s our responsibility to look out for one another,” Messing said. “It’s the American way. So we rise. And together with grit and hope, we will celebrate America at its most beautiful and free.”

Here’s a roundup of Messing’s best zingers and stirring moments.

Her bait and switch: “We all must remember that one great show or character or news story can alter our culture permanently. I should know: I starred in one of the most iconic gay shows of all time... ‘Smash.’ By telling the story of two girls fighting it out to star in a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, I believe that we taught the country about high camp and big scars without ever seeming preachy!

“I’m kidding, of course. ‘Smash’ came after ‘Will & Grace.’”

“It is time to make America gay again!”: “What Vice President Joe Biden said was very humbling and eye opening: Entertainment and news media shape not only culture, but also decisions made in courtrooms, classrooms and, yes, even voting booths. The country needs excellence in media. Now more than ever, we have got to get to work, which is why I’m so happy that ‘Will & Grace’ is coming back in September. It is time to make America gay again! I mean, someone’s gotta take down Mother Pence. Talk about a low-hanging fruit. I know that will make people laugh, but I hope that will make people think too, because things are getting dire.

“To paraphrase Charles Dickens. This year has sucked. Our democracy and humanity have been under attack. But unless you are an unenlightened, straight cisgender white male, you are a target, that means that makes us all targets.”

Her congressional switchboard call-a-thon: “There is a very bad and very orange man in our White House -- at least a few days a month. The person we shall not name came this close to signing an executive order that legally allows for discrimination against the LGBT community under the banner of religious freedom. If that makes you as angry as it makes me, then raise your voice. Call the White House. Call your representative. Call your senators. Actually, take out your phones right now and put in the number (202) 224-3121. That is the number of the congressional switchboard in Washington, D.C. ...keep that number in your phone. Text it to 10 people you know and call it... every day.”

Promoting the resistance: “We are fighting for the soul of our country. But don’t get discouraged. The resistance has accomplished more in the first 100 days than the president has in his. And we got pussyhats out of it, so there. Make no mistake: When we make noise, they pay attention.”

Her direct appeal to Ivanka Trump, a.k.a. “the secretary of straight”: “It is not enough to simply say that women’s issues are important to you. It’s time to do something. Ivanka, you can change the lives of millions of women and children just by telling your dad stories about real people who are suffering. Don’t let him separate immigrant mothers from their American-born children. Don’t let him take healthcare away from women who need it. Don’t allow him to make trans kids like Gavin [Grimm] fight in court for their basic human dignity. Please stop blindly defending your father and start defending what you say you believe in. You can’t just write #womenwhowork and think you’re advancing feminism. You need to be a woman who does good work #saywhatyoumeanandmeanwhatyousay.”

“Do right by your colorist”: Still directly addressing Ivanka Trump as “one Jewish mother to another,” she said, “Ivanka, we know you love the guy who does your hair color. It’s good, by the way. So do right by your colorist.... Imagine how you’ll feel sitting at Passover Seder if you can tell your children that you fought for justice and freedom. It will make you feel richer than owning all the skyscrapers and golf courses in the world. The country wants to support you, and as a bonus if you get Steve Bannon out of your dad’s office, I bet we’ll put you back in Nordstrom’s.”

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John Oliver returns to one of his favorite causes: Saving net neutrality

On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” John Oliver decided to revisit one of his greatest hits, net neutrality.

As the host observed, an in-depth segment on the critical but seemingly boring subject got a “weird amount of attention” when it aired three years ago on the then-fledgling show.

The report directed viewers to the website for the Federal Communications Commission, which crashed from the surge in traffic and raised public awareness around the issue.

Though Oliver wasn’t convinced that President Trump even understands net neutrality, his administration has made efforts to roll it back, beginning with the appointment of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

As Oliver observed, Pai has cultivated a harmless, goofy-dude persona, quoting heavily from “The Big Lebowski” and drinking from an “infamous” oversize Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup mug.

But don’t let the Michael Scott act fool you, Oliver warned. Pai is a former lawyer for Verizon who has vowed to “take a weed whacker” to regulations.

The FCC also has made it harder to submit comments through a rather convoluted process on its website, so Oliver directed viewers to a website, www.gofccyourself.com, that skipped to the final step.

Noting that the Internet is full of evidence (e.g., Yelp reviews of the Grand Canyon) that we all have too much time on our hands, Oliver urged his fans to join him in “five to 10 minutes of minor effort” to help save net neutrality.

“I need you to do this,” he said.

You can watch the full segment here.

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From ‘Wonder Woman’ to ‘It,’ watch all the new trailers from the MTV Movie & TV Awards

Los Angeles may have brought the rain, but the MTV Movie & TV Awards brought the movies Sunday night, with new looks at several upcoming summer blockbusters.

With “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” bringing in an estimated $145 million at the box office this weekend, summer movie season is officially here. And now we have more even sneak peeks at what’s coming soon to a theater near you.

“Wonder Woman” (June 2)

Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) is in fighting shape in the final “Wonder Woman” trailer before the film’s June release date.

While footage of Patty Jenkins’ film looks great, it’s more than a little concerning that the music meant to inspire audiences to see the ultimate female superhero in action is an Imagine Dragons song (“Warriors”) written for the League of Legends 2014 World Championship, but you can’t win them all.

“All Eyez on Me” (June 16)

This clip from the upcoming Tupac Shakur biopic features Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr.) reciting a poem he wrote to high school friend Jada Pinkett (yes, that Jada Pinkett, played by Kat Graham) before moving to the West Coast.

The film chronicles the rap legend’s life, from his childhood through his still-unsolved murder in 1996.

Its release on June 16 coincides with what would have been Shakur’s 46th birthday.

“Transformers: The Last Knight” (June 21)

The latest footage from “Transformers: The Last Knight” features a conversation between Anthony Hopkins and Mark Wahlberg and a joke about kidnapping.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” (July 7)

Winning top marks for adorableness is the latest clip from “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” which shows Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) discovering his secret identity.

Peter’s panic and Ned’s shock are both totally winning (“You’re the Spider-Man. From YouTube!”), but the real star of the scene is the fact that the boys were meeting up to finish work on their Lego Death Star. (R.I.P., Lego Death Star.)

“It” (Sept. 8)

If adorable isn’t really your speed, fear not, because the MTV Movie & TV Awards also debuted new footage from “It,” the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name.

The clip is unnerving in that “Stand by Me” meets “Stranger Things” type way until the killer clown shows up and things take a turn for the horrifying.

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Nicki Minaj pays fans’ tuition, school expenses in a burst of generosity on social media

Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

Nicki Minaj was handing out money on Twitter this weekend, specifically for college tuition, student loans, books and other supplies.

The singer was tweeting about a contest related to the Billboard Music Awards when she came across a tweet from someone asking her to pay their tuition.

“Show me straight A’s that I can verify w/ur school and I’ll pay it. Who wants to join THAT contest?!?!,” she wrote Saturday night. “Dead serious. Shld I set it up?”

She took requests for about 45 minutes, bantering back and forth with people about specifics and working out details to get the money deposited.

To one fan who asked for a grand, she replied, “That’s it? I’ll send it tmrw. dm me ur bank info babe. Next!”

Students started seeing the cash in their bank accounts on Sunday, according to TMZ.

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A Star Is Born: Enrique Iglesias turns 42 today

(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

I’ve written things that are so corny. And I’ve got to admit it’s corny, but it’s from the heart. And that’s the stuff women want to hear, but that guys feel is too [wimpy]. Guys feel like, ‘Nah, I can’t say that,’ and that’s why I think women have respected my music so much.

— Enrique Iglesias, 1999

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Joking with the real ‘It boy’

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Gal Gadot, Zac Efron and Hailee Steinfeld still shine on a soggy MTV Movie & TV Awards red carpet

Actor Tyler Posey slides on a soaked red carpet.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press)

If a hydroplaning Tyler Posey isn’t evident enough, the red carpet at the MTV Movie & TV Awards was soaked by rain and hail Sunday afternoon. But as usual the show went on.

"Wonder Woman" actress Gal Gadot, left, "black-ish" matriach Tracee Ellis Ross and "Get Out" girlfriend Alison Williams
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images, left; Christopher Polk / Getty Images, center and right)
Zac Efron
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images)
Hailee Steinfeld
(Richard Shotwell / Invision / Associated Press)

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE MTV MOVIE & TV AWARDS>>

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Hail shuts down the MTV Movie & TV Awards red carpet

A group of stars and members of the media huddles in a parking deck as a hail storm shuts down the red carpet at the MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday afternoon.
(Makeda Easter / Los Angeles Times)

What started out as a light drizzle turned into a full-fledged hail storm on Sunday afternoon, shutting down the red carpet of the MTV Movie & TV Awards.

The media and talent were shepherded into the garage of the Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium to wait out the storm, which lasted for roughly 10 minutes. The carpet did not reopen.

“I think it’s iconic, I love it,” said Steven Silver, who plays Marcus on Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why.” “I love random sporadic storms.”

“Love hanging out in garages,” added Michelle Ang, Silver’s “13 Reasons” co-star. “It’s weird. Maybe it’s like a challenge from God or something. But I think we’ll overcome it.”

The storm came about 30 minutes before the start of the show, which left plenty of time for a number of stars to traverse the carpet and take pictures with fans.

Milton “Lil Rel” Howery, known for his role as an outspoken TSA agent in the breakout social thriller “Get Out,” which nabbed him a best comedic performance nomination, was excited to be participating in the show for the first time.

“It’s fun. Everybody has great energy,” he said. “It doesn’t feel stuffy.”

“Get Out,” which tackles racism head on, is also nominated for a new category at the MTV show: best fight against the system. How does Howery fight the system? By telling the truth.

“A lot of times people are scared to tell the truth when they need to tell the truth,” he said. “That’s why ‘Get Out’ was so great. We told the truth and we were just being honest.”

Speaking of truth, among the sea of movie and TV stars stood an unexpected presence on the red carpet, Rep. Maxine Waters. As one of President Trump’s most outspoken objectors, it’s fitting that the Los Angeles Democrat will present the award for best fight against the system.

“I’m here because of all that’s going on with millennials and their involvement in politics and helping me get the president impeached,” Waters said.

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE MTV MOVIE & TV AWARDS

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The female gaze lingers in the television spotlight with ‘Harlots,’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ and more

Welcome to 21st-century television, birthplace of the female gaze.

You don’t have to be a women’s studies major to be familiar with “the male gaze,” a term coined by film theorist Laura Mulvey in 1975 to describe film created through the lens of a heterosexual male, a gaze so ubiquitous in Western media as to be self-explanatory.

