ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Jimmy Kimmel's Wife Molly McNearney Pregnant With Baby No. 2. And a baby makes four! E! News can confirm that Jimmy Kimmel's wife Molly McNearney is pregnant with the couple's second child. During the night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host spoke about the family news as well as his recently announced hosting gig for the Oscars. "My wife is hosting a baby inside her body, so that's what's coming," he joked with the audience. "We got the ultrasound, which is weird because it's like you're already spying on the baby -- but we asked the technician not to tell us whether we're having a boy or a girl. Our plan is to let the child decide for itself. We want that to be a surprise, but I have been trying to think of names that would work for a boy or girl. So far, all I've come up with is Dyson, after the vacuum, or Jelatin with a 'J'. No? That's exactly what my wife said." Kimmel concluded his monologue by sharing, "So, there's a lot of exciting stuff going on. Congratulations to me. I'm hosting the Oscars and I had sex. Two things as a teenage boy I never thought would be possible." Back in July 2014, the late night show host announced via Twitter that his wife McNearney gave birth to their first little bundle of joy. "Congratulations to my beautiful and very tough wife @mollymcnearney on delivering our baby girl this morning," he wrote for the world to see. In a second message posted just a few minutes later, he added, "Thanks for all your kind baby wishes -- turns out, not ALL tweets are mean!" This will mark McNearney and Kimmel's second child, and Kimmel's fourth as he is also a father to son Kevin and daughter Katherine from his first marriage to Gina Maddy. Kimmel and McNearney tied the knot in Ojai, Calif., back in July 2013 in front of close family and friend, including several famous faces like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Matt Damon and his wife Luciana, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and Ellen DeGeneres and Porta De Rossi. Congratulations to the Kimmel family on their exciting pregnancy news! (Eonline)
Taylor Lautner and Scream Queens co-star Billie Lourd have been spotted sharing a kiss off-screen. Fellow Scream Queens actor Keke Palmer, who plays Zayday Williams, shared the photo on her Snapchat. Billie and Taylor are pictured engaging in a rather passionate kiss, while the caption reads, "Omg omg omg OMG". The kiss took place while the group were hanging out at The Nice Guy in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Taylor's recent dating history includes a relationship with Marie Avgeropoulos and a romance with model Raina Lawson. We hope the pair aren't mad at Keke for sharing their private moment!! (British Glamour)
Prince Harry will do anything for love! The 32-year-old was due to return to London on Sunday following his two-week trip to Barbados, but he decided to take a little detour just to spend the night with his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, in Toronto. Cue the awws! An insider told The Sun of the romantic turn of events: "Harry just couldn't wait to see her. He was due to fly back to London on a British Airways flight with the rest of his entourage. But he changed his mind and diverted straight to see her as they couldn't bear to be apart. It's just another sign of how head-over-heels he is about her. He is absolutely besotted. We've never seen him so happy -- it's great." It sounds like the royal is willing to do whatever it takes to make his long-distance love last! And the Suits star was clearly prepping for Harry's arrival as she was spotted out and about over the weekend stocking up on groceries and picking out flowers. Cute! (Perez Hilton)
It's been years since country music star Naomi Judd left the public eye. Now, the star is back and opening up about her life-long battle with mental illness. "What I've been through is extreme. My final diagnosis was severe depression," Judd told ABC's Robin Roberts in an interview aired Tuesday on Good Morning America. "Treatment resistant because they tried me on every single thing they had in their arsenal. It really felt like, if I live through this I want someone to be able to see that they can survive." Judd, 70, was part of a country music duo comprised of herself and her now-52-year-old daughter Wynonna Judd -- The Judds. The Grammy award-winning pair rose to the top of the country music charts -- but not without some struggles. "They see me in rhinestones, you know, with glitter in my hair, that really is who I am," she said. "But then I would come home and not leave the house for three weeks, and not get out of my pajamas, and not practice normal hygiene. It was really bad." Her condition has landed her several stints in psychiatric wards and on different medications -- which she said has caused her hands to shake and her face to swell up "like a balloon." "I really haven't been eating ice cream and candy," she joked. "I really haven't." Judd wrote of her troubles in her new memoir River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope, in which she tells about her struggles and her road to "radical acceptance." "Every day I exercised. I would walk up to Ashley's house ... and I would holler at her from her front step," she said of her youngest daughter. "If she was home she'd come out and give me a hug. Ashley and I are so stinking much alike. We have the same mannerisms. We both read a whole lot. We both love new places. There's such similarities." As for her relationship with Wynonna, Judd said the pair are on a "break." "Through the decades, we kind of grew up together and I'm always telling her, 'If I'd known better I would've done better,' " she said. "Wy bore the brunt of all of the mistakes I made and we talk about 'em. We've been through a lot of therapy together." The two grew apart during the filming of their 2011 OWN reality series The Judds and their final tour. "I love her but there are just times we need a break from each other," Judd said of Wynonna. "We're still a little estranged from each other. And that happens with mother, daughters. If she sees this, and I hope she does, 'cause the smartest thing is for all of us to feel known, no matter what's goin' on. Be truthful. I think she'll say, 'Good for you, Mom, for finally being willing to talk about the bad stuff.'" (People)
Sofia Richie is no stranger to the racist comments that often circulate in her hometown of Los Angeles. "I'm very light, so some people don't really know that I'm black," Richie, 18, says in the December/January issue of Complex. "I've been in situations where people will say something kind of racist, and I'll step in and they'll be like, 'Oh, well, you're light.' " The rising star and daughter of Lionel Richie says that's no excuse for making discriminatory remarks around her. "That still doesn't cut it, buddy," she says. "It's 2016 -- you better get your s -- together before you get slapped out here." Richie also speaks about how her newfound fame has come with pressure to always look put-together -- and she wishes that weren't the case. "Sometimes you just want to walk out of your house and look ugly and get a coffee and wear your sweatpants all day," she says. "Honestly, I might've thrown [my outfit] together in 30 seconds. I might've slept in that. And s -- , someone's going to photograph me, and everyone's going to say I'm a mess or I look depressed, when really I'm just not wearing mascara." (People)
Will Smith Borrowed Gas Money From a Fan. Even the Fresh Prince needs to borrow a few bucks. Despite his years of immense success, Will Smith found himself short on cash when he accidentally left his wallet at home. To add insult to injury, the star desperately needed to buy gas. "I was driving and I realized I was on E," the actor recalled during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Monday night. "I was about 30 minutes from my house, so I pulled into the gas station and I didn't have my wallet." While he contemplated calling his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, he worried it would have been too long of a drive for her to get there. So, he turned to the next best thing -- a fan. "I looked over on the other side and he was like 36 years old. I was like, 'That dude's a Fresh Prince fan,'" Smith continued. "You can spot them." Sure enough, the stranger was indeed a fan and quickly asked to take a selfie with the blockbuster actor. Of course, Smith was willing -- as long as the mystery man could also spot him. "I said, 'Yeah, man. I need about 10 dollars.'" The man happily helped Smith out, but would not accept repayment. "He was like, 'Dude, no way! No way -- that's yours." Fans -- can't live with them, can't live without them! (Eonline)
Nicki Minaj is getting more than social media backlash for posting video of a woman losing it in Miami -- now a mental health organization is dressing her down for allegedly mocking the woman. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-Miami) is sounding off, just like several of Nicki's fans, saying the clip is an invasion of the woman's privacy, which dehumanizes her. NAMI says it's pissed Nicki's used her fame -- she has 70 million IG followers -- to influence young people in a negative manner. A rep for NAMI says, "Nobody would make fun of a cancer patient, and mental illness is an illness like any other." Several comments on the video claim it's well-known in South Beach the woman in the video is mentally ill. In Nicki's defense, it's entirely plausible she didn't know that ... plus, she never says anything nasty to the woman. (TMZ)
Desiigner had no business getting behind the wheel of a rented Ferrari, but since he wrecked it when he did, he needs to cough up some dough ... according to the rental company's lawsuit. The rental company is suing the "Panda" rapper for destroying a 2014 Ferrari back in June. It had been rented by 2 of his friends, who are also named in the suit. According to docs ... the friends gave Desiigner permission to drive the whip, and then he crashed it in NJ. The car's valued at $220k, but the company's suing for more than $500k because they say they're going to lose out on future rental money -- as in $1,599 per day. The docs also included a cryptic tweet, supposedly from Desiigner, saying, "If you have a luxury car you better know how to drive." The rental company thinks it's a confession, but we checked and the account doesn't look like it belongs to Desiigner. We reached out to Desiigner's rep, who tells us ... "This is the first that Desiigner or his team have heard about this lawsuit. The minute he has had a chance to consult with his attorney, his managers or his attorney will respond." (TMZ)
