Director Patrick Hughes has said that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jet Li's Expendables 3 characters are gay, according to Digital Spy. Speculation emerged online after the release of the third film, as a scene involving Schwarzenegger and Li sees the pair getting close in a bar. Asked if Trench ( Schwarzenegger ) and Yin Yang ( Li ) are in a relationship, Hughes told Grantland, "I believe they are." The movie opened Aug. 15.
GLSEN ( the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network ) has announced honorees for its upcoming GLSEN Respect Awards-Los Angeles event to be held Friday, Oct. 17, a press release stated. Julia Roberts and husband Danny Moder will receive the Humanitarian Award for their commitment to, and support of, numerous causes including GLSEN, UNICEF, Heal the Bay, and Stand Up To Cancer. This year's Chairman's Award will be presented to Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, while Dancing with the Stars' choreographer Derek Hough will receive the Inspiration Award. GLSEN will also be presenting the Student Advocate of the Year Award; an honoree will be announced soon.
Bravo exec Andy Cohen will be among the guest judges on the new season of Top Chef that starts airing Oct. 15, according to a press release. The new season, set in New England, includes several firsts, such as a challenge using only ingredients that would have been on hand at the first Thanksgiving meal. Also, a Top Chef winner ( Richard Blais ) is joining the judging panel. The winner will receive $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and the title of "Top Chef."
Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach are among the Music City stars helping Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters map out this country's "Sonic Highways," USA Today noted. That's the name of the band's upcoming studio album and corresponding HBO documentary series. Grohl and the rest of the band recorded the album in eight U.S. cities, including Nashville, and interviewed dozens of musical figures along the way. The show premieres Oct. 17 on HBO.
LGBT brand Logo TV will debut the new original series Secret Guide to Fabulous, from Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' Milojo Productions, on Wed., Sept. 3, with two back-to-back episodes, according to a press release. The show's panel of experts will include fitness expert Shaun T, fashion professor Rob Younkers, YouTube personality Theodore Leaf and interior/landscape designer John Gidding. The four will share their personal secrets for living a stylish and healthy life, from freshening your home design to overhauling your wardrobe or planning the menu for the perfect dinner party.
Jennifer Aniston, Jon Hamm and Will Ferrell are headlining the "Stand Up to Cancer" telecast that will take place Sept. 5, according to The Wrap. Also involved are such celebrities as Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Kiefer Sutherland, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Marg Helgenberger and Mark Harmon. The Who, Jennifer Hudson, Lupe Fiasco and Common, Ariana Grande and Dave Matthews are slated to perform. ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC and a slew of cable channels are running the telecast commercial-free.
Emmy and Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth has become the latest celebrity to join the Human Rights Campaign's Americans for Marriage Equality project, according to a press release. Chenoweth states, "The bottom line is that regardless of how you were made or who you love, you should be able to get married if you want to get married. I truly believe it's that simple." The video can be viewed online at hrc.org/marriageequality.
Despite cable and outlets such as Netflix delivering more original programming, the 66th Annual Emmy Awards ( which aired on NBC Aug. 25 ) featured familiar names as the winners, for the most part. For example, the AMC drama Breaking Bad—which aired its series finale earlier this year—won its second consecutive Emmy for drama series for its fifth and final season. Likewise, Modern Family was a repeat winner for best comedy, snagging its fifth consecutive award and tying a mark Frasier set. In addition, out actor Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper on CBS' The Big Bang Theory, won his fourth Emmy. Netflix struck out, despite having two highly watched and critically acclaimed shows in Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards. The AIDS drama The Normal Heart won for outstanding television movie, but was denied any acting honors.
Just a few months after secretly tying the knot, Jodie Foster and new wife Alexandra Hedison hit an Emmys afterparty Aug. 25 as a married couple, US Weekly reported. The couple attended HBO's Official 2014 Emmy Afterparty at The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, and both women wore complementary black gowns for the star-studded soirée. Foster and Hedison exchanged vows in a private ceremony this past April.
Hot off the continued critical and audience acclaim for the second seasons of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex, Showtime is greenlighting third seasons for both of its hit drama series, a press release stated. Both series will receive 12 one-hour episode orders, and will begin production in early 2015. Masters of Sex scored five Emmy nominations this year, including nods for actors Lizzy Caplan, Beau Bridges and Allison Janney, who received an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Margaret Scully.
Lambda Literary has announced the opening of the submissions period for the 27th Annual Lambda Literary Awards ( Lammys ), a press release stated. Books submitted for consideration in this Lammys cycle must be published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2014, and meet the Lammys Submission Guidelines ( www.lambdaliterary.org/award-guidelines/ ); finalists will be announced in March 2015. The submission period will end Dec. 1.
V. Stiviano has made some big accusations about now-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and wife Shelly Sterling in the legal war raging between them, according to The Wrap. In response to Shelly's lawsuit, which accuses the model mistress of taking $1.8 million from the Sterling Family in gifts for sexual favors, Stiviano says Donald is "homosexual and enjoys sexual and or sexual congress with males" and that she acted as his "beard." Additionally, the documents state that Shelly knew and "condoned" her husband's "sexual orientation" and approved "gifts of money and or properties" to Stiviano for acting as his beard.
