ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen call it quits. Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen have split. The duo -- who have a 2-year-old daughter, Briar Rose, together -- have been in an on-and-off relationship for almost 10 years but never married. "She's full-time back in LA. He's in Toronto," a source told Us Weekly of the breakup, adding, "They've been on the outs for a couple of months." The actors, both 36, met on the set of "Jumper" back in 2007 and got engaged in December of 2008. (PageSix)

Laurence Fishburne's wife spotted kissing a different man. Laurence Fishburne's wife, the actress Gina Torres, has been spotted hooking up with a different man. Photographs of Torres, who starred until recently in USA's "Suits," show her passionately kissing a mystery man last week. Torres and "Black-ish" star Fishburne have been married since 2002, but it seems as if the pair may have quietly split. They last appeared publicly together in December 2015, and they've both made multiple public appearances -- including premieres for their own projects -- solo since then. We're told that Torres and her new beau spent over an hour having lunch at the Sweet Butter cafe in Los Angeles. Torres, who wasn't wearing a wedding ring, was seen holding the man's face in her hands and kissing him across the table. In January 2016, not long after their last public appearance together, Torres referred to herself as Fishburne's wife in an interview with Hello! magazine. But in September 2016 Torres told the New York Times that she had quit "Suits" after six years on the legal drama partly because "my personal life needed to be tended to." It was recently announced that native New Yorker Torres is to star in a yet-to-be-named "Suits" spin-off, set to debut in 2018. She will also serve as its executive producer. Fishburne and Torres both starred in "The Matrix Reloaded" and played a married couple in NBC's "Hannibal" from 2013-2015. They married at the Cloisters in Upper Manhattan and have a 16-year-old daughter, Delilah, together. Torres is also the stepmother to Fishburne's son Langston, 30, and daughter Montana, 27 -- who famously starred in a porn movie. Reps for Torres declined to comment and a rep for Fishburne didn't get back to us. (PageSix)

No more grandkids! Candy Spelling opened up about her daughter, Tori Spelling, while attending the 7th annual American Humane Hero Dog Awards in Beverly Hills on Saturday, September 16. Back in February, the Broadway producer, 71, threw the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 44, a baby shower for her fifth child. "Let me tell you, she's my daughter. I love her," Candy told Us over the weekend. "I would do anything to help my children if I can." The duo celebrated at the Hotel Bel-Air in L.A. One month later, Tori and her husband, Dean McDermott, would welcome baby boy Beau. He arrived via a scheduled C-section. The couple are also parents of Liam, 10, Stella, 9, Hattie, 5, and Finn, 5. (The pair made a commitment to make their marriage work after Us Weekly exclusive revealed that McDermott had an affair in 2013.) "She just loves her kids," Candy added to Us. "I hope she's finished, but you never know." The mother-daughter duo have had their ups and downs, too. In December 2014, Tori hinted that her late father, Aaron Spelling, "created a lot of the competition" between them, but they seem to be on better terms now. (US Weekly)

