ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Danielle Jonas Gives Birth to Baby No. 2 -- and Nick Jonas Could Not Be a Prouder Uncle! Hello, baby! Danielle Jonas just gave birth to her second child, a baby girl named Valentina Angelina Jonas, with husband Kevin Jonas and her brother-in-law Nick Jonas has already shared the exciting news on Instagram. "AHH! I'm an uncle again! Congrats to my brother and sister in law on the birth of their new beautiful baby girl," he wrote earlier this afternoon. Joe Jonas also weighed in on Twitter congratulating his brother and sister-in-law "on the newest addition to the family! So beautiful!" The new parents of two little girls announced that they were expecting their second child together back in late spring with an adorable Instagram message to their fans around the world. "Preparing for baby number two!" the musician and proud father captioned the hilarious shot of the two in bed, him reading a pregnancy book while Danielle is seen snacking on an assortment of goodies like chips and cookies. At the time, their rep released the following statement to E! News: "We are excited to share the news that we are expecting a new addition to our family this winter. Alena is beyond thrilled to be a big sister and we can't wait to meet the newest member of our family." The two welcomed their first child together, a baby girl named Alena Rose Jonas, back on February of 2014. Congratulations on the exciting news! (Eonline)
Michael Stagliano's Wife Emily Gives Birth to a Baby Boy: See His Unique Name. Michael Stagliano has a whole lot to be thankful for today! The former Bachelorette contestant and his wife Emily Stagliano welcomed their first child into the world, a bouncing baby boy named Bowen Michael Stagliano. Michael took to Instagram to share a photo of the family-of-three as well as a sweet note about mom and baby. "There certainly aren't words enough to describe how much this picture means to @emilystag and I, but here's my attempt," he wrote. "Bowen Michael Stagliano came a month early (he really wanted to hang out with us). He was born at 6:33am, and came into the world just as the sun was rising over the mountains through the window outside the delivery room." "He and Mom are doing great!" Michael continued. "Because he got here early he's spending a few extra days in the NICU... and I can't...stop...smiling. He's doing well. We will bring him home on Saturday. Thanks for all the love and support for our little guy. #StagClan." Meanwhile, the couple first announced their pregnancy in May, opening up to People magazine about the exciting news and how they shared it with friend and family. "For our family, we did something a bit more special, but for our close friends, we've just been blindsiding them in conversation," he shared. "And the reactions are so great." LOL! Emily also gushed about her doting hubby. "There have been many nights where Michael will voluntarily go out and get ice cream for us," she admitted. "He'll say, 'No no no, you stay here, I'll go out and get us some ice cream.' He's been very sweet." The two tied the knot in 2014 in Chicago. (Eonline)
Iggy Azalea's Ex Nick Young Is a Dad Again: Meet Baby Navi Young. Nick Young is officially a dad times two. The 31-year-old Los Angeles Lakers player announced the birth of his daughter, Navi Young, on Instagram Friday following reports that ex-girlfriend Keonna Green had gone into labor late Wednesday night. In a subtle but sentimental photo shared on social media, Navi has her little fingers wrapped around her father's pointer finger. "#BabyNaviYoung," the athlete captioned the shot along with emojis of hands praying and a heart. In addition to baby Navi, Nick is also a dad to Nick Jr., who he also had with Green. When Green's second pregnancy was revealed, it ignited controversy considering Young and Iggy Azalea had broken off their year-long engagement just a few weeks earlier. In March, a video of Young alluding to cheating on Iggy had leaked. After publicly breaking off their engagement in late June, Iggy revealed on Twitter that she called for the split after she found security footage of Nick bringing other women into their house while she was away. Once news of the surprise pregnancy broke, the rapper tweeted, "I feel like my body was just drop kicked out of a plane with no parachute." "It was 200 percent Nick's child," Green told Us Weekly in early July, just weeks after Azalea and the athlete called it quits. "He's always supportive, but he was in shock. With him being in a public relationship, he didn't know how to handle it. We didn't get into [how he would tell Azalea]. I felt it was his decision how to handle it." While she told the magazine that intimacy between them had since stopped, she would consider taking him back if he was committed. "Right now, he needs to focus on basketball and getting his life in order. Basketball is what puts food on two people's plates that he's taking care of," she told the magazine. "But I will definitely give it a chance if he comes back and says, 'I'm really going to make this work this time.' Why not? But if there was ever any inkling of disrespect... I'm going to be raising a daughter. I would want to let her know that she deserves the world." (Eonline)
Mariah Carey "Devastated" by James Packer Breakup: He Dumped Her "Out of Nowhere," Says Source. Mariah Carey is heartbroken in the wake of her and James Packer's split. A source tells E! News exclusively that Carey was "blindsided" when Packer dumped her "out of nowhere." To add insult to injury, Carey only learned that her engagement to Packer was over when she saw it in the press, according to one insider. "The split has been devastating for Mariah," a source tells E! News. "She loved James and was planning to marry him...She made life changes for this man to prepare for their future as husband and wife, even relocating to L.A., at James' request, so he could be closer to his children. Everything she has done over the past year is to prove how fully committed she is to their life together. She really wanted this to work. And then, completely out of the blue, it imploded." The breakdown of their relationship "started in Greece," says a source, with "some sort of outburst [from Packer] which everyone heard." The father of three reportedly made a reference about things becoming "too much," saying, "I don't know if I can do this. I can barely take care of my own children." Carey and Packer were supposed to meet up in L.A. after the Greece incident "to talk through everything as adults," says a source. According to one insider, they set up a date to meet this past week, but the day before the meeting was supposed to take place, Carey found out through the press that Packer had broken off their engagement. "Mariah and James never met up after that," says a source. "And they haven't spoken. The way the split news was handled was incredibly upsetting to her." Those close to Carey are beginning to wonder if Packer "was possibly using her for her fame," a source tells E! News. "He never received the kind of attention he got over the past year until Mariah was on his arm." As for the media speculation surrounding Carey and her backup dancer, rumored to be Brian Tanaka? A source tells E! News the longtime friends have a "completely platonic" relationship. Tanaka has "been a supportive influence" in Carey's life over the past 10 years, says a source. "Right now they are just close friends," says a source. "I can't promise things won't develop between them one day, who knows," adds the insider. "But right now, the stories out there are an exaggeration and they definitely feel like a convenient ploy to make this whole mess look like her [Carey's] fault. (Eonline)
Mariah Carey has the ultimate defense against claims she was banging her choreographer -- namely, she doesn't bang before marriage, and yeah ... that includes James Packer. Sources close to Mariah tell us rumors about her relationship with Bryan Tanaka are completely false. We're told Mimi has a long-standing rep as a "traditional girl," and wouldn't blow that for anyone. That stance extended to her now ex-fiance. We're told even though they lived together and spent weeks at a time on his yacht, they never got sexual. They always had separate rooms in their homes and on their boats. Mariah's ex, Nick Cannon, can testify to her puritanical values. He's admitted in interviews he had to wait 'til they got hitched to round the bases. Our Mariah sources say she and James were more like lovesick 12-year-olds -- they made out plenty, but never sealed the deal -- and that's one reason he was pushing hard to get married ASAP. Ahh ... best laid plans. (TMZ)
It's no secret that Cheryl is thought to be pregnant with Liam Payne's baby. But while the stars have yet to confirm or deny rumors, Cheryl is still busy making public appearances. But what is she doing about her supposed 'baby bump'? Thursday night at the launch of her new perfume, StormFlower Platinum, Cheryl graced London's Sanderson hotel to sign autographs for fans. The former X Factor judge wore a blue jumpsuit and tbh, the GLAMOUR office are divided. When Cheryl attended a swish L'Oreal event a few weeks ago we were certain the rumors were true, now, we're just not sure. And it seems everyone agrees...Cheryl and her One Direction star boyfriend went public with their relationship back in February and it seems the two are closer than ever now, with rumors of Cheryl's "pregnancy" circulating the internet. (British Glamour)
Jose Fernandez had cocaine and alcohol in his blood last month when he was involved in a boat crash that killed his two friends, along with the famed pitcher. Jose's BAC was .147, approaching twice the legal limit, according to the Miami-Dade Coroner's Office. Cocaine was detected in his system as well. Fernandez's friends both had small amounts of alcohol in their system ... one also had cocaine. TMZ broke the story ... Fernandez and friends partied at a local bar less than two hours before the fatal crash. The spot -- American Social Bar & Kitchen -- has a dock for boaters to pull up, get out and get served. It's still unclear who was driving the boat at the time of the crash. (TMZ)
New York's Metropolitan Opera was evacuated after reports say a man sprinkled an unknown powder into the orchestra pit. A spokesperson for The Met says Saturday's show of "Guillaume Tell" was cancelled after the incident. Reports say the man fled and cops are trying to find him. At this time, the type of powder thrown is unknown ... one person requested medical attention, but their current condition is unknown. Story developing ... (TMZ)
THE OTHER STUFF . . .
