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Meek Mill Fires New Shots at Nicki Minaj and Drake With ‘Meekend Music’

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Remy Ma, pay attention. It looks like Nicki Minaj is rounding up troops to back her up in this now-infamous hip-hop feud.

Hours after Minaj dropped her diss track “No Frauds” in response to Remy’s diss tracks released in late February, the Black Barbie went on Instagram to show Remy that Lil Wayne and Drake, who are featured in her song, aren’t the only people in her squad.

A video posted to Minaj’s Instagram account Friday shows pop’s elite players Selena Gomez, Jhene Aiko and Tinashe singing along to “No Frauds” in their respective cars.
The video ends with Ariana Grande’s recent Instagram post that promotes Minaj’s other newly released single, “Regret in Your Tears.”

“Didn’t expect this but love u girls so much for reppin,” Minaj wrote in the video’s caption, along with the hashtags #BadBtchsLinkUp and #TheyDontWantNoFrauds, and a crown and knife emoji.


Kevin Spacey Slammed After Coming Out in Statement Apologizing for Alleged Sexual Harassment

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Kevin Spacey is being criticized for “hiding under the rainbow” after he came out in the same statement in which he apologized for alleged unwanted sexual advancestowards actor Anthony Rapp when Rapp was just 14.

In an interview with BuzzFeed published Sunday, Rapp, now 46, alleged then-26-year-old Spacey invited him to his Manhattan apartment for a party in 1986. (They were both starring in hit Broadway plays at the time.) Rapp says he was the only teen at the party and spent most of the evening in a bedroom watching television. After the party ended, he said, Spacey came into the room, picked him up and laid “down on top of me…he was trying to seduce me”

After apologizing for the alleged incident — “if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,” Spacey, 58, wrote — the House of Cards star came out as gay.

“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” Spacey’s statement continues. “I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact that I have been so protective of my privacy. As those closes to me know, in my life, I have had relationships with both men and women. I have loved and had romantic relationships with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”

However, many celebrities — some in the LGBT community — were critical of the statement.

“No no no no no! You do not get to ‘choose’ to hide under the rainbow!” comedian Wanda Sykes, who came out as a lesbian in 2008, wrote on Twitter. “Kick rocks!”

Actress Rose McGowan, who recently claimed she was raped by producer Harvey Weinstein, wrote, “Bye bye, Spacey goodbye, it’s your turn to cry, that’s why we’ve gotta say goodbye.” Weinstein has repeatedly denied having nonconsensual sex.

Billy Eichner approached the situation with humor before condemning Spacey’s statement.

“Kevin Spacey has just invented something that has never existed before: a bad time to come out,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Imagine the Astros walking off the field only to find out Kevin Spacey is gay. The shock of it all,” the comedian added, referencing the World Series game. “But honestly I hesitate to make jokes because the Spacey statement is truly disgusting, irresponsible and dangerous. Ok goodnight!”

Comedian Cameron Esposito added, “Just wanna be really f–ing clear that being gay has nothing to do w/ going after underage folks.”

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor. I’m beyond horrified to hear his story,” Spacey said in the statement posted on his Twitter account late Sunday night.

“I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I a sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”

Rapp, who now stars in Star Trek: Discovery, told BuzzFeed, “He was trying to seduce me. I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.”

STEVE MACK/WIREIMAGE

Source: People Magazine

Corey Feldman Defends Needing $10 Million for Film Exposing Hollywood Pedophilia

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In light of the ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal and Sunday’s accusations against Kevin Spacey, Corey Feldman is trying to tell the story of his experiences with Hollywood pedophilia.

The Goonies star has long said that he and former co-star Corey Haim were sexually abused by Hollywood higher-ups, and in a pair of interviews with Matt Lauer and Megyn Kelly, Haim says he’s seeking $10 million from an Indiegogo campaign to fund a biopic that will name the abusers. “It will be a very true story.

Everybody that affected my life, I’m going to give the perspective that I can give, what I viewed, what I experienced from a firsthand account,” Feldman told Matt Lauer.

Feldman says he’s tried to speak out about abuse allegations before — in 1993, with authorities in Santa Barbara who were investigating his friend Michael Jackson, and in his 2013 memoir, but the publisher wouldn’t allow him to identify his alleged abusers. By producing and distributing the movie independently, Feldman says he can expose people still working in the industry. He claims the $10 million can also pay for a legal team and personal security.

“If I were to go to the police, I would be the one who’s getting sued,” he told Today. “Henceforth, I need a team of lawyers, I need a team of security to be around me at all times to keep me safe so I can get this message done. I vow I will release every single name that I have any knowledge of, period.”