Rosie O'Donnell's Estranged Daughter Chelsea Announces Pregnancy: My Mom ''Will Not'' Be Involved. Rosie O'Donnell's eldest daughter is starting a family of her own. Chelsea Alliegro, who the TV personality is currently estranged from, announced she is expecting her first child with husband Nick Alliegro. In an interview with the Daily Mail, the 20-year-old shared, "It's very exciting and I'm looking forward to it." "I really don't care if I have a boy or a girl, I'm just hoping for a healthy baby. Nick would really like a boy," Chelsea added. "But as far as I am concerned, so long as it's healthy, that's what matters." Chelsea also told the outlet that despite O'Donnell having a grandchild on the way, she has no intentions of patching up their roller coaster relationship: "Rosie will not have a part in this child's life... Rosie and I don't have a relationship any more. I don't think it can ever be mended. I really don't think there is any hope for our relationship." A rep for the former View co-host declined to comment. However earlier Tuesday, Rosie shared a series of cryptic tweets alluding to an unspecified family matter. "Dakotas ear surgery - u next to me - carrying ur sister out of the hospital - past her and her mom - late for school - protecting ur family," Rosie penned, referencing the 4-year-old daughter she adopted with recently deceased ex-wife Michelle Rounds. The celeb continued, "protecting ur family... not words I would use to describe u." The relationship between Rosie and Chelsea has been strained for years, reaching a boiling point in 2015 when the then 17-year-old was reported missing by her mother. Authorities later found Chelsea in New Jersey at the house of a 26-year-old man with an arrest record, including charges of heroin possession. However, no arrests were made as Chelsea had been there voluntarily and no drugs were found. Earlier this year, O'Donnell released a statement claiming her daughter is "mentally ill" adding, "She is very sick. She is not capable of truth or reason. She has not been in touch with anyone since her husband tried to extort $9000 from this family." Chelsea subsequently fired back, calling Rosie "a cruel narcissistic vengeful woman who doesn't care for anyone but herself and her writing that on her website just shows how shallow hateful she really is." In the Daily Mail interview, the mom-to-be also reflected on her former stepmom's passing. Rounds was found dead on Sept. 11 of an apparent suicide. "I was shocked," she shared. "It was very sad to hear about her death." Chelsea said she's currently nine weeks pregnant and due in early May 2018. Upon the child's birth, she hopes to consider Rosie's first wife Kelli Carpenter their grandmother. (Eonline)

Fergie can breathe a sigh of relief now that she can focus on her music and not have to worry about keeping her split from husband Josh Duhamel a secret. "Honestly, it was just getting a little weird for us with all the romantic questions," the singer, 42, told PEOPLE exclusively on Tuesday about having to promote her upcoming album, Double Dutchess, while her personal life has been dominating the headlines. "We're great friends, we love each other so much, and it just got to the point where it was getting a little weird," she continued, adding, "there's no perfect time so we just decided to do it." As for whether the pair, who have a 4-year-old son Axl, timed the announcement of their separation so that she could focus more on promoting the album, Fergie continued to stress the weirdness of the situation. "I don't know, you can ask him, but it was just getting a little weird to laugh through the first date questions," she said, laughing. One thing that is not weird is co-parenting their little boy, with singer telling PEOPLE it is "so great." "We just wanted to get adjusted in private. [And Axl's school has helped as] we have a co-op so Josh and I would walk there several times before the school season. So I get to learn from the teachers and see how he reacts in a group of friends that he knows. And I get to help out and serve them snacks and clean the dishes. We have fun, we get down and dirty and read the stories with our costumes. You get down in the sand and get dirty -- I love it. I love that part of it all. PEOPLE exclusively confirmed last week that Fergie and Duhamel, 44, are going their separate ways after eight years of marriage. "With absolute love and respect we decided to separate as a couple earlier this year," they said in a joint statement. "To give our family the best opportunity to adjust, we wanted to keep this a private matter before sharing it with the public. We are and will always be united in our support of each other and our family." Fergie Returns To The Stage After She And Josh Duhamel Announce Separation Fergie returned to the stage Saturday night days after the announcement that the singer and her husband of 8 years Josh Duhamel were getting separated While the pair's split came as a shock to many, some who know them best said they had been traveling down different paths for a while. "They have been leading separate lives for a long time," a music insider said of Fergie and Duhamel in PEOPLE's latest issue. "She wants to be out on the road doing her thing, while he is more chill. They clashed for a long time before they did anything about it." A separate source told PEOPLE that the couple's differences were "a factor" in their split. "They come from totally different backgrounds and they wanted different things," said the insider. "A big factor is how different Fergie and Josh are. In the beginning, it was what attracted them to each other and made them so fun to be around." Fergie's last solo album, The Dutchess, hit shelves in 2006. (People)