Florence Henderson's death certificate revealed that she secretly battled heart issues for a decade before she died of heart failure at age 82 on November 24, TMZ reports. The Brady Bunch actress, who played beloved mom Carol Brady on the series, suffered from heart disease for the last 10 years and was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat five years ago. Her death came as a surprise to many fans, who had just seen her looking healthy in the audience of the Dancing With the Stars season 23 finale night one on November 21. Henderson was a contestant on the ABC dancing competition back in 2010, and was supporting her TV daughter Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady on the '70s TV series), who competed on the most recent season of DWTS. "She looked great," an onlooker tells Us Weekly. "She was with a female friend or relative and was in the front row to the left of the judges. ... [She] enjoyed the show so much. Even the audience warm-up guy pointed her out as 'America's favorite mom,' and everyone cheered for her. " During her long Hollywood career, Henderson was the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, contributed to the Today show and cohosted her own talk show, The Florence Henderson Show, which ran from 2007 to 2009. The Love Boat actress was married twice and is survived by her four children, Barbara, Elizabeth, Joseph and Robert, and five grandchildren. (US Weekly)
Margaret Whitton, the actress, and producer best known for playing the antagonist in Major League, died Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida after battling cancer, her producing partner Steven Tabakin confirmed to EW. She was 67 years old. "Because Margaret kept her brief battle with cancer very private, the news of her death is one of those unexpected twists and turns in the story," Tabakin said in a statement to EW. "As you might imagine, Margaret faced her illness with all the grace and wit she brought to every facet of her life." Born Nov. 30, 1949, in Philadelphia, Whitton began her acting career on stage. She made her off-Broadway debut in 1973 with Baby Goya, which also starred Olympia Dukakis (Steel Magnolias). She hit Broadway proper in 1982 with Nell Dunn's Olivier Award-winning comedy Steaming. Whitton found a broader audience with her turn as the villainous Rachel Phelps in the 1989 baseball comedy Major League. She played a sultry former showgirl who inherits the Cleveland Indians and tries to run the team into the ground in order to force a profitable move to Miami. She fails in the original movie and again in the 1994 sequel, in which she seeks revenge. Outside of Major League, Whitton appeared in 9 1/2 Weeks (1986); The Man Without a Face (1993); The Secret of My Success (1987); and Ironweed (1987). On the small screen, she starred in Hometown, A Fine Romance, and Good & Evil. "No one could deliver a one-liner like Margaret," wrote Tabakin. "No one could be more scathing one minute and more vulnerable the next -- she played all the notes. Girls wanna be her." Following her acting career, Whitton turned her eye to development and production. She was president and executive producer of Tashtego Films, where she worked with Tabakin. According to Tabakin, Whitton was a major philanthropist and a New York Yankees season-ticket holder; the production company's website notes she wrote about baseball for The New York Times, The Village Voice, and more. She made her directorial debut with romantic feature A Bird of the Air starring Rachel Nichols and Jackson Hurst. "We don't dare mourn Margaret because she would have a wicked one-liner to snap us back to the curves, the twists, the turns, the joy. Those incredible eyes, that delicious laugh," Tabakin wrote. "But we will remember her always, and how she made the world -- and those of us lucky enough to share it with her for a while -- just a little bit better." Whitton is survived by her husband of 23 years, Warren Spector. A memorial will be held in New York in early 2017. (EW)
Former "Game of Thrones" star Peter Vaughan passed away on Tuesday. He was 93. "This is to confirm that very sadly Peter Vaughan passed away at approximately 10:30 this morning," Vaughan's longtime agent, Sally Long-Innes, told the BBC. "He died peacefully with his family around him." Vaughan, who played Maester Aemon on the HBO hit from 2011 to 2015, had an acting career spanning 75 years. The character actor's notable projects include 1967's "The Naked Runner" with Frank Sinatra as well as in British sitcoms "Porridge," "Citizen Smith," "Chancer" and "Our Friends in the North." (Page Six)
THE OTHER STUFF . . .
Angelina Jolie has an endgame in her claims Brad Pitt abused one or more of their children -- she wants to move to London with the kids and score a top position in the United Nations ... sources connected with the couple tell TMZ. Several well-placed sources say Brad and Angelina have not gotten along for more than a year, and she's been looking for an opportunity to end the marriage and bolt for her dream job ... with all 6 children in tow. We're told she knew that would be nearly impossible unless Brad's right to joint custody was in jeopardy. As we reported ... Angelina told L.A. County Dept of Child and Family Services officials Brad brutalized Maddox on a private jet and engaged in other conduct that endangered the children. We know Brad strongly denied intentionally striking Maddox or engaging in any abuse, and DCFS clearly saw it his way ... closing out the investigation without taking any action. Our sources say Angelina's move to involve DCFS was orchestrated by 2 women she's been relying on for advice for more than a year. One is a member of England's House of Lords, and the other also holds a U.K. government position. We're told they've been in Angelina's ear, convincing her she could become Secretary General of the U.N. if she plays her cards right. Angelina, who has been paying both women handsomely for their consulting services, is all in and taking their cue that a move to London would help get her closer to the U.N. gig. The rub, of course, is in order to take her kids out of the country ... she'd have to prove some sort of parental unfitness on Brad's part. So far she's struck out. Jolie's rep denies there's a move planned and says Angelina is focused on the health and wellbeing of her children. The rep adds, Angelina wants to continue therapy with the kids and Brad. Our sources are clear and insist Europe and the U.N. post is the ultimate goal. The custody war is now in family court -- she wants sole physical custody and he wants joint. We're told Angelina has a slim to none chance of taking the kids 6,000 miles away from Brad. (TMZ)
Looking good! Blac Chyna recently revealed she's lost 23 pounds since giving birth to her baby girl, Dream, in November and judging from her latest Instagram post on Monday, December 5, she's proud of the results so far. Wearing a black, tight jumpsuit and sky-high heels, the slimmed-down mom of two, posed for several photos that showcased her hourglass figure. It was just two weeks after Chyna and Rob Kardashian welcomed their daughter that the 28-year-old makeup maven updated her fans with her weight loss goal. "39lbs go away !!! Lost 23 lbs. so far !!!" she shared in a clip on Saturday, November 26. "Goal 130 post baby weight." But after sharing several images of her body on social media, she was accused of having cosmetic surgery to get back in shape. Chyna quickly assured her fans that she had not gone under the knife and that there was a very natural reason behind her flat stomach and trim waist. "So I posted a picture of my belly yesterday and the only reason it got that flat, you guys, is from breast-feeding and breast-pumping and from my body already being small before my pregnancy," she said in a video. "If you are pregnant right now, I would highly recommend breast-feeding and breast-pumping because it'll get your weight back down fast." Chyna also shared some cute new photos of her daughter on Snapchat before posting her jumpsuit snaps. "Dream is so perfect and her baby smell is from Heaven," she wrote before showing off the adorable pictures of the sleeping infant. (US Weekly)
Sailor Brinkley-Cook was among the many viewers who tuned into the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Monday night, but the teenage model had an important message for other young girls admiring the Angels. The 18-year-old daughter of Christie Brinkley posted an Instagram ahead of the iconic lingerie brand's annual runway show with some wise words about loving the skin you're in -- even if your abs aren't quite as sculpted as Adriana Lima's. (That workout is hard-and we know, we tried it with her!) "These girls are such beautiful boss hard working strong determined women," Brinkley-Cook captioned a group shot of the Victoria's Secret models. "But to all the young girls watching tonight... don't forget that if your body doesn't look like theirs it is totally OK." She continued, "No body type is superior to another. Everybody is different and each and every one of those [bodies] are beautiful and strong and important and worthy of great things. Don't freak out if your stomach doesn't look like theirs. Don't hate yourself for your thighs. Embrace your body type, work hard, set goals, be healthy and constantly remind yourself that you are good enough!" Brinkley-Cook made it clear she wasn't knocking Victoria's Secret -- she called the brand a "celebration of women and awesome beauty" and congratulated all the Paris participants. The blonde beauty is following in her mom's modeling footsteps – she's signed to IMG Models while also attending The New School in New York City. And this isn't the first time she's spoken out about body positivity. In August, she slammed haters who have criticized her looks online. "Everyone needs to stop putting me and my siblings and me and my mother in competition," Cook captioned a screenshot of a comment section that read: "She looks nothing like her mother. She's average looking at best" and "She's a pretty girl but nowhere near what her mother was." Cook concluded her caption with impactful words: "The subject I have been meaning to touch on publicly for years-stop. comparing. me. to. my. mother," she wrote. (People)