It’s the jiggling blonde holding the frosty bottle of beer in the Super Bowl commercial, the unnamed, topless stripper gyrating in the background of the premium cable antihero drama.

The female gaze has been trickier to define, mainly because so few examples of it exist — the dearth of women writers, directors and cinematographers in Hollywood has been documented in countless disheartening reports and outraged analyses.

But lately, as an explosion of original content on the small screen has led to greater opportunities for female writers and directors, a growing number of shows are turning women into the subject of the action rather than the object of desire.

“When the guys at ‘Game of Thrones’ get on the phone, the first thing they get asked is not ‘so, why did you hire all men, every episode, for the last three seasons?’”

— Ava DuVernay on “Queen Sugar” questions

Read MoreMORE:

Women writers and directors reflect on the female gaze

Charlize Theron and other women power many of the summer’s biggest movies

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Here’s what to expect from the MTV Movie & TV Awards

Seat cards are shown at the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards press junket at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Seat cards are shown at the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards press junket at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday in Los Angeles.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

When the first MTV Movie Awards took place on June 10, 1992, it set out to be a unique space to recognize the best Hollywood had to offer from the fans’ perspective. No critics. No academies. No guilds.

In the show’s 26th year, such an approach persists as the network’s audience continues to drive the many changes in the show when it airs live Sunday on the East Coast from L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium at 5 p.m. (PT) and on tape delay for the West Coast at 8 p.m. (PT).

Some of those changes include adding TV to the fold, hence the new name, MTV Movie & TV Awards, and getting rid of separate categories for male and female performances, de-gendering its acting categories. And it’s adding an element of politics to the show by changing its best fight category to best fight against the system.

“We’re taking a fresh look at everything we’re doing across the brand — the shows, events and the tent-poles — and want to lead culture,” MTV President Chris McCarthy said. “Part of that is acknowledging that this event was always about celebrating great content and stories and characters that our audience loves. With changing platforms and consumer habits, a lot of that content and those characters aren’t just in film anymore.”

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Hollywood loves filming TV shows and movies at these historically black colleges

“Hidden Figures.” “The Quad.” “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”

These three big-budget Hollywood productions all have one thing in common: They were filmed in the Atlanta University Center, a consortium of historically black colleges and universities in the Georgia city. But the AUC’s Hollywood connection goes deeper. In fact, in the last 30 years, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse School of Medicine have all been used in countless films and television shows.

“They’re all well-maintained, beautiful campuses with a lot of great nooks and crannies ripe for filming,” said Wes Hagan, location manager for “Hidden Figures,” for which he, along with Dan Gorman, won the Location Managers Guild award for best location in a period film. “[The AUC] is a special location for the right project.”

Spelman, with alumnae including “The Cosby Show’s” Keshia Knight Pulliam, Tyler Perry staple Cassi Davis and “Baby Boy’s” A.J. Johnson, was the site of the HBCU-set sitcom “A Different World.” Clark Atlanta, the alma mater of Tony-winning director Kenny Leon and “Black-ish’s” Kenya Barris, was the filming location for Spike Lee’s 1988 flick “School Daze.” (Lee took classes at Clark Atlanta while attending Morehouse, from which he graduated in 1979.) Morris Brown and its band were featured in 2002’s “Drumline.”

And the list goes on — 2006’s “We Are Marshall,” 2007’s “Stomp the Yard,” BET’s “The Game” and “Being Mary Jane” and USA’s “Necessary Roughness,” among others. In addition to “Hidden Figures,” Morehouse and Clark Atlanta recently served as sets for “MacGyver” and Broad Green’s yet-to-be released “Step Sisters.”

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‘Morning Joe’ hosts get hot and heavy in ‘Saturday Night Live’ spoof

“Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski confirmed their engagement last week. And there was no way “Saturday Night Live” was going to let the impending nuptials of their corporate siblings at MSNBC go unremarked.

In Saturday’s cold open, Kate McKinnon as Brzezinski and Alex Moffat as Scarborough got increasingly — and oddly — affectionate with each other while discussing the American Health Care Act.

The sexual tension and resulting displays of nose nuzzling and nibbling were much to the chagrin of the panel of pundits Mike Barnicle (Bobby Moynihan), Mark Halperin (Beck Bennett) and Willie Geist (Mikey Day).

Although Alec Baldwin did not appear, he did make a voice cameo doing his impersonation of President Trump, calling in to “Morning Joe” as a heretofore unheard of White House publicist named John Miller. (The nom-de-PR was one Trump allegedly used in the ‘90s.)

“First, I want to wish everyone a happy Cinco de Mayo,” said Baldwin-as-Trump-as-Miller, “which is the day all Mexicans eat a sink full of mayonnaise.” “Miller” then seemed confused at the concept that the AHCA bill still had to pass the Senate since there had already been a party to celebrate.

If you want to see if the spoof actually resembles the pair’s daily chemistry, “Morning Joe” airs on MSNBC at 6 a.m. weekdays.

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‘13 Reasons Why’ is getting a second season. Here’s what to expect

Dylan Minnette, left, and Katherine Langford, stars of "13 Reasons Why."
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

It’s official. Netflix’s teen drama “13 Reasons Why” has been picked up for a second season.

The show chronicles the aftermath of the suicide of 17-year-old Hannah Baker, played by Katherine Langford, and examines issues of slut-shaming, rape and social media harassment in the process. Hannah leaves behind a series of audiotapes to be listened to by the people she holds responsible for her death — including her rapist, her estranged friends and those who bullied her.

Given the nature of Hannah’s story, the show has been heavily hyped and has generated plenty of think pieces and headlines since its March 31 release:

“Does ‘13 Reasons Why’ Glamorize Teen Suicide?”

“Critics say ‘13 Reasons Why’ has artistic merit. Suicide prevention experts say it’s dangerous.”

“ ‘13 Reasons Why’ Is Not the Force for Mental Health Awareness People Say It Is”

The concerns prompted Netflix to strengthen its advisory warnings. The series has a TV-MA rating.

As for what to expect in Season 2, series creator Brian Yorkey told The Times, prior to Sundays announcement, that “Hannah’s story isn’t over she has parents who still don’t have the complete story.”

“There’s a rapist who hasn’t been brought to justice, and there’s a living survivor of that rapist who is just beginning her journey of recovery,” he said.

“Part of the problem with our culture is that we say, ‘Oh, the story’s done. Rapes are treated, at best, as a multi-episode arc within a season, when anyone who’s experienced rape knows it’s a lifelong story,” Yorkey added. “If we left these 13 episodes out in the world with [the rapist] not being brought to justice … it’d be incredibly dissatisfying to me.”

Season 2 will debut on Netflix next year.

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The stars and creator of ’13 Reasons Why’ talk about the show’s success and the backlash

From ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ to ‘I Love Dick,’ the female gaze is thriving on television

Review: ’13 Reasons Why’ is Netflix’s newest must-see series

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A Star Is Born: Amy Heckerling turns 63 today

(Con Keyes / Los Angeles Times)

It doesn’t matter how many chips are down. You only need one person to say yes. And one person did.

— Amy Heckerling, 1989

FROM THE ARCHIVES: ‘Look Who’s Talking’ has made writer-director Amy Heckerling hot again

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Loretta Lynn hospitalized after stroke

Country music pioneer Loretta Lynn has postponed her upcoming shows after suffering a stroke, according to a post on her official website.

The stroke is said to have occurred Thursday evening at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. The artist, who turned 85 last month, is expected to make a full recovery, according to the post.

Lynn announced earlier this year that she’ll release a new studio album, “Wouldn’t It Be Great,” in August.

“Wouldn’t It Be Great” is the latest product of nearly a decade’s worth of recording at the Cash Cabin Studio with co-producers John Carter Cash and Lynn’s daughter, Patsy Lynn Russell.

The album, due Aug. 18, highlights Lynn’s songwriting with new compositions interspersed with interpretations of some of her songs both new and old.

“I think you try to do better with every record you put out,” Lynn said in a statement at the time of the album’s announcement. “It’s just everyday living — and everybody wants to know, ‘Well, what is it about your songs that people like?’ I think you’ve got to tell your stories. I just think it hits everybody, you know, the songs.”

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A Star Is Born: Bob Seger turns 72 today

(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Things have changed. The rock audience has grown up, too, and the important thing — just as I said in ‘Rock and Roll Never Forgets’ — is whether you can still relate to the passion and innocence that is rock ‘n’ roll.

— Bob Seger, 1986

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bob Seger returns in the eye of the storm

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New ‘Dunkirk’ trailer drops viewers into WWII chaos

The trailer for director Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” dropped Friday, revealing a movie in the spirit of “Saving Private Ryan” and the HBO series “Band of Brothers.”

“Dunkirk” tells the tale of a key moment in World War II, when hundreds of thousands of British and Allied soldiers were surrounded by German forces on the beaches of Dunkirk, France, and had to be evacuated while under heavy German fire. The drama plays out in epic fashion on land, sea and air.

“For British people, Dunkirk is pretty much in our DNA,” Nolan told The Times in March. “It’s not so well-known here …. A lot of people today don’t know the story, and I think it’s one of the greatest stories in human history.”

Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy appear in the film along with newcomer Fionn Whitehead — “For the guys on the beach, we really wanted young unknowns,” the “Interstellar” director said — whose character Tommy is the audience’s ticket into this moment in spring 1940.

“These young and inexperienced soldiers are thrown into this dire, brutal situation,” Whitehead, 20, told The Times in April, “and you follow Tommy on this journey as he tries to get home.”

“Dunkirk” hits theaters on July 21.

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You can call her Dame Anna Wintour now (not that you didn’t already)

(Yui Mok / Associated Press)

The lady doth ...smile!

Vogue editrix Anna Wintour showed a chink in her Chanel-hewn armor as she was elevated to a dame by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Friday for services to fashion and journalism -- as if fashionistas needed another reason to fall at the feet of the formidable editor.

The always-bobbed tastemaker was accompanied by daughter Bee Schaffer at Buckingham Palace wearing her signature dark sunglasses, which she removed before entering the palace ballroom for the investiture ceremony.

Wintour smiled broadly as the the British queen affixed the insignia to the fashion queen’s lapel, though the monarch struggled to attach the bold insignia to her coat.

“She couldn’t find where to put the brooch,” Wintour told the BBC.

The respective queens spoke briefly during the ceremony and Wintour said she “congratulated her on Prince Philip’s service because obviously that’s so remarkable and such an inspiration to us all.” The queen’s 95-year-old consort announced this week that he will be retiring from his royal duties.

(Yui Mok / Associated Press)

The British-born editor, 67, was raised in London -- her dad is a Briton and her mother is American -- and presided over British Vogue before assuming duties at its sister publication in 1988.