The film has already attracted critics. Judy Haim, Corey Haim’s mother, is skeptical of Feldman’s project. “He’s been talking about revealing the names of his and other abusers for seven years, since my son died,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.

“Now he wants $10 million to do it? Come on. It’s a long con. He’s a scam artist. If he was serious about this, he’d share the information he has with the police.” In response, Feldman called Haim a “bad woman who vehemently protects evil.”

Source: Google Alerts

House of Cards Canceled As Fallout Continues For Spacey

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Kevin Spacey issued a public apology after actor Anthony Rapp accused him of making a sexual advance towards him 31 years ago. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

For a few hours after a bombshell BuzzFeed interview in which actor Anthony Rapp alleged Kevin Spacey had made a sexual advance toward him more than 30 years ago, when Rapp was just 14, Spacey remained silent.

Then, at precisely midnight, the veteran actor posted a two-paragraph statement on Twitter.

In the first, Spacey said he was “beyond horrified” to hear Rapp’s story but did not remember the encounter, which would have taken place when Spacey was 26. However, he apologized “if I did behave then as [Rapp] describes . . . for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”

Then, in the second paragraph, Spacey came out as gay.

“This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life,” he wrote. “I have loved and had romantic encounters with men throughout my life, and I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behavior.”

His late-night statement outraged many, particularly in the LGBT community, who accused Spacey of trying to deflect from a serious accusation — making a sexual advance on a minor — by coming out and implying that it was his choice to be gay. For years, the actor has danced around rumors he had relationships with other men.

“Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault,” GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This is not a coming out story about Kevin Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp and all those who bravely speak out against unwanted sexual advances.”

Even worse, they said, was the implication that the two paragraphs in his statement might be related in any way.

“Kevin Spacey has set gay rights back fifty years by a) conflating homosexuality with” Rapp’s allegations, one Twitter user said, “and b) Saying that being gay is a ‘choice.’ ”

Soon, Twitter was flooded with memes from people who were equally dumbfounded and angered by Spacey’s approach to the allegations.

People also criticized Spacey for seeming to qualify his apology with the fact that he was drunk at the time of the alleged encounter with Rapp.

“Nope,” author and LGBT activist Dan Savage tweeted, adding that “there’s no amount of drunk or closeted that excuses or explains away” such alleged behavior.

Rapp told BuzzFeed he was in Spacey’s apartment for a party in 1986, and that at the end of the night, Spacey picked him up, placed him on a bed and climbed on top of him.

The two had known each other for their Broadway work; Rapp, a child actor at the time, was 14, and Spacey was 26, BuzzFeed reported.

Reports detailing allegations of ongoing sexual harassment and abuse by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein prompted Rapp to speak publicly about Spacey; he had told close friends about the encounter throughout the 1990s and 2000s, BuzzFeed reported.

“I came forward with my story, standing on the shoulders of the many courageous women and men who have been speaking out, to shine a light and hopefully make a difference, as they have done for me,” Rapp said on Twitter after Spacey’s statement. “Everything I wanted to say about my experience is in that article, and I have no further comment about it at this time.”

On Monday, the actor Zachary Quinto blasted Spacey’s coming out as “a calculated manipulation to deflect attention” from Rapp’s allegations.

“I am sorry to that Kevin only saw fit to acknowledge his truth when he thought it would serve him — just as his denial served him for so many years,” Quinto said in a statement. “May Anthony Rapp’s voice be the one which is amplified here. Victim’s voices are the ones that deserve to be heard.”

In an essay for the Daily Beast, reporter Ira Madison III called Spacey’s decision to come out of the closet “all the more cold and calculated,” seeing as he must know it could change the subject in the wake of Rapp’s allegations.

“There’s never truly a wrong time to come out and I’d never begrudge anyone for accepting their sexuality,” Madison wrote. “But the seediness of using your coming out to deflect from a sexual assault allegation is something else entirely.”

A Netflix representative confirmed Monday the upcoming sixth season of “House of Cards,” which starred Spacey, would be the show’s last, but said its cancellation was decided months ago, not in response to Rapp’s allegations.

Beau Willimon, the creator “House of Cards,” released a statement Monday calling Rapp’s story “deeply troubling.”

“During the time I worked with Kevin Spacey on ‘House of Cards’ I neither witnessed nor was aware of any inappropriate behavior on set or off,” Willimon said. “That said, I take reports of such behavior seriously, and this is no exception. I feel for Mr. Rapp and I support his courage.”

Monday evening, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced that with the allegations it would no longer honor Spacey with its Founders Award, given to “an individual who crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity.”

Read more:

‘When did you meet YOUR Harvey Weinstein?’ Thousands share workplace sex assault stories online.

Violence. Threats. Begging. Harvey Weinstein’s 30-year pattern of abuse in Hollywood.