Johnny Manziel is spending money like he's still an NFL star. Despite the fact the disgraced former college phenom and NFL flameout has been unemployed since March, sources say he's already spent some $35,000 celebrating his birthday in Miami just in the past week. Sources say hard-partying Manziel -- who was cut from the Browns at the end of last season -- began his tear on Thursday at LIV nightclub, dropping a cool $5,000 on Armand de Brignac (a.k.a. Ace of Spades) Champagne. The next two nights he was spotted at Rockwell nightclub, at a table with a $10,000 drinks minimum, "ordering parades of bottles of Champagne," including magnums of Armand de Brignac rose that go for $3,250 a pop, we're told. Then on Sunday night, insiders say he paid $10,000 for a table at LIV during DJ Khaled's birthday party. And that's all before he even begins a big planned celebration on Monday night for his 24th birthday. When he was drafted in 2014, Manziel signed a four-year contract with the Browns reportedly worth $8.25 million, with $6.7 million guaranteed -- most of which was a $4.3 million signing bonus. But he passed up much of the remaining cash when his contract was voided and he was suspended by the NFL following a string of off-the-field incidents, including a domestic-abuse case involving his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley. (The Dallas County District Attorney's office settled that case with Manziel on Friday.) He's also lost lucrative endorsements with brands like Nike, Nissan, McDonald's and Snickers, and has had costly legal battles -- including a suit he's engaged in with a barback who's suing Manziel for $1 million for allegedly breaking his nose in a fight. Then again, his parents -- who are major real estate honchos -- have a net worth that's been pegged at $50 million. A rep for Manziel could not be reached. (Page Six)
Happy tears! The 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show -- filmed this year in Paris! -- finally aired Monday, December 5, and it included an adorable behind-the-scenes moment of Gigi Hadid gushing about her younger sister and fellow honorary Angel, Bella Hadid, who made her VS debut this year. "I have watched the show every single year as a kid, so last year was so special to be able to do it. This year, joining me is my little sister!" Gigi, 21, shared backstage. The Tommy Hilfiger brand ambassador then started to tear up. "I am so proud of [Bella] for getting this show because she worked so hard," Gigi said. "For us to be able to do it together -- and be the first sisters in the show -- we're really, really honored." Bella, 20, then popped into the frame, hugging her sister while also tearing up. "This is us happy!" she said, laughing. "We're a really emotional family." Gigi added, "It's amazing to be able to experience all this and to be so excited for each other. She's my best friend, and it's so crazy to be here together." And the mutual love didn't stop there! Bella shared a backstage pic with her older sister via Instagram, with the adorable caption, "I cried when I saw my sister put her wings on for the first time." But the most emotional person may have been the ladies' biggest fan: their mom, Yolanda Hadid. "?? Gods timing is perfect," Yolanda, 52, wrote via Instagram December 1, captioning a pic of herself with Gigi and Bella at the afterparty. "Thank you to my girls for bringing me to Paris to witness this special moment in time." (US Weekly)
Music
Mariah Carey wasn't the only singer to live up to her diva rep at the "VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night" concert: Carey, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and Vanessa Williams all refused to speak to reporters, but, naturally, posed for pics. But Diana Gordon -- who co-wrote parts of Beyonce's "Lemonade," and also performed -- told us about her songwriting process. "The strangest place that I got inspiration for a song was in the shower," she mused. "I ran out of the shower dripping wet, butt naked, and just started writing. It does not matter where I am .?.?. if a thought hits me, I have to stop whatever I am doing and write it down. It seems to be the right thing to do .?.?. 'Lemonade' turned out to be a great hit record." (Page Six)
Eventbrite and Bandsintown Announce Partnership: Exclusive. Eventbrite, a ticketing platform with more than two million events a year, and the concert discover app Bandsintown are set to announce a new partnership. Starting Dec. 6, Eventbrite users will have seamless access to Bandsintown's 30 million registered users with the first integration ever of the live music app's ad solution tool, "Bandsintown Promoter" into the ticketing platform's ecosystem. This will allow Eventbrite users to promote shows targeted to Bandsintown fans based on artist preference, which is available as a paid option with any event. The second phase of the deal is slated to launch early 2017 and will enable the discovery and end-to-end purchase of Eventbrite shows within the Bandsintown app and website. This will be the first time the show ticket will appear within the Bandsintown app as a barcode for scan entry. "Over 50% of our users go to shows of artists they have never heard before, "Fabrice Sergent, Bandsintown's chief executive, told Billboard. "So teaming up with the Eventbrite ecosystem is particularly relevant for us as we hope this partnership will offer promotion opportunities for small and mid-size artists in particular because we have a great audience for that." "This new partnership with Bandsintown provides our organizers with a super-targeted, direct connection to the most passionate of music fans," said Julia Hartz, CEO and co-founder of Eventbrite, in a statement. "We're proud to continue innovating with a best-in-class music partner to create exciting new products that ultimately get more concert go'ers to the shows they love." Both companies declined to disclose financial details of the partnership. While Bandsintown is privately owned and doesn't publish its financials, Sergent says the platform is having its best year ever "The main driver of our revenue model is advertising which we sell to promoters and brands," the chief executive said, noting the site's growth from 23 million registered users last March to 30 million today and the 400,000 artists and managers connected to the platform. Six weeks ago BIT launched French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and Japanese beta versions of the app. Eventbrite, which was founded in 2006, has processed over $5 billion in gross ticket sales which includes more than 175,000 concerts and festivals. Among the events the ticketing platform has worked are Newport Folk Festival, Wanderlust, BottleRock and Lightning in a Bottle, a campout festival. Eventbrite was also one of Facebook's original launch partners in 2008. While Bandsintown works with a number of ticketing companies, this is only the second time the platform has integrated a ticketing service into its in-app purchase flow. The first was Ticketmaster which was integrated into BIT's concert discovery this past March. (Billboard)
The Grammys Stop Fighting the Future With 2017 Nominees, The nominations for the 59 Annual Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday (Dec. 6), and as the experts predicted (and as the show's producers no doubt prayed for), it's a battle of the biggest. The list of the most nominated artists doubles as the list of the artists who have dominated conversation for the last 12 months: Beyonce, Drake, Rihanna, Kanye West, and even Chance the Rapper. Despite Taylor Swift essentially taking the year off -- nope, no nominations for Nils Sjoberg either -- and Frank Ocean declining the pleasure of being nominated, the star power on display in this year's Grammy crop is blinding. Of course, the evening's true heavyweight showdowns will come between perhaps the two most unanimously venerated figures in contemporary music, Beyonce and Adele. Long thought to be the evening's likely frontrunners, the two planetary pop talents will indeed be squaring off in four separate categories, including the marquee three: Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Though smart money will never go against an artist who laps a depressed sales landscape by going diamond in a single year, early indicators seem positive for Beyonce, not just in the number of her nominations (9 to Adele's 5), but in their variety -- The Queen is recognized not only in Pop and R&B, but in Rock as well, suggesting her support is well-balanced among the voter pool's many factions. (Of course, no matter who wins between the two superstars, CBS triumphs for the ensuing drama -- as does Columbia Records, home to both artists.) Speaking of rock, though, Beyonce's Jack White-assisted undercover deployment into Best Rock Performance underlines the music's own relative absence in the major categories. Excepting the presence of Twenty One Pilots as Song of the Year nominees -- double agents to some degree themselves, with their "Stressed Out" also nominated for Best Pop/Duo Group Performance -- rock is shut out of the Big Four this year, with potential Grammy favorites like Radiohead, Coldplay and the late David Bowie either consigned to their home genre or not recognized at all. Instead, the Grammys have recognized with their nominees this year what the rest of the music-listening world has long accepted: that both its commercial and critical center lies with pop, hip-hop and R&B. Tellingly, the four albums with the four biggest first-week sales of the voting period are all up for Album of the Year: Adele's 25, Beyonce's Lemonade, Drake's Views and Justin Bieber's Purpose. That last artist would have seemed about as unimaginable an Album of the Year hopeful as Cannibal Corpse just a couple of years ago, but Purpose being acknowledged for the evening's most prestigious honor serves as validation not only for Bieber -- the final disavowing of his supposed bubblegum disposability -- but for Top 40 entire. It's proof that pop no longer needs to dress up as rock to be invited to the party; having Skirllex and Diplo as your +2 is good enough. Whatever room remains for guitar-based music at the Grammys, this year's nominations would indicate that future real estate may be occupied less by rock than by country. Nashville-based singer/songwriter Maren Morris was an expected contender for Best New Artist, but she's also joined in that category by fellow CMA Awards performer Kelsea Ballerini. And if there is a Beck-type artist poised to play spoiler this year, it's veteran Kentucky song-slinger Sturgill Simpson, whose acclaimed major-label debut A Sailor's Guide to Earth is the outlier fifth nominee in Album of the Year, and who may end up rallying what's left of the "How can they be real artists if they don't write all their own songs?" crowd. Even with Sturgill's presence this year's nominees show that the Grammys appear to be moving in the right direction towards relevance, by acknowledging the music that actually moves the cultural needle in 2016, and mostly avoiding the kind of head-smacking nominees that bring Kanye's sense of righteousness to a boil. (Though with The Life of Pablo predictably snubbed for Album of the Year and "Ultralight Beam" shut out of Song and Record of the Year, he may end up with cause for complaint this year just the same.) The pop-leaning proceedings may not save the Grammys' plummeting numbers among Millennials, but at least they'll demonstrate that the Academy indeed recognizes that young people are out there, and that their perspective isn't being totally dismissed. And with an Adele-Beyonce showdown at the night's core, their parents might still get sucked in, too. (Billboard)