Wisin Opens Up About Daughter's Death: "I Never Imagined Losing a Child." Last month Wisin revealed the tragic news of his daughter Victoria's death. Once Victoria was born, the urban music star opened up about her having Trisomy 13 also know as Patau syndrome. After turning just a month old, Victoria died on Sep. 30. "I knew since my wife was four months pregnant that there were problems with the baby. I'll confess that I thought about her having an abortion, and she very bravely told me, 'No, I'm no one to turn off the switch of life for anybody. That's when I realized that God was trying to teach me and make me mature. From the negative things that happen to us in life we learn." Almost a month after what could be the hardest time of his life, the star opened up to Univision's El Gordo y La Flaca about all that he went through. "I knew since my wife was four months pregnant that there were problems with the baby. I'll confess that I thought about her having an abortion, and she very bravely told me, 'No, I'm no one to turn off the switch of life for anybody,'" Wisin said. "That's when I realized that God was trying to teach me and make me mature. From the negative things that happen to us in life we learn." Although the singer is completely heartbroken, he still feels that his daughter's death had a greater purpose. "I've received messages from women that were in this situation and thought of having an abortion, but because of what we went through they decided not to and face this situation head on, no matter what happens. I think that was the purpose of it all, aside from the fact that you can't go against God's will. We have to face things and not only laugh when things go right, but you also need to learn to laugh when things don't come out so well. I never imagined having to go through losing a child, but I understand that I have fans and there are so many good people that in one way or another gave me that strength to keep growing and to keep walking, because it's difficult, you feel that the world is falling on you. But God gave me the strength to face something like this and here we are. The genetic disorder includes a combination of birth defects, this includes severe intellectual disability, as well as health problems involving nearly every organ system in the body, according to Stanford Children's Health. (Eonline)
Shh! The Pretty Little Liars Stars Aren't the First to Do a Group Tattoo. The secret's out: The Pretty Little Liars cast got matching tattoos! Lucy Hale Instagrammed a photo with Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario, Shay Mitchell, Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish and their matching index finger tattoos. "This happened," she wrote. "Thank you @shamrocksocialclub for taking care of us. We couldn't not get tattoos to commemorate the show! And obviously on our 'shh' finger." This sentimental ink, while special, isn't exactly unique. Just a few weeks ago, actually, Orlando Bloom shared a #TBT from 2001 when he and the rest of the Lord of the Rings cast got matching tattoos ("Nine" in elvish) to commemorate their experience filming. Art inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien has already proven it stands the test of time; the same can't necessarily be said for late '90s boy bands. 98 Degrees members Jeff Timmons and Nick Lachey both inked their band name on their biceps at the height of their fame. Jeff still has his 98 Degrees ink, but Nick filled his in. "It was just time to color it in," he told AOL back in 2014. "I colored it in actually while we were still a group, still touring. It wasn't like I was saying, 'Oh, that chapter's done. Time to move on.'" Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael both got the Roman Numeral X tattooed on their arms to commemorate 10 years of Maroon 5. Let's not forget about the cast of Suicide Squad -- or as Margot Robbie might spell it, SKWAD. The actress gave Jared Leto and Will Smith matching tattoos as a way of getting them in character. There was even a time, way back in 2012, that One Direction was still a fivesome and Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and yes, Zayn Malik each got matching tattoos. They didn't say 1D, or anything already regrettable. This was just a little ankle ink between bros. And even though the Jonas Brothers disbanded years ago, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas are forever bonded by the matching tattoos they got ahead of the 2016 MTV VMAs. And then there are the Olympians who, understandably, want a permanent reminder of their athletic glory. Swimmer Missy Franklin got the Olympic rings inked back in 2012. "Can't believe it!" she tweeted at the time. "My one and only!" (Eonline)
In Case You Forgot, Hayden Panettiere Has a Hot Younger Brother. If you even needed reminding, Hayden Panettiere is the proud big sister of this Hollywood hunk. Jansen Panettiere is a 22-year-old who followed in his famous sibling's footsteps by becoming an actor, first appearing in made-for-TV movies for Disney and Nickelodeon as a kid in the early 2000s. Today, he's busy taking on more adult roles and catching up with Hayden in his free time. "Baby brother time!" the Nashville star tweeted along with a selfie of the brother and sister bundled up in life jackets in a boat. However, it was Jansen's movie star looks that fans couldn't help but comment on. "Cute baby brother," one fan quipped. "Omg good looks run in the family," another echoed. It's clear the two are close. For Hayden, who helped Jansen navigate through the initial stages of his career, she still thinks there are some things he can teach her. "He is a very balanced child," she told TV Guide in 2007. "He has a heart of gold and would never wish bad on anyone. Sometimes I need to take a lesson from him. He keeps his cool really well. Well, Jansen is no longer a kid, but a full-grown man. That fan was right -- good looks really do run in the family. (Eonline)
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Sell Their New Orleans Home for $4.9 Million. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have officially sold their New Orleans home. The former couple, who is currently in the middle of a highly publicized divorce, sold their longtime mansion for $4.9 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The property was purchased by the exes back in 2007 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina for $3.5 million shortly after creating the Make It Right Foundation. The charitable organization was established in an effort to boost real estate development specifically in the city's Lower 9th Ward. Boasting three stories and over 7,500-square-feet, the Jolie-Pitt's former home was said to be s beautifully maintained 1830's estate with five bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half-bathrooms. Back in September, Angelina filed for divorce from her husband of two years. The two had been together since 2004. According to court documents, she is currently seeking physical custody of their six kids and not seeking spousal support. Shortly thereafter, Brad released a statement regarding the couple's split and divorce news, saying: "I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids. I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time." The two actors famously adopted Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 15, Pax Jolie-Pitt, 12, and Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 11, while Jolie gave birth to Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, 10, and twins Knox Jolie-Pitt and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, 8, in the 12 years they spent as a couple. (Eonline)
Music
Justin Bieber Pens Letter Explaining His Recent Concert Outbursts: "I'm Always Going to Be Myself on This Stage." Justin Bieber is saying sorry... again. The pop sensation shared a since-deleted message to his Twitter followers Saturday evening, offering an explanation for a string of incidents in which Bieber has asked concertgoers to keep the noise level to a minimum. "People tend to want to shut you down. What I mean by that is... people try to twist things, some people don't want to listen," the 22-year-old wrote. "But I simply feel like, if I didn't use this platform to say how I truly feel, and if I didn't use this platform to be the man that I know I am, and speak from what's in my heart, then I'm doing myself injustice, and I'm not doing anybody in this audience any justice." Justin continued, "There's going to be times where I say the wrong thing, because I'm human. But I don't pretend to be perfect and I hope to God that, you know, I don't say the right thing all the time because if that was the case then I'd be a robot, and I'm just, I'm not a robot." "There's times when I get upset... times when I get angry, there's times when I'm going to be frustrated. But I'm always going to be myself on this stage." The Grammy winner has faced criticism during the European leg of his Purpose World Tour for calling fans' screaming "obnoxious." During his Manchester show earlier this week, Bieber was so frustrated with the noise that he decided to simply drop his mic and storm off stage. He then took a few minutes to cool off before returning and telling the crowd, "We're just going to do the music. Obviously Manchester just can't handle it, so let's do the music." Justin's letter concluded, "When people try to twist things and say, 'Justin's angry at his fans. He doesn't want his fans to scream' that's not at all what I was doing. All I was simply doing was wanting people to listen; to kind of hear me out a little bit." "Certain people... certain cities aren't going to want to hear me out, and you know, sometimes it's my job to just say, 'hey, I'm not going to try to force anything.' I just appreciate you guys tonight, listening to me and understanding, and rocking with me. You guys are truly amazing," he wrote. (Eonline)
David Cassidy wore his medical alert bracelet on his sleeve Friday night, going bananas on a fan who ignored his considerable ailments just to get a little video. The 66-year-old former Partridge Family star was performing at Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill, NY when a fan shined a cellphone light smack into his cornea. You gotta watch ... David somehow thinks people know he's had 5 eye surgeries and counting, and issues an ultimatum ... eject the dude or he won't continue. (TMZ)
Lady Gaga Takes Over Los Angeles for Her Final Dive Bar Performance. Talk about a grand finale! Los Angeles had all eyes on Lady Gaga Thursday evening as she took the stage at a local bar in the trendy Silverlake neighborhood for the third and final stop across her Dive Bar Tour. As the venue's top secret location surfaced mere hours before show time, hundreds of Gaga's Little Monsters gathered for a chance at snagging a spot inside. The Joanne songstress, rocking a sequined mermaid-inspired, two-piece ensemble complete with flowers in her hair, performed a number of her smash hits from her new album to the extremely intimate crowd of about 200. The 30-year-old kicked things off with "A-Yo," telling concertgoers, "I missed you guys so much. I'm so happy to be here." Album collaborator Mark Ronson joined Gaga onstage for the track, which preceded her first live renditions of "John Wayne" and "Come to Mama." As it turns out, Gaga's L.A. tour stop almost didn't happen. Thanks to some admittedly inconvenient car trouble, the singer explained she "barely made it" to perform. Speed bumps aside, the rest of the evening went off without a hitch, echoing the same stripped down, back to basics vibe music fans have applauded Gaga for channeling on Joanne. But in between crowd surfing, a few celeb sightings (shout out to Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross) and the all-around epic antics you'd expect from a Gaga concert, she took time to open up about a number of personal topics. Recalling the international success "Million Reasons" has witnessed since its release she admitted, "When I saw that, I felt so heard as a woman. And you know what, if I'm heard, that means that you're heard. So, I just wanted to tell all those women and men who bought that song that I can f--king hear you. I can hear you, and every time I sing this song, I can hear you in my heart singing with me." Things took a political turn when Gaga discussed "Angel Down," her tribute to Trayvon Martin. Touching on the forthcoming election she told the crowd, "I wrote this song about people loving each other and taking care of each other. The election is coming up and I really hope that is a peaceful day, as much as it can be. I pray that on that day we all understand that not everybody is gonna vote for the same person." She continued, "Everybody has different ideas and thoughts and that's okay. We don't have to hate each other because of that." Speaking to her late aunt, whose namesake and life provided the inspiration for the album, Gaga revealed its impact on her father: "I saw a look in my dad's eyes that I've never seen in my whole life, because when my dad was really young he lost his sister, Joanne." "Sometimes I used to wonder if I ever got to meet my real dad, you know, because sometimes things happen in your life that are so bad that you die, or a part of you dies, and after this record came out, I swear that part of my dad came back to life," Gaga added. A quick change into a pair of denim cutoffs and simple white tee, Gaga closed the show with a glam rock performance of "Perfect Illusion." Never change, Mother Monster. (Eonline)