‘This is rape culture’: After Trump video, thousands of women share sexual assault stories

Source: Google Alerts

Netflix Severs Ties With Kevin Spacey, Drops Gore Movie

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 Netflix is officially severing ties with Kevin Spacey amid mounting allegations of sexual harassment made against the House of Cards series star and executive producer.

Additionally, the streamer has scrapped a Gore Vidal biopic starring Spacey.

“Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show,” a spokesperson for the streamer said in a statement Friday. “We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film Gore, which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey.”

Media Rights Capital issued a statement soon after confirming Spacey has been suspended from the series. “While we continue the ongoing investigation into the serious allegations concerning Kevin Spacey’s behavior on the set of House of Cards, he has been suspended, effective immediately. MRC, in partnership with Netflix, will continue to evaluate a creative path forward for the program during the hiatus,” the company stated.

Netflix’s decision to cut ties comes days after Star Trek actor Anthony Rapp alleged in a BuzzFeed News interview published Oct. 29 that Spacey made unwanted sexual advances towards him in 1986 when Spacey was 26 and Rapp was 14. Spacey issued a statement in which he said he did not remember the incident but “sincerely apologized.” Spacey also drew ire when he used that same statement to come out as a gay man.

On Oct. 30, Netflix confirmed that the upcoming sixth season would be its last, a decision the streamer said pre-dated the allegations made against Spacey. However, shortly thereafter, Netflix and producer MRC said they were “deeply troubled” by the claim made by Rapp and said in a statement that executives from both companies had traveled to the show’s Maryland set to meet with cast and crew and “to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported.” (MRC is co-owned by Eldridge Industries, which also owns THR.)

On Oct. 31, production on the sixth season was suspended indefinitely and the following day, Spacey’s rep released a statement saying he was “taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment.”

However, allegations continued to mount against Spacey, including from several House of Cards employees who spoke to CNN about their experience with Spacey. One production assistant recalled Spacey putting his hands down the assistant’s pants without his consent and then later touching him inappropriately a second time. Another crew member recalled Spacey massaging his shoulders, touching his stomach.

“We are deeply troubled to learn about these new allegations that are being made to the press concerning Kevin Spacey’s interaction with members of the crew of House of Cards,” MRC said in a statement at the time. As the producer of the show, creating and maintaining a safe working environment for our cast and crew has always been our top priority. We have consistently reinforced the importance of employees reporting any incident without fear of retaliation and we have investigated and taken appropriate actions following any complaints.”

MRC said they had set up an anonymous complaint hotline, crisis counselors, and sexual harassment legal advisers for the crew of House of Cards. The company also said they would “continue to thoroughly investigate all current claims and any new claims that are formally brought to our attention, and will continue to monitor our own production and practices to ensure that our cast and crew feel safe and supported.”

In its statement, MRC also confirmed that someone on the crew had complained about “a specific remark and gesture” made by Spacey during production on season one back in 2012. “Immediate action was taken following our review of the situation and we are confident the issue was resolved promptly to the satisfaction of all involved. Mr. Spacey willingly participated in a training process and since that time MRC has not been made aware of any other complaints involving Mr. Spacey.”

Netflix also responded to the allegations made on Nov. 1 with a new statement: “Netflix was just made aware of one incident, five years ago, that we were informed was resolved swiftly. On Tuesday, in collaboration with MRC, we suspended production, knowing that Kevin Spacey wasn’t scheduled to work until Wednesday. Netflix is not aware of any other incidents involving Kevin Spacey on-set. We continue to collaborate with MRC and other production partners to maintain a safe and respectful working environment. We will continue to work with MRC during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the production, and have nothing further to share at this time.”

The uncertain future of House of Cards comes after two episodes of the show’s sixth and final season had already been shot. Sources told THR Friday that the writers are actively reworking the final season, which was almost entirely written, to write Spacey out. Sources expected production to be suspended for at least two weeks as the writers figured out a way to remove Spacey’s Frank Underwood from the narrative. In addition to writing Spacey out of the series, a total shutdown of the series is also still considered a possibility, albeit less likely.

Writing Spacey out of House of Cards would not be a stretch, as the Frank character dies in the Michael Dobbs book that inspired the Netflix series. In recent days, speculation has grown that star Robin Wright, who plays Frank’s wife and political partner, Claire, could become the show’s centerpiece.

Additionally, Netflix is mulling potential House of Cards spinoffs, one of which would center on Michael Kelly’s loyal sidekick Doug Stamper.

In addition to starring in the drama, Spacey also served as an executive producer along with his producing partner Dana Brunetti through their Trigger Street Productions banner. Spacey, already a two-time Oscar winner, had won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for his performance as Frank Underwood in addition to earning five Emmy nominations for each of the show’s five seasons.

