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SHOWBIZ Big Freedia, Hannah Gadsby, Billy Porter, Matthew Camp, 'League' ending
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by Andrew Davis
2023-04-14

This article shared 3582 times since Fri Apr 14, 2023
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Netflix released a music video with rapper and "Queen of Bounce Music" Big Freedia remixing Netflix's Strong Black Lead series "Hey, Queen" in time for the release of Netflix and Shondaland's Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, per a press release. The Bridgerton prequel series launches globally on May 4 on the streamer. This video also is a nod to the significance of HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities) royal court culture as well as a love letter to the history of New Orleans. The video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9-k6gf8mnk.

LGBTQ+ Australian award-winning comedian Hannah Gadsby's third Netflix comedy special, Hannah Gadsby: Something Special, will premiere globally on May 9, per a press release. This time around, the comedian talks about their wedding, traumatic encounters with a bunny and much more. The special was filmed at the Sydney Opera House last fall, and it follows Nanette and Douglas.

Billy Porter (Pose) and frequent collaborator Dan McCabe have been tapped to script a James Baldwin biopic for Byron Allen's Allen Media Group Motion Pictures—with Porter set to realize his longtime dream of portraying the late writer, Deadline reported. The film will be based on the 1994 book James Baldwin: A Biography by David Leeming, an emeritus professor of English at the University of Connecticut who was a friend of Baldwin's for 25 years, as well as his assistant.

In Attitude, out artist/performer Matthew Camp recounted the terrifying moment in 2021 that he realized he was the victim of a homophobic arson attack. In the early hours of Jan. 14, 2021, gasoline was poured over Camp's front and back doors and set afire. The New York Times, in its reporting of the incident, focused on the history of Camp's home, which used to be a meeting spot for the Church of Satan. Talking with Attitude, the Hot Haus star said, "Anyone [who's] different—LGBTQIA+, queer people all over and non-conforming individuals in the community—[is] always under attack because we are a smaller population, but I also don't want to completely divide us and say it's just us because there's lots of people under attack."

Amazon confirmed that the show A League of Their Own—inspired by the hit 1992 Penny Marshall movie that stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna—will conclude with a four-episode run that Amazon is billing as a limited series, per The Hollywood Reporter. The series, co-created by star Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham (Daisy Jones and the Six), focuses on queer and Black stories from the real All American Girls Professional Baseball League, and counts former player Maybelle Blair among its consultants. The eight-episode first season debuted last August to positive reviews.

Queer actor/performer Ariana DeBose will return to host this year's Tony Awards, Deadline noted. DeBose—an Oscar winner (West Side Story) and Tony nominee (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical)—hosted last year's broadcast to general acclaim. The 76th Annual Tony Awards will air live from United Palace in New York City's Washington Heights on Sunday, June 11, on CBS.

Out comedian Judy Gold said she is horrified by how comedians are being treated right now, per Page Six. The stand-up comic veteran interviewed young comedians for her current off-Broadway show, Yes, I Can Say That!—and said to Page Six, "They told me that in order to get stage time in certain clubs, mostly in Brooklyn, they are not allowed to broach certain topics or use certain phrases. That scares me the most about the future of stand-up." Gold added that comedians are very important for democracy because "we do speak truth to power."

Same-sex smooches are among the nominees up for Best Kiss at the upcoming MTV Movie & TV Awards, per Out. Best Kiss nominees include Harry Styles' gay kiss with co-star David Dawson in the Prime Video original film My Policeman as well as Selena Gomez and Cara Delevingne's kiss in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. The event will air Sunday, May 7, on MTV.

Acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar has enlisted Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal to star in his "answer to Brokeback Mountain," Strange Way of Life—and Pascal opened up about how he came to join the project, Out noted. Pascal told Insider that Almodovar has long been one of his favorite writer-directors, and so it was an easy decision when asked if he wanted to work with him. He also was very happy to get an opportunity to work with Hawke. Strange Way of Life will officially debut at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Kim Kardashian is set to star in season 12 of American Horror Story, series' co-creator Ryan Murphy revealed, according to Page Six. "Kim is among the biggest and brightest television stars in the world and we are thrilled to welcome her to the 'AHS' family," Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. She is joining longtime Murphy collaborator Emma Roberts in the anthology's new installment,"Delicate," based on Danielle Valentine's upcoming novel Delicate Condition.

