New this week: Scary movies, Lainey Wilson, 'Call of Duty'
This weekโs new entertainment releases include albums from Lainey Wilson and a Garbage anthology, the video on demand releases of horror films โPearlโ and โBarbarianโ and the latest installment of the โCall of Dutyโ video game franchise.
Celebrities go online to voice support for Ukraine
A group of inter-generational stars from film, TV, sports and music โ including Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Elton John and Jon Bon Jovi, Jonas Brothers and Billie Eilish โ have signed up for a social media campaign to show support for Ukraine.
Martin, McDonald, Porter join stars in telethon for Ukraine
A roster of film, TV and theater all-stars โ including Steve Martin, Annette Bening, Billy Porter, Audra McDonald, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Chenoweth, David Hyde Pierce and Rosie Perez โ have signed up for a 10-hour telethon to raise money for the victims of the war in Ukraine.
New this week: 'No Sudden Move' and 'The Tomorrow War'
This weekโs new entertainment releases include documentaries about celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and another on a landmark 1969 Harlem concert series known as โBlack Woodstockโ that featured Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone.
Patti Smith returns to singing live with Brooklyn concert
CORRECTS DAY OF CONCERT - FILE - Patti Smith attends a special screening of "Pavarotti" at the iPic Theater in New York on May 28, 2019. Smith performed six songs as well as read poetry and excerpts from her book โJust Kidsโ in the Beaux-Arts Court at the museum, her voice bouncing off the skylight 60 feet above. It was a concert to also honor museum workers and drew just under 50 people, all socially distanced in widely spaced chairs. The Smith concert came on the same day in 1989 that Mapplethorpe died at age 42. It also marked the one-year anniversary of when Smith last performed live, at The Fillmore in San Francisco.
Joe and Jill Biden to appear on 'New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve'
FILE - In this May 14, 2019 file photo, Ryan Seacrest attends the Walt Disney Television 2019 upfront in New York. This week, he will return to New York's Times Square to host Dick Clark New Years Rockin Eve. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK โ Ryan Seacrest will have a special pair of guests alongside the music stars at this year's New Year's Eve celebration on ABC โ the president-elect and the future first lady. President-elect Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden are scheduled to give โtheir last interview of the yearโ in New Yorkโs Times Square on โDick Clarkโs New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021.โThe Bidens will "share an inspiring message as we come together to close out 2020 and look ahead with hope to 2021,โ according to a statement by the producers. โDick Clarkโs New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021" will run until 2 a.m. Eastern on Jan. 1.
Gloria Gaynor to perform at Times Square New Year's Eve
Gaynor will sing her anthem, "I Will Survive" during the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square as a celebration of perseverance, honoring essential workers. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK โ The New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square will be a celebration of perseverance, honoring essential workers and featuring Gloria Gaynor singing her anthem, โI Will Survive," organizers said Tuesday. The broadcasts that usually set up shop in Times Square will be there, including โDick Clarkโs New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021,โ which will have a performance from Jennifer Lopez. Organizers said they would be honoring essential workers as the โHeroes of 2020" and designate a group of them as Special Guests, an annual tradition since the 1990s. Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in a statement, โThis year, it feels most appropriate to shine a spotlight on the individuals who are tirelessly leading our nation through hard times with unshakable strength, determination and poise.โ
J. Lo, Billy Porter to perform at 'New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve'
NEW YORK โ Jennifer Lopez will help bring in the New Year with a headlining performance in New Yorkโs Time Square for โDick Clarkโs New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021." Other performers include Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter and Jimmie Allen. Lauper and Porter collaborated on the Broadway musical โKinky Boots" and they will join forces for a special performance during the TV special, which will air on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern. โDick Clarkโs New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2021" will run until 2 a.m. Eastern on Jan. 1. Seacrest is returning to host the event for a 16th year, and he will be joined by Porter and Lucy Hale in New York.
Despite bleak 2020, celebrities make effort to brighten year
(AP Photo)LOS ANGELES โ Yes, 2020 may seem like a complete fail with all the constant bad news and tragic moments. Itโs been filled with gloom and doom(scrolling), but some celebrities and those inspired by them have tried to brighten a bleak year. He reassigned his 10 seamstresses in New York to produce thousands daily for health care workers on the frontlines. The singer and husband Emilio Estefan's restaurant Estefan Kitchen served up homemade meals for health care workers in Miami. The challenge coordinated offers by celebrities and athletes to raise funds to feed those in need during the pandemic.
Billy Porter to join New Year's Eve show from Times Square
Last New Year's Eve, Billy Porter was working in New Orleans. This year he'll still be working โ but in New York City. The โPoseโ star will join Ryan Seacrest and Lucy Hale on ABC in Times Square on Dec. 31 for Dick Clarkโs New Yearโs Rockinโ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020.โ The broadcast is closed to the public due to the pandemic. โ2020 has been a trying year for the world and Iโm thrilled to have Billy and Lucy join me in ushering in a new year with fresh beginnings,โ said Seacrest in a statement. As with last year, Ciara will once again oversee the Los Angeles festivities.