Jenifer Lewis, the grandma on "Black-ish" just lined her pocket with $13,000 courtesy of LA Fitness after suing over a crooked gym employee. Lewis claimed in a lawsuit she met an LA Fitness front desk manager at the West L.A. club. She says they got chummy, started dating, and 3 months into the relationship he convinced her to loan him money for a movie he was producing. She says he fleeced her for $50k. She sued the gym because she claims he was a known con man with a record who had served time, but wasn't vetted before he was hired. Jenifer, who told her story on TMZ Live, dismissed the lawsuit against LA Fitness in return for the cash. (TMZ)

Ryan Phillippe's Ex-Fiancee Posts Cryptic Tweet One Day After Assault Allegations. Things are getting heated! Ryan Phillippe has found himself at the center of some controversy this week. The actor and father of three has a $1 million lawsuit on his hands filed against him by ex-girlfriend Elsie Hewitt. The Playboy model is claiming assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress from the Shooter star. Ryan's camp released a statement and has denied any wrongdoing on his part. However, Ryan's ex-fiancee Paulina Slagster, who dated the actor from 2011 until their breakup in 2016, took to twitter on Monday night to tweet a cryptic message. "......when there's smoke...." Paulina tweeted. What do these allegations mean for Ryan and his family? And what does his ex-wife Reese Witherspoon think of it? (Eonline)

Liziane Gutierrez, the woman Chris Brown allegedly attacked in his Vegas hotel room for taking a pic of him, made off with some loot after the two settled her lawsuit against him. We're told a settlement became official. The question ... how much? Sources familiar with the negotiation tell us, there was some sort of preliminary talk of $70,000, but other sources say the monetary amount agreed upon was substantially less. Gutierrez sued Brown in February of last year after she claimed he punched her in the eye and took her phone after she tried to snap his pic during a private party in his Palms Hotel suite. Police never charged Chris with any crime and Chris had denied any wrongdoing saying Liziane was "too ugly" to attend one of his parties. (TMZ)

The woman at the center of the Kevin Hart sex-extortion scandal has officially identified herself and is ready to set the record straight. On Tuesday, high-powered lawyer Lisa Bloom tweeted that she is now representing "the woman at the center of the Kevin Hart scandal," identifying her as Montia Sabbag. Sabbag, whom Bloom writes is an "actress and model," will address the brewing scandal during a press conference Wednesday morning, the lawyer tweeted. According to Bloom, Sabbag "was briefly involved with Kevin Hart a month ago. Since that time, she has been the subject of false, vicious attacks on her character." At the press conference, Bloom says she and Sabbag "will speak out ... about the true facts of this situation, and will announce their next legal move." The tweet comes after Hart revealed an alleged extortion attempt against him in an emotional apology video to his pregnant wife, Eniko Parrish, and his children. In the video, posted to Instagram, Hart claimed that there was someone who was trying to make "financial gain" from his misbehavior. Reports surfaced over the weekend that federal officials are investigating an alleged blackmail attempt that reportedly includes a "sexually provocative" video of Hart. "I made a bad error in judgement and I put myself in a bad environment where only bad things can happen and they did," Hart admitted in this apology video. Kevin Hart Apologizes to His Wife and Kids in Emotional Video After Alleged Extortion Kevin Hart is apologizing to his wife and kids after an unidentified person allegedly tried to extort him for a sexually suggestive video TMZ previously reported that FBI agents believe they know the identity of a person who allegedly demanded money to not leak the video, which allegedly features Hart getting close with Sabbag at a club and then in a bedroom. The outlet also reported that Sabbag is 27, lives in Long Beach, CA, and works as a stripper. Sources told PEOPLE that Parrish is supporting her husband amid the allegations and that "there is absolutely no divorce talk." "She obviously knows about the cheating allegations. To her, Kevin is a great husband," said the source. "Eniko is aware that Kevin has been accused of being a ladies' man. She doesn't care. He is her husband and he always comes home to her." The couple were spotted out for lunch together in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday, marking the first time they've been seen together since Hart's apology video. (People)