Dolly Parton Announces Dec. 13 Telethon for Tennessee Wildfire Victims. Following the devastating wildfires in East Tennessee, Dolly Parton has announced that she will host a Dec. 13 telethon in Nashville to raise money for her My People Fund. The country icon set up the fund to provide $1,000 each month to families in Sevier County, Tennessee, which was devastated by the Great Smoky Mountain wildfires that recently raged through the area. "I know there are a lot of great events being planned to help the people of East Tennessee, however, I am planning a telethon to support the 'My People Fund' where 100% of the money will help those who lost their homes in the wildfire. I am planning on doing this on Dec. 13th in Nashville, Tennessee," the singer said, according to Music Row. Parton, whose Dollywood theme park was threatened by the fires in late November, added, "We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything in the fires. I know it has been a trying time for my people and this assistance will help get them back on their feet." For donations, visit dollywoodfoundation.org. A spokesperson for Parton could not be reached at press time for further information on the telethon's artist lineup and syndicates. (Billboard)
Movies
'Transformers: The Last Knight'. The Michael Bay film hits theaters June 23, 2017. Transformers: The Last Knight has unleashed its first trailer on the world. The fifth installment of director Michael Bay's franchise sees Mark Wahlberg return alongside Stanley Tucci, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro to face off against the villain Megatron. The trailer comes one day after Bay announced that filming had wrapped. Shooting took place in Michigan as well as locales such as Winston Churchill's boyhood home and a replica of Stonehenge. Transformers: The Last Knight will be released June 23, 2017. Follow Heat Vision on Facebook and Twitter for more from Transformers. (Hollywood Reporter)
Jeff Bridges: "I'm a Product of Nepotism, That's How I Got Into It" | Actor Oscar Roundtable. "I resisted [acting] for a long time, maybe 10 or 12 movies in." "It was hot," Oscar winner (Crazy Heart) Jeff Bridges told The Hollywood Reporter during the Actor Roundtable in regards to the shoot for his film Hell or High Water. "The hot or cold, it stimulates your acting, it kind of plugs you into the place you're in. That actually kind of helps." "It's often a challenge when you're acting -- you just met and you're supposed to give the illusion that you've known each other for years and years," said Bridges. "Many actors, that's a challenge for us all, so we know we got to get in it quick, man. One way to do that is through music." Bridges said he often plays music with his co-stars in order to get to know them quickly and intimately. "It's all about harmonizing, singing together, making music together. That's what making movies is all about." Bridges noted "jamming with all these different artists" as his favorite thing about acting. More roundtables featuring actresses, screenwriters, songwriters, documentarians, directors, composers and producers will continue throughout February in print and online. Tune in to new episodes of Close Up With 'The Hollywood Reporter' starting Jan. 15 on Sundance TV, and look for clips at THR.com/topic/roundtables with full episodes on THR.com after broadcast. (Hollywood Reporter)
Legendary film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to Los Angeles to face sentencing in his decades-old statutory rape case, Poland's Supreme Court announced Tuesday. Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro filed a formal appeal with the court in May to overturn a 2015 ruling that prevented the 83-year-old Polanski's extradition to the U.S. The Supreme Court "is dismissing the appeal," said Judge Michal Laskowski, ending Poland's part in Polanski's seemingly never-ending rape saga, the Daily Mail reported. In his decision, Laskowski noted that the courts role was to ensure that due process had been followed by the lower court. The French-Polish "Rosemary's Baby" director was arrested for drugging and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at his Los Angeles home in 1977. He later fled the country after a plea bargain with prosecutors and the judge in the case went south. (Page Six)
TV
Courtney B. Vance-Felicity Huffman Comedy Picked Up to Pilot at ABC. 'Libby & Malcolm,' from 'Black-ish' creator Kenya Barris, marks the network's first official order of the season. And so it begins. ABC has officially kicked off its pilot season with an order for Courtney B. Vance (People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) and Felicity Huffman (American Crime) starrer Libby & Malcolm, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The comedy, considered a shoo-in to move forward given its impressive team both in front and behind the camera, marks ABC's first official pilot order of the season. The half-hour single-camera comedy, which had a sizable pilot-production commitment attached, is a blended-family show about two polar-opposite political pundits (Huffman, Vance) who fall in love despite all odds and form an insta-family as well as a work partnership. Should Libby & Malcolm go to series, it would film around Vance's schedule for American Crime Story: Katrina, the second season of FX's anthology from Ryan Murphy. Katrina is scheduled to shoot in the summer. The single-camera comedy is being co-written by Black-ish creator-showrunner Kenya Barris and co-executive producer Vijal Patel. Vance also will executive produce alongside Barris, Patel, Huffman and Brian Dobbins. The comedy is produced in-house at ABC Studios, where Barris is under an overall deal. Libby & Malcolm stars Vance as Malcolm, a smooth, confident liberal pundit and father of three who arms himself with cold, hard facts and an irresistible easy charm that wins over everyone he meets. Malcolm recently married Libby (Huffman), a strong, brilliant Republican who won his heart by knocking him off his feet. Now they'll forge a new life together at home against all odds while going head-to-head at work on their fiery new political talk show. The project, first announced in September, comes at a perfect time given the recent presidential election and the country's heightened political divisiveness. Libby & Malcolm also arrives as ABC has found tremendous success with its inclusive brand of family comedies that include Black-ish, Fresh off the Boat, Speechless, The Real O'Neals and The Goldbergs. Libby & Malcolm marks ABC's first official pilot order for the 2017-18 television season. The Disney-owned network previously handed out two straight-to-series drama orders for next season: Kyra Sedgwick vehicle Ten Days in the Valley and Marvel's Imax entry The Inhumans. (Hollywood Reporter)
MTV and VH1 Set New Unscripted Team Under Nina L. Diaz (Exclusive) Diaz added oversight of MTV to her purview a week ago. Chris McCarthy and Nina L. Diaz are not wasting any time in getting to work. A week after Diaz added oversight of MTV's unscripted, the VH1 rising star has formalized her new leadership team. Eli Lehrer has been tapped to serve as head of development at MTV; Lily Neumeyer will have the same role at VH1; Paul Ricci is set as head of alternative programming at MTV and VH1; and Andy Portnoy will be head of strategic content operations for MTV and VH1. "MTV and VH1 share the same creative DNA and this team deepens the connection between them," Diaz said. "Eli, Lily, Paul and Andy are at the top of their respective games, and I'm excited to work alongside them, share expertise and ideas, and strengthen these two iconic brands." The executive shuffle comes a week after Diaz was promoted to help fill the void created when MTV head of originals Michael Klein exited the Viacom network following a six-month run. He oversaw both scripted and unscripted, with Diaz now overseeing the latter. MTV's scripted fare -- including Scream, Teen Wolf and The Shannara Chronicles -- will continue to be overseen by Mina Lefevre. VH1's scripted, including The Breaks, will continue to be overseen by senior vp, scripted Maggie Malina. Diaz was promoted by VH1 president McCarthy, who replaced Sean Atkins at the helm of MTV last month. For Diaz, the promotion marked a return to MTV, where she started her career developing unscripted series, including My Super Sweet 16 and The Osbournes. Diaz left MTV to become an independent producer during which time she developed The Real Housewives and Mob Wives, the latter of which brought her to VH1. In his new post, Lehrer will oversee all unscripted development for the network while continuing to head creative and business operations for MTV2 as executive vp. Before joining MTV in July, he was senior vp and head of nonfiction programming at Lifetime. Neumeyer will continue in her role as head of development at VH1, where she oversees unscripted development, while taking on additional talent-driven projects. She joined VH1 in July from A&E where she was vp, nonfiction. She began her career at MTV, where she developed My Super Sweet 16 with Diaz. Ricci, head of alternative programming at VH1, adds MTV to his oversight. He joined VH1 in July from MTV, where he started his career. Portnoy will oversee strategy and operations for original content production at both networks. He most recently was senior vp production at MTV/MTV2.