Voting history of Detroit woman, 103, dates back to FDR
Talu Massey speaks about voting from her home in Detroit, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. But this is far from the Detroit resident's first election. The 103-year-old is proud of her lengthy voting record, saying it's every citizen's "civic duty" to take part in the process. The 103-year-old is proud of her lengthy voting record, saying itโs every citizenโs โcivic dutyโ to take part in the process. Massey voted absentee in September, eight decades after she cast her first presidential ballot โ for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Golden Globes group gives $5.1 million in grants
Kidman was among the entertainers who appeared to discuss the charities that benefit from HFPA grants. More than $5.1 million in funds were given to over 70 nonprofit organizations during the โHFPA Philanthropy: Empowering the Next Generationโ virtual event on Tuesday. The event, formerly known as the Grants Banquet, celebrated some of the organizations with aspiring artists, filmmakers and storytellers. The organization is known for putting on the Golden Globes. Salma Hayek paid homage to the Las Fotos Project, a nonprofit organization that inspires teenage girls through photography.
The 'Pandemmys' were weird and sometimes wonderful
(The Television Academy and ABC Entertainment via AP)It was Regina King, winning her fourth career Emmy on Sunday, who perhaps summed up the proceedings the most succinctly โ and accurately: โThis is freaking weird." Nobody was more thrilled than Daniel Levy, son of best actor winner Eugene Levy; the younger Levy won the award for comedy writing, shared a directing award and captured the supporting actor trophy. A CALL TO THE BOOTHLevy used some of his considerable mic time to urge viewers to vote in November. โI know this seems like a really weird time to be celebrating,โ Zendaya said. Sterling K. Brown gave out the showโs final award, best drama, in a Black Lives Matter shirt.
With picnic baskets, Christian Siriano puts on backyard show
For the rest of the fashion industry, Siriano livestreamed the show on a sunny, mild day, with his garden as backdrop and his grass as runway. It was a rare New York Fashion Week show to include physical guests, something he said both he and his clothes sorely required. His comic books became gray and black cartoon panes on a trouser and jacket set. Gone this fashion week were the hordes of celebrities and influencers usually seated on front rows. The designer and โPoseโ star bonded at last year's Academy Awards when Porter took to the red carpet in a huge tuxedo gown Siriano designed.
In NYC, marking 50th anniversary of Pride, no matter what
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)NEW YORK โ There were protests, rainbow flags and performances โ it was LGBTQ Pride, after all. With the cityโs massive Pride parade canceled, Sunday's performances were virtual, the flags flew in emptier than normal spaces and the protesters were masked. The disruption caused by the virus would be an aggravation in any year, but particularly in this one, the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in New York City. The organizers are activists who held a protest march last year as an alternative to the main Pride parade, saying it had become too corporate. Other parades canceled this spring included the St. Patrickโs Day parade and Puerto Rican Day parade.
DaBaby, Roddy Ricch to help BET celebrate awards virtually
The three-hour show will be jam-packed with heavy hitters currently dominating the pop charts and streaming services, including DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Summer Walker, Kane Brown and Chloe x Halle. The three-hour show will be jam-packed with heavy hitters currently dominating the pop charts and streaming services, including DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Summer Walker, Kane Brown and Chloe x Halle. Comedian, actress and TV personality Amanda Seales will host the 2020 BET Awards, which will air on CBS for the first time. Drake is the leading nominee: Hes up for six honors, including video of the year and best male hip-hop artist. Ricch and Megan Thee Stallion follow Drake with five nominations each.
Shakira, Dwayne Johnson highlight coronavirus equity concert
NEW YORK Dwayne Johnson will host and Shakira, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson will perform on a globally broadcast concert calling on world leaders to make coronavirus tests and treatment available and equitable for all. The advocacy organization Global Citizen and the European Commission announced Monday that Global Goal: Unite for Our Future The Concert will air on June 27. The concert will also feature appearances from Billy Porter, Charlize Theron, Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Salma Hayek and David Beckham. It will be broadcast on NBC in the U.S. and other television stations, radio stations, websites and streaming outlets around the world. The event aims to lift up the global community that is tackling equitable access to healthcare, and other enormous injustices facing our world, Johnson said in a statement.
Kaitlyn Dever, Paul Rudd react to Golden Globe nominations
He was nominated for best performance by an actor in a television series for FX's โPose.โโItโs a dream come true. Iโm honored.โ โ Paul Rudd, nominated for best performance by an actor in a television series in a musical or comedy for the Netflix show โLiving with Yourself,โ said in an interview. I was really glad we were able to show that.โ โ Kaitlyn Dever, nominated for best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television for โUnbelievable," said in an interview. โThere are only two things I let interrupt my beauty sleep: fire alarms and the Golden Globes nominations. โ Craig Brewer, the director of โDolemite Is My Name,โ which is nominated for best motion picture - musical or comedy, said in a statement.