Among Kino Lorber's December DVD and Blu-ray releases is a three-movie set (with the 1953-54 features Seminole, Golden Blade and Bengal Brigade) starring the late actor Rock Hudson, a press release noted. Co-stars in the films include Piper Laurie, Anthony Quinn, Anita Ekberg, Dennis Weaver and Ursula Thiess. Extras include audio commentaries by film critic Nick Pinkerton (Seminole) and film historian Phillipa Berry (The Golden Blade), and the cost of the set is $49.95. Other December releases include D.C. Cab, The Barbarians, Continental Divide and Diary of a Mad Housewife.
The CW recently announced the expansion of its hit Nancy Drew series, Instinct Magazine noted. According to Deadline, the new series will be titled Tom Swift after a classic book series—and will star a Black, gay lead. Tom Swift will follow its titular character, a Black, gay, billionaire inventor, as he's thrown into a world of conspiracy.
Fitness expert Jillian Michaels has a new fitness app (fittingly called Jillian Michaels: The Fitness App) for working out at home, Inside Edition noted. She showed a five-move full body workout that people can do anytime, anywhere. Each move is to be done for 30 seconds each, doing as many reps as possible in the allotted time. Michaels' exercise route works out one's back, core, legs, chest and arms.
Isis King rose to fame as the first transgender woman to compete on America's Next Top Model—and now she's starring in an episode of HBO Max's Equal, a four-part docuseries exploring landmark events in LGBTQ history, Page Six noted. In Equal, King plays a composite character named Alexis in the episode, which focuses on the 1966 riot by trans people at a Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco's Tenderloin district—an uprising against police that predates the more famous Stonewall Riot in New York. King moved from New York to LA in 2016, and said she feels it's only within the last four years that "the trans movement has been pushed further along in terms of our representation."
Tracy Chapman performed her hit "Talkin' Bout A Revolution" on the Nov. 3 episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, CNN.com noted. The four-time Grammy winner rarely appears on television. Her election-eve performance was a moving solo, acoustic rendition and, according to social media, just what many people needed. The 1988 single appeared on the singer-songwriter's self-titled debut album.
After the Oct. 23 release of his latest album, Letter to You, rock icon Bruce Springsteen has made history as the first artist to have a top 5 album on the Billboard 200 chart for six consecutive decades, Entertainment Weekly noted. Letter to You, his 21st album to clear the top 10, was the best-selling album of the week with 96,000 equivalent album units earned. Springsteen last hit number one on the album sales charts in 2014, with High Hopes. Letter to You is Springsteen's 20th studio album.
Lil Nas X dressed as a drag version of Nicki Minaj for Halloween and then spent days responding to homophobia—including comments from rapper 50 Cent, LGBTQ Nation noted. "What the fuck, Nikki come get him !!! Lol," 50 Cent tweeted, misspelling the hip-hop diva's name. "Why u in barb business?" Nas responded in a since-deleted tweet. A "barb" is a fan of Nicki Minaj. Musician Dave East also had some comments about Nas's costume, allegedly calling the "Old Town Road" performer "bati man," referring to a Jamaican anti-gay slur, and telling him to "bun [burn] up." Nas responded by calling out East for "butchering the hell out of the [Jamaican] patois."
If the trailer for Bridgerton—the first Netflix series from Grey's Anatomy showrunner Shonda Rhimes—is any indication then Regency England was quite the place for gossips and queer folks, according to Out.com . Starring Jonathan Bailey and featuring the voice of Dame Julie Andrews, the eight-episode series follows the siblings of the wealthy Bridgerton family as the members navigate the competitive elite social scene of the early 19th century in London. The project is out Dec. 25.
There is a new 007, and she is making history as the first Black woman to take up the mantle in the James Bond universe, Movieweb noted. As had leaked last year but has now been confirmed, Lashana Lynch will be playing the new 007 in No Time to Die. But to be clear, this does not mean that her character, Nomi, will be the new James Bond. No Time to Die will open with Bond in retirement. The interview piece clarifies that Nomi is the "secret agent who inherits the 007 title while Bond himself is in exile."
While on a podcast, comedian/actor Chris Rock sounded off on films that deal with civil-rights struggles, saying the issue with the majority of these films is that they "make racism look very fixable," according to IndieWire.com . Rock said the stories his mother used to tell him about the civil-rights movement era make it clear these films should be "dirtier" if they want to be accurate.
Prominent members of the disability community—including campaigners, Paralympians and the Paralympic Games organization—condemned the depiction of the eponymous characters in Warner Bros' recently released The Witches, saying the use of distinct physical impairments in their hands is offensive to those with limb differences, Deadline reported. In the movie, Anne Hathaway's character is shown with hands that are similar to the limb abnormality ectrodactyly, otherwise known as "split hand." A Warner Bros spokesperson told Deadline it had been "deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in The Witches could upset people with disabilities" and that it "regretted any offense caused."