Taylor Lautner and Scream Queens co-star Billie Lourd have been spotted sharing a kiss off-screen. Fellow Scream Queens actor Keke Palmer, who plays Zayday Williams, shared the photo on her Snapchat. Billie and Taylor are pictured engaging in a rather passionate kiss, while the caption reads, "Omg omg omg OMG". The kiss took place while the group were hanging out at The Nice Guy in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Taylor's recent dating history includes a relationship with Marie Avgeropoulos and a romance with model Raina Lawson. We hope the pair aren't mad at Keke for sharing their private moment!! (British Glamour)
Prince Harry will do anything for love! The 32-year-old was due to return to London on Sunday following his two-week trip to Barbados, but he decided to take a little detour just to spend the night with his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, in Toronto. Cue the awws! An insider told The Sun of the romantic turn of events: "Harry just couldn't wait to see her. He was due to fly back to London on a British Airways flight with the rest of his entourage. But he changed his mind and diverted straight to see her as they couldn't bear to be apart. It's just another sign of how head-over-heels he is about her. He is absolutely besotted. We've never seen him so happy -- it's great." It sounds like the royal is willing to do whatever it takes to make his long-distance love last! And the Suits star was clearly prepping for Harry's arrival as she was spotted out and about over the weekend stocking up on groceries and picking out flowers. Cute! (Perez Hilton)
It's been years since country music star Naomi Judd left the public eye. Now, the star is back and opening up about her life-long battle with mental illness. "What I've been through is extreme. My final diagnosis was severe depression," Judd told ABC's Robin Roberts in an interview aired Tuesday on Good Morning America. "Treatment resistant because they tried me on every single thing they had in their arsenal. It really felt like, if I live through this I want someone to be able to see that they can survive." Judd, 70, was part of a country music duo comprised of herself and her now-52-year-old daughter Wynonna Judd -- The Judds. The Grammy award-winning pair rose to the top of the country music charts -- but not without some struggles. "They see me in rhinestones, you know, with glitter in my hair, that really is who I am," she said. "But then I would come home and not leave the house for three weeks, and not get out of my pajamas, and not practice normal hygiene. It was really bad." Her condition has landed her several stints in psychiatric wards and on different medications -- which she said has caused her hands to shake and her face to swell up "like a balloon." "I really haven't been eating ice cream and candy," she joked. "I really haven't." Judd wrote of her troubles in her new memoir River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope, in which she tells about her struggles and her road to "radical acceptance." "Every day I exercised. I would walk up to Ashley's house ... and I would holler at her from her front step," she said of her youngest daughter. "If she was home she'd come out and give me a hug. Ashley and I are so stinking much alike. We have the same mannerisms. We both read a whole lot. We both love new places. There's such similarities." As for her relationship with Wynonna, Judd said the pair are on a "break." "Through the decades, we kind of grew up together and I'm always telling her, 'If I'd known better I would've done better,' " she said. "Wy bore the brunt of all of the mistakes I made and we talk about 'em. We've been through a lot of therapy together." The two grew apart during the filming of their 2011 OWN reality series The Judds and their final tour. "I love her but there are just times we need a break from each other," Judd said of Wynonna. "We're still a little estranged from each other. And that happens with mother, daughters. If she sees this, and I hope she does, 'cause the smartest thing is for all of us to feel known, no matter what's goin' on. Be truthful. I think she'll say, 'Good for you, Mom, for finally being willing to talk about the bad stuff.'" (People)
Sofia Richie is no stranger to the racist comments that often circulate in her hometown of Los Angeles. "I'm very light, so some people don't really know that I'm black," Richie, 18, says in the December/January issue of Complex. "I've been in situations where people will say something kind of racist, and I'll step in and they'll be like, 'Oh, well, you're light.' " The rising star and daughter of Lionel Richie says that's no excuse for making discriminatory remarks around her. "That still doesn't cut it, buddy," she says. "It's 2016 -- you better get your s -- together before you get slapped out here." Richie also speaks about how her newfound fame has come with pressure to always look put-together -- and she wishes that weren't the case. "Sometimes you just want to walk out of your house and look ugly and get a coffee and wear your sweatpants all day," she says. "Honestly, I might've thrown [my outfit] together in 30 seconds. I might've slept in that. And s -- , someone's going to photograph me, and everyone's going to say I'm a mess or I look depressed, when really I'm just not wearing mascara." (People)
Will Smith Borrowed Gas Money From a Fan. Even the Fresh Prince needs to borrow a few bucks. Despite his years of immense success, Will Smith found himself short on cash when he accidentally left his wallet at home. To add insult to injury, the star desperately needed to buy gas. "I was driving and I realized I was on E," the actor recalled during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Monday night. "I was about 30 minutes from my house, so I pulled into the gas station and I didn't have my wallet." While he contemplated calling his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, he worried it would have been too long of a drive for her to get there. So, he turned to the next best thing -- a fan. "I looked over on the other side and he was like 36 years old. I was like, 'That dude's a Fresh Prince fan,'" Smith continued. "You can spot them." Sure enough, the stranger was indeed a fan and quickly asked to take a selfie with the blockbuster actor. Of course, Smith was willing -- as long as the mystery man could also spot him. "I said, 'Yeah, man. I need about 10 dollars.'" The man happily helped Smith out, but would not accept repayment. "He was like, 'Dude, no way! No way -- that's yours." Fans -- can't live with them, can't live without them! (Eonline)
Nicki Minaj is getting more than social media backlash for posting video of a woman losing it in Miami -- now a mental health organization is dressing her down for allegedly mocking the woman. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-Miami) is sounding off, just like several of Nicki's fans, saying the clip is an invasion of the woman's privacy, which dehumanizes her. NAMI says it's pissed Nicki's used her fame -- she has 70 million IG followers -- to influence young people in a negative manner. A rep for NAMI says, "Nobody would make fun of a cancer patient, and mental illness is an illness like any other." Several comments on the video claim it's well-known in South Beach the woman in the video is mentally ill. In Nicki's defense, it's entirely plausible she didn't know that ... plus, she never says anything nasty to the woman. (TMZ)
Desiigner had no business getting behind the wheel of a rented Ferrari, but since he wrecked it when he did, he needs to cough up some dough ... according to the rental company's lawsuit. The rental company is suing the "Panda" rapper for destroying a 2014 Ferrari back in June. It had been rented by 2 of his friends, who are also named in the suit. According to docs ... the friends gave Desiigner permission to drive the whip, and then he crashed it in NJ. The car's valued at $220k, but the company's suing for more than $500k because they say they're going to lose out on future rental money -- as in $1,599 per day. The docs also included a cryptic tweet, supposedly from Desiigner, saying, "If you have a luxury car you better know how to drive." The rental company thinks it's a confession, but we checked and the account doesn't look like it belongs to Desiigner. We reached out to Desiigner's rep, who tells us ... "This is the first that Desiigner or his team have heard about this lawsuit. The minute he has had a chance to consult with his attorney, his managers or his attorney will respond." (TMZ)
Florence Henderson's death certificate revealed that she secretly battled heart issues for a decade before she died of heart failure at age 82 on November 24, TMZ reports. The Brady Bunch actress, who played beloved mom Carol Brady on the series, suffered from heart disease for the last 10 years and was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat five years ago. Her death came as a surprise to many fans, who had just seen her looking healthy in the audience of the Dancing With the Stars season 23 finale night one on November 21. Henderson was a contestant on the ABC dancing competition back in 2010, and was supporting her TV daughter Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady on the '70s TV series), who competed on the most recent season of DWTS. "She looked great," an onlooker tells Us Weekly. "She was with a female friend or relative and was in the front row to the left of the judges. ... [She] enjoyed the show so much. Even the audience warm-up guy pointed her out as 'America's favorite mom,' and everyone cheered for her. " During her long Hollywood career, Henderson was the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, contributed to the Today show and cohosted her own talk show, The Florence Henderson Show, which ran from 2007 to 2009. The Love Boat actress was married twice and is survived by her four children, Barbara, Elizabeth, Joseph and Robert, and five grandchildren. (US Weekly)