Wintour has helmed the fashion bible for 30 years and was named artistic director of the tome’s publishing house, Condé Nast, in 2013. Her infamously intimidating style of management inspired “The Devil Wears Prada,” her former assistant Lauren Weisberger’s novel that was later turned into the 2006 film starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.

Earlier this week, Wintour hosted her annual marquee event, the star-studded Met Gala in New York City.

Wintour was previously named Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2008. Now she’s officially considered a Dame Commander of the British Empire, the female equivalent of a knight, which is simply an honorific and bears no official duties.

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Love is in the air as Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell receive stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell kiss at a ceremony honoring the couple with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(Richard Shotwell / Invision / Associated Press)

Maybe the whole thing went a little overboard (get it?), but Thursday’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony honoring longtime partners Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell was charming as heck.

Hawn and Russell received adjoining stars on the Walk of Fame, honoring their careers that have spanned more than 50 years.

The two first met during the filming of “The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band” in 1968, but it wasn’t until filming “Swing Shift” in 1983 that their relationship began.

Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson at Thursday's Walk of Fame ceremony.
(Jesse Grant / Getty Images for Disney)

Thursday’s ceremony was a family affair, with Kate Hudson on hand to honor her mother and stepfather.

“I was slotted in to talk about my mother, but I have two parents and they’re both here. I always thought I’d be talking about them at a wedding or something,” Hudson said when she took the stage. “But since a wedding doesn’t seem to be in our near future, this seems to be my only opportunity.”

There were plenty of sweet words to go around at the ceremony, with Reese Witherspoon there to lovingly speak about Hawn, calling herself “literally her biggest fan.”

But Russell took the cake for the day’s sweetest sentiment.

“Goldie, to you I owe my wonderful life. Simply put, Goldie, I cherish you. All of the stars in the sky or the boulevard don’t hold a candle to that,” he said in his speech. “There’s no one else I’d rather be next to than Goldie Hawn.”

Insert dreamy sighs here.

Hawn and Russell are both in the midst of aggressive promotional campaigns for their upcoming films.

Russell stars in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” with Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, in theaters Friday.

Hawn stars with Amy Schumer in the mother-daughter comedy “Snatched,” which arrives in theaters May 12.

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s’ Kurt Russell can sum up his career in one word: ‘Brandy’

From ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ to ‘I Love Dick,’ the female gaze is thriving on television

Debra Winger and Tracy Letts on their chemistry in ‘The Lovers’ and, reluctantly, on Hollywood and women

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HBO developing four ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff projects

Winter, spring, summer and fall are potentially coming: HBO is eyeing four -- that’s right, four -- “Game of Thrones” spinoffs.

The premium cable network is said to have closed deals with four different writers to take up the mantle of the wildly popular fantasy series, which is based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” books.

The writers will “explore different time periods of George R.R. Martin’s vast and rich universe,” the network said in a statement.

No timetable has been set for the projects.

“We’ll take as much or as little time as the writers need and, as with all our development, we will evaluate what we have when the scripts are in,” a spokesperson confirmed to The Times.

“Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss write and produce the series. The Emmy Award winners and Martin are expected to serve as producers on the four projects, though Benioff and Weiss will not be writing for them.

The duo is finishing up the penultimate Season 7, which will premiere July 16. They are “in the midst of writing and preparing for the eighth and final season,” which will have only six episodes.

“We will support them as they take a much-deserved break from writing about Westeros once the final season is complete,” the network said.

Meanwhile, writers Max Borenstein (“Kong: Skull Island”), Jane Goldman (“Kingsman: The Golden Circle”), Brian Helgeland (“Legend”) and Carly Wray (“Mad Men,” “The Leftovers”) have been charged with carrying on the lore of Westeros and Essos in the new projects. Goldman and Wray will each be working individually with Martin.

The vivid mythology of Martin’s fantastical world is brimming with possibilities for spin-offs, prequels and sequels. The current series has already out-paced the author’s published work and proceeded with new storylines that may or may not be in his upcoming books.

UPDATED, 1:52 p.m.: A statement from HBO was added to this story.

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Nikki Reed, Ian Somerhalder expecting their first child

(Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

There’s a baby on the way for Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder.

The “Twilight” actress and “Vampire Diaries” star are expecing a little one soon, making their baby announcement relatively far into Reed’s pregnancy.

“Hi Little One I know you, but only because I feel you,” Reed, 28, wrote on Instagram. “How is it possible to love someone so much already? All I know for sure is it’s the strongest feeling I’ve ever felt. We’ve been sharing this body for quite some time, and we’ve already experienced so much together. We can’t wait to meet you... Love Your parents”

The mama-to-be posted a beautiful field-set portrait of the couple gently cradling her baby bump. The “Lost” alum, who also shared the image on his Instagram, is kneeling down to kiss his wife’s belly as Reed lovingly gazes at him.

“To our friends, family, and rest of the world. In my 38 years on this earth I’ve never experienced anything more powerful and beautiful than this,” Somerhalder wrote. “I can’t think of anything more exciting than this next chapter and we wanted you to hear this from us first.”

No word on the due date, but the Bayou With Love founder’s sizable belly and Somerhalder’s words indicated that Reed is pretty far along.

“This has been the most special time of our lives and we wanted to keep it between the three of us for as long as possible so we could enjoy this time with each other and our little one who is growing so fast ... because that’s what they do, they grow so fast,” he said. “Thank you for your kind energy.”

The comely pair, who shot to fame independently in the height of the Hollywood vampire craze, wed in Topanga Canyon in April 2015 after Reed filed for divorce from “American Idol” contestant Paul McDonald in May 2014.

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Ariel Winter defends her glitzy fashion choice: ‘Why do I have to be like everyone else?’

(Jordan Strauss / Associated Press)

A confident Ariel Winter dressed to be noticed at a Television Academy event earlier this week. Now she appears to be annoyed that people noticed a lot.

“Why ... does anyone care that I didn’t dress casual like everyone else for the panel?” she asked Thursday on Instagram. “Why do I have to be like everyone else?”

The event was a panel discussion with the rest of the “Modern Family” cast on Wednesday. Most of the 19-year-old’s fellow actors dressed down in simple tops and bottoms, with the exception of Aubrey Anderson-Emmons and Sofia Vergara, who wore sleeveless dresses that didn’t sparkle.

Winter, in contrast, rocked a glitzy, attention-getting Falguni & Shane Peacock mini-dress with bare shoulders and cutouts galore, similar to but sexier than a black Yousef Aljasmi dress she wore to the red-carpet premiere of her movie “Dog Years” at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

The Falguni & Shane Peacock motto: “Life is too short to blend in.”

“Why can’t people just let other people feel good about themselves and do whatever they want?” Winter wrote.

In defense of the rest of the world, let’s note that red carpets are often meticulously styled events, so seeing someone break out with a completely unexpected look can be — jarring? Intriguing? OK, yes, let’s go with intriguing.

“At the end of the day,” Winter told “Entertainment Tonight” on the red carpet, “the only person you should be trying to make happy is yourself and not other people.”

For what it’s worth, Ms. Winter, the dress made us happy.

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Seth Meyers pokes holes in President Trump’s healthcare victory

On Thursday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed President Trump’s healthcare reform effort, which was widely criticized for being rushed the chamber before it could be better analyzed or, in some cases, read.

“Late Night With Seth Meyers” offered a closer look at the bill, which, as it’s written, stands to leave millions without health insurance and cuts Medicaid, which was not what Trump promised on the campaign trail. Meyers first examined one of the White House’s tactics to address the breaking of promises: lying about them.

After showing video of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer contorting the definition of Trump’s border wall into a fence (and the press corps’ disbelief), Meyers affected the tone of a teasing teenager. “Hey, Sean. The president promised a wall and, I don’t know, bro, it kind of looks like a fence to me. Right, everybody?”

Meyers also turned his attention to the victory lap the president took with GOP House members after the lawmakers passed the bill, a moment that featured the president of the United States saying, “Hey, I’m president. Can you believe it?”

“No, I can’t,” said a wide-eyed Meyers.

The segment then got into the details of the healthcare measure, which waives protections for preexisting conditions and essential benefits such as pregnancy and emergency room visits, an effort he described as if they “took an oatmeal raisin cookie and added cilantro.”

Meyers paid special attention to the rushed passage of the bill, which was moved so quickly that its contents and economic impact -- for what amounts to 1/6 of the U.S. economy -- remained a mystery, even to those who voted for it.

In the segment’s most pointed moment, Meyers reminded viewers that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan stated back in 2009, “I don’t think we should pass bills that we haven’t read and don’t know what they cost.” He was referring to the legislative process for the considerably more vetted Obamacare measure.

Watch the rest of the clip above.

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A Star Is Born: Adele turns 29 today

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

The quote that came out on the BBC about the Grammys made it sound like I didn’t want to win a Grammy, and that I didn’t need to win a Grammy. But what I meant is that a Grammy is like an Oscar. You win an Oscar when you give the performance of your life. I just hope that this isn’t the performance of my life.... I didn’t mean it to sound like I was ungrateful.

— Adele, 2008

FROM THE ARCHIVES: To clarify, Adele does want to win a Grammy

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‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ heading to Broadway in 2018

Harry Potter and Co. are heading to the Big Apple (sans Newt Scamander).

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” J.K. Rowling’s stage follow-up to her best-selling wizarding-world books, will cross the pond and open on Broadway in spring 2018.

The two-part play will debut stateside at the redesigned Lyric Theatre on April 22, 2018. Additional details, such as cast, schedules and ticket information, are expected to be announced in the coming months.

The wildly successful British author wrote the play with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany (Tiffany directed the original stage production). “Cursed Child” debuted at London’s Palace Theatre in June 2016 to sold-out crowds of Muggles eager to watch the next installment in Rowling’s series. The play last month became the most awarded production in the history of the Olivier Awards (a.k.a. the British Tonys), notching nine wins, including top prizes for director and new play.

“Cursed Child” picks up years after the Battle of Hogwarts, when the famed Boy Who Lived, now a father, is juggling his work defending against dark magic with his tenuous relationship with his youngest son, Albus Severus.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

“While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son, Albus, must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”

After the announcement, Rowling received a rousing welcome on Twitter from Broadway’s current wunderkind, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“First round of @Schmackarys is on me, Harry Potter. Welcome!” the “Hamilton” star tweeted, to which Rowling replied with a heart emoji.

Rowling is currently at work as a screenwriter and producer on the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” film franchise. The prequels to the “Harry Potter” books are set in North America and star Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as globe-trotting magizoologist Newt Scamander.

The first film in the series hit theaters in November and Warner Bros. has already slated four more. Jude Law was recently cast as a younger version of beloved Hogwart’s headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Johnny Depp has also joined the cast as Gellert Grindelwald in the as-yet-untitled second installment.

