Entertainment News
R.I.P. Joanne Rogers, Wife of Fred Rogers Dead at 92
Joanne Rogers, an accomplished concert pianist and wife of beloved children’s television host Fred Rogers, has died at the age of 92. Joanne and Fred married in 1952 and remained so until his death in 2003. Following her husband’s passing, Joanne took on the role as chair emerita for Fred Rogers Productions. Joanne was also heavily featured in the acclaimed 2018 documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and was involved in the making of the Tom Hanks-starring feature film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, in which she was played by Maryann Plunkett. She also had a small cameo in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Fred Rogers Productions released a statement confirming Joanne’s passing on Thursday: “Fred Rogers Productions is deeply saddened by the passing of Joanne Ro...
Saved By the Bell Star Dustin Diamond Diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer
Former Saved by the Bell star Dustin Diamond has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. A representative for Diamond told TMZ that the actor “has cancer throughout his body [and] he’s currently receiving his first round of chemotherapy.” The exact type of cancer was not disclosed. Diamond played the role of Samuel “Screech” Powers on Saved by the Bell throughout the show’s entire seven season run. He later reprised the character in the sequel series Saved by the Bell: The College Years. In the mid-2000s, Dustin infamously starred in a sex tape — though he later claimed to have used a “stunt double.”; became a reality TV personality; and published an unflattering portrait of his years on Saved by the Bell. The book, in particular, caused a riff between him and the rest of the show’s cast — and...
Selena Gomez Unveils New Single “De Una Vez”: Stream
Selena Gomez has unveiled her new Spanish-language single “De Una Vez”, which translates to, “At Once.” Produced by Tanya (Bad Bunny, J Balvin), “De Una Vez” is her first Spanish effort since 2018’s “Taki Taki” with DJ Snake and Ozuna, and it’s her first such solo foray since 2014’s “Más”. The new song comes paired with a video created by Los Pérez—Tania Verduzco and Adrián Pérez. Watch it below. And there’s probably more where that came from; as PopBuzz notes, multiple murals have appeared around Mexico and Brazil with the words “Selena Gomez,” “De Una Vez,” and “Baila Conmigo,” the latter of which means “dance with me.” When fans posted pictures of these murals, Gomez’s social media accounts have been smashing the ‘like’ button. It’s unclear at this time if “Baila Conmigo” is a song...
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series Synopsis Teases Forging of “Great Powers”
Hmm, what could Amazon Studios mean? On Twitter, the producers of the long-in-the-works Lord of the Rings TV series have finally shared a synopsis, but it’s full of obscure hints about “great powers… forged,” and “the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen.” Inscrutable, yes? Nobody can figure out such complex hints — though we must admit, the words seem to have a familiar ring. The serialized epic was first announced in 2017 as a prequel to Peter Jackson’s twin trilogies, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We later learned that JD Payne and Patrick McKay will handle showrunning duties, and that the events will take place in the Second Age, as described in Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Second Age — that rings a bell. Isn’t that when the big bad villa...
Tom Holland Is a Troubled Bank Robber in First Trailer for the Russo Brothers’ Cherry: Watch
Tom Holland is robbing banks while stealing a young woman’s heart in the first trailer for Cherry. This new film from the Russo brothers pops on Apple TV+ on Mach 12th. Cherry is based on the 2018 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. It was written by Nico Walker, a veteran of the US Army who struggled with addiction before landing in prison for (you guessed it) bank robbery. In the hands of the Russo Brothers, to judge by the trailer, the story is stylish but deeply fatalistic. Holland’s character Cherry feels his life slipping away from him. As he says early in the preview, and again at the end, “Sometimes I feel like I’ve already seen everything that’s going to happen. And it’s a nightmare.” But scenes of war in Iraq and armed robberies are intercut with tenderness, a...
Serj Tankian on System of a Down: “As Long As We’re on the Same Page, We Can Continue Doing Stuff”
System of a Down surprised fans in November when they released their first new songs in 15 years. The band had been stagnated by creative differences, but singer Serj Tankian offers hope that more new music could be on the way, as long as the members are “on the same page.” For a while it appeared that System of a Down’s recording days may have been over. While the band continued to tour occasionally, the members just couldn’t see eye to eye when it came to creating a follow-up to their last album, 2005’s Hypnotize. Tankian and guitarist-singer Daron Malakian made headlines in 2018 when they publicly aired their grievances about their creative differences, with Tankian accepting responsibility for spearheading a band hiatus that lasted from 2006 to 2011. A further divide seemed to happen t...