Margaret Whitton, the actress, and producer best known for playing the antagonist in Major League, died Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida after battling cancer, her producing partner Steven Tabakin confirmed to EW. She was 67 years old. "Because Margaret kept her brief battle with cancer very private, the news of her death is one of those unexpected twists and turns in the story," Tabakin said in a statement to EW. "As you might imagine, Margaret faced her illness with all the grace and wit she brought to every facet of her life." Born Nov. 30, 1949, in Philadelphia, Whitton began her acting career on stage. She made her off-Broadway debut in 1973 with Baby Goya, which also starred Olympia Dukakis (Steel Magnolias). She hit Broadway proper in 1982 with Nell Dunn's Olivier Award-winning comedy Steaming. Whitton found a broader audience with her turn as the villainous Rachel Phelps in the 1989 baseball comedy Major League. She played a sultry former showgirl who inherits the Cleveland Indians and tries to run the team into the ground in order to force a profitable move to Miami. She fails in the original movie and again in the 1994 sequel, in which she seeks revenge. Outside of Major League, Whitton appeared in 9 1/2 Weeks (1986); The Man Without a Face (1993); The Secret of My Success (1987); and Ironweed (1987). On the small screen, she starred in Hometown, A Fine Romance, and Good & Evil. "No one could deliver a one-liner like Margaret," wrote Tabakin. "No one could be more scathing one minute and more vulnerable the next -- she played all the notes. Girls wanna be her." Following her acting career, Whitton turned her eye to development and production. She was president and executive producer of Tashtego Films, where she worked with Tabakin. According to Tabakin, Whitton was a major philanthropist and a New York Yankees season-ticket holder; the production company's website notes she wrote about baseball for The New York Times, The Village Voice, and more. She made her directorial debut with romantic feature A Bird of the Air starring Rachel Nichols and Jackson Hurst. "We don't dare mourn Margaret because she would have a wicked one-liner to snap us back to the curves, the twists, the turns, the joy. Those incredible eyes, that delicious laugh," Tabakin wrote. "But we will remember her always, and how she made the world -- and those of us lucky enough to share it with her for a while -- just a little bit better." Whitton is survived by her husband of 23 years, Warren Spector. A memorial will be held in New York in early 2017. (EW)
Former "Game of Thrones" star Peter Vaughan passed away on Tuesday. He was 93. "This is to confirm that very sadly Peter Vaughan passed away at approximately 10:30 this morning," Vaughan's longtime agent, Sally Long-Innes, told the BBC. "He died peacefully with his family around him." Vaughan, who played Maester Aemon on the HBO hit from 2011 to 2015, had an acting career spanning 75 years. The character actor's notable projects include 1967's "The Naked Runner" with Frank Sinatra as well as in British sitcoms "Porridge," "Citizen Smith," "Chancer" and "Our Friends in the North." (Page Six)
THE OTHER STUFF . . .
Angelina Jolie has an endgame in her claims Brad Pitt abused one or more of their children -- she wants to move to London with the kids and score a top position in the United Nations ... sources connected with the couple tell TMZ. Several well-placed sources say Brad and Angelina have not gotten along for more than a year, and she's been looking for an opportunity to end the marriage and bolt for her dream job ... with all 6 children in tow. We're told she knew that would be nearly impossible unless Brad's right to joint custody was in jeopardy. As we reported ... Angelina told L.A. County Dept of Child and Family Services officials Brad brutalized Maddox on a private jet and engaged in other conduct that endangered the children. We know Brad strongly denied intentionally striking Maddox or engaging in any abuse, and DCFS clearly saw it his way ... closing out the investigation without taking any action. Our sources say Angelina's move to involve DCFS was orchestrated by 2 women she's been relying on for advice for more than a year. One is a member of England's House of Lords, and the other also holds a U.K. government position. We're told they've been in Angelina's ear, convincing her she could become Secretary General of the U.N. if she plays her cards right. Angelina, who has been paying both women handsomely for their consulting services, is all in and taking their cue that a move to London would help get her closer to the U.N. gig. The rub, of course, is in order to take her kids out of the country ... she'd have to prove some sort of parental unfitness on Brad's part. So far she's struck out. Jolie's rep denies there's a move planned and says Angelina is focused on the health and wellbeing of her children. The rep adds, Angelina wants to continue therapy with the kids and Brad. Our sources are clear and insist Europe and the U.N. post is the ultimate goal. The custody war is now in family court -- she wants sole physical custody and he wants joint. We're told Angelina has a slim to none chance of taking the kids 6,000 miles away from Brad. (TMZ)
Looking good! Blac Chyna recently revealed she's lost 23 pounds since giving birth to her baby girl, Dream, in November and judging from her latest Instagram post on Monday, December 5, she's proud of the results so far. Wearing a black, tight jumpsuit and sky-high heels, the slimmed-down mom of two, posed for several photos that showcased her hourglass figure. It was just two weeks after Chyna and Rob Kardashian welcomed their daughter that the 28-year-old makeup maven updated her fans with her weight loss goal. "39lbs go away !!! Lost 23 lbs. so far !!!" she shared in a clip on Saturday, November 26. "Goal 130 post baby weight." But after sharing several images of her body on social media, she was accused of having cosmetic surgery to get back in shape. Chyna quickly assured her fans that she had not gone under the knife and that there was a very natural reason behind her flat stomach and trim waist. "So I posted a picture of my belly yesterday and the only reason it got that flat, you guys, is from breast-feeding and breast-pumping and from my body already being small before my pregnancy," she said in a video. "If you are pregnant right now, I would highly recommend breast-feeding and breast-pumping because it'll get your weight back down fast." Chyna also shared some cute new photos of her daughter on Snapchat before posting her jumpsuit snaps. "Dream is so perfect and her baby smell is from Heaven," she wrote before showing off the adorable pictures of the sleeping infant. (US Weekly)
Sailor Brinkley-Cook was among the many viewers who tuned into the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Monday night, but the teenage model had an important message for other young girls admiring the Angels. The 18-year-old daughter of Christie Brinkley posted an Instagram ahead of the iconic lingerie brand's annual runway show with some wise words about loving the skin you're in -- even if your abs aren't quite as sculpted as Adriana Lima's. (That workout is hard-and we know, we tried it with her!) "These girls are such beautiful boss hard working strong determined women," Brinkley-Cook captioned a group shot of the Victoria's Secret models. "But to all the young girls watching tonight... don't forget that if your body doesn't look like theirs it is totally OK." She continued, "No body type is superior to another. Everybody is different and each and every one of those [bodies] are beautiful and strong and important and worthy of great things. Don't freak out if your stomach doesn't look like theirs. Don't hate yourself for your thighs. Embrace your body type, work hard, set goals, be healthy and constantly remind yourself that you are good enough!" Brinkley-Cook made it clear she wasn't knocking Victoria's Secret -- she called the brand a "celebration of women and awesome beauty" and congratulated all the Paris participants. The blonde beauty is following in her mom's modeling footsteps – she's signed to IMG Models while also attending The New School in New York City. And this isn't the first time she's spoken out about body positivity. In August, she slammed haters who have criticized her looks online. "Everyone needs to stop putting me and my siblings and me and my mother in competition," Cook captioned a screenshot of a comment section that read: "She looks nothing like her mother. She's average looking at best" and "She's a pretty girl but nowhere near what her mother was." Cook concluded her caption with impactful words: "The subject I have been meaning to touch on publicly for years-stop. comparing. me. to. my. mother," she wrote. (People)
Johnny Manziel is spending money like he's still an NFL star. Despite the fact the disgraced former college phenom and NFL flameout has been unemployed since March, sources say he's already spent some $35,000 celebrating his birthday in Miami just in the past week. Sources say hard-partying Manziel -- who was cut from the Browns at the end of last season -- began his tear on Thursday at LIV nightclub, dropping a cool $5,000 on Armand de Brignac (a.k.a. Ace of Spades) Champagne. The next two nights he was spotted at Rockwell nightclub, at a table with a $10,000 drinks minimum, "ordering parades of bottles of Champagne," including magnums of Armand de Brignac rose that go for $3,250 a pop, we're told. Then on Sunday night, insiders say he paid $10,000 for a table at LIV during DJ Khaled's birthday party. And that's all before he even begins a big planned celebration on Monday night for his 24th birthday. When he was drafted in 2014, Manziel signed a four-year contract with the Browns reportedly worth $8.25 million, with $6.7 million guaranteed -- most of which was a $4.3 million signing bonus. But he passed up much of the remaining cash when his contract was voided and he was suspended by the NFL following a string of off-the-field incidents, including a domestic-abuse case involving his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley. (The Dallas County District Attorney's office settled that case with Manziel on Friday.) He's also lost lucrative endorsements with brands like Nike, Nissan, McDonald's and Snickers, and has had costly legal battles -- including a suit he's engaged in with a barback who's suing Manziel for $1 million for allegedly breaking his nose in a fight. Then again, his parents -- who are major real estate honchos -- have a net worth that's been pegged at $50 million. A rep for Manziel could not be reached. (Page Six)