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Former BET executive Zola Mashariki sues, alleging gender discrimination and defamation

Former BET executives Zola Mashariki and Stephen Hill at a reception sponsored by the network in January.
(Vivien Killilea / Getty Images)

Cable network BET has been slapped with a discrimination lawsuit by former head of original programming Zola Mashariki, who was fired in April while on medical leave for breast cancer.

The lawsuit, which was filed late Wednesday in California federal court, targets BET, Viacom and former BET president of programming Stephen Hill, alleging gender discrimination, defamation, violation of the Family Medical Leave Act and more.

“The Company fosters a good old boys’ club atmosphere and mentality that are hostile to women and their advancement,” the complaint alleges. “This misogynistic culture, which marginalizes, demeans and undervalues women, begins at the top of the corporate structure.”

Mashariki was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in December 2016 and continued to work until February 2017, when she began medical leave. She was then diagnosed with a second, more severe type of breast cancer that required a longer leave, the complaint says.

According to the lawsuit, the company “questioned the validity of her diagnosis, prevented members of her team from contacting her and deliberately damaged her reputation.” Further, a senior executive at BET even suggested to Mashariki’s colleagues that she was “faking” her breast cancer, the suit alleges.

Mashariki also alleges in the suit that she was “denied equal employment opportunities, including pay, development, and promotion, compared to similarly situated male employees,” with Hill specifically called out.

Hill announced March 29 that he was leaving BET; simultaneously, Mashariki’s departure was “falsely announced,” according to the complaint. Mashariki was terminated April 11.

“These claims misrepresent the facts and are without merit,” a spokesman for BET parent Viacom said Thursday. “We strongly deny any allegation of wrongdoing and we intend to respond to the specific allegations in the course of legal proceedings.

“At Viacom and BET, we take the health and well-being of our employees very seriously and we are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse workplace that supports the success of all employees.”

Hill could not be immediately reached for comment.

Mashariki is asking for damages that include back pay, lost benefits, and other compensation to be determined at a jury trial.

Mashariki, a Dartmouth College, Harvard Law School and USC graduate, previously worked at Fox Searchlight Pictures, where over 15 years she executive produced films such as “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” and “The Secret Life of Bees.” According to the complaint, she left the company for BET because, “as a woman of color, BET’s brand spoke to her.”

UPDATES

2:17 p.m.: This article was updated to include a response from Viacom, parent company of BET.

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‘Evolving’ Miley Cyrus has quit weed and nipple pasties: ‘I want to be super clear and sharp’

(Paul Buck / EPA)

It appears Miley Cyrus can be tamed after all: Pop music’s enfant terrible has turned over yet another leaf, sobering up and quitting weed.

“I used to [resist changing]. But I haven’t smoked weed in three weeks, which is the longest I’ve ever [gone without it]. I’m not doing drugs, I’m not drinking, I’m completely clean right now. That was just something that I wanted to do,” she told Billboard magazine.

“I like to surround myself with people that make me want to get better, more evolved, open. And I was noticing, it’s not the people that are stoned. I want to be super clear and sharp because I know exactly where I want to be.”

A shockingly demure Cyrus — demure except for all the F-bombs — spoke to the magazine ahead of the May 11 release of her new single, “Malibu,” which she wrote about her reunion with beau Liam Hemsworth.

The two got engaged in 2012, split in 2013, got back together last year and are rumored to be engaged again. They’re currently living in “The Hunger Games” actor’s Malibu compound with seven dogs, two pigs and two miniature horses.

The “breezy love song” is “gimmick-free pop-rock,” according to Billboard and is another shift for the ever-changing former Disney Channel star, who is now moving out of her 2015 “Dead Petz” phase.

Her new incarnation includes reflection on how the Trump presidency has affected her personally and how she’s using it to reach out to his supporters.

The Tennessee-born singer said that serving as a coach on NBC’s “The Voice” — country star Blake Shelton is also a fixture — prompted her move beyond her circle of “outspoken liberals” to try to influence country fans and red-state residents.

“I’m down for hanging with Blake. I actually want to take advantage of the fact that he’s there [because] his fans don’t really take me seriously as a country artist,” she explained. “One, I haven’t given them that music. But I’ve got a tattoo of Johnny Cash’s autograph that he gave me when I was a little girl that says, ‘I’m in your corner.’ Dolly Parton is my ... godmother. The fact that country music fans are scared of me, that hurts me ... .”

Here’s the thing, she said: “I’m evolving, and I surround myself with smart people that are evolved.”

The singer likes talking to people who don‘t agree with her, but said she can‘t do it “in an aggressive way.”

“I don’t think those people are going to listen to me when I’m sitting there in nipple pasties, you know?”

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Stephen Colbert not sorry for Trump comments that sparked #FireColbert: ‘Life is short’

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For Star Wars Day, here is every single L.A. Times ‘Star Wars’ movie review

May 4 is every Star Wars fan’s favorite pun-based holiday: Star Wars Day. “May the Fourth be with you.”

To help celebrate, we’ve assembled every single Los Angeles Times movie review of the films that make up the franchise, dating back to 1977. Spoiler alert: We definitely liked some films more than others.

The most recent installment of the franchise, of course, is “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” released in December. In his review, The Times’ movie critic Justin Chang dubbed the standalone anthology film “Star Wars: Episode III.V — Dawn of a New Hope,” describing it as “a swiftly paced, rough-and-ready entertainment that, in anticipating the canonical events of ‘A New Hope,’ manages the tricky feat of seeming at once casually diverting and hugely consequential.”

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” part of the Skywalker saga series of films, was reviewed in 2015 by Times critic Kenneth Turan (who also reviewed all the films in the prequel trilogy). “The Force Awakens,” Turan said, “is only at its best in fits and starts, its success dependent on who of its mix of franchise veterans and first-timers is on the screen.”

You can check out the reviews for the films in the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy here.

For the latest news on “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” the stand-alone Han Solo film and more, head to our “Star Wars” page.

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Ariel Winter outshines the rest of her ‘Modern Family’

"Modern Family" cast members Nolan Gould, left, Steve Levitan, Ariel Winter, Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ty Burrell.
(Jordan Strauss / Associated Press)

Clearly, the “Modern Family” cast didn’t call one another before getting dressed for the comedy series’ For Your Consideration event presented by the Television Academy in North Hollywood on Wednesday.

Maybe Ariel Winter had a hot date or a singing gig or plans to meet up with the cast of “Game of Thrones” to ride a dragon. Who knows.

Whatever the reason for her not-like-the-others styling, the 19-year-old rocked it. Memorably.

(Winter has, by the way, been very forthcoming about her relationship with her breasts and her breast-reduction scars, even if her estranged mom hasn’t been thrilled about her openness. Not that it mattered much; the actress has been officially emancipated — i.e., no longer under the control or custody of her parents or guardians — since 2015.)

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Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of ‘Morning Joe,’ are engaged

Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough are co-hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Viewers now can get a steaming shot of romance with their cup of “Morning Joe,” as co-hosts of the MSNBC morning show Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have confirmed their engagement.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the pair revealed a recent breathless jaunt to the south of France, where Scarborough popped the question to a relatively unsuspecting Brzezinski.

Both Scarborough and Brzezinski have been married before — twice for him, once for her — and have kept their relationship cloaked until now. As for sitting down with Vanity Fair in such a public fashion to announce their engagement, the couple attributes the choice to the six children they have between them.

“We know that our kids have a lot of options about what they read about us. We wanted to do one interview on the record. To answer the question is just as important for them as it is for us, to say it once that we’re together and we want to be together forever,” the pair expressed.

The wedding date remains unknown. However, they’ve already ruled out one offer from a high-profile frenemy.

During a January visit to the White House, Scarborough and Brzezinski had dinner with President Trump, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner.

In the midst of the meal, the president told the couple that if they decided to get married, they should do so at Mar-a-Lago or the White House. He even offered to officiate.

Given the tenuous relationship Brzezinski has with Trump, it’s hardly surprising that they passed on the offer.

Though what little girl doesn’t dream of growing up and being married by a man who called her “neurotic,” “insecure” and “not very bright”?

“Morning Joe” airs on MSNBC at 6 a.m. weekdays.

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Stephen Colbert not sorry for comments that sparked #FireColbert: ‘Life is short’

A funny thing happened to Stephen Colbert during his extended run at the top of the late-night ratings: After one of his many segments attacking President Trump went viral, people on social media started asking that CBS #FireColbert over something he said on Monday’s show.

Colbert did not respond to the campaign Tuesday, but on Wednesday the issue led his show. “I’m your host, Stephen Colbert,” he said. “Still? Am I still the host? I’m still the host!

“Now, folks, if you saw my monologue on Monday, you know that I was a little upset with Donald Trump for insulting a friend of mine,” Colbert began. “So, at the end of that monologue I had a few choice insults for the president in return.”

On Monday, Colbert had commented an interview between John Dickerson of CBS’ “Face the Nation” and Trump, during which the latter referred to the network’s long-running show as “Deface the Nation.” The late-night host then explained that Dickerson had too much dignity to trade insults with the president, so he offered a string of his own.

“Mr. President, I love your presidency,” Colbert said. “I call it ‘Disgrace the Nation.’ You’re not the POTUS; You’re the gloat-us. You’re the glutton with the button. You’re a regular Gorge Washington. You’re the presi-dunce,” Colbert said, then topped off his roast with a vulgar reference to oral sex between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Voices on social media, the bulk of them conservative, seized upon the remarks, labeling the last part homophobic and calling for repercussions under the hashtag #FireColbert. Some made parallels to comments made by Bill O’Reilly, who lost his longtime show on Fox News last month in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

“I don’t regret that,” Colbert said Wednesday, grinning like the Cheshire cat as his studio audience cheered.

“I believe he [Trump] can take care of himself,” he added. “I have jokes, he has the launch codes. So, a fair fight.”

He went on to explain that if he had it to do again he would change a few words that were “cruder than they needed to be.”

“I’m not going to repeat the phrase,” he began. “But I just want to say, for the record, life is short, and anyone who expresses their love for another person in their own way, is to me an American hero. I think we can all agree on that. I hope even the president and I can agree on that. Nothing else, but that.”

Colbert then went on to talk about Wednesday’s testimony from FBI Director James Comey. Watch it all, above.

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A Star Is Born: Randy Travis turns 58 today

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Most everyone is trying to cross over with pop and glossy production values. What happened to the true stylists? I grew up with [Merle] Haggard and [George] Jones and Lefty [Frizzell] and Hank [Williams] and Loretta [Lynn]. There’s no way you couldn’t know whose voices those were after hearing two words.