Shakira and Maluma Premiere Their Infectious Song "Chantaje." Well, you already know what we'll be listening to on loop. When we first saw evidence that Shakira and Maluma were in the studio together, we had very high expectations for this possible collaboration, and these two did not disappoint. Fellow Colombians released their track "Chantaje" on Friday, and it's all sorts of sexy and infectious. The song was written and produced by Shakira and Maluma with Kevin Jimenez, Chan "El Genio" and Kenai. The video for "Chantaje" was recently filmed in Barcelona, Spain, with video director Juame De La Iguana. The new single follows Shakira's recent successful collaboration with Carlos Vives "La Bicicleta" which remains a global hit. The record-breaking song topped the charts in Colombia where it remained #1 for 18 consecutive weeks and in Spain where it remained #1 on the charts for 13 weeks. The video for "La Bicicleta" was shot in Shakira and Carlos's hometowns of Barranquilla and Santa Marta and has over 350 million views on Vevo to date. Shakira is currently back in the studio recording new music for her upcoming Spanish-language release. That album's premiere can't come soon enough. (Eonline)
Calvin Harris Subtly Shades Taylor Swift Throughout His "My Way" Music Video. Despite Calvin Harris' denial that "My Way" has any sort of connection to ex Taylor Swift , we gotta talk about that music video. The Scottish DJ-producer dropped the visuals for his latest hit Friday, in which Harris relives a relationship turned sour through a virtual reality headset. This time around, Calvin's video vixen, who bears no resemblance to the pop sensation, is a domesticated robot with a few debilitating technical glitches. Cue the drama. It didn't take long for those dedicated Swifties (E! News included) to comb through every nanosecond of "My Way" for a Taylor reference, and boy did Calvin deliver. First things first -- that dress! Taylor's been known to rock a mean polka dot number over the years; so much so that the girly look has become almost synonymous with the Grammy winner. Coincidental choice courtesy of Calvin's wardrobe department? Doubtful. Standing atop a horse isn't the easiest thing in the world to pull off, so when Taylor did the damn thing in her "Blank Space" music video, Calvin took it one step further by having his co-star actually ride the horse. This contentious dining room conversation rings a bell that sounds a little too similar to Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" video... Sci-fi vibes? Check. White hot two-piece ensemble? Double check. Horizontal positioning? So obvious. Call this one the smoking gun. Harris' co-star donned a strappy, black leather dress in the video's final scenes that had us watching "Bad Blood" back to back all over again. (Eonline)
Paul McCartney Debuts New Song 'In the Blink of An Eye'. A new Paul McCartney song "In the Blink of An Eye," part of the forthcoming Ethel & Ernest movie, made its first appearance early Friday (Oct. 28) morning. The track appears across iTunes' international stores (but not in the U.S. at time of reporting) in the advance pre-order listing for the soundtrack album. Ethel & Ernest, an animated film, is taken from the graphic novel by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman) about the lives of two Londoners. The characters were based on his parents. The film stars the voices of Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn in the title roles and Harry Collett and Luke Treadaway as the author in his younger and later days. From a 60-second preview, the sound of "In the Blink of An Eye" is reminiscent of "(I Want To) Come Home," the song McCartney wrote for Everybody's Fine, the 2009 film starring Robert DeNiro. That song was nominated for several awards -- a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the DFCS Award for Best Original Song by the Denver Film Critics Society and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song for a Film, according to IMDB.com-but didn't win any of them. For now, the full album can only be ordered from iTunes in the U.K. and via the music store's international channels (including Australia) and at Amazon.co.uk. The album's advance track listings features a number of songs by Carl Davis, who collaborated with McCartney on "Liverpool Oratorio." (Billboard)
They can kick it again! Q-Tip took to Instagram on Friday, October 28, to announce that A Tribe Called Quest is releasing a "final" album 18 years after they released their 1998 LP, The Love Movement. The rapper, 46, shared a series of handwritten notes to explain why the hip-hop group -- made up of Q-Tip, Al Shaheed Muhammad, Jarobi White(until 1991) and the late Phife Dawg -- decided to jump back in the studio. "To all the good people worldwide! We hope this letter finds you and yours safe and without a scratch! Last year this time myself, Jarobi, Ali and Phife had the extreme pleasure of performing on the Tonight Show. It was our first TV performance in 18 years," the rapper wrote. "The energy for us that night was one that we hadn't experienced on stage together in some time!" Q-Tip went on to explain that ATCQ's Tonight Show performance happened to fall on the same night as last year's terror attack in Paris. He also acknowledged Phife's death. The rapper passed away at age 45 on March 22, 2016, after a long battle with diabetes. "As we left 30 Rock I felt the need, we all did, to get back to the studio and start that cookup!! So we got to it!!" Q-Tip continued. "It was coming together nicely and as you may Know we lost our brother. May God rest his soul on March 22. But he left us with the blueprint of what we had to do." In Phife's absence, the "Can I Kick It?" performers recruited rappers Busta Rhymes and Consequence -- both have been featured on A Tribe Called Quest tracks before -- for their upcoming, as-yet-untitled album. "So we collected ourselves and along tribesmen, Busta and Cons ... we completed what will be, obviously the final A Tribe Called Quest album!" he enthused. "No this isn't filled with old Phife bars ... This is that pure, unstopped on pure!!" He concluded: "And on November 11, 2016, we will complete our paths of rhythm ... Join us! Peace!! Q-Tip." (US Weekly)
Grand Ole Opry Opening Venue in New York. The Grand Ole Opry is going north. The famous venue for country music is branching out of Tennessee for the first time its 91-year history with a new restaurant and venue in Times Square. Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc., which owns the Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, on Thursday announced plans to open the Opry City Stage around April 2017, which will feature retail space, a listening room and private event space, a bar and a restaurant. Colin Reed, chairman and CEO, said Ryman hopes to expand the country music-themed concept to other tourist-heavy cities, but they wanted to start in New York. "There are about a 100 million consumers who love country music all across the country," Reed said. "Times Square happens to be the place where between 40 and 50 million tourists go through that market. So we thought we'd start in a place as big and dominant as Times Square." Promoters of country music have been trying to plant a permanent flag in New York for decades with mixed success. A country music festival called Farmborough was cancelled after just one year in 2015, but a country radio station returned to the city's airwaves in 2013 for the first time since 1996. Vince Gill, a longtime Grand Ole Opry member and unofficial ambassador of the genre, said New York is a strong market for country music. "Garth Brooks played there at Central Park one time and had about 88 million people there, I think," Gill said. "So yeah, they love country music up there." Visitors will be able to watch live performances at the Opry City Stage, or watch Grand Ole Opry performances from Nashville via screens. The Bluebird Cafe, the songwriter venue in Nashville, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International, will also help curate performances in the venue. (Billboard)
Eric Clapton Sued for Crediting 'Unplugged' Song to Wrong Blues Singer. A traditional blues song off Eric Clapton's 1992 Unplugged album for MTV is at the heart of a new lawsuit claiming the rock icon, his label and others have failed to properly credit the track for 24 years and counting. "Alberta" is Clapton's version of a famous 12-bar blues called "Corrine, Corrina," which dates back to the late 1920s and has long been credited to the artist Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon. The original was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in December 1929 in the names of Chatmon and his producer J. Mayo Williams. The problem, as the complaint filed this month in U.S. District Court in Nashville asserts, is that Unplugged -- from the original CD release to a 2013 expanded edition to the DVD of the TV special -- credits the song to blues virtuoso Lead Belly and not to Chatmon. The complicating factor seems to have been that Lead Belly wrote a completely different song called "Alberta," and that for unknown reasons, Clapton attributed his version of "Corrine, Corrina" (in which he sings "Alberta, Alberta" instead of the original lyric) to the more recognizable blues singer. As a result of this case of mistaken song identity, Chatmon's estate says it has received no royalties related to Clapton's performance of it. The complaint points out that while all variations of Unplugged over the years credit Lead Belly, a version that Clapton performed on 2011's Marsalis & Clapton Play the Blues -- with jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis -- correctly lists Chatmon as a joint author. It's because of this that Chatmon's estate believes Clapton and his co-defendants are fully aware that the Unplugged versions have been mislabeled all these years, with publishing royalties going to the wrong place. The beneficiary of that misidentification has been Folkways Music, the publisher of Lead Belly's "Alberta." In addition to suing Clapton, the estate lists several co-defendants in its claim for relief, including (among others) MTV and its parent company Viacom for designating Lead Belly as the song's author on the TV special and subsequent home releases; Warner Music Group (Reprise) and Rhino for the 1992 album and its 2013 deluxe reissue; Folkways for its designation as the song's publisher; and Hal Leonard for a sheet music version of Clapton's Unplugged that credited the album's "Alberta" to Lead Belly. "Each of the Defendants has failed to account to Plaintiff for their unauthorized use of the Original Song, including without limitation sales of phonograph recordings/DVDs of the Original Song as part of the Deluxe Clapton Unplugged video/recording and the Songbooks, and Defendants have failed to pay any royalties to Plaintiff for such unauthorized sales or other uses of the Original Song," the lawsuit states. Chatmon's estate, represented by Shrum & Associates out of Nashville, said it has made repeated attempts to correct the song mixup and fix the royalties issue with the various defendants "to no avail," with many communications going unanswered. "This is a situation where you have the estate, the rightful owners of Bo's intellectual property, just trying to get what's rightfully theirs and get credit where credit is due," said Barry Shrum, Floyd's lawyer, in a statement to The Tennessean. "Bo created this song and started, in essence, a genre in music and influenced many performers in the future, and he deserves that credit." The estate is seeking $5 million in damages. The defendants have not responded to the lawsuit. The estate has taken legal action over the song's copyright before, having sued Rod Stewart in 2015 over the rocker's inclusion of the song on his 2013 album, Time. The complaint pointed out that Stewart's version and the Chatmon version were "nearly identical," except Stewart changed the title slightly to "Corrina, Corrina." Clapton's Unplugged remains the best-selling entry in the entire series, with 7.7 million sold, as measured by Nielsen Music. The album, notable for its heart-wrenching version of "Tears in Heaven," about the death of Clapton's 4-year-old son, Conor, topped the Billboard 200 for three weeks in 1992. (Billboard)
Movies
'The Night Guard' Takes Jury Prize at Mexico's Morelia Film Fest. Writer-director Diego Ros' feature debut also won best actor. El Vigilante (The Night Guard), a drama about a security guard who has one of the strangest nights of his life, won big at the Morelia International Film Festival Saturday evening with jury prizes for best picture and actor. First-timer Diego Ros produced, directed and wrote the Mexico City-set drama, which stars Leonardo Alonso, who appeared in Cary Fukunaga's immigration thriller Sin Nombre. The festival's audience award went to Daniel Castro's thriller Las Tinieblas (The Darkness), while Bellas de Noche (Beauties of the Night), which explores Mexico's cabaret scene in the 1970s, walked away with the jury award for best documentary. The 14th edition of the Morelia International Festival was a star-studded affair. This year's guests included Gael Garcia Bernal, Eva Longoria, Aaron Eckhart, Edgar Ramirez (Hands of Stone), Casey Affleck and Oscar nominee Demian Bichir, who made his directorial debut with Un Cuento de Circo & a Love Song. Also on hand was Willem Dafoe for the world premiere of Giada Colagrande's drama Padre. During the weeklong event, Dafoe revealed that he will be starring in Daniel Graham's freshman drama Opus Zero, which begins shooting in Mexico next week and is produced by Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas. (Hollywood Reporter)