Boxing legend Jake LaMotta -- the champ who was played by Robert De Niro in the movie "Raging Bull" -- died Tuesday, TMZ has learned. He was 95. Jake's wife tells TMZ, Jake died in a nursing home due to complications from pneumonia. Another family member tells TMZ, Jake's condition deteriorated in the last few weeks. He was put on a feeding tube, which he kept pulling out. His condition worsened considerably in the last few days and a decision was made to withdraw the tube. Jake's wife tells TMZ, "I just want people to know, he was a great, sweet, sensitive, strong, compelling man with a great sense of humor, with eyes that danced." LaMotta was 83-19 in 106 pro fights -- a career that began in 1941, after he was rejected from serving in the military due to a medical issue. He went on to win the world middleweight championship -- but he's most well-known for his 6-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson ... though he only won 1 of the 6 fights. LaMotta was famously portrayed by De Niro in the 1980 movie "Raging Bull," based on Jake's autobiography. De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor that year. R.I.P. (TMZ)

Allman Brothers producer Johnny Sandlin dies of cancer. Producer Johnny Sandlin, who co-produced the Allman Brothers Band's two biggest albums and worked with virtually every top name in the Southern rock genre, has died in Decatur, Ala. He was 72. Sandlin's daughter, Leigh Ellen Sandlin Cauthen, confirmed that the veteran musician, engineer and producer succumbed to cancer. A versatile multi-instrumentalist as a youth, Alabama native Sandlin made an early mark as a session musician at Rick Hall's noted Fame studio in Muscle Shoals. In 1967, his group the Five Men-Its merged with Duane and Gregg Allman's combo to become Hour Glass; he worked principally as a drummer on the act's two Liberty Records albums. From 1969, Sandlin was principally involved for several years as an executive, producer and mixer at Phil Walden's Macon, Ga.-based Capricorn Records. Beyond his work on the Allmans' "Brothers and Sisters" (No. 1, 1973) and "Win, Lose or Draw" (No. 5, 1975), he produced or engineered albums by the Southern rock units Cowboy, the Marshall Tucker Band and Wet Willie and Allmans guitarist Dickie Betts. As an independent producer in the late '70s, he helmed albums by Texas singer-songwriter Delbert McClinton and "Two the Hard Way," a commercially disastrous set by the then-married Gregg Allman and Cher. With the renaissance of Capricorn Records in the '90s, Sandlin worked with a number of second-generation Southern rock acts, including Widespread Panic and the Dixie Dregs, while producing sets with such original Capricorn artists as Gregg Allman, Wet Willie vocalist Jimmy Hall, Allmans and Sea Level keyboardist Chuck Leavell and R&B singer-guitarist Johnny Jenkins. Sandlin was inducted into the Alabama music hall of fame in 2016. He was born April 16, 1945 in Decatur. As a teenager, he played in the local bands the Secrets and the Impacts. While working with the later band, he met members of another local act, the Mark V-pianist David Briggs, bassist Norbert Putnam and guitarist Marlin Greene-who, like Sandlin, would go on to work as house musicians during the early days of the hit-producing Fame facility. At the studio, he also encountered such key Southern soul figures as pianist Spooner Oldham and singer-songwriters Eddie Hinton, Dan Penn and Donnie Fritts. He founded the Five Men-Its with Hinton. That group later merged with the Allman siblings' Florida-bred Allman Joys, who were the group's major regional competition. After Hour Glass folded following a pair of unsuccessful albums for Liberty, Sandlin began working for artist manager Walden's neophyte Capricorn imprint in Macon as a house producer and A&R director. His first project for the company was "Ton Ton Macoute!" by singer-guitarist Johnny Jenkins; Duane Allman was featured on lead guitar. He also produced Cowboy, an act including members of the pre-Allman Brothers Band unit the 31st of February. He served as an engineer on the Allmans' "Live at the Fillmore East" (1970) and "Eat a Peach" (1971). In 1973, he produced the chart-topping "Brothers and Sisters," which included the No. 2 hit "Ramblin' Man," and continued his chart streak with the group with "Win, Lose or Draw." His other Capricorn projects of the era included albums with Elvin Bishop, James Taylor's brother Alex, comic Martin Mull and Bonnie Bramlett of Delaney & Bonnie. As an indie producer during the '80s, Sandlin branched into straight country via sessions with Jerry Reed, Mac Davis and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn. He returned to his Southern rock roots during the '90s, producing Widespread Panic's "Pick Your Panic" (1991) and "Space Wrangler" (1992), Dixie Dregs' "Bring 'Em Back Alive" (1992), Jimmy Hall's "Rendezvous With the Blues" (1996) and Chuck Leavell's "What's in the Bag" (1998). In later years, Sandlin produced new albums by Bramlett and Bishop and worked with young Southern rock performer Kenneth Brian. Sandlin's survivors include his daughter and wife Ann. (PageSix)