British reality format Sex Box is getting on U.S. television, Deadline reported. After piloting the provocative concept earlier this year, WE tv has picked up the project to series with nine episodes set to air next year. In Sex Box, from Relativity TV, real couples whose relationships are on the rocks address their issues with a panel of experts before entering a soundproof, camera-free box to have sex and, upon exit, immediately discuss the experience with the experts.
Veteran Chicago actress Jane Lynch announced the nominees for the 2013-2014 Equity Jeff Awards. There are 179 nominations in 35 categories for Chicago Equity theatrical productions that opened between Aug. 1, 2013 and July 31, 2014. Among the many productions receiving nominations are Hedda Gabler ( Writers Theatre ), Brigadoon ( Goodman Theatre ), Next to Normal ( Drury Lane Productions ) and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ( Porchlight Music Theatre ). The ceremony will take place Monday, Oct. 13, at Drury Lane Oakbrook, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.
NBC's Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk are about to be moms for the second time, according to USA Today. Gosk, a reporter, tweeted, "Girls, girls, girls. We're getting another one!! @TODAYshow @JennaWolfe." Wolfe said on the Today show, "I figured I got pregnant, I did it right the first time. I'm just going to do the exact same thing again and we're going to hope for the best."
Singer Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon are reportedly heading for divorce, The L.A. Times noted. Cannon confirmed that he and Carey have been living apart, telling The Insider, "There is trouble in paradise. We have been living in separate houses for a few months." The Grammy-winning songstress, 44, and the America's Got Talent host, 33, wed in the Bahamas in 2008, weeks after they started dating. Exactly three years later, they welcomed twins Moroccan and Monroe.
Rachel Maddow took a break from covering the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, to provide a send-off to executive producer Bill Wolff, who is leaving her MSNBC show to replace Bill Geddie at The View, The Wrap noted. "He is leaving us," Maddow said. "And he is not leaving us for any bad reason: Bill apparently got some sweet new job on an easy show with a much better schedule," she joked, referencing The View. Maddow signed off by calling Wolff the "perfect combo of nerd and schmaltz and enthusiasm and mensch," wishing him all the best.
Director Mark Romanek has suggested that Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt watch the new Taylor Swift video "Shake It Off," which the hip-hop artist publicly criticized for reinforcing racial stereotypes, according to The L.A. Times. "We simply choose styles of dance that we thought would be popular and amusing and cast the best dancers that were presented to us without much regard to race or ethnicity," Romanek said. Romanek has directed music videos since the 1980s, including k.d. lang's "Constant Craving," En Vogue's "Free Your Mind," Madonna's "Rain" and Jay-Z's "99 Problems."
Nicki Minaj's skin-filled "Anaconda" video has established a record, racking up 19.6 million views in the 24 hours following its midnight Aug. 19 Vevo premiere—the best-ever for the music video site, according to The Wrap. In doing so, Minaj bested Miley Cyrus, whose "Wrecking Ball" music video set the previous Vevo record of 19.3 million views in September 2013.
The irresistible force met the immovable object recently when openly St. Louis Rams linebacker Michael Sam lined up against Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel in week three of the preseason, Bleacher Report noted. Sam got the better of Manziel on one fourth-quarter play, sending the former Heisman Trophy winner ( who's been in the media lately for everything from partying to flipping the bird to an opposing team ) to the turf. The Rams' seventh-round pick basked in the glory, throwing up the "Manziel money fingers" celebration.
A man who claims he was sexually abused by director Bryan Singer is seeking to have his legal action dismissed due to problems securing legal representation, according to BBC News. In court documents filed in Honolulu, Michael Egan III said he wanted to have the case dismissed without prejudice, allowing him to refile at a later date. Egan, a former child model who is now 31, has accused the X-Men director of abusing him at the age of 17 in Hawaii. It was reported last month that EGan's lawyers dropped him as a client after he rejected a $100,000 deal to settle the case.
It was a woman's world at the MTV Video Music Awards show Aug. 24 as Miley Cyrus and Beyonce dominated—but for very different reasons. Cyrus won the Video of the Year Moonman for "Wrecking Ball"—and had a former homeless teen, named Jesse, to deliver a short speech intended to raise awareness about the issue of homeless youth, Boston.com reported. Beyonce had three wins, including Best Cinematography and Best Video With a Social Message for "Pretty Hurts," and Best Collaboration ( with husband Jay-Z ) for "Drunken Love." She also performed a 20-minute medle and accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Some of the other winners at the event included Eminem ( Best Hip-Hop, for "Bezerk" ), Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea ( Best Pop, for "Problem" ) and Sia ( Best Choreography, for "Chandelier" ).
On Sept. 30, Prince will release two new records: Plectrumelectrum, his long-teased album with the group 3rdEyeGirl, and his recently announced solo LP, Art Official Age, Rolling Stone reported. He will reportedly hold a series of special events and live dates around the world, details for which are forthcoming, to celebrate the albums' release. Both records are available separately as pre-orders, via the website ArtOfficialAge.com, and include "instant gratification" downloads.
After more than three years, a dispute over M.I.A.'s halftime performance at Super Bowl XLVI has been resolved, according to The Hollywood Reporter. When the singer extended her middle finger during her performance Feb. 5, 2012 ( singing with Madonna and Nicki Minaj ), the National Football League took her to arbitration with claims of breaching her contract and tarnishing the league's goodwill and reputation. The NFL pursued an apology plus money, which it said it would donate to charity; however, M.I.A. has yet to apologize.