AFM: Tom Hardy to Star as Al Capone in Josh Trank's 'Fonzo'. Bloom will introduce the film to buyers at this year's AFM. Having taken on not one but two Kray twins in 2015's hit British gangster biopic Legend, Tom Hardy is now set to play the biggest mobster of them all. The Academy Award-nominee will star as Al Capone in Fonzo, the upcoming project from writer-director Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four). The story will center on Capone at the age of 47, following nearly a decade of imprisonment, as dementia rots his mind and his violent past comes back to haunt him. The film will be produced by Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder (Tau) for Addictive Pictures alongside Oscar-nominated Lawrence Bender (Inglorious Basterds, Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2, Good Will Hunting, Pulp Fiction). Bloom is handling international sales on the project, now in pre-production, and will introduce it to buyers at AFM next week. CAA and WME Global are repping U.S. rights. "Fonzo brings together the myth and lore of notorious American Gangster Al Capone, with the undeniable talent of Tom Hardy and Josh Trank," said Bloom's Alex Walton. "We are thrilled to bring this film to buyers at the AFM." Trank is represented by WME, Management 360 and attorney Mitch Smelkinson, while Hardy is repped by CAA and Lindy King at United Agents. (Hollywood Reporter)
UTA Signs 'The Night Of' Actress Amara Karan. The British actress played Chandra the lawyer on the recent HBO limited series. The Night Of's Amara Karan has signed with UTA, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned. The London-born actress played Chandra Kapoor, the defense attorney who develops a controversial relationship with her client Naz (Riz Ahmed) in HBO's critically acclaimed limited series. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Karan made her professional debut in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited as the comely attendant who has a dalliance with Jason Schwartzman's character. Her subsequent film credits include St. Trinian's with Rupert Everett and Colin Firth, A Fantastic Fear of Everything with Simon Pegg and the Indian-British family comedy Jadoo with Sleepy Hollow's Tom Mison. Karan currently is a regular on Stan Lee's Lucky Man, the hit Sky TV series from the Marvel Comics mastermind. She also appeared in an episode of Doctor Who and co-starred in the BBC comedy series Ambassadors and ITV Studios' Kidnap and Ransom. On stage, Karan has performed in the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice. Karan continues to be represented by United Agents in the U.K. and managed by Principal Entertainment. (Hollywood Reporter)
Over the past two decades, Hocus Pocus has become a Halloween classic for young and old -- and no one is more aware of the film's long-lasting magic than Winifred Sanderson herself, Bette Midler. Like the rest of us, the actress is still spellbound over the 1993 horror comedy, and doesn't quite understand why a sequel still hasn't happened! Speaking to Billboard, she said: "You don't get to see women doing slapstick too much, and in the movie you can see that we're having a blast. For the life of me, I can't understand why there's not a sequel. All the shackles were off, as Donald Trump likes to say, and we were allowed to be as wild as we wanted to be. It was a perfect storm of fun." The 70-year-old has made it clear she and costars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy would be down to reprise their witchy roles, but revealed the decision to make a sequel is ultimately up to Disney. So apparently, we just have to keep on waiting for some virgin executive to light that Black Flame candle and bring our fave sisters back to life! Until then, find out what the entire Hocus Pocus cast has been up to since the 1993 film hit theaters! (Perez Hilton)
TV
Jennifer Lopez Will Star in NBC's Next Live Musical, Bye Bye Birdie. Time to put on a happy face, because we already know what NBC's live musical will be in 2017! NBC president Bob Greenblatt just revealed that the network will be taking on Bye Bye Birdie in December of next year, with Jennifer Lopez set to both executive produce and star as Rosie Alvarez. The role was originated by Chita Rivera in the show's first run on Broadway, and has also been played by Janet Leigh and Vanessa Williams in the two film versions of the musical. Bye Bye Birdie was inspired by Elvis Presley, and tells the tale of a pop star, his manager Albert, and Albert's girlfriend Rosie as they plan a contest to find the girl who gets to kiss the pop star before he ships off to the army. Dick Van Dyke originated the role of Albert in both the first Broadway run and the 1963 movie. "Broadway musicals and films fueled my childhood and Bye Bye Birdie was one of my favorites," Lopez said in a statement. "I'm proud to be a part of the NBC family with Shades of Blue and I thought it would be a blast to take on one of their big live musicals." She will produce alongside her producing partners, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina, along with executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. The adaptation will be written by Harvey Fierstein, who also wrote the teleplay for and will be starring in the upcoming Hairspray Live. Rehearsals are currently underway for Hairspray Live, which stars Kristin Chenoweth, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Sean Hayes, Derek Hough, Garrett Clayton, Martin Short, Rosie O'Donnell, Paul Vogt, Andrea Martin, Ephraim Sykes, Billy Eichner, and newcomer Maddie Baillio as Tracy, with Fierstein playing Mrs. Turnblad. Hairspray Live! airs Wednesday, Dec. 7 on NBC. (Eonline)
Sally Jessy Raphael "Hated" Doing the Last Few Years of Her Talk Show. Sally Jessy Raphael has some regrets about the way her long-running syndicated talk show, Sally, ended. Now 81, Raphael appears on Oprah Winfrey's show, Oprah: Where Are They Now?, and talks about how she would have changed the direction in which the show went prior to its 2002 cancellation. With other talk shows like Jerry Springer's and Maury Povich's coming up in the ratings due to their shock value, producers on Sally chose to cover those types of stories instead of hard news and human interest ones. "The last years of doing those Maury Povich/Jerry Spring shows? I hated them," she says. "I was betrayed by some of the producers into doing that. Come to think of it, I should have fought harder for what I knew what right -- what I knew that I didn't want to do." Eventually low ratings would cause Sally's cancellation, but prior to the official announcement Raphael says she had no idea the show was going to end. Now, she feels like she betrayed her dedicated staff after reassuring them the show wouldn't end. "They told us that the show was going to go on and we had 250 employees," Raphael explains. "Now some of them said, 'Sally, we need to know if we're going to be renewed. I want to buy a house or my wife and I want to be pregnant.' And then within two months after they bought their house and got pregnant or whatever, I had to go in front of the entire crew and staff." She maintains that she didn't know they were going off the air. "I'm sure there are some who think that I knew all along. I did not. I would not," she confesses. In hindsight, Raphael admits she would change how she handled the situation. "I would have said to them 'I don't know' instead of 'Yes, it's a go,'" she revealed. Oprah: Where Are They Now? airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN. (Eonline)
Michael Kelly on Why Black Mirror's "Men Against Fire" Is Timely. Black Mirror is known for making viewers think. Whether it's about social media and the validation it may or may not provide ("Nosedive" will make you rethink Instagram, it certainly helped Bryce Dallas Howard out with her social media feelings) to possible new uses of technology ("San Junipero" and its outcome will make you cry), there's definitely a lot of food for though. "Obviously there is an element and layer of commentary in the episodes, but we try for it not to be too preachy or too moralizing because I think sometimes that can off-putting and a viewer doesn't really want to have a notion battered over their head because then they're watching something different," Annabel Jones, executive producer on Black Mirror, told E! News. "We try to sort of create compelling, entertaining films that are also thought-provoking and challenging." In "Men Against Fire," soldiers battled "roaches," mutated beings from a biological weapon. But in a twist -- naturally it is Black Mirror -- it's revealed the roaches are in fact actual people; the soldiers were made to see them as mutated enemies, but they were other humans believed to be inferior. Us and them, mentality. Jones said the episode sort of reflects the increasing xenophobia she's witnessed in Europe and the change in language referring to people as "swarms," so people need to be more aware and "whether we should just be slightly more open-winded and think about what we're doing." House of Cards' Michael Kelly, who stars in the episode as Arquette, the psychologist, said it's the same in America, specifically with Donald Trump. "You look at what's happening currently politically in our country... that hatred and xenophobia that the other party is pushing out there to the world and it really stops and makes you think," he said. "Like you said, there are swarms of people or swaths of people, we are categorizing certain people as lesser or not equal when we are all equal." Black Mirror season three is now streaming on Netflix. (Eonline)
Why Amelia's Latest Grey's Anatomy Meltdown Makes the Time Right for a Visit From Addison. Oh, Amelia Shephard, you poor, damaged thing. After genuine excitement over a possible pregnancy gave way to genuine relief when it turned out she was not with child on last week's Grey's Anatomy, we found the surgeon, as ever, this close from spinning out of control this week as memories of her Private Practice past crept in. Namely, the baby with no brain she was forced to give birth to and watch die. After delivering the horrible news to another mother that her young son didn't survive surgery triggered a meltdown, Amelia (Catrina Scorsone) opened up to Alex (Justin Chambers) of all people, but by episode's end, she was still keeping her grim past a secret from new hubby Owen (Kevin McKidd). With the three-plus seasons worth of the character's history from the Shondaland spinoff finally making their way to the flagship series, and with Amelia horrified to share her dark story with anyone in her new life, the time is right for a confidante from her old life down south in Los Angeles to make the trek to Seattle. Enter: Addison Montgomery. Think about it. Who better to counsel Amelia through her resurging feelings over her traumatic past than Kate Walsh's alter ego? She knows the hospital, she knows Amelia, and she's overdue for a visit. It was egregious when Addison wasn't seen or heard from in the wake of ex-husband Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) death -- the less said about that funeral scene with no one familiar in it, the better -- and we've just plain miss the character ever since Private Practice signed off for good in 2013. For what it's worth, Scorsone seems keen on the idea, telling THR, "You should call Kate and tell her to come, I would love it if she would come and do an arc -- I bet she would. It would be fantastic if she came and visited for a while. Maybe she could do something with Arizona [Jessica Capshaw] since they both do neo-natal surgery." We haven't seen Walsh on TV since her ill-fated NBC comedy Bad Judge came and went in 2014. Though she's due to star in Netflix's upcoming 13 Reasons Why, we've got a feeling she could make the time for a visit to Grey Sloan Memorial. Just imagine Addison reacting to news that Alex might be going to jail or simply her interacting with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) after all these years. Your move, Shonda Rhimes. Do you want to see Addison again? Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC. (Eonline)