House of Cards has played a huge role in putting Netflix on the map when it came to original series. Boasting two film stars, Spacey and Wright, as well as an Oscar-nominated director in David Fincher, the drama was a splashy foray into original series when it launched in 2013. In addition to strong buzz, the series became Netflix’s first major awards contender, winning three Emmys its first season including best directing for Fincher and earning nominations for best drama series, best actor in a drama series and best actress.

As for Gore, the biopic had wrapped shooting in Italy in recent days, just as the scandal erupted. Directed by Michael Hoffman, Gore has been in production for several months.

The film was based on Jay Parini’s 2015 biography, Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal, and focuses on the period following Gore’s loss to Jerry Brown for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate. Gore retreated to his Italian villa, La Rondinaia, on the Amalfi Coastin in a Bacchanalian attempt to circumvent his writer’s block and sense of ennui.

Michael Sthulbarg played Vidal’s longtime companion, Howard Austen (Vidal refused to identify as a gay man). Griffin Dunne starred as famed American composer Leonard Bernstein, while Nikolai Kinski played renowned Russian dancer/choreographer Rudolph Nureyev, both of whom regularly visited Gore’s cliffside villa. Douglas Booth and Freya Mavor starred as a young couple vacationing in the area.

Netflix had planned a 2018 release for Gore.

Spacey is the latest Hollywood figure to face sexual harassment allegations. Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment by more than 70 women and terminated from The Weinstein Company. Earlier this week, Brett Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct by six women in the Los Angeles Times and Warner Bros. severed ties with the director soon after.

Source: Google Alerts

Larry David criticized for concentration camp jokes during SNL monologue

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Larry David’s monologue on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live was pretty, pretty, pretty — well, not great, according to some people.

The Curb Your Enthusiasm star ended his opening words with a run of jokes that left a poor taste in many viewers’ mouths: “I’ve always been obsessed with women, and I’ve often wondered: If I’d grown up in Poland when Hitler came to power and was sent to a concentration camp, would I still be checking out women in the camp?” he started before imagining what kind of conversation he’d have with another guy as they figured out how to flirt.

“The problem is, there are no good opening lines in a concentration camp,” he continued, then proposed some: “‘How’s it going? They treatin’ you okay? You know, if we ever get out of here, I’d love to take you out for some latkes. You like latkes?’”

Although many Twitter users were not fans of David’s bit, some defended it: “Larry David may be the most important Jewish comedian ever,” user Barret tweeted. “He’s allowed to make concentration camp jokes.”


See Twitter’s less positive reactions to the joke below, and stay tuned for EW’s full recap on the night’s episode, hosted by David and featuring musical guest Miley Cyrus.

Source: Google Alerts

Larry David’s Bernie Sanders is back!!!

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I’m still not convinced Bernie Sanders isn’t just Larry David in disguise! He brought back the impression during last night’s SNL Celebrity Price Is Right Sketch, Smash Or Trash? -Suits

Source: Google Alerts

Tonight Show Taping Canceled Following Death of Jimmy Fallon’s Mother

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UPDATED: Tapings of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” have been cancelled for the week of Nov. 6-10 in light of the death of Jimmy Fallon’s mother, according to a statement from NBC. Repeat episodes will be scheduled.

On behalf of everyone at NBC, we extend our deepest condolences to Jimmy and all his family at this time of enormous loss,” said NBC in a statement. “Our hearts go out to Jimmy and everyone else whose lives were so touched by Gloria Fallon’s love, kindness and support.”

Fallon’s mother, Gloria, died Saturday at a hospital in New York, Variety has confirmed.

Her death came one day after NBC canceled a taping of “The Tonight Show” due to her illness.

“Jimmy Fallon’s mother, Gloria, died peacefully on Saturday,” a Fallon family spokesperson said in a press statement. “Jimmy was at his mother’s bedside, along with her loved ones, when she passed away at NYU Langone Medical Center in NYC. Our prayers go out to Jimmy and his family as they go through this tough time.”

Fallon’s mother was ill and in a hospital at the time of the ‘Tonight Show’ cancellation, said a person familiar with the matter. The Nov. 3 episode was replaced with a rerun from September.

Though Fallon keeps much of his personal life private, he revealed touching moments with his mother over the years. During a #MomQuotes segment of the show, he shared a memory of Gloria.

“My mom and I were talking on the phone for the third time that day and she actually said, ‘We don’t talk enough,’” he tweeted.

Fallon described his childhood with mom Gloria, dad Jim and sister Gloria in a 2004 New York magazine article. “My dad was in Vietnam, and he was in a doo-wop group,” Fallon said. “My mom was like a total square; she wasn’t allowed to leave her stoop in Brooklyn. She was a nun for about a month, but then she was like, ‘You know what? I didn’t get the calling!’ Ha!”