THE OTHER STUFF . . .

Ayesha Curry Is the Newest Face of Covergirl. It's official...Ayesha Curry is now a Covergirl! The Ayesha's Home Kitchen star joins Queen Latifah, Katy Perry, Sofia Vergara and Issa Rae, who announced her partnership with the brand just last week, as a face of the beauty brand. This is the first time that we've seen the chef, bestselling author and mom of two in a beauty campaign, and we're excited. With her high-energy personality, blossoming career and growing family, she's the relatable, fresh face that we've been waiting for. "My philosophy is all about seeking joy and creating balance in life," Ayesha stated in a press release. "I've shared a lot about how I do this with food, family and faith, and now, through my partnership with Covergirl, I want to share how makeup helps create those moments of happiness, confidence and self-expression." With her signature bright, wide smile, the star will kick off her collaboration with a new product: the Peacock Flare Mascara. The new lash product, which hits shelves in November, promises drama and glamour with a few coats -- perfect for her look and on-camera projects as a chef. While her husband, NBA star Stephen Curry, is resting up for next season (after winning the championship), his wife is clearly making strides, branching out from her cooking background. She just might be the real MVP. (Eonline)

Barbra Streisand only wants to be shot from her "good side" -- even when it comes to charity. The singing diva joined other A-list celebrities such as Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake, Kerry Washington and Diddy at the "Hand in Hand" relief benefit in LA last week, but made sure fotogs shot her best side (which we're told is the left side of her face). "There were a ton of celebrities on the red carpet, but she wanted to walk the carpet in reverse order, so the cameras would only shoot her good side. It was as if she was a salmon swimming upstream," a source quipped. Streisand is famous for insisting on being shot from the left; she even swapped seats with Fallon as a guest on his "Tonight Show." She and the other stars helped raise millions for hurricane victims during the telethon benefit. (Page Six)

Lauren Akins has a new assistant for when she goes to the salon! The mother of two -- and wife of country star Thomas Rhett -- debuted her new short haircut on Instagram Tuesday, along with photograph featuring 21-month-old daughter Willa Gray. "Willa Gray got into my scissors this morning," Akins, 27, jokingly wrote along with a flushed face emoji. "We just had a day date at @thedryhousenashville and Ali chopped over a FOOT off my hair #mamaneededlesshair #ifeelfreeeeeee," she continued, adding that she will be donating her tresses to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths campaign to create real-hair wigs for women with cancer. In a montage shared by Dry House, Akins showed off the before and after hair transformation as she held Willa Gray in her arms. The toddler, who recently had her first day of school, clutched onto her mother's ponytail that was cut off while enjoying a lollipop. Akins and Rhett have been doing their best to balance family time with the singer's grueling promo schedule since adopting 21-month-old daughter Willa Gray from Uganda in May and welcoming baby Ada James on Aug. 12. Recently, the mother of two surprised her husband by bringing both daughters on stage during a recent concert. "It's not like there ever is a perfect time to have kids, or a perfect time to put out a record," Rhett told PEOPLE about work-life balance. "We just happen to be doing both at the exact same time! We keep going back to 'Take it one day at a time.' " (People)