President Joe Biden is slated to appoint producer Bruce Cohen and Lady Gaga as the co-chairs of the revived President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, Deadline reported. Some of the others on the list for the committee include artist/educator Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, musician Jon Batiste, actor/director George Clooney, producer/author Shonda Rhimes, actress/director/producer Kerry Washington and Berkeley City College President M. Angelica Garcia.

Netflix is ending the show Sex/Life—starring Sarah Shahi, Margaret Odette, Mike Vogel and Adam Demos—after this second season, per Deadline. Sex/Life—inspired by the book 44 Chapters About 4 Men by BB Easto— tells the story of a love triangle between a woman, her husband and her past that takes a new look at female identity and desire. Shahi (who was recently announced as the lead of ABC pilot Judgement, and who has been in projects such as Black Adam and The L Word) detailed her struggles with show's second season on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast; she said, in part, "I'm not going to put it [the show] down, but I definitely did not have the support that I did the first season from the people involved in the show."

NBC will celebrate Carol Burnett's iconic career with Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love, a press release noted. The two-hour special will air Wed., April 26. The evening includes musical performances from Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss and Sutton Foster. Special guests attending this once-in-a-lifetime party include Allison Janney, Ellen DeGeneres, Julie Andrews, Cher, Charlize Theron, Susan Lucci, Bob Mackie, Sheryl Lee Ralph and more.

Orange Is the New Black's Lea DeLaria revealed that she is secretly married, according to Extra. During an interview with Page Six at the Miscast23 gala, DeLaria accidentally spilled the beans that she had married girlfriend Dalia Gladstone. After accidentally mentioning that detail about her personal life, DeLaria explained why she didn't want to comment further, saying, "I'm just an old-school queer. I don't think everyone has to know my business." Years ago, DeLaria was set to marry then-fiancee Chelsea Fairless, but they called it off days before the wedding.

Out non-binary Australian actor Hugh Sheridan recently told the Herald Sun about a date-rape drug incident that they experienced, Instinct Magazine noted. Sheridan revealed that they were drugged with a date-rape medication by a couple (man and woman) they knew, and was thereafter left incapacitated for eight hours at a strange apartment. They were able to escape the property, leaving with "no phone, no wallet, no shoes," and went to their sister's home in Randwick.

Betty White's former home in L.A. (where she lived for 50 years) was recently demolished, TMZ noted. According to real-estate records, the buyers were a dentist and his wife, and it looks like they filed for a permit to bulldoze back in November. In February of this year, they filed more paperwork signaling they're interested in putting in a new pool and spa as well as, seemingly, a new house.

John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) is set to star opposite Honorary Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) in The Piano Lesson—a Netflix film adaptation of August Wilson's classic play that will mark the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of his brother, Malcolm Washington, according to Deadline. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family and an heirloom, the family piano, that is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.

After six successful performances last fall, LGBTQ+ playwright Ricardo Melendez's new play Angel on Eros was slated to return to Virginia's Hampton Roads for an encore run, OutWire757 noted. The play tells the story of Angel, a fortysomething gay Hispanic painter with a serious case of "painter's block, while Matt is a naive, straight restaurateur discouraged by the boredom of his daily routine—and by a marriage that has swallowed his identity. As both men search for an escape from their present circumstances, an unlikely friendship develops, leading Angel and Matt to confront unexpected consequences of their wishes and desires.

OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival Miami will celebrate its 25th anniversary with the opening screening of the drama Fairyland (2023) at its new home at Silverspot Cinema Miami on Thursday, April 20, per a press release. Some of the other movies being featured include Drifter (the Men's Spotlight film), Love Proof (Karleeksbevis) (the Women's Spotlight film) and Three Nights A Week (the closing night film). Also, Miami Olympic gymnastics champion Danell Leyva will be honored on Wed., April 26, prior to the screening of Clocked, in which he stars.