— Randy Travis, 2000

FROM THE ARCHIVES: For Randy Travis, it’s God and country

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Alanis Morissette’s ex-manager Jonathan Todd Schwartz gets 6 years for stealing $7 million

Jonathan Todd Schwartz, former business manager for Alanis Morissette, looks on as his attorney Nathan Hoffman addresses reporters outside U.S. federal court.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision )

A business manager who stole more than $7 million from Alanis Morissette and others was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay $8.6 million in restitution.

Jonathan Todd Schwartz, 47, wept and apologized at the hearing, saying he took full responsibility for his behavior and would have a life of shame because of it.

“I alone am responsible for the devastation,” he said, adding: “I will spend the rest of my life asking for forgiveness.”

He could have faced more than 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax crimes, but Judge Dolly Gee hewed to sentencing guidelines that suggested around five to six years.

In a victim statement at the hearing, Morissette had urged a stiff sentence, saying Schwartz had stolen her trust and her money for years.

“He did this in a long, systematic, drawn-out and sinister manner” that would have bankrupted the singer within three years had the thefts continued, Morissette said.

Schwartz acknowledged stealing nearly $5 million from Morissette between May 2010 and January 2014 and more than $2 million from five unnamed clients when he worked at GSO Business Management, a firm that touted relationships with entertainers such as Katy Perry, 50 Cent and Tom Petty.

MORE:

Alanis Morissette isn’t buying her ex-business manager’s embezzlement explanation >>

Alanis Morissette, business management firm settle lawsuit over alleged embezzlement >>

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Brad Pitt, booze-free, is ‘getting back to feeling’ after divorce

Brad Pitt has become a matcha-swilling, pottery-sculpting couch surfer in the aftermath of his divorce from Angelina Jolie. And he’s all the better for it.

He’s lonely in the wake of his divorce, living out his days in his solemn L.A. Craftsman with only his narcoleptic bulldog Jacques to keep him company, but also reformed and introspective, he tells GQ in its summer 2017 issue.

He’s not going through a midlife crisis, he said, but is getting “back to feeling,” something he’s spent a lot of time avoiding.

“I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something. Something. And you realize that a lot of it is, um — cigarettes, you know, pacifiers. And I’m running from feelings. I’m really, really happy to be done with all of that.”

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Trial over topless photos of Duchess Catherine is on in France

The British royal family has taken members of the French media to court in the protracted dispute over topless photos taken of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, while she was vacationing in Provence five years ago.

The images, published in British and Italian magazines in 2012, prompted Prince William and the former Kate Middleton to file a complaint in France, which has stricter privacy laws than the United States.

Six people — three photographers, the owner and the executive editor of French celebrity mag Closer, and the former publisher of regional daily newspaper La Provence — were on trial Tuesday, though only the photographers appeared in court, facing invasion of privacy and complicity charges. (William and Catherine are not expected to appear at the trial.)

According to the Associated Press, a French lawyer for the duke and duchess read a statement from William in court Tuesday, decrying the alleged invasion of privacy and invoking the 1997 death of William’s mom. The photographs “reminded us of the harassment that led to the death of my mother, Diana Princess of Wales,” the statement said.

“My wife and I thought that we could go to France for a few days in a secluded villa owned by a member of my family, and thus enjoy our privacy,” it continued. “We know France and the French and we know that they are, in principle, respectful of private life, including that of their guests. The clandestine way in which these photographs were taken was particularly shocking to us as it breached our privacy.”

The images of Catherine were taken with a telephoto lens while she was sunbathing on a private patio. Prosecutors are asking for the defendants to pay substantial fines, and the royals’ lawyer said he was seeking high damages — 1.5 million euros, or about $1.6 million, according to several reports.

However, defense attorneys argued that the photos came only a year after the fanfare of the globally watched royal wedding and, as the images cast the couple in a positive light, didn’t breach their privacy, ABC News reported. The photographers’ defense lawyer also claimed that his clients were being uses as scapegoats in a botched investigation.

A verdict is expected July 4.

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James Corden and Carpool Karaoke returning to prime time with Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry

“The Late Late Show” and James Corden will be bringing Carpool Karaoke back to prime time on May 22, CBS announced Wednesday.

Jennifer Lopez will return, although instead of joining Corden in the passenger’s seat for karaoke, she’ll be taking a Toddlerography dance lesson, a skit that features a celebrity trying to match the dance moves of, well, a toddler.

Lopez’s return is significant in that she was riding shotgun during the 2016 prime-time special that earned “The Late Late Show” an Emmy.

She’ll be replaced in the hot seat this year by Katy Perry, who will join Corden with renditions of some of her classic hits, likely including “California Gurls,” “Firework” and “Roar.”

With any luck, they will skip “Rise.”

“The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2017” airs at 10 p.m. PDT May 22 on CBS.

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In ‘The Dark Tower’ trailer, see Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey fight it out

Idris Elba stars as the Gunslinger opposite Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black in “The Dark Tower.”

Rejoice, Stephen King fans, the first trailer for Sony’s “The Dark Tower” is finally here.

King’s epic tale — sprawling over seven novels published between 1982 and 2004, with a sequel in 2012 — features a showdown between Roland Deschain, a brooding, honor-bound gunslinger played by Idris Elba, and the Man in Black, a trickster sorcerer with a penchant for power, played by Matthew McConaughey.

But King purists would be wise to remember that this “The Dark Tower” is no straight adaptation of the series, but rather a new spin on a world that the novelist created over the years.

At the center of the trailer is Jake Chambers, a boy whose ability to see between worlds is dismissed as childish fantasy, before it is proved all too real.

Deschain and the Man in Black’s war brings them to Earth, where the continuation of all of humanity depends on the Deschain’s success.

Directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel (“A Royal Affair), “The Dark Tower” will hit theaters Aug. 4.

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First trailer for ‘The Defenders’ shows the birth of Marvel’s newest superhero team

After battling their own individual demons in the various boroughs of New York, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist are finally ready to become the superhero team they were always meant to be. At least sort of.

The first trailer for “Marvel’s the Defenders” has been released, giving fans their fist look at the four street-level superheroes fighting together.

Of course, before they can officially join forces, the leads from Netflix’s four previous Marvel shows have to meet one another.

The trailer opens with Jones (Krysten Ritter) being questioned by Misty Knight (Simone Missick), the Detective first introduced in “Marvel’s Luke Cage,” for interfering with her investigation. Before Jones can incriminate herself in any way, in steps Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) claiming to be her attorney.

In another part of town, Cage (Mike Colter) is having a heart to heart with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson), who suggests the Harlem hero might benefit from meeting another one of her friends. But it looks like before any official introductions can be made, Cage runs into Danny Rand (Finn Jones) in a dark alley under less than ideal circumstances.

In addition to spotlighting these initial meetings, the trailer warns that a war for New York is brewing. The only way to save the city is for “the devil of Hell’s Kitchen, the smart-ass detective, the righteous ex-con and the kid with a glowing fist” to work together.

While Rand seems to believe the four heroes make quite a team, Jones is less than enthusiastic. But that might be because the enlightened Iron Fist can’t figure out a way to describe the superpowered investigator other than “whatever it is you are.”

Maybe Iron Fist doesn’t deserve a seat at the big-heroes table.

The trailer also gives a glimpse at the reanimated Elektra (Élodie Yung) back in action and Sigourney Weaver’s mysterious villain Alexandra.

“Marvel’s the Defenders” will hit Netflix on Aug. 18. Watch the full trailer, which includes a bit of adult language, below.

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Hillary Clinton ‘out of the woods’ and back on late-night hosts’ radar

A bunch of late-night hosts welcomed Hillary Clinton back to the news cycle, Tuesday night, swarming on her interview at a women’s conference the way a flurry of hosts had swarmed on Trump’s weekend Civil War comments in their monologues the night before.

“Guess who’s back?” said Stephen Colbert during his “The Late Show” monologue on CBS. “Hillary Clinton. She emerged from the woods just this afternoon.”

Actually, the former secretary of State spoke with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour before an audience at the Women to Women International conference in New York on Monday, but it took till Tuesday to show up on late-night TV (breaking news travels slowly to late night, which tapes in the afternoon).

Among the questions Amanpour asked Clinton was whether she thought that misogyny existed in the United States. (It was a question that got laughs of its own, and a comical “Hmmm” from Clinton.) Colbert’s take: “Asking Hillary Clinton if sexism exists is like asking Serena Williams if she’s heard of this tennis thing. She’s aware of the situation.”

“Hillary may have accidentally revealed why she really lost,” Colbert revealed, taking off from the former presidential candidate’s misstatement to Amanpour that the election took place Oct. 28.

“No, it was on Nov. 8, ma’am,” he said. “That explains everything: ‘Well, October 29th is here, and I am not president. Well, I guess I can stop campaigning in Michigan and Wisconsin. Goodbye!’

“That’s my impression of Hillary, by the way,” Colbert added. “I would have worked on it more if I knew she was going to be back.”

“Late Night” host Seth Meyers hit similar geographical points in his opening monologue on NBC: “Hillary Clinton said today she is very aware of the shortfalls of her campaign that caused her to lose the election, specifically Short Falls, Michigan, and Short Falls, Wisconsin.”

On Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” in a segment titled “Vent of a Woman,” host Trevor Noah also used the “came out of the woods” figure of speech and went further: “You can tell Hillary Clinton spent some time deep in that forest, because she clearly found some shade.”

Clips of Clinton saying, “Because you know healthcare is complicated” and “I did win 3 million votes more than my opponent” followed.

“After 100 days, it was refreshing to hear a politician talk in full sentences,” Noah said of the Clinton interview. “No ‘tremendouses,’ no hand gestures, not one description of chocolate cake. I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing sentences with a beginning, middle and end.”

Still, he continued, “We’ve all been inundated by cable news’ fake excitement and sound bitingness for so long that I don’t think Hillary Clinton or a candidate like her could ever connect with people. Because say what you want about Donald Trump, but he doesn’t bore you.

“Listening to Hillary talk after getting used to Trump is like getting an iPhone after owning a Samsung; you know that the iPhone won’t explode, but you miss the unpredictability.”

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Hulu renews ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ for a second season

Men rule the fictional world in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” but behind the scenes, women were instrumental to the show. (May 3, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

Hulu is going back to Gilead.

Ahead of its upfront presentation Wednesday in Manhattan, the streaming service announced the drama “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which premiered last week, would return for a second season in 2018.

The news hardly came as a surprise. Like Netflix and other video-on-demand services, Hulu does not release ratings information, but “The Handmaid’s Tale” has been a critical hit, earning mostly glowing reviews and social media buzz. According to Hulu, the premiere was been watched by more viewers than any other series premiere.