He told Howard Stern that his mother was a nun on an episode of “The Howard Stern Show” as well. He said his parents grew up together and met in high school, and that she was only a nun for about a week.

Source: Google Alerts


Mila Kunis Donates To Planned Parenthood In Mike Pence’s Name – Backfires BIG TIME!

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Celebrities can be so dumb. Take for example the lovely, beautiful, and stupid Mila Kunis.

People are actually the best; they make for great comical fodder.

The former That 70’s Show star, current whiskey spokesperson, and wife of Ashton Kutcher, appeared on Conan and attempted to impress him and his viewers with a little secret.

According to The Blaze:

Actress Mila Kunis revealed this week that she has been donating to Planned Parenthood each month in Vice President Mike Pence’s name. She explained why she has been doing so during an appearance on “Conan.”

Kunis explained to host Conan O’Brien that the recurring donation isn’t a prank, but simply a reminder that “there are women out there in the world that may or may not agree with his platform.”

“Every month to his office, he gets a little letter that says like, ‘an anonymous donation has been made in your name,’” she added, noting it’s her way of peacefully protesting the Trump administration.

Congratulations, Mila Kunis. You just made the same point that conservatives have for the past several years:

Planned Parenthood should not be funded by federal tax dollars!

First and foremost (and this is where Mila comes in), Planned Parenthood will survive on private donations.

Secondly, pro-lifers would not have to have their tax dollars spent on a facility that provides abortions.

So thank you, Mila.

Your generous donation, along with your other very liberal and wealthy friends, have proved that Planned Parenthood will get along just fine without federal money.

Silly, celebrity. Looks and money does not equal a brain.

Does anyone else hear the Wizard Of Oz soundtrack playing?

If I only had a brain…

She sent up this monthly donation because, as The Hill reported, Kunis “disagreed with some of the stuff that Pence was doing and was trying to do.”

Pence is a longtime opponent of abortion rights.

In March, Pence cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate to move forward with an effort to nix an Obama-era rule that blocked states from defunding health-care providers for political reasons.

Way to really give it to him, Mila!

Support his argument by funding Planned Parenthood!

Wooooo! That will show him!

And, now that she has decided to become Ms. Political, Jim Beam customers have something to say about it.

Twitter users are peacefully protesting in return by letting the makers of Jim Beam know they will be choosing the brand’s competitors instead:

Tell @JimBeam to stop having @MilaKunis as their spokes idiot

Hey @JimBeam I didn’t realize your spokesperson was so political & supported killing babies #AbortionHurts #BoycottJimBeam

#BoycottJimBeam I can’t support a company whose spokeswoman cannot leave POLITICS out of selling Whiskey. I was just about ready to buy

Just in time for the holiday season, I will be #BoycottJimBeam due to thier support of a spokesperson supporting PP who kills babies.

Hahahahaha. Cheers to liberal idiocy, celebrities getting all political, and the good ol’ fashioned Americans who are tired of it!

Which celebrity turned political makes you the most crazy?

Source: The Federalist Papers

Is Rian Johnson’s New Trilogy Exactly What Star Wars Needs?

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After the false starts of the ‘Star Wars Story’ movies, could Johnson be the New Hope for the franchise?

The news that Rian Johnson is staying in a galaxy far, far away after Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a surprise on a number of levels, and one that suggests that Lucasfilm is learning from mistakes made over the past couple of years.

After all, there’s a lot that’s different in the announcement of Johnson’s new trilogy from what has been Lucasfilm’s process since the company was purchased by Disney some years ago.  Lucasfilm took pains to point out this will not be part of the “Skywalker Saga,” so this isn’t Episodes X, XI and XII here. And while both Lucasfilm and Disney have made attempts to expand Star Wars outside of the “Skywalker Saga” movies with Rogue One and the upcoming young Han Solo movie Solo, neither of those have had the scope ambition of this new move, as they have been tied to existing characters and concepts… and yet, this new trilogy news is still likely to cause less anxiety amongst studio executives.

The difference, at least as far as that last point goes, is that Johnson is a known quantity to Lucasfilm in terms of being a creative partner. Indeed, although the movie has yet to be released, even trailers teasing his work on The Last Jedi have prompted a level of excitement amongst fans and executives alike that rival that for J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens back in 2015. It’s not just that Johnson loves Star Wars, and has a particular affinity for the original movies — the same could be said for everyone the studio has partnered with since the franchise relaunch — but that Johnson has demonstrated quite how well he plays within the studio’s sandbox, and works with the various other entities involved in the maintenance and creation of the larger franchise.