In New Jersey, the Newark LGBTQ Community Center, along with its community partners, will host the first-ever Newark LGBTQ Film Festival on April 14-17, per a press release. Among other things, several filmmakers will attend their screenings, including Elegance Bratton of opening-night film The Inspection; Luchina Fisher, of closing film Mama Gloria (about trans pioneer Gloria Allen); and Nyala Moon, of the short film How Not to Date While Trans. Also, Newark LGBTQ Community Center Executive Director Beatrice Simpkins said, "This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the senseless killing of Sakia Gunn. We could not have a Newark LGBTQ Film Festival without honoring her legacy and her family as we show the compelling documentary film Dreams Deferred at Essex County Community College." Gunn's family will attend. Tickets, passes and event registration are available via www.newarklgbtqcenter.org .

Actor Jeremy Renner (TV's Hawkeye and Mayor of Kingstown) said he believed he was going to die and will now live with metal in his ribcage and plates in his face following his near-deadly snow-plow accident, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Renner made his thoughts known on Jeremy Renner: The Diane Sawyer Interview—A Story of Terror, Survival and Triumph. The sit-down was his first discussion about the accident, which left him with more than 30 broken bones after he was pulled under a 14,300-pound snowcat on Jan. 1. Renner (who recently attended his first post-accident red-carpet event) sustained severe injuries as a result of trying to prevent his nephew, Alex Fries, from getting run over by his personal PistenBully after it began to slide in the snow when the brake was not properly set.

Carrie Underwood will celebrate her 15th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member with a two-show performance at the Opry on Saturday, May 13, per a press release. Underwood made her Grand Ole Opry performance debut on June 10, 2005—just two weeks after winning her season of American Idol. Underwood recently completed her 43-city The Denim & Rhinestones Tour and will return to her ongoing Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency in June.

NBC renewed all six dramas in Dick Wolf's Law & Order and Chicago franchises—responsible for NBC's two top nights of scripted programming—for the 2023-24 season, per The Hollywood Reporter. Law & Order: SVU will extend its record-setting run for a primetime drama series to a 25th season, while the original Law & Order, which returned in 2021 after 11 years, will enter its 23rd season and likely pass 500 episodes in 2023-24; L&O: Organized Crime is set for its fourth season.. Chicago Fire will air its 12th season in 2023-24, while Chicago PD will head into its 11th year and Chicago Med its ninth.

On the podcast Onward with Rosie O'Donnell, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney said that the entire LGBTQ+ community and its allies need "to step up, for sure" when it comes to defending trans people, LGBTQ Nation noted. The two discussed everything from their shared love of Broadway to the backlash Mulvaney has received from right-wing trolls and pundits for her endorsement deals with Nike and Bud Light. Mulvaney said that she's less concerned with that right-wing talking heads and podcasters have to say about her than with what their words may inspire their listeners to do.

The full list of nominations for the 83rd annual Peabody Awards were revealed, and that list includes ABC's Emmy-nominated Abbott Elementary, Disney+'s Andor, AMC's Better Call Saul, Apple TV+'s Pachinko, FX's Reservation Dogs and Nat Geo's Oscar-nominated Fire of Love, per Deadline. Winners will be announced May 9, with a ceremony to take place June 11 at the Beverly Wilshire, the Peabodys' first in Los Angeles.

Dekkoo, the streaming service dedicated to gay men, is out with its new original series, Marriage of Inconvenience. The romantic comedy—called a 21st-century gay version of The Odd Couple—follows two strangers (Jason T. Gaffney and David Allen Singletary) who enter a witness-protection program and must pretend to be happily married in order to hide their identities from the dangerous people who want them dead. Veteran comedic out actor Alec Mapa makes a cameo in the series.

Netflix is continuing to build out the Stranger Things franchise, with the streaming giant ordering an animated series set within the world of the show, Variety reported. The live-action original series was renewed for a fifth and final season in February 2022.

