Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart will team on Broadway this fall in two of the most iconic plays of the 20th century, according to the Huffington Post. Stewart and McKellen will star in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot in repertoire under the direction of Sean Mathias. Stewart and McKellen starred in a production of Waiting for Godot in London's West End in 2009. Prior to Broadway, the actors will tackle No Man's Land in an as-yet-unspecified out-of-town tryout this summer.
There may be a musical based on the movie Mean Girls, according to E! News. Creator Tina Fey said of the possibility that "We want to. I would love to. I'm trying to develop it with my husband, who does all the music for 30 Rock, and I think Paramount's onboard." Fey added that she'd love for Mariah Carey to play the part Amy Poehler had in the film—Regina George's mother.
Sony Pictures Classics wrapped up a deal for the Daniel Radcliffe movie Kill Your Darlings, according to TheWrap.com . In the film, Radcliffe portrays the late gay Beat Generation poet Allen Ginsberg—and has a very explicit sex scene with Dane DeHaan (who plays friend Lucien Carr). Radcliffe told E! News of the sex scene, "It was something new. But you know what? We shot that whole scene in maybe an hour and a half so it was incredibly fast-paced. I didn't really have to stop to think and worry about it." The movie also stars Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston and Elizabeth Olsen.
Country singer Chely Wright and wife Lauren Blitzer-Wright are expecting twins this summer, according to a press release. The pair broke the news with host Howard Bragman on his show Gwissues, a Youtube.com show that airs on "Gwist.tv" network. According to JustJared.com, Wright said, "We feel our entire relationship has been blessed. We feel lucky and ready to take on the challenges. We're excited to be parents and we hope we don't mess it up too badly!"
Jim Harbaugh—who will coach the San Francisco 49ers at this year's Super Bowl Feb. 3—said that he would be fine with an openly gay player on his team, according to Outsports.com . He said, "What you ask of a player is to be a great teammate and be a good player. My expectations would be the same." Harbaugh will lead his team against the Baltimore Ravens—who are coached by his brother, John Harbaugh.
There will be an Absolutely Fabulous movie—and one of the co-stars confirmed it, according to Out.com . Joanna Lumley, who played Patsy on the TV series, said to the Telegraph, "We've talked about it; Jennifer [Saunders, who plays Edina] is writing the film." Lumley also confirmed that she will be stepping into Patsy's designer shoes.
"Viva Forever!," the much-hyped Spice Girls musical, opened in London last month—to many scathing notices, the New York Post noted. For example, the Daily Telegraph said the production is "a show that's so bad it ought, if there were any justice, to be accorded a minus-star rating." Producer Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders, the Absolutely Fabulous creator who wrote the musical's much-maligned script, told a London paper they were "crestfallen" when they read the reviews. However, they're heartened by the audience of mostly teenage girls, who tend to dance in the aisles to the songs.
HBO has renewed the show Girls for a third season for 12 episodes, according to a press release. The premiere episode of the second season already exceeded a gross audience of 3.8 million viewers. Created by and starring Lena Dunham, Girls recently won two Golden Globes (for Best Television Series: Comedy or Musical and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series: Comedy or Musical (for Dunham)).
Singer Leann Rimes said in a recent interview that she still thinks of suicide despite a month-long stint in rehab, according to the New York Post. One of her concerns, she revealed, is that husband Eddie Cibrian will cheat. Both were married to other people (he to Brandi Glanville and she to Dean Sheremet) when they embarked on their affair.
Transgender model Lea T is featured in United Colors of Benetton's spring/summer ad campaign, which spotlights people who have "incredible personal stories," Advocate.com noted. Company chair Alessandro Benetton told reporters in Paris that "it is perhaps one of the most 'Benetton' campaigns, productwise, that we have ever done." Among others featured in the campaign are model Alek Wek, a Sudanese war refugee; and German model Mario Galla, who has a prosthetic leg.