“The response we’ve seen to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in just one week since its premiere has been absolutely incredible,” said Craig Erwich, head of original content, in a statement. “‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is exactly the type of gripping and thought-provoking storytelling we want to bring to viewers.”

For Hulu, which has invested heavily in original content over the last two years but hasn’t gotten as much attention as its flashy competitors Netflix and Amazon, “The Handmaid’s Tale” has the makings of a breakout success on the order of “House of Cards” or “Transparent.”

Starring Elisabeth Moss and based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, the series is set in a dystopian future in which a theocratic regime has taken over the United States, now known as the Republic of Gilead, and stripped women of their rights.

Hulu has other projects in the pipeline, including an adaptation of “The Looming Tower,” Lawrence’s Wright’s Pulitzer Prize-winning history of Al Qaeda.

ALSO

‘Handmaid’s Tale’: The women and men who helped build Gilead

Dystopian apparel: The making of ‘The Handmaid’s’ blood-red robes

Margaret Atwood answers the question: Is ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ a feminist book?

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A Star Is Born: Frankie Valli turns 83 today

(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

I don’t ignore the oldies. I give the people what they want. That’s how I’ve lasted so long in this business.

— Frankie Valli, 1983

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Frankie Valli seasoned by fortune

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As the writers’ strike deadline drew near, Twitter became exceptionally well-written

Hoping to avoid a strike like this one in 2007, writers this week hung out on Twitter and awaited news as the Writers Guild of America deadline drew near.
(Nick Ut / Associated Press)

Ah, writers, full of dedication and angst, humor and self-awareness, confidence and nerves. And that’s on a good day.

It’s just not always out there for the whole world to see.

But as the recent standoff between the Writers Guild of America and the major networks and studios approached Monday’s midnight deadline, and then passed it, those traits were the perfect recipe for social-media goodness, served up with the hashtag #wgaunity.

This is what it looked like on Twitter:

There were serious and celebratory comments as well, especially after a deal was reached.

Some people found unexpected perks.

And there was this ...

Then, after the sun rose Tuesday, it was back to work — in a very good mood, it seems.

“After weeks of tension and overuse of the word ‘looming,’” Diablo Cody posted on her personal Facebook page. “I’m super psyched to be going to work today. #WGAUnity.”

But there’s always That One Guy ...

Oh, we’re joshin’ — he’d gotten the memo. Just in time, of course.

P.S.:

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The Beatles coming to SiriusXM, 24 hours a day, 8 days a week

Can’t get enough of the Beatles? SiriusXM has a new station just for you.

The satellite radio company on Tuesday announced the debut of the Beatles Channel, which will feature the band’s entire catalog as well as solo albums and musicians inspired by the Fab Four.

“We’ve worked with The Beatles and Apple Corps Ltd. to create a channel that is as vital today as when the band’s music was first recorded,” said Scott Greenstein, the company’s president and chief content officer, in a statement released Tuesday. “The channel will be all-things-Beatles, 24/7. The soundtrack of our world, made by John, Paul, George and Ringo.”

In addition to music, the Beatles Channel will have regular shows and specials, including “Breakfast With the Beatles” with host Chris Carter, who has hosted the show on KLOS/95.5-FM since 2006. (Previously Carter and the program aired on KLSX /97.1-FM, which is now KAMP.)

“I still remember the thrill of when we first heard our music on the radio,” Paul McCartney said in the statement. “But I don’t think any of us would have imagined that we’d have our very own Beatles radio channel more than 50 years later.”

The Beatles join an elite group of musicians with dedicated channels on SiriusXM: Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, the Grateful Dead and, as of September, Garth Brooks.

SiriusXM also features a variety of stations programmed with the influence of certain artists in mind, including Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty, Ozzy Osbourne and Willie Nelson.

The Beatles Channel debuts at 6:09 a.m. PDT May 18 on SiriusXM channel 18, just eight days before the 50th anniversary of the band’s classic album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

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Janet Jackson keeps it real in message to fans announcing return to tour

Janet Jackson posted a new video to fans Monday night, packing information about weight gain, babies, divorce and an upcoming tour in just under 90 seconds.

The video begins with Jackson bemoaning the fact that it looks like she has bags under her eyes before tossing off, “Oh, well, maybe I do.”

If she does have bags, it’s for good reason. The legendary singer gave birth to her first child, Eissa Al Mana, on Jan. 3.

“It’s me, Jan, just in case you didn’t recognize me ‘cause I have put on quite a few since I had the baby,” she assures fans before lovingly talking about her son.

“I thank God for him, you guys. He’s so healthy, so beautiful, so sweet, so loving, such a happy baby,” Jackson said.

Before moving on to the crux of her message, Jackson took care of a little personal-life housecleaning in the name of keeping it real.

“Yes, I separated from my husband,” Jackson said of her marriage to Wissam Al Mana. “We are in court and the rest is in God’s hands.”

But, Jackson was pleased to announce, she is resuming her world tour come September.

The tour previously known as “Unbreakable” will now be called “The State of the World,” a name that’s “not about politics,” Jackson said.

“It’s about people, the world, relationships and just love.”

The tour began in August 2015 before Jackson announced that the January 2016 leg of the tour would need to be postponed due to surgery.

In March 2016, the European leg of the tour was also postponed, and the next month Jackson announced the postponement of the rest of the tour due to “family planning.”

In October, Jackson confirmed her pregnancy.

“The State of the World” tour includes 56 shows, including Sept. 23 at Honda Center in Anaheim and Oct. 8 at the Hollywood Bowl. It kicks off in Lafayette, La., on Sept. 7.

Tickets for Jackson’s North American tour go on sale Friday.

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‘Dark Tower’ stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey give us a reason to wake up tomorrow

Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba engaged in a little Stephen King-inspired smack talk online Tuesday, tweeting back and forth in what we presume are the voices of their characters in “The Dark Tower,” which hits theaters in August.

It’s all a promo for a promo: A full-length trailer for the movie version of King’s eight-book series comes out Wednesday, and this is the tease. So we have to ask, is it still marketing if you enjoy it?

Fans then proceeded to one-up the stars — and one another — in reply as they shared their joy ...

So, see you all Wednesday morning? Someone bring coffee. Make it “Dark,” if you don’t mind.

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Jam-band musician Col. Bruce Hampton dies after collapsing onstage during 70th birthday concert

Col. Bruce Hampton performs at Hampton 70, an all-star jam celebration of his 70th birthday on Monday at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. He collapsed later during an encore.
(Melissa Ruggieri / Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Jam-band patriarch Col. Bruce Hampton died Monday in Atlanta after collapsing onstage during a concert celebrating his 70th birthday.

The surrealist musician, known as the grandfather of the jam-band scene, was performing an encore of his Hampton 70: A Celebration of Col. Bruce Hampton birthday concert at the Fox Theatre when he died.

“After collapsing on stage surrounded by his friends, family, fans and the people he loved Col. Bruce Hampton has passed away. The family is asking for respect and privacy at this difficult time,” the family said in a statement posted on the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Facebook page. The band was also part of the evening’s lineup.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner confirmed the guitarist’s death to the Associated Press on Tuesday.

After Hampton’s collapse, actor Billy Bob Thornton, who was also part of the lineup with members of Widespread Panic, Phish and other musicians, got on the microphone to thank fans and say they had to attend to something backstage, the Associated Press said.

Born Gustav Berglund III in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1947, the musician later adopted the stage name Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret., and co-founded the avant-garde Hampton Grease Band.

The band had one album — 1971’s “Music to Eat” — and earned a cult following before disbanding in 1973.

Hampton went solo after that, played a dwarf guitar called a chazoid (he once described it as “a perverted mandolin-cello” and said it was custom made) and also performed with the Late Bronze Age, the Aquarium Rescue Unit, the Fiji Mariners, the Quark Alliance and his latest collaboration, Col. Bruce Hampton and the Pharaoh Gummitt, according to his website.

Hampton’s band mate Jeff Mosier shared a tearful tribute on Tuesday morning on Facebook, recounting Hampton’s final moments.

“Tonight I witnessed the greatest gathering and concert and people I’ve ever been around. I’ve been lucky. I’m so lucky that I was there. ... Only Bruce could have really brought together these people. ... At the end, Bruce kind of looked like he was jokingly worshipping the young guitar player and he got down on his knees and, you know, I was getting ready to do the same thing. Just to be Zambi-like. ... And Bruce didn’t get up and he later on died,” he said.

“I was lucky to know him and I was lucky to be there,” he continued. “And the last words he said were ‘get out there, Mosier,’ and we did. Everybody got out there. Music is my religion. The crowd was incredible and if you were in the crowd, consider yourself lucky. I will miss you so much, Bruce.”

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Tearful Jimmy Kimmel shares story of newborn son’s heart defect and surgery

Everything about the birth of Jimmy Kimmel’s son Billy was going great, according to the late-night host -- until things got really scary.

William John Kimmel, born April 21, had a congenital defect that sent him to open-heart surgery within days of his birth, the new dad shared Monday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Kimmel tried not to get emotional but failed as he talked tearfully about Billy’s color not being right and tests being run and more and more doctors and nurses and equipment showing up in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The diagnosis, Kimmel said, was tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia (click that link for an explanation), and surgery was needed. Billy was taken to Children’s Hospital of L.A. by ambulance, and on April 24 underwent a three-hour surgery to repair a hole in his heart. It was successful.

Six days later they brought Billy home, and dad says the kid’s doing great, though he’ll face another surgery when he’s older. Kimmel showed off before-and-after pictures of the baby, one with lots of tubes and gear and the other with simply a big, goofy smile.

“Poor kid, not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face,” said Kimmel, who’d taken a week-plus off work because of his family emergency.

Kimmel had abundant thanks for the medical professionals, friends, co-workers and family who’d offered support. “We had atheists praying for us,” he said, and even sworn enemy Matt Damon sent flowers.

In closing his 13-minute opening monologue, he made an emotional, passionate plea to politicians who would be considering healthcare legislation and health funding in general.

“No parent should ever have to decide whether they can afford to save their child’s life,” Kimmel said, fighting back tears as he talked about other families he saw at Children’s Hospital. “It just shouldn’t happen. Not here.”

Updated, 8:32 a.m. May 2: This article was updated to add additional details.

This article was originally published at 11:57 p.m. May 1.

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Who came out ahead in Tony nominations? ‘The Great Comet,’ ‘Evan Hansen,’ ‘Come Away’ and Bette Midler as ‘Dolly’

The Tony Awards recognized a diverse seaso‎n for new musicals Tuesday morning as four productions with a range of styles and settings landed nominations for the top prize.