Compare this to Gareth Edwards, whose Rogue One: A Star Wars Story underwent extensive reshoots under the direction of Tony Gilroy, or to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, removed from Solo: A Star Wars Story before initial production had even been completed. Or, for that matter, Colin Trevorrow, the original director of 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX, replaced before production had even started by returning director J.J. Abrams. Although the details of what happened in each case remain somewhat murky — and, likely, always will — it’s clear that, for some reason or another, they didn’t necessarily fit the creative vision of Lucasfilm as a whole, even when creating small offshoots of the larger story, filling in backstory and gaps in ways that seemed not exactly risky.

This new trilogy, by comparison, feels like what the fulfillment of something that Lucasfilm has been searching for for some time. Not only in terms of length — a new trilogy, which feels like something on par with the “Skywalker Saga,” which is also told in three chapter chunks — but in subject matter, as well. By focusing on, in Lucasfilm’s words, “new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored,” Johnson is actually managing to expand the galaxy beyond the central storyline that everything to date has dealt with, in the process setting the franchise up for a longevity that it arguably lacked previously. After all, there’s only so far that you can go with the Skywalkers and their friends, especially with standalone movies strip-mining that series for parts as it goes along. (Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy has said recently that Skywalker trilogy characters like Daisy Ridley’s Rey and John Boyega’s Finn

The news does make me wonder what the longterm future of the Star Wars Story movies is, now; to date, the two that audiences know of have had difficult births, which might make Lucasfilm reconsider the original plan of releasing one every two years — especially if this new trilogy might want to take that slot in the release schedule, instead. (Or perhaps we’re headed towards an era of multiple Star Wars movies a year, a la Disney’s other big nerd engine, the Marvel movies.) Also, if Johnson is charting new space with his trilogy, does this mean future Star Wars Story movies could move further afield from mining the era between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, if the series continues? We can but hope.

In many ways, the Johnson trilogy feels like a culmination of Lucasfilm’s Disney era to date, something that could only have come after the growing pains of hiring and firing directors to fully comprehend how elastic the franchise can be in terms of narrative voice and subject matter, as well as finding a creator who’s as engaged with the material and the process of making Star Wars as Johnson turned out to be. It’s taken a few years, but this might be just where Disney wanted Star Wars to be all along.

Source: Google Alerts

Kimmel: Trump Doesn’t Even Drink American Water

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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel mocked President Trump after the president stopped his speech Wednesday recapping his Asia trip to take a sip of water.

“He’s talking about … bringing jobs back to America. He’s drinking a bottle of water from Fiji. It’s Fiji water,” Kimmel said on his late-night show.

“He’s not even drinking American water during the speech about American [jobs]. I think that does a very good job of summing the man up right there.”

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The comments come after Trump — just more than 10 minutes into his speech at the White House — abruptly paused and looked under his lectern for water.

“They don’t have water. That’s OK,” he said.

Reporters then pointed to a small table next to the lectern. “To your right, sir,” one reporter said.

Trump turned to the side, picked up a bottle of Fiji water with both hands and took a sip.

He then continued recapping his visits to Japan and South Korea, praising the governments there for their cooperation on trade.

The moment with the water bottle was reminiscent of Sen. Marco Rubio(R-Fla.) sipping water during his 2013 response to the State of the Union.

At the time, Trump mocked Rubio for his water break.

Source: Google Alerts

Remembering AC/DC’s Malcolm Young, Band’s Unassuming Mastermind

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“There’s very few rock & roll bands,” Malcolm Young explained to a Dutch TV interviewer around the time of AC/DC‘s 2000 album Stiff Upper Lip. “There’s rock bands, there’s sort of metal bands, there’s whatever, but there’s no rock & roll bands – there’s the Stones and us,” he chuckled. When asked by the interviewer to explain the difference between rock bands and rock & roll bands, he replied, “Rock bands don’t really swing … a lot of rock is stiff. They don’t understand the feel, the movement, you know, the jungle of it all.”

Few rock & rollers have ever understood “the jungle of it all” like Malcolm Young, and fewer still have ever been as single-mindedly devoted to its perpetuation. From 1973, when he formed AC/DC with his younger brother Angus, to 2014, when dementia and other health issues forced his premature retirement, Malcolm never once allowed the band to deviate from its swinging, swaggering, riff-driven course. During Malcolm’s tenure, AC/DC’s recordings featured three different lead vocalists, three different bassists and five different drummers; and yet, the band’s musical aesthetic remained so stubbornly consistent as to make the Ramones look like flighty trend-jumpers by comparison.