Personal finance expert Suze Orman will join guests on Olivia's new Buenos Aires-to-Rio de Janeiro cruise that will take place Jan. 21-28, 2014, according to a press release. This will be the first time Olivia—a provider of lesbian cruise, resort and adventure vacations—sails to these South American ports of call, and it will take place aboard Silversea Cruises' 296-passenger Silver Cloud yacht. Among the 23 Olivia trips for 2013-2014 are a Montreal-to-Boston excursion, an Eastern Caribbean cruise and a Sea of Cortez whale-watching trip.
Out R&B singer Frank Ocean and musician Chris Brown, along with their respective entourages, reportedly brawled outside a recording studio, according to the New York Daily News. Sources said the altercation started when Ocean told Brown, "This is my studio, this is my parking spot," barred him from leaving and then started the fight. Later, according to US magazine, Brown posted an image on Instagram of Jesus on the cross with the caption, "Painting the way I feel today. ... Focus on what matters!" Ocean reportedly wants to press charges.
In an interview with Billboard magazine, legendary musician Prince partially blames Madonna for the end of his 20-year relationship with his record label Warner Bros., the New York Daily News noted. "She was getting paid, but at the same time we were selling more records and selling out concerts on multiple nights," Prince said. The "When Doves Cry" singer also had choice words for the band Maroon 5, who covered his song "Kiss" on the album Overexposed.
Sex and the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker reportedly wants to return to the role that launched her career, according to the Daily Mail. This is happening after an unflattering surprise occurred: Her part as feminist Gloria Steinem in the biopic of porn icon Linda Lovelace has been left on the cutting-room floor. A source said that Parker "has talked to [Sex and the City] co-creator Michael Patrick King and even has a storyline in mind."
Scott Evans, the openly gay actor brother of Chris Evans (Captain America), pled guilty to one count of attempted possession of a controlled substance after being charged last month, according to E! News. Scott, best known for his role on the daytime soap One Life to Live, has agreed to take part in Narcotics Anonymous classes. His attorney, Shepard Kopp, hopes the plea will be withdrawn and the case dismissed.
Whitney Houston's mother, Cissy, talks about her daughter's sudden passing in the new memoir, Remember Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped, according to Today.com . In excerpts obtained by People, Cissy wrote, "I'm angry she died alone, in those conditions." Cissy also wrote that Whitney "hid" from her and that she doesn't blame the singer's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, for her drug problem. Also, according to AfterElton.com, Cissy told Oprah Winfrey she "absolutely" would've disapproved of Whitney being a lesbian.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is still upset at Beyonce because she has not apologized to him for allegedly lip-syncing during Obama's inauguration, the New York Post reported. Schumer told the Post, "I have not heard from her before, during or after. She did not talk to me at all. I didn't say any words to her, period." Schumer has been credited with drawing the pop diva and her hubby Jay-Z to the inauguration.
Lisa D'Amato, who won America's Next Top Model: All-Stars, suffered major injuries to her face after a freak accident on the set of a movie in Colorado, according to E! News. D'Amato, 32, posted photos of the injuries, and her recovery, on Instagram. D'Amato said she broke her nose in several places and lacerated her lips, forehead and chin.
Lauren Bedford Russell—a cast member of the show The Real L Word—has come forward about being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a press release. Bedford Russell was first diagnosed last year at age 31; the first "episode" manifested with loss of vision in one eye known as optic neuritis, although she has now regained most of her vision. Jack Osbourne recently came out as having MS, joining celebrities such as Ann Romney, Montel Williams and the late Richard Pryor.
ABC News announced that Barbara Walters has chicken pox, according to a Huffington Post piece. Walters, 83, has not been seen in public since she fell in Washington, D.C., at the British ambassador's home just before President Obama's inauguration.
Ashton Kutcher was hospitalized after adopting the late Steve Jobs's fruitarian regimen to prepare for a new biopic of the technology giant, according to BusinessInsider.com . Kutcher told USA Today, "I was, like, doubled over in pain. My pancreas levels were completely out of whack." Kutcher also spent hundreds of hours studying tapes of Jobs in an effort to accurately replicate his hunched walk and mannerisms.