Tarek El Moussa has had a rough few years with multiple health battles and also the very public breakdown of his marriage. ON Tuesday night, the Flip or Flop star, 36, reflected on one of those tough times by sharing a photo of himself from "one of the absolute lowest points of my life,." "NOT embarrassed to share!!! This was one of the absolute lowest points of my life!!" El Moussa wrote in the caption of a photo of him sitting in the driver's side of his car wearing dark shades and a plaid shirt. "After beating cancer twice I had a horrific back injury. Over the course of 10 months I lost 50 pounds from all the pain meds which prevented me from wanting to eat and I was nauseous all the time," he continued. "I remember those days... in this photo I'm pale white... eyes are black... and I was 169 pounds!! My clothing didn't fit and it looks like I'm wearing drapes!" he added. El Moussa gave encouragement to those struggling with difficult times, writing, "This photo is a reminder than anything is possible with hope. While I went through this it was the first time in my life I wanted to quit! Thank god I didn't... or I wouldn't be standing tall today!!" "Reminder everyone, anything is possible! you just have to believe! T" he wrote. In 2013, the reality star and father of two battled thyroid cancer after a fan noticed a lump on his neck and called the show's producers to say he might have a thyroid problem. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer that same year, but kept that a secret until he opened up about it to PEOPLE in March. "Testicular cancer is more of a private thing," he previously told PEOPLE about why he kept it a secret. In 2016, his marriage to his costar wife Christina El Moussa also fell apart. The couple -- who share two children Taylor, 6, and Brayden, 2, -- have been able to move past their split to continue filming their HGTV renovation show together. (People)

Some members of Bravo's "Real Housewives of New York City" cast are sniping that a series of ads bought by Tinsley Mortimer 's wealthy new beau have helped her get ahead on the show. But the network says the scuttlebutt is nonsense and that the ads her boyfriend, Scott Kluth, bought for his Web site CouponCabin.com have nothing to do with Tins staying on the show for a second season. A Bravo rep called the claims "totally inaccurate in every way." After the newest member of the cast was snapped up for a second time, whispers began to circulate among her detractors that Bravo signed her up in part because her techy beau Kluth bought hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of ads during the Bravo show. One of the ads -- which stars the Tins and fellow cast member Carole Radziwill -- already ran several times during the final episodes of the season. In the spots, Radziwill explains to Mortimer how the site works and admires her purchases, enthusing, "This is a nice toilet!" Sources close to Mortimer say that she was never in danger of being chopped, and that she's been a hit with fans and the press. Page Six reported back in May that Tinsley -- whose former husband, Topper Mortimer, recently got engaged -- was dating Kluth, whose Web site is headquartered near Chicago. But her relationship with Kluth has provided at least one perk for the socialite-turned-reality-TV star: Kluth hooked Mortimer up with a job. She revealed on a late August episode of Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" that she's now working as an account manager at his company (during the interview she, naturally, plugged the company, saying that she'd bought her dress for the "Housewives" reunion show through the site). And sources tell us that Kluth is considering buying an apartment for Mortimer -- who spent last season living with co-star Sonja Morgan -- in NYC. Kluth founded the company in 2003. In 2011, it reportedly raised $54 million in its first round of funding. (Page Six)

DMX just might pull a Gucci Mane because X's lawyer tells us the rapper's cleaned up so much in rehab, he's "back to being human again." We spoke with Murray Richman who told us X has already packed on 40 lbs. Murray says he had been nothing but skin and bones before starting treatment in late August at a New England facility. The program is almost complete, but Murray wants X to stay another 30 days since he's been responding so well ... they're letting him take day trips with a friend to a nearby town. We broke the story ... a judge signed off on rehab after the rapper said his house arrest for tax evasion wasn't helping him improve. Murray says they'll tackle the court case once DMX has successfully finished treatment. He's also not ruling out a tour in the future. (TMZ)