Cardi B (real name: Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar) didn't mince words about a controversial video of the Dalai Lama kissing a young boy on the lips and asking the boy to "suck my tongue," per The New York Daily News. She unleashed a slew of expletives denouncing the Buddhist spiritual leader—even going as far as to liken his actions to a sexual predator. After some social-media blowback, the rapper said it was "craziness" that she was "getting dragged up and down because I'm telling parents to be careful (of) people [who] prey on children…" A representative for the 87-year-old Tibetan religious figure apologized for the incident in a statement.

Family spokesperson Jarel "Jarez" Posey told TMZ that the late rapper Coolio died after taking fentanyl, and that heroin and methamphetamines were also found in the rapper's system, according to Extra. The "Gangsta's Paradise" rapper was said to be at a friend's home in L.A. when he died in September 2022 at just 59.

Tony winner Laura Benanti revealed she recently performed on stage—despite her knowledge that she was experiencing a miscarriage, Deadline noted. Benanti wrote on Instagram that she had decided to go on stage in front of 2,000 people after she had recognized the symptoms the previous evening. Benanti has been nominated for five Tonys in all for her theater work, winning for Gypsy in 2008; she has also appeared in TV shows such as Nashville, Law & Order: SVU, Younger and Supergirl.

More than a month after sparking dating rumors, The White Lotus star Lukas Gage and famed hairstylist Chris Appleton are reportedly engaged, according to Extra. A source told Us Weekly, which originally reported the news, "They're not telling the public yet, but they have told friends they are engaged. They got engaged before they even had rings and then went to pick them out together."

Brie Larson is back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for The Marvels, the sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel, Variety noted. This time, Larson shares the spotlight with fellow female MCU stars Teyonah Parris, from WandaVision; and Iman Vellani, from Ms. Marvel. The anticipated follow-up to Carol Danvers' origin story takes place after the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, which introduced Vellani as Kamala Khan, a.k.a. the young, New Jersey superhero Ms. Marvel.

Hulu has plans to bring the story of Freaknik to the silver screen, according to Vibe, citing Variety. The streamer announced Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, an original documentary chronicling how the infamous event came to prominence and its demise. According to the project's synopsis, it "recounts the rise and fall of a small Atlanta HBCU picnic that exploded into an influential street party and spotlighted ATL as a major cultural stage," raising the question "Can the magic of Freaknik be brought back 40 years later?"

Max (the new brand combining HBO Max and Discovery Plus) released first look footage and an image of the series officially titled The Penguin from Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, per a press release. Starring Colin Farrell as the title character, the eight-episode DC Studios drama series continues The Batman epic crime saga that filmmaker Matt Reeves began with Warner Bros. Pictures' global blockbuster The Batman, and centers on the character played by Farrell in the film.

A new study shows the most attractive Bachelors in franchise history, per a press release. The study conducted by online casino expert's Online-Gambling.com analyzed each Bachelor from every season by using the Golden Ratio theory to find out how attractive each Bachelor is. Coming in at number one for the most attractive Bachelor of all time is two-time Bachelor Brad Womack, followed by Andy Baldwin and Byron Velvick.

More than three weeks after she was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold, Amanda Bynes was discharged from a mental hospital, Extra noted, citing TMZ. The former actress will undergo outpatient treatment to keep her on track. Last month, she was spotted walking around naked in downtown Los Angeles before she was taken to a police station; Bynes was able to flag down a car, telling the driver she had just experienced a psychotic episode.

French actor Gerard Depardieu—already indicted on rape and sexual assault charges in connection to a 2018 case—is now being accused of sexual misconduct by 13 women in an investigative report published by Mediapart, according to Variety. The accusations were made by female actors, make-up artists and production staff (some anonymous); the incidents allegedly occurred during the filming of 11 films released between 2004 and 2022. Depardieu's legal representation, Cabinet Temime, has denied all the accusations.





This article shared 3582 times since Fri Apr 14, 2023
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