Happy tears! The 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show -- filmed this year in Paris! -- finally aired Monday, December 5, and it included an adorable behind-the-scenes moment of Gigi Hadid gushing about her younger sister and fellow honorary Angel, Bella Hadid, who made her VS debut this year. "I have watched the show every single year as a kid, so last year was so special to be able to do it. This year, joining me is my little sister!" Gigi, 21, shared backstage. The Tommy Hilfiger brand ambassador then started to tear up. "I am so proud of [Bella] for getting this show because she worked so hard," Gigi said. "For us to be able to do it together -- and be the first sisters in the show -- we're really, really honored." Bella, 20, then popped into the frame, hugging her sister while also tearing up. "This is us happy!" she said, laughing. "We're a really emotional family." Gigi added, "It's amazing to be able to experience all this and to be so excited for each other. She's my best friend, and it's so crazy to be here together." And the mutual love didn't stop there! Bella shared a backstage pic with her older sister via Instagram, with the adorable caption, "I cried when I saw my sister put her wings on for the first time." But the most emotional person may have been the ladies' biggest fan: their mom, Yolanda Hadid. "?? Gods timing is perfect," Yolanda, 52, wrote via Instagram December 1, captioning a pic of herself with Gigi and Bella at the afterparty. "Thank you to my girls for bringing me to Paris to witness this special moment in time." (US Weekly)
Music
Mariah Carey wasn't the only singer to live up to her diva rep at the "VH1 Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night" concert: Carey, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and Vanessa Williams all refused to speak to reporters, but, naturally, posed for pics. But Diana Gordon -- who co-wrote parts of Beyonce's "Lemonade," and also performed -- told us about her songwriting process. "The strangest place that I got inspiration for a song was in the shower," she mused. "I ran out of the shower dripping wet, butt naked, and just started writing. It does not matter where I am .?.?. if a thought hits me, I have to stop whatever I am doing and write it down. It seems to be the right thing to do .?.?. 'Lemonade' turned out to be a great hit record." (Page Six)
Eventbrite and Bandsintown Announce Partnership: Exclusive. Eventbrite, a ticketing platform with more than two million events a year, and the concert discover app Bandsintown are set to announce a new partnership. Starting Dec. 6, Eventbrite users will have seamless access to Bandsintown's 30 million registered users with the first integration ever of the live music app's ad solution tool, "Bandsintown Promoter" into the ticketing platform's ecosystem. This will allow Eventbrite users to promote shows targeted to Bandsintown fans based on artist preference, which is available as a paid option with any event. The second phase of the deal is slated to launch early 2017 and will enable the discovery and end-to-end purchase of Eventbrite shows within the Bandsintown app and website. This will be the first time the show ticket will appear within the Bandsintown app as a barcode for scan entry. "Over 50% of our users go to shows of artists they have never heard before, "Fabrice Sergent, Bandsintown's chief executive, told Billboard. "So teaming up with the Eventbrite ecosystem is particularly relevant for us as we hope this partnership will offer promotion opportunities for small and mid-size artists in particular because we have a great audience for that." "This new partnership with Bandsintown provides our organizers with a super-targeted, direct connection to the most passionate of music fans," said Julia Hartz, CEO and co-founder of Eventbrite, in a statement. "We're proud to continue innovating with a best-in-class music partner to create exciting new products that ultimately get more concert go'ers to the shows they love." Both companies declined to disclose financial details of the partnership. While Bandsintown is privately owned and doesn't publish its financials, Sergent says the platform is having its best year ever "The main driver of our revenue model is advertising which we sell to promoters and brands," the chief executive said, noting the site's growth from 23 million registered users last March to 30 million today and the 400,000 artists and managers connected to the platform. Six weeks ago BIT launched French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and Japanese beta versions of the app. Eventbrite, which was founded in 2006, has processed over $5 billion in gross ticket sales which includes more than 175,000 concerts and festivals. Among the events the ticketing platform has worked are Newport Folk Festival, Wanderlust, BottleRock and Lightning in a Bottle, a campout festival. Eventbrite was also one of Facebook's original launch partners in 2008. While Bandsintown works with a number of ticketing companies, this is only the second time the platform has integrated a ticketing service into its in-app purchase flow. The first was Ticketmaster which was integrated into BIT's concert discovery this past March. (Billboard)
The Grammys Stop Fighting the Future With 2017 Nominees, The nominations for the 59 Annual Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday (Dec. 6), and as the experts predicted (and as the show's producers no doubt prayed for), it's a battle of the biggest. The list of the most nominated artists doubles as the list of the artists who have dominated conversation for the last 12 months: Beyonce, Drake, Rihanna, Kanye West, and even Chance the Rapper. Despite Taylor Swift essentially taking the year off -- nope, no nominations for Nils Sjoberg either -- and Frank Ocean declining the pleasure of being nominated, the star power on display in this year's Grammy crop is blinding. Of course, the evening's true heavyweight showdowns will come between perhaps the two most unanimously venerated figures in contemporary music, Beyonce and Adele. Long thought to be the evening's likely frontrunners, the two planetary pop talents will indeed be squaring off in four separate categories, including the marquee three: Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Though smart money will never go against an artist who laps a depressed sales landscape by going diamond in a single year, early indicators seem positive for Beyonce, not just in the number of her nominations (9 to Adele's 5), but in their variety -- The Queen is recognized not only in Pop and R&B, but in Rock as well, suggesting her support is well-balanced among the voter pool's many factions. (Of course, no matter who wins between the two superstars, CBS triumphs for the ensuing drama -- as does Columbia Records, home to both artists.) Speaking of rock, though, Beyonce's Jack White-assisted undercover deployment into Best Rock Performance underlines the music's own relative absence in the major categories. Excepting the presence of Twenty One Pilots as Song of the Year nominees -- double agents to some degree themselves, with their "Stressed Out" also nominated for Best Pop/Duo Group Performance -- rock is shut out of the Big Four this year, with potential Grammy favorites like Radiohead, Coldplay and the late David Bowie either consigned to their home genre or not recognized at all. Instead, the Grammys have recognized with their nominees this year what the rest of the music-listening world has long accepted: that both its commercial and critical center lies with pop, hip-hop and R&B. Tellingly, the four albums with the four biggest first-week sales of the voting period are all up for Album of the Year: Adele's 25, Beyonce's Lemonade, Drake's Views and Justin Bieber's Purpose. That last artist would have seemed about as unimaginable an Album of the Year hopeful as Cannibal Corpse just a couple of years ago, but Purpose being acknowledged for the evening's most prestigious honor serves as validation not only for Bieber -- the final disavowing of his supposed bubblegum disposability -- but for Top 40 entire. It's proof that pop no longer needs to dress up as rock to be invited to the party; having Skirllex and Diplo as your +2 is good enough. Whatever room remains for guitar-based music at the Grammys, this year's nominations would indicate that future real estate may be occupied less by rock than by country. Nashville-based singer/songwriter Maren Morris was an expected contender for Best New Artist, but she's also joined in that category by fellow CMA Awards performer Kelsea Ballerini. And if there is a Beck-type artist poised to play spoiler this year, it's veteran Kentucky song-slinger Sturgill Simpson, whose acclaimed major-label debut A Sailor's Guide to Earth is the outlier fifth nominee in Album of the Year, and who may end up rallying what's left of the "How can they be real artists if they don't write all their own songs?" crowd. Even with Sturgill's presence this year's nominees show that the Grammys appear to be moving in the right direction towards relevance, by acknowledging the music that actually moves the cultural needle in 2016, and mostly avoiding the kind of head-smacking nominees that bring Kanye's sense of righteousness to a boil. (Though with The Life of Pablo predictably snubbed for Album of the Year and "Ultralight Beam" shut out of Song and Record of the Year, he may end up with cause for complaint this year just the same.) The pop-leaning proceedings may not save the Grammys' plummeting numbers among Millennials, but at least they'll demonstrate that the Academy indeed recognizes that young people are out there, and that their perspective isn't being totally dismissed. And with an Adele-Beyonce showdown at the night's core, their parents might still get sucked in, too. (Billboard)