What Really Brought How to Get Away With Murder's Asher and Michaela Together? Murder, Duh. If you're shipping Asher (Matt McGorry) and Michaela (Aja Naomi King) on How to Get Away With Murder pretty darn hard, you are not alone -- we are kind of obsessed with them too. And King is pretty happy about them too -- except for the times when she's reminded that Asher is also incredibly annoying. "It's so complicated! I really love them together," King tells E! News, "but there's also the part of me that's like those moments when Asher is being so silly or ridiculous or teasing her and not understanding something where it's like, 'God, Asher, just grow up!' And then on top of it we have these really beautiful moments where he's sincere and you see the groundedness and the depth of his character and him trying to figure himself out just like the rest of us and it's like, 'Oh yeah, you guys need each other!'" But the thing that ultimately brought the pair closer together than any of Michaela's past relationships is the fact that they share such a deep, dark secret. "It is such a tricky situation to have been through everything these people have been through and then try to find someone to be really honest with," King explains. "And that's why all these other iterations of relationships for Michaela were never going to work, because she was bound by blood basically to have to hide so much of what was happening in her life but with him she can finally let go. I think that's so necessary for her to be able to do." The duo made it official -- minutes before we learned that Asher is safe (thank goodness) -- in an emotional conversation that saw Michaela truly open herself up for the first time. "It was such a huge moment," King says. "We got to take our time with the scene and just have that evolution of the conversation of him trying to force something and me trying to reject the idea [because of] what, to me, felt like out of fear -- fear of opening yourself up to the potential of being hurt -- and finally having this [moment of] 'Alright, fine, be honest: We like each other and now we're really going to try and do this,' which means we have to live up to the idea of really engaging in an honest and open relationship." We also saw a little bit more of Michaela's mother, played by Brett Butler, but don't worry -- she'll be back. "You've only gotten a glimpse of Trishelle, but wait 'til you see more," King says. "I think people are really going to understand exactly why Michaela admires Annalise to such a great degree. Annalise ends up being the example of the kind of life she wants to lead. Of course, it's the idea of Annalise that she loves. Once she sees the reality, she's still grappling with that -- the reality of what a person is versus the idea of them." While there are three more episodes until we find out who, exactly, is under that white sheet, King says they will still have moments of levity. "There are definitely going to be some fun moments because we're still people attempting to live our lives," King says, but prepare yourself: "There definitely still will be some fun, but our show is kind of a dark show. Yeah, in three more episodes we're going to find out what's under the sheet, but there are going to be so many more things that are all going to be coming out that no one is going to be ready for." How to Get Away With Murder airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC. (Eonline)
How Chicago Med's Newest Addition Is Shaking Things Up for Your Favorite Surgeon. Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) might be a big-shot surgeon on Chicago Med -- and was just named to a further ego-inflating "40 Under 40" power list -- but in season two, his arrogance is taking a hit with the addition of his new mentor, Dr. Latham (Ato Assando), to the staff. "Dr. Latham... is basically the antithesis to what Dr. Downey was last year," Donnell tells E! News of his character's new mentor. "He's a little brash; he's got some personality traits that are taking some getting used to. I think that's been one of the coolest things about this season with Connor -- the fact that he's learning how to deal with that tough personality and also, at the same time, knowing and figuring out that he has so much to learn from this guy." Basically, Dr. Rhodes is being knocked down a few pegs -- and he probably needs to be, if we're being honest. In other mentor-mentee news, Rachel DiPillo and Oliver Platt, a.k.a. Doctors Reese and Charles, also spoke to E! News in Chicago this week about their characters' new working relationship. While Reese spent her time in the ER thinking she was going to go into pathology, she soon realized that she loved working with patients instead. "I don't think it was actually soulful enough for her," Platt says. "I don't think that's a word that Sarah Reese would use but she was obviously looking for meaning." Adds DiPillo, "I feel like she was walking one walk but her talk was getting in her way. Her talk was 'pathology, pathology, pathology,' but her walk [wasn't]. When you went back and looked at, it was fitting." Chicago Med airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on NBC. (Eonline)
Sherlock is back (well, almost), the trailer of the season 4 aired right after the finale of Bake Off. And, if the end of the cooking show left our hearts beating fast, the Sherlock teaser was perfectly timed to give us a heart attack. Benedict Cumberbatch's character looks better than ever in the continuation of the series and will take return on 1 January 2017. The show will have three episodes where *spoiler alert* Professor Moriarty may be coming back, all characters will be tested and everyone is under threat for their lives. Of course Sherlock will be there to anticipate everyone's moves alongside his sarcastic sidekick Dr. John Watson. The new season was much expected by the fans who were uncertain of series four and were left waiting for almost a year for a little grasp of what is coming... But boy, they did not expect it to be this good. In what looks like 90 seconds of the best thriller ever, Benedict wowed his fans and gave everyone the chills. Yes, it is that good. Check out for yourself: Sherlock returns to BBC One on 1 January 2017. (British Glamour)
Michael Stagliano's Wife Emily Gives Birth to a Baby Boy: See His Unique Name. Michael Stagliano has a whole lot to be thankful for today! The former Bachelorette contestant and his wife Emily Stagliano welcomed their first child into the world, a bouncing baby boy named Bowen Michael Stagliano. Michael took to Instagram to share a photo of the family-of-three as well as a sweet note about mom and baby. "There certainly aren't words enough to describe how much this picture means to @emilystag and I, but here's my attempt," he wrote. "Bowen Michael Stagliano came a month early (he really wanted to hang out with us). He was born at 6:33am, and came into the world just as the sun was rising over the mountains through the window outside the delivery room." "He and Mom are doing great!" Michael continued. "Because he got here early he's spending a few extra days in the NICU... and I can't...stop...smiling. He's doing well. We will bring him home on Saturday. Thanks for all the love and support for our little guy. #StagClan." Meanwhile, the couple first announced their pregnancy in May, opening up to People magazine about the exciting news and how they shared it with friend and family. "For our family, we did something a bit more special, but for our close friends, we've just been blindsiding them in conversation," he shared. "And the reactions are so great." LOL! Emily also gushed about her doting hubby. "There have been many nights where Michael will voluntarily go out and get ice cream for us," she admitted. "He'll say, 'No no no, you stay here, I'll go out and get us some ice cream.' He's been very sweet." The two tied the knot in 2014 in Chicago. (Eonline)
Iggy Azalea's Ex Nick Young Is a Dad Again: Meet Baby Navi Young. Nick Young is officially a dad times two. The 31-year-old Los Angeles Lakers player announced the birth of his daughter, Navi Young, on Instagram Friday following reports that ex-girlfriend Keonna Green had gone into labor late Wednesday night. In a subtle but sentimental photo shared on social media, Navi has her little fingers wrapped around her father's pointer finger. "#BabyNaviYoung," the athlete captioned the shot along with emojis of hands praying and a heart. In addition to baby Navi, Nick is also a dad to Nick Jr., who he also had with Green. When Green's second pregnancy was revealed, it ignited controversy considering Young and Iggy Azalea had broken off their year-long engagement just a few weeks earlier. In March, a video of Young alluding to cheating on Iggy had leaked. After publicly breaking off their engagement in late June, Iggy revealed on Twitter that she called for the split after she found security footage of Nick bringing other women into their house while she was away. Once news of the surprise pregnancy broke, the rapper tweeted, "I feel like my body was just drop kicked out of a plane with no parachute." "It was 200 percent Nick's child," Green told Us Weekly in early July, just weeks after Azalea and the athlete called it quits. "He's always supportive, but he was in shock. With him being in a public relationship, he didn't know how to handle it. We didn't get into [how he would tell Azalea]. I felt it was his decision how to handle it." While she told the magazine that intimacy between them had since stopped, she would consider taking him back if he was committed. "Right now, he needs to focus on basketball and getting his life in order. Basketball is what puts food on two people's plates that he's taking care of," she told the magazine. "But I will definitely give it a chance if he comes back and says, 'I'm really going to make this work this time.' Why not? But if there was ever any inkling of disrespect... I'm going to be raising a daughter. I would want to let her know that she deserves the world." (Eonline)
Mariah Carey "Devastated" by James Packer Breakup: He Dumped Her "Out of Nowhere," Says Source. Mariah Carey is heartbroken in the wake of her and James Packer's split. A source tells E! News exclusively that Carey was "blindsided" when Packer dumped her "out of nowhere." To add insult to injury, Carey only learned that her engagement to Packer was over when she saw it in the press, according to one insider. "The split has been devastating for Mariah," a source tells E! News. "She loved James and was planning to marry him...She made life changes for this man to prepare for their future as husband and wife, even relocating to L.A., at James' request, so he could be closer to his children. Everything she has done over the past year is to prove how fully committed she is to their life together. She really wanted this to work. And then, completely out of the blue, it imploded." The breakdown of their relationship "started in Greece," says a source, with "some sort of outburst [from Packer] which everyone heard." The father of three reportedly made a reference about things becoming "too much," saying, "I don't know if I can do this. I can barely take care of my own children." Carey and Packer were supposed to meet up in L.A. after the Greece incident "to talk through everything as adults," says a source. According to one insider, they set up a date to meet this past week, but the day before the meeting was supposed to take place, Carey found out through the press that Packer had broken off their engagement. "Mariah and James never met up after that," says a source. "And they haven't spoken. The way the split news was handled was incredibly upsetting to her." Those close to Carey are beginning to wonder if Packer "was possibly using her for her fame," a source tells E! News. "He never received the kind of attention he got over the past year until Mariah was on his arm." As for the media speculation surrounding Carey and her backup dancer, rumored to be Brian Tanaka? A source tells E! News the longtime friends have a "completely platonic" relationship. Tanaka has "been a supportive influence" in Carey's life over the past 10 years, says a source. "Right now they are just close friends," says a source. "I can't promise things won't develop between them one day, who knows," adds the insider. "But right now, the stories out there are an exaggeration and they definitely feel like a convenient ploy to make this whole mess look like her [Carey's] fault. (Eonline)
Mariah Carey has the ultimate defense against claims she was banging her choreographer -- namely, she doesn't bang before marriage, and yeah ... that includes James Packer. Sources close to Mariah tell us rumors about her relationship with Bryan Tanaka are completely false. We're told Mimi has a long-standing rep as a "traditional girl," and wouldn't blow that for anyone. That stance extended to her now ex-fiance. We're told even though they lived together and spent weeks at a time on his yacht, they never got sexual. They always had separate rooms in their homes and on their boats. Mariah's ex, Nick Cannon, can testify to her puritanical values. He's admitted in interviews he had to wait 'til they got hitched to round the bases. Our Mariah sources say she and James were more like lovesick 12-year-olds -- they made out plenty, but never sealed the deal -- and that's one reason he was pushing hard to get married ASAP. Ahh ... best laid plans. (TMZ)
It's no secret that Cheryl is thought to be pregnant with Liam Payne's baby. But while the stars have yet to confirm or deny rumors, Cheryl is still busy making public appearances. But what is she doing about her supposed 'baby bump'? Thursday night at the launch of her new perfume, StormFlower Platinum, Cheryl graced London's Sanderson hotel to sign autographs for fans. The former X Factor judge wore a blue jumpsuit and tbh, the GLAMOUR office are divided. When Cheryl attended a swish L'Oreal event a few weeks ago we were certain the rumors were true, now, we're just not sure. And it seems everyone agrees...Cheryl and her One Direction star boyfriend went public with their relationship back in February and it seems the two are closer than ever now, with rumors of Cheryl's "pregnancy" circulating the internet. (British Glamour)
Jose Fernandez had cocaine and alcohol in his blood last month when he was involved in a boat crash that killed his two friends, along with the famed pitcher. Jose's BAC was .147, approaching twice the legal limit, according to the Miami-Dade Coroner's Office. Cocaine was detected in his system as well. Fernandez's friends both had small amounts of alcohol in their system ... one also had cocaine. TMZ broke the story ... Fernandez and friends partied at a local bar less than two hours before the fatal crash. The spot -- American Social Bar & Kitchen -- has a dock for boaters to pull up, get out and get served. It's still unclear who was driving the boat at the time of the crash. (TMZ)
New York's Metropolitan Opera was evacuated after reports say a man sprinkled an unknown powder into the orchestra pit. A spokesperson for The Met says Saturday's show of "Guillaume Tell" was cancelled after the incident. Reports say the man fled and cops are trying to find him. At this time, the type of powder thrown is unknown ... one person requested medical attention, but their current condition is unknown. Story developing ... (TMZ)
THE OTHER STUFF . . .