“Come From Away,” “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Groundhog Day The Musical” all secured spots for best musical.

2017 Tony Awards: The complete list of nominations

“Great Comet” led the Tonys field with 12 overall nominations, boosted by three acting and many technical nominations. In nominations for all categories, “Great Comet” was followed by the Bette Midler revival of “Hello, Dolly!” with 10 nods, Broadway breakout “Dear Evan Hansen” with nine and Lucas Hnath’s “A Doll’s House, Part 2” with eight. The 9/11 musical “Come From Away,” the musical “Groundhog Day” and the J.T. Rogers play “Oslo” each had seven nominations.

Best play is shaping up as a battle between two socially conscious shows: Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer winner “Sweat” and Hnath’s feminist “A Doll’s House, Part 2.” “Indecent,” about Middle East piece and Jewish assimilation, and “Oslo” round out the category.

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Crisis averted as Writers Guild of America and studios come to terms

Protesters for the Writers Guild of America -- including Rage Against the Machine singer Tom Morello -- gather in Century City in 2007.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

“It came right down to the wire” between the Writers Guild of America and the major studios and networks, said one person close to the talks who was not authorized to comment. “We didn’t get everything we wanted, and they didn’t get everything they wanted, which is usually the result of a successful negotiation. We made real and substantial gains for writers in a number of areas.”

In a statement to members, guild leaders said the agreement, which was reached early Tuesday morning, provides gains in minimum pay as well as increases in contributions to the union’s health plan that “should ensure its solvency for years to come.”

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A Star Is Born: Dwayne Johnson turns 45 today

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

I am reminded of how easy it is to become an ass. But I also think the people who are asses now were asses before they became famous.

— Dwayne Johnson, 2003

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Rock keeps it real

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At the 2017 Met Gala, Katy Perry, Daisy Ridley, Pharrell Williams and more dress to impress

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the exhibition “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between” was held Monday in New York, bringing out some big stars wearing some outrageous fashions.

Katy Perry.
(Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)
Daisy Ridley.
( Evan Agostini / Associated Press)
Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh.
(Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

MORE: Photos from the the 2017 Met Gala

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In ‘House of Cards’ Season 5 trailer, Frank Underwood knows what’s good for America

Make no mistake: It’s one nation, Underwood.

The Season 5 trailer for Netflix’s “House of Cards” dropped on Monday with Kevin Spacey’s sinister President Frank Underwood sharing a disturbing vision for the next six terms — yes, you read that right, six — with an Underwood in the award-winning drama’s fictional White House.

“The American people don’t know what’s best for them. I do. I know exactly what they need,” says POTUS, speaking to Claire (Robin Wright), his running mate in the fictional 2016 election, which will continue in the upcoming season.

“They’re like little children, Claire. We have to hold their sticky fingers and wipe their filthy mouths. Teach them right from wrong. Tell them what to think, how to feel and what to want,” he drawls. “They even need help riding their wildest dreams, crafting their worst fears. Lucky for them, they have me. They have you. Underwood 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032, 2036. One nation, Underwood.”

When we last saw the Underwoods, they were breaking the fourth wall after witnessing the execution of a man being held hostage by terrorists. The president declares war on extremism.

“That’s right,” he said, first lady at his side. “We don’t submit to terror. We make the terror.”

The trailer’s dark chaos is in keeping with that tone.

The streaming service unveiled the premiere date teaser and for the upcoming season in January, just as President Trump was being inaugurated. The new season, which is expected to draw parallels to real life, picks up in the middle of Underwood’s campaign against Republican Gov. Will Conway of New York, played by Joel Kinnaman.

New “House of Cards” episodes are set to arrive May 30.

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Fyre Festival organizers hit with $100-million class-action lawsuit

Well, that didn’t take long: Organizers of the Fyre Festival have been hit with a $100-million class-action lawsuit alleging fraud and breach of contract.

The complaint, filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in California, alleges fraud and breach of contract by Billy McFarland, Ja Rule (real name Jeffrey Atkins) and Fyre Media Inc. It highlights a number of the social media posts that went viral on Thursday and Friday about the situation in the Bahamas.

The music and lifestyle festival, billed as “the cultural experience of the decade,” melted down spectacularly as thousands of guests who’d paid thousands of dollars to enjoy the weekend arrived on a private island to find that preparations were nowhere close to finished. Organizers canceled the planned two-weekend event on Friday, but not before people who’d flown out found themselves stranded.

The complaint, filed by high-profile attorney Mark Geragos on behalf of named plaintiff Daniel Jung of Los Angeles, painted a dramatic picture: “The festival’s lack of adequate food, water, shelter and medical care created a dangerous and panicked situation among attendees.”

The event was to have been “cashless,” which complicated would festival-goers’ efforts to get home after the cancellation, the suit alleges.

“Defendants instructed attendees to upload funds to a wristband for use at the festival rather than bringing any cash. As such, attendees were unable to purchase basic transportation on local taxis or buses, which accept only cash.”

Fyre Media Inc. did not respond immediately Monday to a request for comment. However, organizers had offered an explanation about the festival itself in a statement issued Friday.

“As amazing as the islands are, the infrastructure for a festival of this magnitude needed to be built from the ground up. So, we decided to literally attempt to build a city. We set up water and waste management, brought an ambulance from New York, and chartered 737 planes to shuttle our guests via 12 flights a day from Miami. We thought we were ready, but then everyone arrived,” it said, in part.

“The team was overwhelmed. The airport was jam-packed. The buses couldn’t handle the load. And the wind from rough weather took down half of the tents on the morning our guests were scheduled to arrive. This is an unacceptable guest experience and the Fyre team takes full responsibility for the issues that occurred,” the statement continued.

Refunds would be issued and all would-be guests would receive VIP passes to the festival next year, organizers said.

An apologetic Ja Rule — who said Friday that he was taking “responsibility” for a mess that was “NOT MY FAULT” —tweeted Sunday that he was pleased to hear that all festival guests were safe and had been sent refund application forms.

Bella Hadid, who had helped promote the festival, tweeted Saturday that she felt “sorry and badly” that she “couldn’t stand by” the event. “Even though this was not my project what so ever, nor was I informed about the production or process of the festival in any shape or form, I do know that it has always been out of great intent and they truly wanted all of us to have the time of our lives.”

This post will be updated.

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TNT’s ‘The Last Ship’ goes on hiatus while star Eric Dane deals with depression

(Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Actor Eric Dane is battling depression, and he’s taking time off to manage it.

“The Last Ship” star, best known as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan from “Grey’s Anatomy,” is taking a break from his TNT naval drama to deal with “personal issues.”

“Eric asked for a break to deal with personal issues,” his representative said in a statement to The Times. “He suffers from depression and has asked for a few weeks of downtime and the producers kindly granted that request.”

Production has been shut down temporarily, and Dane, 44, “looks forward to returning” to work, the representative said.

The series, based on William Brinkley’s post-apocalyptic novel of the same name, recently aired its third season and has been renewed for 10-episode fourth and fifth seasons. Production on Season 5, which was shot back-to-back to Season 4, has been shuttered through Memorial Day, as first reported by Variety. The fourth season is reportedly done with shooting, so the hiatus should not affect its upcoming summer premiere date.

The summer drama chronicles life aboard a Navy destroyer in the aftermath of a global tragedy that has nearly decimated the world’s population. Dane’s Capt. Tom Chandler is among the few survivors.

The star, who is married to and shares two young daughters with actress Rebecca Gayheart, has been candid about his personal struggles in the past. He checked himself into a 30-day rehab program in 2011 to manage an addiction to prescription painkillers that were originally prescribed after a sports injury.

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Shannen Doherty’s breast cancer is in remission; she waits with ‘lighter’ heart for next phase

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Shannen Doherty is celebrating a “moment”: Her breast cancer has gone into remission.

“What does remission mean? I heard that word and have no idea how to react. Good news? YES. Overwhelming. YES,” the 46-year-old actress wrote on Instagram over the weekend. “Now more waiting. As every single one of my fellow cancer family knows, the next five years is crucial. Reoccurrences happen all the time. Many of you have shared that very story with me. So with a heart that is certainly lighter, I wait.”

The “Charmed” and “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum, who was diagnosed with cancer in March 2015, shared an image of herself sitting on the floor, concealing her face. She is still considering whether to have reconstructive surgery as well as taking a pill for the next five years that “comes with its own set of problems and side effects.”

“I am blessed, I know that. But for now now.... remission. I’m going to just breathe. #cancerslayer”

The TV star has undergone surgeries including a mastectomy, radiation, gone through chemotherapy and shaved her head in the battle against the disease.

She finished her last round of chemotherapy in February.

“Last day of chemo. Exhausted. Now that I’m done with chemo and radiation, the waiting game is here. Waiting for test. Waiting to see if I’m clear or not,” she wrote at the time.

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Spending bill includes $2 million increase for NEA after Trump proposed eliminating funds

Bruce Kiesling conducts Youth Orchestra Los Angeles at the Expo Center in Exposition Park in Los Angeles on Sept. 18, 2013.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Congressional leaders rejected the Trump administration’s proposal to eliminate money for federal arts programs, providing a small increase as part of a bipartisan spending deal.

The spending bill that Congress is expected to vote on this week includes $150 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and an identical sum for the Humanities endowment. In both cases, that’s a $2-million increase over last fiscal year.

There’s also no cut in money for the Corp. for Public Broadcasting.

President Trump, in his budget, had proposed eliminating all federal money for the NEA and the NEH, generating an intense lobbying campaign by arts supporters.

FULL COVERAGE: L.A. Without the NEA >>

Budget Director Mick Mulvaney had advocated the cuts, saying that it was unfair to take money from working families to support programs such as the endowments and public television.

But it was clear from the outset that Trump’s plan would face trouble in Congress. Most NEA funds go to support community arts groups in all 50 states, with rural, Republican-leaning states topping the lists of spending per person. As a result, arts programs have a strong constituency in Congress, especially on the appropriations committees that dole out spending.

ALSO

NEA study explains financial effect of the arts nationally — and California’s huge cultural economy

For a giant like the L.A. Phil, how does NEA funding factor into the big picture?

Making music an instrument for change: How NEA-funded HOLA points kids toward a better path

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Oliver Stone to interview Vladimir Putin for four-hour Showtime documentary

Interviews with Russian President Vladimir Putin, conducted by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone, will air in a four-hour documentary that is set to air on Showtime on four consecutive nights beginning June 12.

“The Putin Interviews” is culled from a series of a dozen interviews conducted by Stone with assistance from producer Fernando Sulichin.

The most recent interview was recorded in February, after the U.S. election and President Trump’s inauguration.