Dolly Parton Announces Dec. 13 Telethon for Tennessee Wildfire Victims. Following the devastating wildfires in East Tennessee, Dolly Parton has announced that she will host a Dec. 13 telethon in Nashville to raise money for her My People Fund. The country icon set up the fund to provide $1,000 each month to families in Sevier County, Tennessee, which was devastated by the Great Smoky Mountain wildfires that recently raged through the area. "I know there are a lot of great events being planned to help the people of East Tennessee, however, I am planning a telethon to support the 'My People Fund' where 100% of the money will help those who lost their homes in the wildfire. I am planning on doing this on Dec. 13th in Nashville, Tennessee," the singer said, according to Music Row. Parton, whose Dollywood theme park was threatened by the fires in late November, added, "We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything in the fires. I know it has been a trying time for my people and this assistance will help get them back on their feet." For donations, visit dollywoodfoundation.org. A spokesperson for Parton could not be reached at press time for further information on the telethon's artist lineup and syndicates. (Billboard)
Movies
'Transformers: The Last Knight'. The Michael Bay film hits theaters June 23, 2017. Transformers: The Last Knight has unleashed its first trailer on the world. The fifth installment of director Michael Bay's franchise sees Mark Wahlberg return alongside Stanley Tucci, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro to face off against the villain Megatron. The trailer comes one day after Bay announced that filming had wrapped. Shooting took place in Michigan as well as locales such as Winston Churchill's boyhood home and a replica of Stonehenge. Transformers: The Last Knight will be released June 23, 2017. Follow Heat Vision on Facebook and Twitter for more from Transformers. (Hollywood Reporter)
Jeff Bridges: "I'm a Product of Nepotism, That's How I Got Into It" | Actor Oscar Roundtable. "I resisted [acting] for a long time, maybe 10 or 12 movies in." "It was hot," Oscar winner (Crazy Heart) Jeff Bridges told The Hollywood Reporter during the Actor Roundtable in regards to the shoot for his film Hell or High Water. "The hot or cold, it stimulates your acting, it kind of plugs you into the place you're in. That actually kind of helps." "It's often a challenge when you're acting -- you just met and you're supposed to give the illusion that you've known each other for years and years," said Bridges. "Many actors, that's a challenge for us all, so we know we got to get in it quick, man. One way to do that is through music." Bridges said he often plays music with his co-stars in order to get to know them quickly and intimately. "It's all about harmonizing, singing together, making music together. That's what making movies is all about." Bridges noted "jamming with all these different artists" as his favorite thing about acting. More roundtables featuring actresses, screenwriters, songwriters, documentarians, directors, composers and producers will continue throughout February in print and online. Tune in to new episodes of Close Up With 'The Hollywood Reporter' starting Jan. 15 on Sundance TV, and look for clips at THR.com/topic/roundtables with full episodes on THR.com after broadcast. (Hollywood Reporter)
Legendary film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to Los Angeles to face sentencing in his decades-old statutory rape case, Poland's Supreme Court announced Tuesday. Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro filed a formal appeal with the court in May to overturn a 2015 ruling that prevented the 83-year-old Polanski's extradition to the U.S. The Supreme Court "is dismissing the appeal," said Judge Michal Laskowski, ending Poland's part in Polanski's seemingly never-ending rape saga, the Daily Mail reported. In his decision, Laskowski noted that the courts role was to ensure that due process had been followed by the lower court. The French-Polish "Rosemary's Baby" director was arrested for drugging and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at his Los Angeles home in 1977. He later fled the country after a plea bargain with prosecutors and the judge in the case went south. (Page Six)
TV
Courtney B. Vance-Felicity Huffman Comedy Picked Up to Pilot at ABC. 'Libby & Malcolm,' from 'Black-ish' creator Kenya Barris, marks the network's first official order of the season. And so it begins. ABC has officially kicked off its pilot season with an order for Courtney B. Vance (People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) and Felicity Huffman (American Crime) starrer Libby & Malcolm, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The comedy, considered a shoo-in to move forward given its impressive team both in front and behind the camera, marks ABC's first official pilot order of the season. The half-hour single-camera comedy, which had a sizable pilot-production commitment attached, is a blended-family show about two polar-opposite political pundits (Huffman, Vance) who fall in love despite all odds and form an insta-family as well as a work partnership. Should Libby & Malcolm go to series, it would film around Vance's schedule for American Crime Story: Katrina, the second season of FX's anthology from Ryan Murphy. Katrina is scheduled to shoot in the summer. The single-camera comedy is being co-written by Black-ish creator-showrunner Kenya Barris and co-executive producer Vijal Patel. Vance also will executive produce alongside Barris, Patel, Huffman and Brian Dobbins. The comedy is produced in-house at ABC Studios, where Barris is under an overall deal. Libby & Malcolm stars Vance as Malcolm, a smooth, confident liberal pundit and father of three who arms himself with cold, hard facts and an irresistible easy charm that wins over everyone he meets. Malcolm recently married Libby (Huffman), a strong, brilliant Republican who won his heart by knocking him off his feet. Now they'll forge a new life together at home against all odds while going head-to-head at work on their fiery new political talk show. The project, first announced in September, comes at a perfect time given the recent presidential election and the country's heightened political divisiveness. Libby & Malcolm also arrives as ABC has found tremendous success with its inclusive brand of family comedies that include Black-ish, Fresh off the Boat, Speechless, The Real O'Neals and The Goldbergs. Libby & Malcolm marks ABC's first official pilot order for the 2017-18 television season. The Disney-owned network previously handed out two straight-to-series drama orders for next season: Kyra Sedgwick vehicle Ten Days in the Valley and Marvel's Imax entry The Inhumans. (Hollywood Reporter)
MTV and VH1 Set New Unscripted Team Under Nina L. Diaz (Exclusive) Diaz added oversight of MTV to her purview a week ago. Chris McCarthy and Nina L. Diaz are not wasting any time in getting to work. A week after Diaz added oversight of MTV's unscripted, the VH1 rising star has formalized her new leadership team. Eli Lehrer has been tapped to serve as head of development at MTV; Lily Neumeyer will have the same role at VH1; Paul Ricci is set as head of alternative programming at MTV and VH1; and Andy Portnoy will be head of strategic content operations for MTV and VH1. "MTV and VH1 share the same creative DNA and this team deepens the connection between them," Diaz said. "Eli, Lily, Paul and Andy are at the top of their respective games, and I'm excited to work alongside them, share expertise and ideas, and strengthen these two iconic brands." The executive shuffle comes a week after Diaz was promoted to help fill the void created when MTV head of originals Michael Klein exited the Viacom network following a six-month run. He oversaw both scripted and unscripted, with Diaz now overseeing the latter. MTV's scripted fare -- including Scream, Teen Wolf and The Shannara Chronicles -- will continue to be overseen by Mina Lefevre. VH1's scripted, including The Breaks, will continue to be overseen by senior vp, scripted Maggie Malina. Diaz was promoted by VH1 president McCarthy, who replaced Sean Atkins at the helm of MTV last month. For Diaz, the promotion marked a return to MTV, where she started her career developing unscripted series, including My Super Sweet 16 and The Osbournes. Diaz left MTV to become an independent producer during which time she developed The Real Housewives and Mob Wives, the latter of which brought her to VH1. In his new post, Lehrer will oversee all unscripted development for the network while continuing to head creative and business operations for MTV2 as executive vp. Before joining MTV in July, he was senior vp and head of nonfiction programming at Lifetime. Neumeyer will continue in her role as head of development at VH1, where she oversees unscripted development, while taking on additional talent-driven projects. She joined VH1 in July from A&E where she was vp, nonfiction. She began her career at MTV, where she developed My Super Sweet 16 with Diaz. Ricci, head of alternative programming at VH1, adds MTV to his oversight. He joined VH1 in July from MTV, where he started his career. Portnoy will oversee strategy and operations for original content production at both networks. He most recently was senior vp production at MTV/MTV2.
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