Ariel Winter's estranged mother, Crystal Workman, is speaking out about her daughter's fashion choices. "I just want to see her have respect for herself," Workman told Inside Edition in an interview published on Tuesday, September 19. "And have some class." One photo in particular that concerned Workman was a paparazzi shot of a bikini-clad Winter, 19, lifting her leg over her head while holding a martini glass. "I saw it and all I could do was cry," Workman said. "And feel bad for her." As previously reported, Winter officially won emancipation from her estranged mother in May 2015, after a three-year-long custody battle. The Modern Family star was first removed from Workman's home in November 2012 amid allegations of physical and emotional abuse, and her sister, Shanelle Workman, was named her legal guardian in May 2014. Winter opened up about their strained relationship in a 2013 interview with Teen Vogue. "I had body insecurities when I was younger. I still do. Every girl has insecurities -- mine were heightened at the time because my mother wasn't supportive," she shared at the time. "Now, my sister is always making sure to tell me that I look beautiful . . . It's about learning to love yourself." "I feel that Ariel is starving Workman added that she wants to mend her relationship with her daughter." Ariel was my baby doll, we were inseparable," she said. "It's time to fix your relationship with your mom. Every girl needs her mom and every mom needs her daughter." Prior to Workman's interview airing on Tuesday, Winter wrote a lengthy Instagram post hitting back at people who criticize her fashion choices. "Screw having to always look appropriate or fashionable. For what? Society? Who gets to decide what is appropriate or fashionable????" Winter wrote. "I wear what I like and no one should fault me for that. I don't want people to constantly see me in the news for going to dinner, or grocery shopping, or anything. I want to be in the news when I ASK for it by going to a publicized event, or EVEN BETTER when I have work out/coming out! So trust me, I don't want to see me in shorts putting water in my car every single d -- n day as much as you don't." (US Weekly)

Taco Bell Is Ditching Drive-Thru's to Sell Alcohol in 350 New Restaurants. A celebratory toast is in order! Taco Bell is giving the people what they want. And that's beer and tacos. According to new reports, the fast-food chain has plans to open 350 "Cantina"-style locations over the next five years that will sell alcoholic beverages. As a result, T. Bell will have to do away with its drive-thru option at these new restaurants, but it's a small price to pay when a frozen margarita and Cheesy Gordita Crunch awaits. The redesigned dining option will serve hungry people in major cities such as Nashville, New York, Pittsburgh and Detroit. And great news for Taco Bell lovers in the Big Apple! More than 50 new locations will open in Manhattan alone. Taco Bell first announced its initiative to incorporate booze in 2015, starting with beer, wine, sangria and twisted Freezes. Then in 2016, the great minds at T.B. opened a Cantina flagship store in Las Vegas, and no surprise here, it's been a massive hit ever since. Dubbed the "Taco Bell of the future," this location offers movable tablets, digital menus, a unique tapas menu and giant TV's airing sports coverage and more. Let us know in the comments -- Did your Taco Tuesday just improve tenfold?! (Eonline)