Mark Evans, the father of singer Adele, has admitted that he hasn't had access to the musician or her 3-month-old son, according to the Huffington Post. (In 2011, Evans sold a story about Adele to the press.) Evans, 49, said, "It breaks my heart that Adele is so hell-bent on cutting me off like this. I knew she had met her new fella ... but it was a bolt out of the blue when I found out she was expecting."
Liza Minnelli shared her thoughts on the 1972 film Cabaret with the Huffington Post. Among other things, she characterized director Bob Fosse's direction as "fun and weird," and that she created her look in the movie—without producers' input. She also said that Cabaret resonates with audiences today "because it's like no other film. [Fosse] was an original." Asked what she thought when her name was announced as the winner of the Academy Award, Minnelli said, "Diana Ross is going to win [for Lady Sings the Blues]."
Out U.S. women's national soccer team player Megan Rapinoe has joined GLSEN's (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project, SheWired.com reported. The project aims to help create a safe environment for kids of all sexual orientations and gender identity/expressions to participate in athletics and physical education. Rapinoe came out prior to the Olympics in Out magazine last summer.
Christopher Durang's Chekhov-inspired comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which played an extended off-Broadway run earlier this season, will transfer to Broadway's Golden Theatre this spring with its original cast, Playbill.com noted. The cast includes Sigourney Weaver and out actor David Hyde Pierce (from TV's Frasier). The limited 17-week engagement will begin previews March 5 toward a March 14 opening night at the Golden Theatre.
Showtime has renewed the shows House of Lies, Californication and Shameless, according to Deadline.com . The third season of Shameless—which focuses on a down-but-not-quite-out Chicago family that includes a gay teenager—has a 22-percent increase in viewers, averaging 5.4 million weekly viewers across platforms. House of Lies stars Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell, while David Duchovny headlines Californication.
Also, Cinemax is renewing the series Banshee, according to a press release. The show stars Antony Starr as Lucas Hood, an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, Pa., even as he's hunted by the shadowy gangsters he betrayed years earlier. Among the other stars is Hoon Lee as Job, a cross-dressing computer hacker who assists Lucas in his criminal enterprises.
Shelby Bryan, the longtime beau of Vogue editor Anna Wintour, owes the government $1.2 million in back taxes, according to a New York Post item. Bryan, 66, a former banker, said a stock arrangement unraveled that left him owing a huge sum at once. Bryan's tax bill could create a headache for Wintour, who is reportedly on President Obama's short list to become the next ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Actress/director Penny Marshall recently revealed that she wanted to cast Demi Moore in the lead role for her 1992 film A League of Their Own, but Moore got pregnant and had to turn the job down, according to the New York Daily News. Bruce Willis, Marshall joked, "literally screwed her out of the part," which ultimately went to Geena Davis. Madonna, Tom Hanks and Rosie O'Donnell were also part of the cast of the movie about a women's pro-baseball team.
Actor David Arquette gave Adam Lambert a very special gift for his 31st birthday: a striptease and a lap dance, according to the Huffington Post. While partying at Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood on Friday, Arquette (Courtney Cox's ex-husband) stripped down to his underwear and gave Lambert a lap dance while the singer celebrated with friends. Lambert also used his birthday (which was Jan. 29) to ask fans to donate $31 to the We Are Family foundation, which promotes respect, understanding and cultural diversity.
At the event TEDxBroadway 2013, out Star Trek actor George Takei said, "I have a sense that Broadway hasn't entered into the 21st century," according to TheaterMania.com . Broadway hasn't boldly gone where it needs to." George—a Twitter and Facebook user who said his following grows by "40,000 new friends a week"—has a musical, Allegiance, that is now bound for Broadway. TEDxBroadway brought people from a wide range of fields together to share a vision of what Broadway could be in 20 years, according to its website.