AC/DC never mucked about with drum machines or synthesizers, never worked with “hit doctors,” never invited guest stars to appear on their records, and never made musically touristic forays beyond the Chuck Berry riffs and Australian bar circuit that originally spawned them – their idea of musical experimentation was to let Bon Scott take a bagpipes solo on “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll),” or affix a tolling church bell to the start of “Hell’s Bells.” The most “pop” song in their catalog is “You Shook Me All Night Long,” a fist-punching paean to marathon fucking, and the closest they ever came to recording a ballad was “The Jack,” a nasty six-minute slow blues about contracting gonorrhea. “Rock and roll is just rock & roll,” Brian Johnson sagely opined in “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” – and by the same token, AC/DC has always been just AC/DC, doggedly mining the same vein for good-time gold.

But if AC/DC’s public image was largely defined by Angus’s naughty schoolboy, Bon’s lascivious pirate and Brian’s lusty bricklayer personas, it was Malcom who truly defined the band’s lean ‘n’ mean sound. In addition to serving as the captain of the good ship AC/DC, he was also its chief architect and mechanic, tinkering with riffs and songs as tirelessly as he tinkered with his 1963 Gretsch Jet Firebird, which underwent countless modifications as he strove to unleash the ultimate guitar tone. “He’s the engine in the Mack truck that is AC/DC,” Anthrax’s Scott Ian told Loudwire in 2014. “He’s the driving force behind that band; has been since Day One. To the casual listener, they probably don’t know who Malcolm Young is … but Malcom’s the guy. He’s the greatest rhythm guitar player ever.”

Indeed, while notable guitarists like Ian, James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine have regularly sung his praises – no less an authority than Eddie Van Halen has called him “the heart and soul of AC/DC” – the general public has remained largely oblivious to his importance to the band. (As a budding hard rock fan picking up 1979’s Highway to Hell for the first time, it was all about Angus and Bon for me; I wouldn’t realize until years later that the tiny guy on the album’s cover with the tight T-shirt, center-parted hair and thuggishly menacing gaze was actually the one responsible for so many of the clarion guitar riffs that attracted me to the record in the first place.) Such relative anonymity was perfectly fine with Malcolm, who was usually happy to let Angus, Bon or Brian handle band interviews. In concert, he rarely strayed more than a few feet from his Marshall stack, concentrating on keeping the riff machine stoked while his younger brother’s duck-walking, pants-dropping, guitar-shredding antics stole the limelight.

But Malcolm was far more than just a riff-meister. “From the get-go, Mal’s always been one to come up with melody ideas,” Angus explained to me in 2005, when I interviewed him for a Revolver feature about the making of 1980’s epochal Back in Black. “I’m a bit rough and raucous – I go for the rhythmic things – but Malcolm will dial in a melody, and likes to get it so it’s all hooking together and feels right.”

Malcolm had clearly internalized the lessons he’d learned at the knee of older brother George Young, who’d taken on a similarly low-key role as guitarist, songwriter and producer with legendary 1960s Australian hitmakers the Easybeats, and who – in partnership with Easybeats guitarist Harry Vanda – had already become a successful producer of other acts by the time Malcolm and Angus formed AC/DC. (George, who along with Vanda produced such classic early AC/DC albums as TNT, Powerage and Let There Be Rock, died on October 22nd at the age of 70.) Like George, Malcolm was never content with just a gut-punching riff, a swinging groove and a catchy chorus; everything had to be primed for maximum sonic impact, as well.

“Mal always had a better ear for recording and mixing than I did,” Angus told me. “He was more involved with that when we were younger, fiddling around with sounds and stuff. He tunes into it more than me; I’m more about just picking up the thing and play it. He helped me a lot with dialing in sounds from my amp; I would be saying, ‘I can’t get nothin’ out of this Marshall,’ and he would help me sort it out and get the best out of it.”

It was also Malcolm who kept AC/DC firmly focused during the traumatic weeks following Scott’s unexpected death-by-misadventure in February 1980. While the band’s management and record company pressured them to find a new singer, Malcolm was adamant that he and Angus direct their energies into finishing the songs that would eventually become the Back in Black album. “There were a lot of suggestions [about auditioning singers],” Angus told me, “But Malcolm kept saying to me, ‘We’ll do it when we feel we’ve got all our music together. The rest of it can wait!’ We didn’t want to be rushed into anything.”

While Malcolm’s death at the too-young age of 64 is certainly a massive blow for AC/DC fans everywhere, it’s unlikely that he would want Angus to bring it all to an end on his account. Even in his absence, AC/DC has continued to function like a finely-tuned clockwork mechanism – the band successfully soldiered following his retirement, recording and touring behind 2014’s Rock or Bust with nephew Stevie Young taking over for his uncle on rhythm guitar. That the band continues to thrive without Malcolm isn’t a reflection on his lack of importance to it, but rather a testament to the enduring brilliance of the material he wrote, and the perfection of the musical machine that he designed to deliver it. So long as there’s enough electricity left in the world for some guitarist somewhere to hit a ringing, window-rattling A chord, Malcolm Young’s spirit will live on. Rock in Peace, Mal.