Wisin Opens Up About Daughter's Death: "I Never Imagined Losing a Child." Last month Wisin revealed the tragic news of his daughter Victoria's death. Once Victoria was born, the urban music star opened up about her having Trisomy 13 also know as Patau syndrome. After turning just a month old, Victoria died on Sep. 30. "I knew since my wife was four months pregnant that there were problems with the baby. I'll confess that I thought about her having an abortion, and she very bravely told me, 'No, I'm no one to turn off the switch of life for anybody. That's when I realized that God was trying to teach me and make me mature. From the negative things that happen to us in life we learn." Almost a month after what could be the hardest time of his life, the star opened up to Univision's El Gordo y La Flaca about all that he went through. "I knew since my wife was four months pregnant that there were problems with the baby. I'll confess that I thought about her having an abortion, and she very bravely told me, 'No, I'm no one to turn off the switch of life for anybody,'" Wisin said. "That's when I realized that God was trying to teach me and make me mature. From the negative things that happen to us in life we learn." Although the singer is completely heartbroken, he still feels that his daughter's death had a greater purpose. "I've received messages from women that were in this situation and thought of having an abortion, but because of what we went through they decided not to and face this situation head on, no matter what happens. I think that was the purpose of it all, aside from the fact that you can't go against God's will. We have to face things and not only laugh when things go right, but you also need to learn to laugh when things don't come out so well. I never imagined having to go through losing a child, but I understand that I have fans and there are so many good people that in one way or another gave me that strength to keep growing and to keep walking, because it's difficult, you feel that the world is falling on you. But God gave me the strength to face something like this and here we are. The genetic disorder includes a combination of birth defects, this includes severe intellectual disability, as well as health problems involving nearly every organ system in the body, according to Stanford Children's Health. (Eonline)
Shh! The Pretty Little Liars Stars Aren't the First to Do a Group Tattoo. The secret's out: The Pretty Little Liars cast got matching tattoos! Lucy Hale Instagrammed a photo with Ashley Benson, Troian Bellisario, Shay Mitchell, Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish and their matching index finger tattoos. "This happened," she wrote. "Thank you @shamrocksocialclub for taking care of us. We couldn't not get tattoos to commemorate the show! And obviously on our 'shh' finger." This sentimental ink, while special, isn't exactly unique. Just a few weeks ago, actually, Orlando Bloom shared a #TBT from 2001 when he and the rest of the Lord of the Rings cast got matching tattoos ("Nine" in elvish) to commemorate their experience filming. Art inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien has already proven it stands the test of time; the same can't necessarily be said for late '90s boy bands. 98 Degrees members Jeff Timmons and Nick Lachey both inked their band name on their biceps at the height of their fame. Jeff still has his 98 Degrees ink, but Nick filled his in. "It was just time to color it in," he told AOL back in 2014. "I colored it in actually while we were still a group, still touring. It wasn't like I was saying, 'Oh, that chapter's done. Time to move on.'" Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael both got the Roman Numeral X tattooed on their arms to commemorate 10 years of Maroon 5. Let's not forget about the cast of Suicide Squad -- or as Margot Robbie might spell it, SKWAD. The actress gave Jared Leto and Will Smith matching tattoos as a way of getting them in character. There was even a time, way back in 2012, that One Direction was still a fivesome and Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and yes, Zayn Malik each got matching tattoos. They didn't say 1D, or anything already regrettable. This was just a little ankle ink between bros. And even though the Jonas Brothers disbanded years ago, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas are forever bonded by the matching tattoos they got ahead of the 2016 MTV VMAs. And then there are the Olympians who, understandably, want a permanent reminder of their athletic glory. Swimmer Missy Franklin got the Olympic rings inked back in 2012. "Can't believe it!" she tweeted at the time. "My one and only!" (Eonline)
In Case You Forgot, Hayden Panettiere Has a Hot Younger Brother. If you even needed reminding, Hayden Panettiere is the proud big sister of this Hollywood hunk. Jansen Panettiere is a 22-year-old who followed in his famous sibling's footsteps by becoming an actor, first appearing in made-for-TV movies for Disney and Nickelodeon as a kid in the early 2000s. Today, he's busy taking on more adult roles and catching up with Hayden in his free time. "Baby brother time!" the Nashville star tweeted along with a selfie of the brother and sister bundled up in life jackets in a boat. However, it was Jansen's movie star looks that fans couldn't help but comment on. "Cute baby brother," one fan quipped. "Omg good looks run in the family," another echoed. It's clear the two are close. For Hayden, who helped Jansen navigate through the initial stages of his career, she still thinks there are some things he can teach her. "He is a very balanced child," she told TV Guide in 2007. "He has a heart of gold and would never wish bad on anyone. Sometimes I need to take a lesson from him. He keeps his cool really well. Well, Jansen is no longer a kid, but a full-grown man. That fan was right -- good looks really do run in the family. (Eonline)
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Sell Their New Orleans Home for $4.9 Million. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have officially sold their New Orleans home. The former couple, who is currently in the middle of a highly publicized divorce, sold their longtime mansion for $4.9 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The property was purchased by the exes back in 2007 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina for $3.5 million shortly after creating the Make It Right Foundation. The charitable organization was established in an effort to boost real estate development specifically in the city's Lower 9th Ward. Boasting three stories and over 7,500-square-feet, the Jolie-Pitt's former home was said to be s beautifully maintained 1830's estate with five bedrooms, three full bathrooms and two half-bathrooms. Back in September, Angelina filed for divorce from her husband of two years. The two had been together since 2004. According to court documents, she is currently seeking physical custody of their six kids and not seeking spousal support. Shortly thereafter, Brad released a statement regarding the couple's split and divorce news, saying: "I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids. I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time." The two actors famously adopted Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 15, Pax Jolie-Pitt, 12, and Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 11, while Jolie gave birth to Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, 10, and twins Knox Jolie-Pitt and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, 8, in the 12 years they spent as a couple. (Eonline)
Music
Justin Bieber Pens Letter Explaining His Recent Concert Outbursts: "I'm Always Going to Be Myself on This Stage." Justin Bieber is saying sorry... again. The pop sensation shared a since-deleted message to his Twitter followers Saturday evening, offering an explanation for a string of incidents in which Bieber has asked concertgoers to keep the noise level to a minimum. "People tend to want to shut you down. What I mean by that is... people try to twist things, some people don't want to listen," the 22-year-old wrote. "But I simply feel like, if I didn't use this platform to say how I truly feel, and if I didn't use this platform to be the man that I know I am, and speak from what's in my heart, then I'm doing myself injustice, and I'm not doing anybody in this audience any justice." Justin continued, "There's going to be times where I say the wrong thing, because I'm human. But I don't pretend to be perfect and I hope to God that, you know, I don't say the right thing all the time because if that was the case then I'd be a robot, and I'm just, I'm not a robot." "There's times when I get upset... times when I get angry, there's times when I'm going to be frustrated. But I'm always going to be myself on this stage." The Grammy winner has faced criticism during the European leg of his Purpose World Tour for calling fans' screaming "obnoxious." During his Manchester show earlier this week, Bieber was so frustrated with the noise that he decided to simply drop his mic and storm off stage. He then took a few minutes to cool off before returning and telling the crowd, "We're just going to do the music. Obviously Manchester just can't handle it, so let's do the music." Justin's letter concluded, "When people try to twist things and say, 'Justin's angry at his fans. He doesn't want his fans to scream' that's not at all what I was doing. All I was simply doing was wanting people to listen; to kind of hear me out a little bit." "Certain people... certain cities aren't going to want to hear me out, and you know, sometimes it's my job to just say, 'hey, I'm not going to try to force anything.' I just appreciate you guys tonight, listening to me and understanding, and rocking with me. You guys are truly amazing," he wrote. (Eonline)
David Cassidy wore his medical alert bracelet on his sleeve Friday night, going bananas on a fan who ignored his considerable ailments just to get a little video. The 66-year-old former Partridge Family star was performing at Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill, NY when a fan shined a cellphone light smack into his cornea. You gotta watch ... David somehow thinks people know he's had 5 eye surgeries and counting, and issues an ultimatum ... eject the dude or he won't continue. (TMZ)
Lady Gaga Takes Over Los Angeles for Her Final Dive Bar Performance. Talk about a grand finale! Los Angeles had all eyes on Lady Gaga Thursday evening as she took the stage at a local bar in the trendy Silverlake neighborhood for the third and final stop across her Dive Bar Tour. As the venue's top secret location surfaced mere hours before show time, hundreds of Gaga's Little Monsters gathered for a chance at snagging a spot inside. The Joanne songstress, rocking a sequined mermaid-inspired, two-piece ensemble complete with flowers in her hair, performed a number of her smash hits from her new album to the extremely intimate crowd of about 200. The 30-year-old kicked things off with "A-Yo," telling concertgoers, "I missed you guys so much. I'm so happy to be here." Album collaborator Mark Ronson joined Gaga onstage for the track, which preceded her first live renditions of "John Wayne" and "Come to Mama." As it turns out, Gaga's L.A. tour stop almost didn't happen. Thanks to some admittedly inconvenient car trouble, the singer explained she "barely made it" to perform. Speed bumps aside, the rest of the evening went off without a hitch, echoing the same stripped down, back to basics vibe music fans have applauded Gaga for channeling on Joanne. But in between crowd surfing, a few celeb sightings (shout out to Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross) and the all-around epic antics you'd expect from a Gaga concert, she took time to open up about a number of personal topics. Recalling the international success "Million Reasons" has witnessed since its release she admitted, "When I saw that, I felt so heard as a woman. And you know what, if I'm heard, that means that you're heard. So, I just wanted to tell all those women and men who bought that song that I can f--king hear you. I can hear you, and every time I sing this song, I can hear you in my heart singing with me." Things took a political turn when Gaga discussed "Angel Down," her tribute to Trayvon Martin. Touching on the forthcoming election she told the crowd, "I wrote this song about people loving each other and taking care of each other. The election is coming up and I really hope that is a peaceful day, as much as it can be. I pray that on that day we all understand that not everybody is gonna vote for the same person." She continued, "Everybody has different ideas and thoughts and that's okay. We don't have to hate each other because of that." Speaking to her late aunt, whose namesake and life provided the inspiration for the album, Gaga revealed its impact on her father: "I saw a look in my dad's eyes that I've never seen in my whole life, because when my dad was really young he lost his sister, Joanne." "Sometimes I used to wonder if I ever got to meet my real dad, you know, because sometimes things happen in your life that are so bad that you die, or a part of you dies, and after this record came out, I swear that part of my dad came back to life," Gaga added. A quick change into a pair of denim cutoffs and simple white tee, Gaga closed the show with a glam rock performance of "Perfect Illusion." Never change, Mother Monster. (Eonline)
Shakira and Maluma Premiere Their Infectious Song "Chantaje." Well, you already know what we'll be listening to on loop. When we first saw evidence that Shakira and Maluma were in the studio together, we had very high expectations for this possible collaboration, and these two did not disappoint. Fellow Colombians released their track "Chantaje" on Friday, and it's all sorts of sexy and infectious. The song was written and produced by Shakira and Maluma with Kevin Jimenez, Chan "El Genio" and Kenai. The video for "Chantaje" was recently filmed in Barcelona, Spain, with video director Juame De La Iguana. The new single follows Shakira's recent successful collaboration with Carlos Vives "La Bicicleta" which remains a global hit. The record-breaking song topped the charts in Colombia where it remained #1 for 18 consecutive weeks and in Spain where it remained #1 on the charts for 13 weeks. The video for "La Bicicleta" was shot in Shakira and Carlos's hometowns of Barranquilla and Santa Marta and has over 350 million views on Vevo to date. Shakira is currently back in the studio recording new music for her upcoming Spanish-language release. That album's premiere can't come soon enough. (Eonline)