Icelandic singer Bjork is collaborating with the Hamrahlid Choir on the new track "Cosmogony," and the song (from the choir's upcoming album Come and be Joyful) will be out Dec. 6, a press release noted. Written by Bjork and Sjon, "Cosmogony" is an a capella work that was first performed by the Hamrahlid Choir at the premiere performance of Bjork's "Cornucopia" show at The Shed, New York, last year.
Also on an Icelandic note, vampire film Thirst will premiere on DVD and Digital courtesy of Uncork'd Entertainment on Dec. 1 in North America, October Coast Publicity noted. The plot is as follows: The addict Hulda is arrested and accused of murdering her brother. After she is let go because of insufficient evidence, she meets Hjortur, a thousand-year-old gay vampire. Together they fight a cult while being investigated by a rogue detective. The green-band trailer is at https://youtu.be/vahCk921fks.
A minor war of words broke out after Ariana Grande criticized social-media influencers for partying during the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC noted. The pop star condemned people who were gathering at L.A.'s cowboy-themed Saddle Ranch restaurant, which has become a hangout for TikTok stars. TikTok creator Bryce Hall dismissed her comments as a "marketing move."
The cast carousel continued on The Talk, as Eve said she is leaving as co-host at the end of December after four seasons on the popular CBS daytime talk show, Deadline reported. The news was not completely unexpected since she'd been co-hosting the show from her home in London, and expressed plans to "expand her family." Eve thanked co-hosts Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Carrie Ann Inaba for their support.
Kelly Clarkson is fighting back after her management company of 13 years, Starstruck Management Group—which is owned by her estranged husband Brandon Blackstock's father, Narvel Blackstock—filed a lawsuit against her in September claiming she owes more than $1.4 million in unpaid commissions this year in addition to the $1.9 million she already paid, people.com reported. In a labor petition filed Oct. 20, Clarkson claimed that Starstruck violated the California Labor Code for "procuring, offering, promising, or attempting to procure employment or engagements" for her without first obtaining a talent agency license.
Actress Ruth Wilson quit the show The Affair because she "didn't feel safe," Page Six noted. Wilson told UK-based Stylist Magazine, "What's important to say is that I did speak up. I did have a voice. I did stand up for myself. There was a situation on The Affair where things didn't feel right, and I dealt with them, and I managed to protect myself." In late 2019, a Hollywood Reporter story reported crew member accounts of a "hostile work environment" on the set regarding the handling of the show's nudity and sex scenes; showrunner Sarah Treem responded with an op-ed calling Wilson difficult and unapologetic.
On the ABC show The Bachelorette, there is a new woman looking for love. Tayshia Adams' unexpected journey to find love continues Nov. 10, a press release noted. Clare Crawley started the season as the Bachelorette, but she and Dale Moss fell in love and Crawley has departed the show.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, 49, and husband Tom Girardi, 81, are calling it quits after 21 years of marriage, Extra reported. Since the two had no children together, there will be no custody battle. In 2017, Jayne revealed that they had no prenuptial agreement, telling Andy Cohen, "Let me tell you something, let me be very clear. I'm married to a very powerful lawyer. A prenup wouldn't stand in his way anyway... It's gonna be all Tom's way, I assure you. He'll rip that piece of paper to shreds in two seconds!"
Johnny Depp is stepping down from the villainous role of Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts film franchise days after losing his libel case in the U.K., people.com noted. In part, the actor said in a statement, "The surreal judgement of the court in the U.K. will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal." Depp lost his libel case against The Sun newspaper over its 2018 story describing him as a "wife-beater" during his marriage to Amber Heard.
Julianne Hough has filed for divorce from Brooks Laich—five months after the two announced their split, Page Six noted. Months before her split from the former NHL player, former Dancing with the Stars judge Hough spoke candidly about her sexuality, revealing in the September 2019 issue of Women's Health that she's "not straight." In February, Laich said in a podcast that "a big part of my journey in 2020 is exploring my sexuality," people.com noted.
Lil Wayne's girlfriend reportedly dumped the rapper over his endorsement of Donald Trump for U.S. president, The Daily Mail noted. He had been dating plus-sized Puerto Rican/Kuwaiti model Denise Bidot, but they split shortly after his gushing tweets about the president.
ABC has handed its remake of British game show The Chase, featuring the stars of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, a series order, Deadline reported. As revealed in July, James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter are to star in the series, which has received a nine-episode order from the Disney-owned network. The show sees contestants competing against a professional quizzer, known as the Chaser, whose aim is to prevent the contestants from winning a cash prize.
Carl Lentz, a former spiritual advisor to Justin Bieber, was fired from the NYC church Hillsong, Extra noted. The church said in a statement that Lentz's employment was terminated "following ongoing discussions in relation to leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures." Now Lentz has confessed that he cheated on his wife Laura, who was also a pastor at the church. The couple has been married for 17 years and has three children.
The children's song "Baby Shark" has become the most viewed video ever on YouTube after reaching 7.04 billion views, CNN.com noted. The song—recorded by Korean-American singer Hope Segoine and produced by South Korean educational company Pinkfong—was originally uploaded to YouTube on June 17, 2016. The video surpassed the 2017 single "Despacito," by Puerto Rican pop stars Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.