Cardi B to Star in New Comedy Assisted Living
Cardi B is already one of the biggest forces in contemporary hip-hop, and now she’s setting her sights on dominating Hollywood. As Variety reports, the “WAP” rapper has landed a starring role in the upcoming Paramount comedy Assisted Living. Previously, Cardi made her feature film debut alongside Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu in the 2019 stripper thriller Hustlers, but Assisted Living will mark the 28-year-old’s first time in a lead role. According to Variety, the film is being billed as a “raunchy comedy” with “tremendous heart” a la Mrs. Doubtfire and Sister Act. It sounds like the perfect setting for Cardi’s lovable charisma and provocative humor to shine in. The film follows a small-time criminal named Amber (Cardi) who ends up desperately looking for a place to h...
Minari Composer Emile Mosseri Shares the Origins of “Rain Song” with Yeri Han: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, we give musicians the chance to explore the backstory behind their latest single. Today, Emile Mosseri tells us about composing the score to Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari. To help elevate the intimate storytelling of one of the best films of 2020, Minari, writer-director Lee Isaac Chung turned to composer Emile Mosseri. Mosseri knew well how to write the proper music for a unique family tale, as he had done recently for Miranda July’s Kajillionaire. Audiences will get to hear how he crafted a score befitting Chung’s beautiful American tale itself when Minari and its soundtrack are released wide on February 12th. One of the reasons Mosseri was able to pen such an evocative soundtrack is because of how early he he began working on the process. In what he cal...
Indigo Sparke Unveils New Song “Everything Everything”: Stream
Rising Australian songwriter Indigo Sparke has unveiled the new song “Everything Everything”. Alongside an intimate music video, she’s also announced her signing with Sacred Bones Records to release her debut album Echo, out January 29th. As with all the songs on Echo, “Everything Everything” was produced by Andrew Sarlo and Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief. Over a gentle guitar with occasional piano accents, Sparke sings in an ethereal soprano, which she later undercuts with a section of spoken word. “Everything,” she says, “Everything, everything, everything is dying.” In a statement, Sparke explained how the song came together, writing, “I wrote this song not long after coming back from a magical castle in Italy where a group of us had been making music and soaking in the golden honey days....
Lady Gaga to Perform National Anthem at Biden’s Inauguration
Lady Gaga has been tapped to sing the National Anthem at Presiden-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. The Chromatica popstar will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” during Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’ swearing-in ceremony on January 20th (via Variety). It’s a grand honor for Gaga, a culmination of her long-standing support for the Democratic politician, which included stumping and performing at a rally on the eve of the 2020 election. Elsewhere on the inauguration docket is Jennifer Lopez, who is set to perform. National Youth Poet Laureate/activist Amanda Gorman will give a poetry reading, while Andrea Hall, the first woman firefighter to reach the rank of fire captain in Fulton Georgia, will deliver the Pledge of Allegiance. Long-time Biden family friends Father Leo J. O’Don...
Tommy Lister Legally Changed His Middle Name to “Debo” in Homage to His Friday Character
“Deebo”, a.k.a. Tommy Lister, in Friday There’s method acting and then there’s Tommy Lister Jr.. Shortly before he died last December, the 62-year-old legally changed his middle name to “Debo” in honor of the character he famously portrayed in the Friday film franchise. According to a death certificate obtained by TMZ, Lister’s middle name is printed as “Debo” in the official document. As his manager tells it, about six months before he passed, Lister decided that since he was best known as Ice Cube’s neighborhood bully in the turn-of-the-century stoner series, he might as well change his middle name to reflect that. The document also implies that he legally changed his first name from Thomas to Tommy at some point, so his final moniker (Tommy Debo Lister) was actuall...
Movie and TV Studios are Cutting Ties with Republicans After Storming of Capitol
The world’s largest entertainment conglomerates have either very recently grown a backbone or found a convenient excuse to save money. But as The Hollywood Reporter and New York Times report, after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol building, coming mere feet and seconds away from a confrontation with lawmakers, companies such as Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, Hallmark, AT&T, Facebook, and the Motion Picture Association are cutting off political contributions to members of the Republican party. Most of the backlash is centered around the man who is somehow still President, Donald Trump. He’s already received bans from Facebook and Twitter, and other digital platforms including Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, and Twitch have since followed suit. Now, entertainment heavyweights are cuttin...