Calvin Harris Subtly Shades Taylor Swift Throughout His "My Way" Music Video. Despite Calvin Harris' denial that "My Way" has any sort of connection to ex Taylor Swift , we gotta talk about that music video. The Scottish DJ-producer dropped the visuals for his latest hit Friday, in which Harris relives a relationship turned sour through a virtual reality headset. This time around, Calvin's video vixen, who bears no resemblance to the pop sensation, is a domesticated robot with a few debilitating technical glitches. Cue the drama. It didn't take long for those dedicated Swifties (E! News included) to comb through every nanosecond of "My Way" for a Taylor reference, and boy did Calvin deliver. First things first -- that dress! Taylor's been known to rock a mean polka dot number over the years; so much so that the girly look has become almost synonymous with the Grammy winner. Coincidental choice courtesy of Calvin's wardrobe department? Doubtful. Standing atop a horse isn't the easiest thing in the world to pull off, so when Taylor did the damn thing in her "Blank Space" music video, Calvin took it one step further by having his co-star actually ride the horse. This contentious dining room conversation rings a bell that sounds a little too similar to Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" video... Sci-fi vibes? Check. White hot two-piece ensemble? Double check. Horizontal positioning? So obvious. Call this one the smoking gun. Harris' co-star donned a strappy, black leather dress in the video's final scenes that had us watching "Bad Blood" back to back all over again. (Eonline)
Paul McCartney Debuts New Song 'In the Blink of An Eye'. A new Paul McCartney song "In the Blink of An Eye," part of the forthcoming Ethel & Ernest movie, made its first appearance early Friday (Oct. 28) morning. The track appears across iTunes' international stores (but not in the U.S. at time of reporting) in the advance pre-order listing for the soundtrack album. Ethel & Ernest, an animated film, is taken from the graphic novel by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman) about the lives of two Londoners. The characters were based on his parents. The film stars the voices of Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn in the title roles and Harry Collett and Luke Treadaway as the author in his younger and later days. From a 60-second preview, the sound of "In the Blink of An Eye" is reminiscent of "(I Want To) Come Home," the song McCartney wrote for Everybody's Fine, the 2009 film starring Robert DeNiro. That song was nominated for several awards -- a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the DFCS Award for Best Original Song by the Denver Film Critics Society and the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song for a Film, according to IMDB.com-but didn't win any of them. For now, the full album can only be ordered from iTunes in the U.K. and via the music store's international channels (including Australia) and at Amazon.co.uk. The album's advance track listings features a number of songs by Carl Davis, who collaborated with McCartney on "Liverpool Oratorio." (Billboard)
They can kick it again! Q-Tip took to Instagram on Friday, October 28, to announce that A Tribe Called Quest is releasing a "final" album 18 years after they released their 1998 LP, The Love Movement. The rapper, 46, shared a series of handwritten notes to explain why the hip-hop group -- made up of Q-Tip, Al Shaheed Muhammad, Jarobi White(until 1991) and the late Phife Dawg -- decided to jump back in the studio. "To all the good people worldwide! We hope this letter finds you and yours safe and without a scratch! Last year this time myself, Jarobi, Ali and Phife had the extreme pleasure of performing on the Tonight Show. It was our first TV performance in 18 years," the rapper wrote. "The energy for us that night was one that we hadn't experienced on stage together in some time!" Q-Tip went on to explain that ATCQ's Tonight Show performance happened to fall on the same night as last year's terror attack in Paris. He also acknowledged Phife's death. The rapper passed away at age 45 on March 22, 2016, after a long battle with diabetes. "As we left 30 Rock I felt the need, we all did, to get back to the studio and start that cookup!! So we got to it!!" Q-Tip continued. "It was coming together nicely and as you may Know we lost our brother. May God rest his soul on March 22. But he left us with the blueprint of what we had to do." In Phife's absence, the "Can I Kick It?" performers recruited rappers Busta Rhymes and Consequence -- both have been featured on A Tribe Called Quest tracks before -- for their upcoming, as-yet-untitled album. "So we collected ourselves and along tribesmen, Busta and Cons ... we completed what will be, obviously the final A Tribe Called Quest album!" he enthused. "No this isn't filled with old Phife bars ... This is that pure, unstopped on pure!!" He concluded: "And on November 11, 2016, we will complete our paths of rhythm ... Join us! Peace!! Q-Tip." (US Weekly)
Grand Ole Opry Opening Venue in New York. The Grand Ole Opry is going north. The famous venue for country music is branching out of Tennessee for the first time its 91-year history with a new restaurant and venue in Times Square. Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc., which owns the Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, on Thursday announced plans to open the Opry City Stage around April 2017, which will feature retail space, a listening room and private event space, a bar and a restaurant. Colin Reed, chairman and CEO, said Ryman hopes to expand the country music-themed concept to other tourist-heavy cities, but they wanted to start in New York. "There are about a 100 million consumers who love country music all across the country," Reed said. "Times Square happens to be the place where between 40 and 50 million tourists go through that market. So we thought we'd start in a place as big and dominant as Times Square." Promoters of country music have been trying to plant a permanent flag in New York for decades with mixed success. A country music festival called Farmborough was cancelled after just one year in 2015, but a country radio station returned to the city's airwaves in 2013 for the first time since 1996. Vince Gill, a longtime Grand Ole Opry member and unofficial ambassador of the genre, said New York is a strong market for country music. "Garth Brooks played there at Central Park one time and had about 88 million people there, I think," Gill said. "So yeah, they love country music up there." Visitors will be able to watch live performances at the Opry City Stage, or watch Grand Ole Opry performances from Nashville via screens. The Bluebird Cafe, the songwriter venue in Nashville, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International, will also help curate performances in the venue. (Billboard)
Eric Clapton Sued for Crediting 'Unplugged' Song to Wrong Blues Singer. A traditional blues song off Eric Clapton's 1992 Unplugged album for MTV is at the heart of a new lawsuit claiming the rock icon, his label and others have failed to properly credit the track for 24 years and counting. "Alberta" is Clapton's version of a famous 12-bar blues called "Corrine, Corrina," which dates back to the late 1920s and has long been credited to the artist Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon. The original was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in December 1929 in the names of Chatmon and his producer J. Mayo Williams. The problem, as the complaint filed this month in U.S. District Court in Nashville asserts, is that Unplugged -- from the original CD release to a 2013 expanded edition to the DVD of the TV special -- credits the song to blues virtuoso Lead Belly and not to Chatmon. The complicating factor seems to have been that Lead Belly wrote a completely different song called "Alberta," and that for unknown reasons, Clapton attributed his version of "Corrine, Corrina" (in which he sings "Alberta, Alberta" instead of the original lyric) to the more recognizable blues singer. As a result of this case of mistaken song identity, Chatmon's estate says it has received no royalties related to Clapton's performance of it. The complaint points out that while all variations of Unplugged over the years credit Lead Belly, a version that Clapton performed on 2011's Marsalis & Clapton Play the Blues -- with jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis -- correctly lists Chatmon as a joint author. It's because of this that Chatmon's estate believes Clapton and his co-defendants are fully aware that the Unplugged versions have been mislabeled all these years, with publishing royalties going to the wrong place. The beneficiary of that misidentification has been Folkways Music, the publisher of Lead Belly's "Alberta." In addition to suing Clapton, the estate lists several co-defendants in its claim for relief, including (among others) MTV and its parent company Viacom for designating Lead Belly as the song's author on the TV special and subsequent home releases; Warner Music Group (Reprise) and Rhino for the 1992 album and its 2013 deluxe reissue; Folkways for its designation as the song's publisher; and Hal Leonard for a sheet music version of Clapton's Unplugged that credited the album's "Alberta" to Lead Belly. "Each of the Defendants has failed to account to Plaintiff for their unauthorized use of the Original Song, including without limitation sales of phonograph recordings/DVDs of the Original Song as part of the Deluxe Clapton Unplugged video/recording and the Songbooks, and Defendants have failed to pay any royalties to Plaintiff for such unauthorized sales or other uses of the Original Song," the lawsuit states. Chatmon's estate, represented by Shrum & Associates out of Nashville, said it has made repeated attempts to correct the song mixup and fix the royalties issue with the various defendants "to no avail," with many communications going unanswered. "This is a situation where you have the estate, the rightful owners of Bo's intellectual property, just trying to get what's rightfully theirs and get credit where credit is due," said Barry Shrum, Floyd's lawyer, in a statement to The Tennessean. "Bo created this song and started, in essence, a genre in music and influenced many performers in the future, and he deserves that credit." The estate is seeking $5 million in damages. The defendants have not responded to the lawsuit. The estate has taken legal action over the song's copyright before, having sued Rod Stewart in 2015 over the rocker's inclusion of the song on his 2013 album, Time. The complaint pointed out that Stewart's version and the Chatmon version were "nearly identical," except Stewart changed the title slightly to "Corrina, Corrina." Clapton's Unplugged remains the best-selling entry in the entire series, with 7.7 million sold, as measured by Nielsen Music. The album, notable for its heart-wrenching version of "Tears in Heaven," about the death of Clapton's 4-year-old son, Conor, topped the Billboard 200 for three weeks in 1992. (Billboard)
Movies
'The Night Guard' Takes Jury Prize at Mexico's Morelia Film Fest. Writer-director Diego Ros' feature debut also won best actor. El Vigilante (The Night Guard), a drama about a security guard who has one of the strangest nights of his life, won big at the Morelia International Film Festival Saturday evening with jury prizes for best picture and actor. First-timer Diego Ros produced, directed and wrote the Mexico City-set drama, which stars Leonardo Alonso, who appeared in Cary Fukunaga's immigration thriller Sin Nombre. The festival's audience award went to Daniel Castro's thriller Las Tinieblas (The Darkness), while Bellas de Noche (Beauties of the Night), which explores Mexico's cabaret scene in the 1970s, walked away with the jury award for best documentary. The 14th edition of the Morelia International Festival was a star-studded affair. This year's guests included Gael Garcia Bernal, Eva Longoria, Aaron Eckhart, Edgar Ramirez (Hands of Stone), Casey Affleck and Oscar nominee Demian Bichir, who made his directorial debut with Un Cuento de Circo & a Love Song. Also on hand was Willem Dafoe for the world premiere of Giada Colagrande's drama Padre. During the weeklong event, Dafoe revealed that he will be starring in Daniel Graham's freshman drama Opus Zero, which begins shooting in Mexico next week and is produced by Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas. (Hollywood Reporter)
AFM: Tom Hardy to Star as Al Capone in Josh Trank's 'Fonzo'. Bloom will introduce the film to buyers at this year's AFM. Having taken on not one but two Kray twins in 2015's hit British gangster biopic Legend, Tom Hardy is now set to play the biggest mobster of them all. The Academy Award-nominee will star as Al Capone in Fonzo, the upcoming project from writer-director Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four). The story will center on Capone at the age of 47, following nearly a decade of imprisonment, as dementia rots his mind and his violent past comes back to haunt him. The film will be produced by Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder (Tau) for Addictive Pictures alongside Oscar-nominated Lawrence Bender (Inglorious Basterds, Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2, Good Will Hunting, Pulp Fiction). Bloom is handling international sales on the project, now in pre-production, and will introduce it to buyers at AFM next week. CAA and WME Global are repping U.S. rights. "Fonzo brings together the myth and lore of notorious American Gangster Al Capone, with the undeniable talent of Tom Hardy and Josh Trank," said Bloom's Alex Walton. "We are thrilled to bring this film to buyers at the AFM." Trank is represented by WME, Management 360 and attorney Mitch Smelkinson, while Hardy is repped by CAA and Lindy King at United Agents. (Hollywood Reporter)
UTA Signs 'The Night Of' Actress Amara Karan. The British actress played Chandra the lawyer on the recent HBO limited series. The Night Of's Amara Karan has signed with UTA, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned. The London-born actress played Chandra Kapoor, the defense attorney who develops a controversial relationship with her client Naz (Riz Ahmed) in HBO's critically acclaimed limited series. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Karan made her professional debut in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited as the comely attendant who has a dalliance with Jason Schwartzman's character. Her subsequent film credits include St. Trinian's with Rupert Everett and Colin Firth, A Fantastic Fear of Everything with Simon Pegg and the Indian-British family comedy Jadoo with Sleepy Hollow's Tom Mison. Karan currently is a regular on Stan Lee's Lucky Man, the hit Sky TV series from the Marvel Comics mastermind. She also appeared in an episode of Doctor Who and co-starred in the BBC comedy series Ambassadors and ITV Studios' Kidnap and Ransom. On stage, Karan has performed in the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice. Karan continues to be represented by United Agents in the U.K. and managed by Principal Entertainment. (Hollywood Reporter)
