Ryan Murphy will direct and produce the feature adaptation of the Tony-nominated stage musical The Prom and has secured a cast that puts Netflix in new star-power territory, Deadline noted. Meryl Streep will star alongside James Corden, Nicole Kidman and Ariana Grande, with Awkwafina, Keegan-Michael Key and Andrew Rannells playing key roles. Sources said Murphy will get underway directing the film adaptation of the Broadway hit in December, for a fall 2020 awards season release in theaters before it airs on the streamer.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is about to get some new additions, as 35 stars will be added next year, People.com announced. Of those actors, entertainers and musicians, Julia Roberts, Chris Hemsworth, Spike Lee, Octavia Spencer and Mahershala Ali are among the Motion Picture category. As for television, Andy Cohen, Christina Applegate, Wendy Williams, Dr. Phil McGraw, Laurence Fishburne, Terry Crews, Cindy Crawford, Kathie Lee Gifford, in addition to late comedian Andy Kaufman, will also receive stars. Alicia Keys, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Elvis Costello, Bobby Rydell and the late Muddy Waters are among the musicians who will be honored. Only two stars are being added for the theater and live performance category—comedian Dave Chappelle and Pose star Billy Porter.
Speaking of Porter, the Tony and Grammy winner has released his new single "Love Yourself," out now on The Butler Music Company Inc., a press release noted. The track was written and produced by transgender artist/producer D. Smith and executive-produced by Bill Butler and Carmen Cacciatore. "Love Yourself" is available now at all digital retailers.
Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner has said she's "so down" to play Boy George after the singer named her as one of the possible candidates to play him in a biopic about his life, NME.com noted. Plans for a Boy George biopic were first announced late last month, with Sacha Gervasi writing and producing a feature film based on the Culture Club frontman's life. George said that Turner was "one of the more interesting suggestions" for the lead role.
Netflix's Queer Eye has been renewed for fourth and fifth seasons, Deadline reported. The fourth season will debut July 19, and will have interior design mastermind Bobby Berk, fashion maven Tan France, food/wine expert Antoni Porowski, grooming guru Jonathan Van Ness and culture aficionado Karamo Brown returning to Kansas City. The fifth season will have the Fab Five going to Philadelphia.
Jonas Brothers continue to conquer in their comeback, including on Billboard charts, thanks to the arrival of the reunited trio's first studio album since 2009, Billboard.com noted. The act's Happiness Begins debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with the biggest week for an album in 2019. Also, Drake has tied The Beatles for the second-most Hot 100 top 10s of all time with "No Guidance," his song with singer Chris Brown.
In other chart news, Madonna scored her record-extending 47th number one on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart, with "Medellin," with Maluma, Billboard.com added. Maluma, meanwhile, notched his first Dance Club Songs number one. Madonna pulled further ahead of runner-up Rihanna, who has 33 top-ranked songs.
The Minutes, a 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist by Tracy Letts, will make its Broadway premiere next February, Deadline noted. The play will reunite the playwright with his August: Osage County director Anna D. Shapiro as well as producers Jeffrey Richards and Steve Traxler. Shapiro, who won the 2008 Tony Award for her direction of Letts' August, directed the premiere production of The Minutes at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre in 2017.
Meghan McCain sat down with RuPaul's Drag Race stars Monet X Change, Nina West and Adore Delano for an hour-long interview on The View—and people expressed conflicting ideas about the discussion on social media, Queerty noted. Some people expressed problems with McCain's husband, Ben Domenech, who is the co-founder and publisher of the extreme right-wing blog The Federalist, which regularly posts anti-LGBTQ op-eds. Also, Queerty stated that McCain has aligned herself with a political party that, just three years ago, adopted an official party platform that formally opposed same-sex marriage, among other things. The queens spoke with McCain about a wide range of topics, including the difference between drag queens and transgender people.
FX Networks announced a new partnership with True Colors United to create and distribute self-care kits to charitable organizations that are committed to ending homelessness amongst LGBTQ youth, a press release noted. The partnership was inspired by the second season of Pose—the FX drama series that includes storylines addressing the consequences of homelessness, ranging from sexual abuse and exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, in addition to challenges entering the job market. Some of the beneficiaries of the partnership include Howard Brown Health ( Chicago ), HEAT ( New York City ), Reach LA ( Los Angeles ) and Posse Project at CHOP ( Philadelphia ).
In an interview with The New York Times, out producer Lena Waithe said that projects like Moonlight and the horror films of Jordan Peele are the result of being too good to be ignored, Complex.com noted. "I think Black people in this industry are making art that is so specific and unique and good that the studio heads have no choice but to throw money at us," Waithe said. "They're saying, 'How can we support you and stand next to you?' The tricky part is that they want to be allies and they want to be inclusive, but they also want to make money." Waithe said it all comes back to money, calling out Black superstar actors ( such as Denzel Washington and Will Smith ) by name for failing to spread the wealth and finance smaller projects.
Angelina Jolie has become a contributing editor for Time magazine, Page Six noted. She will write a piece every month, focusing primarily on displacement, conflict and human rights. Jolie's first essay, "Angelina Jolie: What We Owe Refugees," was published online June 19, in honor of World Refugee Day, and will appear in the July 1 issue of the print magazine.