Source: Google Alerts

Country Music Legend Mel Tillis Dead at 85

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Country music singer Mel Tillis, whose six-decade career included hits such as “I Ain’t Never” and “Coca Cola Cowboy,” died on Sunday, his publicist confirmed. He was 85.

Tillis passed away at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Fla., his publicist said. Tillis was previously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry, the Tennessean reported. Former President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts in 2012.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

David Cassidy, ’70s Teen Heartthrob, Dies At Age 67

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David Cassidy, who came to fame as a ’70s teen heartthrob and lead singer on “The Partridge Family,” has died, according to his publicist Jo-Ann Geffen. He was 67.

The singer-actor had recently been admitted to the intensive care unit of a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area hospital. Cassidy was in critical condition and suffering from organ failure before his death Tuesday, Geffen said.
“David died surrounded by those he loved, with joy in his heart and free from the pain that had gripped him for so long. Thank you for the abundance and support you have shown him these many years,” she said.
Cassidy’s nephew, Jack Cassidy, tweeted about his uncle’s death, saying “I can’t help but thank God for the joy that he brought to countless millions of people.”

Uma Thurman Slams Harvey Weinstein In #MeToo Thanksgiving Message

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Uma Thurman may be ready to talk.

The “Kill Bill” star, who previously said she was “waiting to feel less angry” before she discussed Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual assault, posted about the disgraced producer Thursday.

“I am grateful today, to be alive, for all those I love, and for all those who have the courage to stand up for others. I said I was angry recently, and I have a few reasons, #metoo, in case you couldn’t tell by the look on my face,” Thurman wrote on Instagram.

“I feel it’s important to take your time, be fair, be exact, so…Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! (Except you Harvey, and all your wicked conspirators — I’m glad it’s going slowly — You don’t deserve a bullet). Stay tuned.”

Uma Thurman declines to speak on sexual assault in Hollywood

Thurman has appeared in seven Weinstein movies, including the “Kill Bill” series and “Pulp Fiction.”

But the 47-year-old actress has chosen to stay silent as more than 100 women have accused her longtime collaborator of sexual harassment and assault.

“I don’t have a tidy soundbite for you, because I have learned, I am not a child and I have learned that… when I’ve spoken in anger, I usually regret the way I express myself,” Thurman told Access Hollywood in October.

“So I’ve been waiting to feel less angry… and when I’m ready, I’ll say what I have to say.”

Bob Weinstein paid Harvey accusers from personal bank account

Thurman’s “Kill Bill” co-star Daryl Hannah told the New Yorker that Weinstein barged into her hotel room, forcing her to escape through a back door. He returned the next night.

“The knocking started again and again. And I was like, ‘Oh, shit,’” she told the magazine.

“We actually pushed a dresser in front of the door and just kind of huddled in the room.”

 

Women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault

In another instance, she claimed, he used a spare key to barge into her bedroom, where she was watching a movie in her pajamas with her makeup artist, and demanded she got dressed for a party downstairs.

‘Law & Order: SVU’ to cover Harvey Weinstein scandal in episode

There was no party.

As she went to leave, Hannah claims Weinstein asked if her breasts were real and if he could feel them.

“I said, ‘No, you can’t!’ And then he said, ‘At least flash me, then.’ And I said, ‘F–k off, Harvey,’” Hannah told the New Yorker.

Dozens of other women have accused Weinstein, including Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan.

Morrissey defends Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, blames victims

In a blanket statement, Weinstein denied allegations of nonconsensual sex.

Source: New York Daily News


Susan Sarandon: I Thought Hillary Was Very Dangerous If She’d Won We’d Be At War

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Susan Sarandon at 71 is bright-eyed and airy, and perhaps shyer than she can publicly.

Susan Sarandon: Hillary Clinton As Bad As President Trump

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Susan Sarandon isn’t backing down from her Jill Stein vote. Almost 13 months after the.

Denzel Washington: Don’t ‘Blame The System’ For Black Incarceration, It ‘Starts At Home’

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Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington says you “can’t blame the system” when it comes to.

Susan Sarandon: Hillary Clinton As Bad As President Trump

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Susan Sarandon isn’t backing down from her Jill Stein vote. Almost 13 months after the.

Angela Lansbury Saying Women Should ‘Take Blame’ for Sexual Harassment

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Angela Lansbury’s recent comments on sexual harassment have incited Internet criticism. In an interview with Radio Times published Tuesday, the.
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