Over the past two decades, Hocus Pocus has become a Halloween classic for young and old -- and no one is more aware of the film's long-lasting magic than Winifred Sanderson herself, Bette Midler. Like the rest of us, the actress is still spellbound over the 1993 horror comedy, and doesn't quite understand why a sequel still hasn't happened! Speaking to Billboard, she said: "You don't get to see women doing slapstick too much, and in the movie you can see that we're having a blast. For the life of me, I can't understand why there's not a sequel. All the shackles were off, as Donald Trump likes to say, and we were allowed to be as wild as we wanted to be. It was a perfect storm of fun." The 70-year-old has made it clear she and costars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy would be down to reprise their witchy roles, but revealed the decision to make a sequel is ultimately up to Disney. So apparently, we just have to keep on waiting for some virgin executive to light that Black Flame candle and bring our fave sisters back to life! Until then, find out what the entire Hocus Pocus cast has been up to since the 1993 film hit theaters! (Perez Hilton)
TV
Jennifer Lopez Will Star in NBC's Next Live Musical, Bye Bye Birdie. Time to put on a happy face, because we already know what NBC's live musical will be in 2017! NBC president Bob Greenblatt just revealed that the network will be taking on Bye Bye Birdie in December of next year, with Jennifer Lopez set to both executive produce and star as Rosie Alvarez. The role was originated by Chita Rivera in the show's first run on Broadway, and has also been played by Janet Leigh and Vanessa Williams in the two film versions of the musical. Bye Bye Birdie was inspired by Elvis Presley, and tells the tale of a pop star, his manager Albert, and Albert's girlfriend Rosie as they plan a contest to find the girl who gets to kiss the pop star before he ships off to the army. Dick Van Dyke originated the role of Albert in both the first Broadway run and the 1963 movie. "Broadway musicals and films fueled my childhood and Bye Bye Birdie was one of my favorites," Lopez said in a statement. "I'm proud to be a part of the NBC family with Shades of Blue and I thought it would be a blast to take on one of their big live musicals." She will produce alongside her producing partners, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina, along with executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. The adaptation will be written by Harvey Fierstein, who also wrote the teleplay for and will be starring in the upcoming Hairspray Live. Rehearsals are currently underway for Hairspray Live, which stars Kristin Chenoweth, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Sean Hayes, Derek Hough, Garrett Clayton, Martin Short, Rosie O'Donnell, Paul Vogt, Andrea Martin, Ephraim Sykes, Billy Eichner, and newcomer Maddie Baillio as Tracy, with Fierstein playing Mrs. Turnblad. Hairspray Live! airs Wednesday, Dec. 7 on NBC. (Eonline)
Sally Jessy Raphael "Hated" Doing the Last Few Years of Her Talk Show. Sally Jessy Raphael has some regrets about the way her long-running syndicated talk show, Sally, ended. Now 81, Raphael appears on Oprah Winfrey's show, Oprah: Where Are They Now?, and talks about how she would have changed the direction in which the show went prior to its 2002 cancellation. With other talk shows like Jerry Springer's and Maury Povich's coming up in the ratings due to their shock value, producers on Sally chose to cover those types of stories instead of hard news and human interest ones. "The last years of doing those Maury Povich/Jerry Spring shows? I hated them," she says. "I was betrayed by some of the producers into doing that. Come to think of it, I should have fought harder for what I knew what right -- what I knew that I didn't want to do." Eventually low ratings would cause Sally's cancellation, but prior to the official announcement Raphael says she had no idea the show was going to end. Now, she feels like she betrayed her dedicated staff after reassuring them the show wouldn't end. "They told us that the show was going to go on and we had 250 employees," Raphael explains. "Now some of them said, 'Sally, we need to know if we're going to be renewed. I want to buy a house or my wife and I want to be pregnant.' And then within two months after they bought their house and got pregnant or whatever, I had to go in front of the entire crew and staff." She maintains that she didn't know they were going off the air. "I'm sure there are some who think that I knew all along. I did not. I would not," she confesses. In hindsight, Raphael admits she would change how she handled the situation. "I would have said to them 'I don't know' instead of 'Yes, it's a go,'" she revealed. Oprah: Where Are They Now? airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN. (Eonline)
Michael Kelly on Why Black Mirror's "Men Against Fire" Is Timely. Black Mirror is known for making viewers think. Whether it's about social media and the validation it may or may not provide ("Nosedive" will make you rethink Instagram, it certainly helped Bryce Dallas Howard out with her social media feelings) to possible new uses of technology ("San Junipero" and its outcome will make you cry), there's definitely a lot of food for though. "Obviously there is an element and layer of commentary in the episodes, but we try for it not to be too preachy or too moralizing because I think sometimes that can off-putting and a viewer doesn't really want to have a notion battered over their head because then they're watching something different," Annabel Jones, executive producer on Black Mirror, told E! News. "We try to sort of create compelling, entertaining films that are also thought-provoking and challenging." In "Men Against Fire," soldiers battled "roaches," mutated beings from a biological weapon. But in a twist -- naturally it is Black Mirror -- it's revealed the roaches are in fact actual people; the soldiers were made to see them as mutated enemies, but they were other humans believed to be inferior. Us and them, mentality. Jones said the episode sort of reflects the increasing xenophobia she's witnessed in Europe and the change in language referring to people as "swarms," so people need to be more aware and "whether we should just be slightly more open-winded and think about what we're doing." House of Cards' Michael Kelly, who stars in the episode as Arquette, the psychologist, said it's the same in America, specifically with Donald Trump. "You look at what's happening currently politically in our country... that hatred and xenophobia that the other party is pushing out there to the world and it really stops and makes you think," he said. "Like you said, there are swarms of people or swaths of people, we are categorizing certain people as lesser or not equal when we are all equal." Black Mirror season three is now streaming on Netflix. (Eonline)
Why Amelia's Latest Grey's Anatomy Meltdown Makes the Time Right for a Visit From Addison. Oh, Amelia Shephard, you poor, damaged thing. After genuine excitement over a possible pregnancy gave way to genuine relief when it turned out she was not with child on last week's Grey's Anatomy, we found the surgeon, as ever, this close from spinning out of control this week as memories of her Private Practice past crept in. Namely, the baby with no brain she was forced to give birth to and watch die. After delivering the horrible news to another mother that her young son didn't survive surgery triggered a meltdown, Amelia (Catrina Scorsone) opened up to Alex (Justin Chambers) of all people, but by episode's end, she was still keeping her grim past a secret from new hubby Owen (Kevin McKidd). With the three-plus seasons worth of the character's history from the Shondaland spinoff finally making their way to the flagship series, and with Amelia horrified to share her dark story with anyone in her new life, the time is right for a confidante from her old life down south in Los Angeles to make the trek to Seattle. Enter: Addison Montgomery. Think about it. Who better to counsel Amelia through her resurging feelings over her traumatic past than Kate Walsh's alter ego? She knows the hospital, she knows Amelia, and she's overdue for a visit. It was egregious when Addison wasn't seen or heard from in the wake of ex-husband Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) death -- the less said about that funeral scene with no one familiar in it, the better -- and we've just plain miss the character ever since Private Practice signed off for good in 2013. For what it's worth, Scorsone seems keen on the idea, telling THR, "You should call Kate and tell her to come, I would love it if she would come and do an arc -- I bet she would. It would be fantastic if she came and visited for a while. Maybe she could do something with Arizona [Jessica Capshaw] since they both do neo-natal surgery." We haven't seen Walsh on TV since her ill-fated NBC comedy Bad Judge came and went in 2014. Though she's due to star in Netflix's upcoming 13 Reasons Why, we've got a feeling she could make the time for a visit to Grey Sloan Memorial. Just imagine Addison reacting to news that Alex might be going to jail or simply her interacting with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) after all these years. Your move, Shonda Rhimes. Do you want to see Addison again? Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC. (Eonline)
What Really Brought How to Get Away With Murder's Asher and Michaela Together? Murder, Duh. If you're shipping Asher (Matt McGorry) and Michaela (Aja Naomi King) on How to Get Away With Murder pretty darn hard, you are not alone -- we are kind of obsessed with them too. And King is pretty happy about them too -- except for the times when she's reminded that Asher is also incredibly annoying. "It's so complicated! I really love them together," King tells E! News, "but there's also the part of me that's like those moments when Asher is being so silly or ridiculous or teasing her and not understanding something where it's like, 'God, Asher, just grow up!' And then on top of it we have these really beautiful moments where he's sincere and you see the groundedness and the depth of his character and him trying to figure himself out just like the rest of us and it's like, 'Oh yeah, you guys need each other!'" But the thing that ultimately brought the pair closer together than any of Michaela's past relationships is the fact that they share such a deep, dark secret. "It is such a tricky situation to have been through everything these people have been through and then try to find someone to be really honest with," King explains. "And that's why all these other iterations of relationships for Michaela were never going to work, because she was bound by blood basically to have to hide so much of what was happening in her life but with him she can finally let go. I think that's so necessary for her to be able to do." The duo made it official -- minutes before we learned that Asher is safe (thank goodness) -- in an emotional conversation that saw Michaela truly open herself up for the first time. "It was such a huge moment," King says. "We got to take our time with the scene and just have that evolution of the conversation of him trying to force something and me trying to reject the idea [because of] what, to me, felt like out of fear -- fear of opening yourself up to the potential of being hurt -- and finally having this [moment of] 'Alright, fine, be honest: We like each other and now we're really going to try and do this,' which means we have to live up to the idea of really engaging in an honest and open relationship." We also saw a little bit more of Michaela's mother, played by Brett Butler, but don't worry -- she'll be back. "You've only gotten a glimpse of Trishelle, but wait 'til you see more," King says. "I think people are really going to understand exactly why Michaela admires Annalise to such a great degree. Annalise ends up being the example of the kind of life she wants to lead. Of course, it's the idea of Annalise that she loves. Once she sees the reality, she's still grappling with that -- the reality of what a person is versus the idea of them." While there are three more episodes until we find out who, exactly, is under that white sheet, King says they will still have moments of levity. "There are definitely going to be some fun moments because we're still people attempting to live our lives," King says, but prepare yourself: "There definitely still will be some fun, but our show is kind of a dark show. Yeah, in three more episodes we're going to find out what's under the sheet, but there are going to be so many more things that are all going to be coming out that no one is going to be ready for." How to Get Away With Murder airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on ABC. (Eonline)
How Chicago Med's Newest Addition Is Shaking Things Up for Your Favorite Surgeon. Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) might be a big-shot surgeon on Chicago Med -- and was just named to a further ego-inflating "40 Under 40" power list -- but in season two, his arrogance is taking a hit with the addition of his new mentor, Dr. Latham (Ato Assando), to the staff. "Dr. Latham... is basically the antithesis to what Dr. Downey was last year," Donnell tells E! News of his character's new mentor. "He's a little brash; he's got some personality traits that are taking some getting used to. I think that's been one of the coolest things about this season with Connor -- the fact that he's learning how to deal with that tough personality and also, at the same time, knowing and figuring out that he has so much to learn from this guy." Basically, Dr. Rhodes is being knocked down a few pegs -- and he probably needs to be, if we're being honest. In other mentor-mentee news, Rachel DiPillo and Oliver Platt, a.k.a. Doctors Reese and Charles, also spoke to E! News in Chicago this week about their characters' new working relationship. While Reese spent her time in the ER thinking she was going to go into pathology, she soon realized that she loved working with patients instead. "I don't think it was actually soulful enough for her," Platt says. "I don't think that's a word that Sarah Reese would use but she was obviously looking for meaning." Adds DiPillo, "I feel like she was walking one walk but her talk was getting in her way. Her talk was 'pathology, pathology, pathology,' but her walk [wasn't]. When you went back and looked at, it was fitting." Chicago Med airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on NBC. (Eonline)
Sherlock is back (well, almost), the trailer of the season 4 aired right after the finale of Bake Off. And, if the end of the cooking show left our hearts beating fast, the Sherlock teaser was perfectly timed to give us a heart attack. Benedict Cumberbatch's character looks better than ever in the continuation of the series and will take return on 1 January 2017. The show will have three episodes where *spoiler alert* Professor Moriarty may be coming back, all characters will be tested and everyone is under threat for their lives. Of course Sherlock will be there to anticipate everyone's moves alongside his sarcastic sidekick Dr. John Watson. The new season was much expected by the fans who were uncertain of series four and were left waiting for almost a year for a little grasp of what is coming... But boy, they did not expect it to be this good. In what looks like 90 seconds of the best thriller ever, Benedict wowed his fans and gave everyone the chills. Yes, it is that good. Check out for yourself: Sherlock returns to BBC One on 1 January 2017. (British Glamour)
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