The film will touch on allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election, the Kremlin’s role in Syria and Ukraine, as well as the increasingly adversarial relationship between the United States and Russia, Showtime said in a news release.

“If Vladimir Putin is indeed the great enemy of the United States, then at least we should try to understand him,” Stone said in the announcement.

The announcement said other subjects to be discussed include Putin’s “personal relationships” with Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and Trump, as well as the surveillance state and fugitive National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s flight to asylum in Moscow.

Though he is best known for politically charged narrative films such as “J.F.K.” and “Platoon,” Stone has also made a number of documentaries about controversial political figures, including a series of films about Fidel Castro.

“In scope and depth, ‘The Putin Interviews’ recalls ‘The Nixon Interviews,’ the series of conversations between David Frost and Richard Nixon that aired in the spring of 1977,” Showtime said in its news release.

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Princess Charlotte and her little smirk get a close-up in portrait for birthday No. 2

Princess Charlotte of Britain turns 2 on Tuesday.
(The Duchess of Cambridge / Associated Press)

Hello, hello, sweet Charlotte! Britain’s Princess Charlotte turns 2 on Tuesday and, in keeping with tradition, her parents have released a new personal photograph of the tiny royal at play.

“The Duke and Duchess are delighted to share a new photograph of Princess Charlotte to mark her second birthday tomorrow,” the couple said in a statement, followed by a tweet saying they “would like to thank everyone for the lovely messages they have received & hope that everyone enjoys this photograph as much as they do.”

The daughter of Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, is fourth in line for the British throne. Grandpa Prince Charles, dad William and older brother Prince George, 3, are ahead of her.

When she’s not running marathons for mental health awareness, dressing to the nines or serving as a maid of honor, Charlotte’s mom (formerly Kate Middleton) is also an amateur photographer. The informal portrait — like most of the family photos that are released to the public — was taken by Catherine last month at their Amner Hall home in Norfolk, England. The slightly smirking Charlotte, centered against a backdrop of hay, is looking right at her mom behind the lens.

Not surprisingly, the yellow Fair Isle cardigan the toddler is wearing has already sold out.

Observers have readily remarked on the princess’ likeness to her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, at that age.

Catherine, who marked her sixth wedding anniversary over the weekend, recently told a royal fan (via People) that Charlotte “is growing up really fast,” “is the one in charge” and is becoming “very good friends” with brother George.

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Val Kilmer admits having a ‘healing of cancer’

Val Kilmer has confirmed he had a “healing of cancer.”

Doing a Reddit AMA last week, the 57-year-old actor was asked about the story behind Michael Douglas’ comment last November that Kilmer was “dealing with exactly what I had.”

What Douglas had was oral cancer, which he had battled publicly. However, when the “Wall Street” actor made that comment in late 2016 about his “Ghost and the Darkness” costar, Kilmer had called Douglas “misinformed” and said only that he’d had a lump in his throat.

Last week on Reddit, Kilmer got more specific.

Douglas “was probably trying to help me cause press probably asked where I was these days, and I did have a healing of cancer, but my tongue is still swollen altho healing all the time,” the “Tombstone” actor said. “Because I don’t sound my normal self yet people think I may still be under the weather.”

Kilmer wrote on Facebook in November about getting treatment for a lump in his throat, but said he had “no cancer whatsoever.”

In 2015, the Christian Scientist denied that he was dealing with a tumor or infection. For months, Kilmer had kept his neck covered up with shirts and scarves, sparking speculation. He was also spotted out in public with what appeared to be a tracheostomy tube.

“Some fans have mistakenly thought my silence about my personal issues meant that somehow I wasn’t being responsible to my health, because of my reliance on prayer and Love,” Kilmer wrote on Facebook late last year. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Altho I am very grateful for all the support from around the world, when people found out I had a physical challenge.”

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Steve Harvey, ‘GMA’ and ‘The Talk’ among winners at Daytime Emmy Awards

The 44th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were held Sunday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and streamed live on Facebook. The awards show was hosted by Mario Lopez of “Extra” and Sheryl Underwood of “The Talk.”

Winners included “Good Morning America” for morning program and “General Hospital” for drama.

Steve Harvey was a double winner for his hosting work on “Family Feud” and “The Steve Harvey Show.” Mary Hart, formerly of “Entertainment Tonight,” was honored with a lifetime achievement award.

The winners of the major categories are listed below. For a complete list of winners, click here.

MORNING PROGRAM
“Good Morning America” (ABC)

ENTERTAINMENT TALK SHOW HOSTS
“The Talk” (CBS)

GAME SHOW
“Jeopardy!” (Syndicated)

INFORMATIVE TALK SHOW
“The Dr. Oz Show” (Syndicated)

INFORMATIVE TALK SHOW HOST
Steve Harvey (Syndicated)

ENTERTAINMENT TALK SHOW
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (Syndicated)

GAME SHOW HOST
Steve Harvey, “Family Feud” (Syndicated)

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS PROGRAM
“Entertainment Tonight” (CBS)

DRAMA SERIES
“General Hospital” (ABC)

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Scott Clifton, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gina Tognoni, “The Young and the Restless” (CBS)

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Steve Burton, “The Young and the Restless” (CBS)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Kate Mansi, “Days of Our Lives” (NBC)

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A Star Is Born: Tim McGraw turns 50 today

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There’s not really a recipe to selling albums. But nobody’s going to buy a record if they don’t believe that you believe what you’re singing. People believe me; that’s what I think I bring to my music. I sing songs that say what I would say if I was in that position.

— Tim McGraw, 1998

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Country’s quiet success

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Teachers are first in line (for students) as ‘Hamilton’ tickets go on sale in Hollywood

Two middle school teachers were the first in line for “Hamilton” L.A. tickets.

Two middle-school teachers from Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima were the first in line to score tickets for the Los Angeles run of “Hamilton.” They arrived at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre at 11 a.m. Saturday armed with portable chairs and waited for the box office to open at 10 a.m. Sunday, at which point an estimated 1,500 fans formed a line that wrapped through the lobby and down Argyle Avenue as far as the eye could see.

The teachers’ goal: to get seats for six students who are obsessed with the show. By 10:11 a.m. they walked down Hollywood Boulevard with 12 tickets.

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A shifting Tribeca Film Festival sees growth in television and virtual reality fare

Dave Wakeling of the English Beat performs at the Tribeca Film Festival.
(Robin Marchant/Getty Images)

Should the Tribeca Film Festival be considered a more traditional place of cinematic discovery, as a series of narrative films get their world premieres and seek the distribution to help them break out into the wider world? Or is it more about the experience around the movies, with post-screening concerts from the likes of Carly Simon and Puffy, and talks between Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen?

The jury is out. And it may never, in a sense, come back. But for Tribeca, which wrapped up its 16th year Sunday under the hand of Robert De Niro and producing partner Jane Rosenthal, that’s OK. What seems like a throw-it-at-the-wall exercise to some is exactly the kind of tapestry its organizers want — an event that, much like the city it inhabits, offers a little something for everyone.

Here’s a small sample of the diversity I experienced over the past 12 days, and first up is the undeniable breakout of the festival, “Keep the Change,” winner of the jury prize for best narrative feature. Rachel Israel’s feature debut is an offbeat romantic comedy — but not the kind of offbeat romantic comedy typically associated with film festivals.

Tribeca Film Festival announces Audience Award winners >>

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Paris Hilton, Sharon Stone, Ricky Martin and more come out to honor Jeff Koons at the MOCA gala

Paris Hilton and Sharon Stone
(Chris Delmas /AFP/Getty Images | John Sciulli / Getty Images for MOCA)

The annual Museum of Contemporary Art gala Saturday night was, in a word: magenta. Bright, reflective magenta — a celebration of the lavish and colorful kind.

MOCA transformed its Geffen Contemporary location into a shimmering Jeff Koons-scape, honoring the New York artist for his creative and philanthropic contributions. Koons has helped to raise more than $5 million for the museum in the last five years, and the party drawing more than 600 art stars, Hollywood celebrities and others was the museum’s thank you. The design, by event producer Ben Bourgeois, was inspired by Koons’ “Celebration” series of sculptures and paintings. A purple carpet and hot pink step-and-repeat backdrop for arrivals came with glowing magenta ceiling discs reflecting magenta-tinted tabletops in the dinner tent, where walls lined with Mylar balloons were — you guessed it — shiny magenta.

Artist Eric White and actress Patricia Arquette
(John Sciulli / Getty Images for MOCA)
Artist Jwan Yosef and singer Ricky Martin
(John Sciulli / Getty Images for MOCA)
Artist Justine Wheeler Koons and honoree Jeff Koons
(John Sciulli / Getty Images for MOCA)

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Thousands of drag lovers flock to RuPaul’s DragCon at L.A. Convention Center

Over the weekend, more than 40,000 LGBTQ-friendly people and lovers of drag descended on the Los Angeles Convention Center for RuPaul’s DragCon. In its third year, the celebration of “the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all” featured panel discussions, drag “herstory” sessions, and fashion and makeup workshops for men and women.

Think Comic-Con, but for drag queens.

One of the most attended panels of the weekend was titled “What Is Drag in Trump’s America?,” hosted by the new purveyors of scathing political takes, Teen Vogue. It featured the outspoken Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Alaska, standout and fan favorites from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” -- which, in its ninth season, moved from Logo TV to VH1 this year.

Read MoreREAD: RuPaul, the world’s most famous drag queen, on pushing boundaries and getting political

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A breakdown of what it’s like to walk, ride and glide through Disney World’s new Pandora park

A line queue for the Pandora ride “Flight of Passge” in Disney World’s new park.

Midway through James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi action film “Avatar,” set on the distant planet of Pandora, lead character Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) observes, “Out there is the true world. In here is the dream.”

He’s referring to his ability in the film to inhabit an alien body, and not, of course, a theme park. Yet Disney, at its Animal Kingdom park in Orlando, Fla., will on May 27 attempt to transport guests to an otherworldly reality -- a place not inhabited by princesses and castles and singing ghosts but by floating mountains, a bioluminescent forest and mysterious creatures who rustle plants just out of sight of guests.

Pandora -- the World of Avatar, which was inspired by the Cameron film but does not feature any of its main characters, aims to put a true-to-life spin on the fantasy universe. Situated in Animal Kingdom, Pandora will play up themes of conservation as it presents a fragile world on the road to rehabilitation. Set about a generation after the conflict of the film, much of Pandora, which we visited as part of a preview, conveys a tranquil setting.

The Na’Vi River Journey boat ride is an intimate (the boats seat about eight people each) and calming trip through a bioluminescent forest, culminating in a visit with the Shaman of Songs, a Na’Vi relaxing and serenading guests amid the glowing fauna.

Read More More about Disney’s Pandora park:.

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