Millennium Films has set Transparent creator Jill Soloway to write and direct Red Sonja—a film that went back to the drawing board earlier this year after Bryan Singer was dropped as director, Deadline noted. It is the first deal for Soloway since directing The Transparent Movie Musicale Finale that, this fall, will wrap Soloway's Amazon series creation. Casting will start anew for an actress to play Red Sonja.
Laverne Cox announced that she and boyfriend Kyle Draper have broken up after nearly two years of dating, Page Six noted. She used an Instagram Boomerang video of them at a party together to share the sad news. "We know our relationship meant so much to so many people, especially trans folks, giving them hope that this kind of love is possible for them as well," Cox captioned, in part. "That hope, the hope for love has not waned for me in the face of this breakup but rather is fortified."
Janet Jackson isn't worried about her brother Michael's legacy, CNN.com noted. "It will continue. I love it when I see kids emulating him, when adults still listen to his music," she recently told the UK newspaper The Sunday Times. "It just lets you know the impact that my family has had on the world." Jackson died 10 years ago this week at age 50.
The 19th Annual BET Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, Deadline noted. Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman took the award for Best Movie while Regina King and Michael B. Jordan won the trophy for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively. Video of the Year went to Childish Gambino's "This Is America" while Cardi B won for Album of the Year and Female Hip Hop artist of the year. The late Nipsey Hussle received the Humanitarian Award as well as Best Male Hip Hop Artist, while Mary J. Blige was given the Lifetime Achievement Award while Tyler Perry received the Ultimate Icon Award. Regina Hall hosted the event.
If given the chance, new Spider-Man Tom Holland said he would love to make a live-action Spider-Verse movie with former Spidey actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, Movieweb noted. Holland said, ""It would be amazing. It would be really, really cool, and it's something that the fans really want. So, whether Marvel and Sony decided to do that, it's up to them. It's not up to me. I can't walk in like, 'Kevin [Feige], this is what we're doing on the next one!' But it would be really awesome." Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in the MCU movie Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
While actor Jason Momoa was participating in an "Aquaman Live" panel at Celebrity Fan Fest in San Antonio, a fan pitched the idea of a Twins remaking starring Momoa and fomer Game of Thrones co-star Peter Dinklage—and Momoa loved it, according to a HuffPost item that cited ComicBook.com . "Fuckin' tell me where to sign!" Momoa said to the fan.
Singer, songwriter and recording artist Greyson Chance has announced his upcoming The Portraits World Tour, which will kick off in Seattle on July 11 and hit select cities in the United States before making numerous stops around the globe including China, Taiwan, the Philippines, England, Ireland and Germany, among other countries, a press release noted. Other notable U.S. stops in the fall include New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin and Oakland, California. See GreysonChanceMusic.com .
Sting took the stage for a surprise performance at a sprawling villa in the French Riviera to mark the end of the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Page Six noted. Attendees at the intimate event surrounded the floating pool stage from where the rocker belted out classic hits such as "Message in a Bottle," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "Roxanne," "Fields of Gold," "Desert Rose" and "Every Breath You Take." Prior to each song, Sting opened up about its inspiration and the history of The Police.
Judith Krantz—whose novels have more than 80 million copies in print�—passed away from natural causes on June 22 in her Bel Air, California, home at age 91, Deadline noted. Her novels include Scruples and Princess Daisy, among others. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to The Library Foundation of Los Angeles, 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071, or LFLA.org .
Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa shared a photo of the title page of his finished script for the CW show's season-four premiere, "In Memoriam"—a special tribute to the Luke Perry and his character on the show, Fred Andrews, father of Archie Andrews, Deadline noted. The elegiac episode ( directed by Gabriel Correa ) will kick off the new season Wed., Oct. 9.
Lindsay Lohan's MTV reality show, Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club, will not be back for a second season, Page Six revealed. In addition it seems the star's Mykonos nightclub, which was the setting for the show, is also closed. A Lohan rep confirmed that "she is not doing another season" of the show.
A man tried to steal Halle Berry's Los Angeles home by creating a fake deed for the house—and even hired a locksmith to get inside, according to a Page Six item that cited TMZ. Ronald Eugene Griffin was first spotted trespassing on Berry's property in January but bolted when the star's gardener approached him.
Award-winning blues, soul and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland is hosting her own blues radio program weekday mornings on SiriusXM's B.B. King's Bluesville channel, a press release noted. The show, which debuted June 17, airs Monday through Friday at 9 a.m-3 p.m. ET, and features music and commentary. Copeland's recent album, America's Child, was named the top blues album of 2018 by MOJO magazine.
Ahead of the Veronica Mars revival, the series' longtime theme song is getting a revamp, Rolling Stone noted. For the eight-episode reboot on Hulu, the show's theme song—"We Used To Be Friends," by the Dandy Warhols—will be performed by the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde. In a teaser for Hynde's take of the 2003 hit, Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell and creator Rob Thomas banter about doing more episodes of the series via FaceTime.