Music

Tracee Ellis Ross Proves She Can Rap on Carpool Karaoke With Big Sean. We all know Tracee Ellis Ross can act, but did you know she can also rap? The Black-ish actress showed off her skills on a recent episode of Carpool Karaoke with Big Sean. To prepare for their performance, Ross transformed into her alter ego "T-Murda." She put on giant hoop earrings with the word #TMurda in the middle and wore custom grillz that spelled out her rapper name in rubies. Once in the car, Big Sean started performing his hit song "Bounce Back," which has more than 137 million views on his YouTube channel. Then, Ross started dropping a few lyrics of her own. "Don't call me Tracee. It's T-Murda. Rhymes like a subpoena. I'm about to serve ya. B-tch I raise the bar. I raise it furtha'. Spitting verses ears aint never heard of," she rapped, adding "But I'm keeping it PG because I'm an aunt." That's not all she had. The actress continued to rap about her career and her achievements. "You know me as an actress first on Girlfriends now I'm on Black-ish. I see you eyeing my fashion. It's Zuhair Murad -- thanks for askin'. My smile's big -- that's my passion. Natural hair. Big so it matches. Haters? Nah, no distractions. Got that Golden Globe winner status," she continued. "Give me glass ceilings -- I'm going to break through. Keep it so ill like a bird flu." The comedic actress even threw in a funny line about Carla Hall saying, "It's past time that you all knew. I'm not that lady from The Chew." She also gave a shout-out to her famous mother -- at one point rapping "My mom is Diana Ross son." (Eonline)

Ariana Grande Nearly Falls On Stage and Her Mom Had the Cutest Twitter Reaction. Ariana Grande nearly falls in a new video posted to her Instagram on Tuesday (Sept. 19). It happens to singers all the time, but Grande found the best way to play it off. Ari captioned the almost-slip-up, "can't believe we made it to the second to last show without me slipping on that slippery a-- stool honestly I'll take it." It's hard to imagine her not slipping on that stool during her long run of shows in Southeast Asia when she rushes to step up onto it in her shiny, super high-heeled thigh high boots. Hell, it'd be understandable if she slipped on flat ground in those shoes. The singer quickly laughs it off, only missing a few words to regain composure and hop right back into the choreography with her long line of shirtless male dancers. Grande's mom Joan found the clip just as adorable as her fans did, though, tweeting, "This is such a wonderful clip though... fans so concerned screaming, your adorable laughs & then Perfect Singing & you landed like a pro!! Xo," like any proud mom should after her superstar daughter nearly wipes out. Grande plans to finish up the Southeast Asia leg of her Dangerous Woman Tour on Thursday (Sept. 21), almost four months following the terror attack at her May 22 Manchester Arena show. (Billboard)

Kanye West and Jay-Z will be meeting face-to-face soon to squash their latest beef, and if they smoke the peace pipe it will end a lawsuit that looms over their multi-million dollar Tidal dispute. Sources close to Yeezy and Hova with direct knowledge of the situation tell us, their lawyers have been trying to settle a $3.5 million dispute Kanye has with Tidal. As we reported, Kanye had fired off a letter to Tidal stating his contract with them was over because Tidal didn't live up to his end of the bargain. Specifically, Kanye says he didn't get advances and bonuses that totaled $3.5 mil. We're told Kanye and Jay have not agreed to settle, and the reason became apparent to everyone. The impasse had nothing to do with their business dispute -- $3.5 mil is peanuts to both of them. They couldn't settle because they each harbor animosity toward the other. Jay was enraged when Kanye attacked Beyonce and Blue Ivy at his concert last October. Kanye felt Jay should have cut him a break because that was the time he was melting down and just a few weeks after the concert, he was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold. As one source put it, "The Generals [Kanye and Jay] have to meet face-to-face. When that happens, the resolving the money dispute is a piece of cake." We're told Kanye is up for the meeting and Jay is also inclined to meet. It shouldn't be hard. Now that Jay and Bey live in a Bel-Air mansion, they are literally down the street from Kanye and Kim. We're told the meeting should go down soon, and once it does their Tidal dispute will quickly end. (TMZ)

British Electronic Veterans The Prodigy Sign With BMG For New Album. British electronic punks The Prodigy are powering-up with a new album via their label Take Me To The Hospital, slated for release in early 2018. The forthcoming LP is the Prodigy's first since 2015's The Day Is My Enemy, which hit No. 1 in the U.K. for their sixth tally-leader in their homeland, and will be the outfit's first through a new deal with BMG. According to the music company, the first single from the as-yet untitled album will drop later this year, and will form "part of a sustained burst of activity" from the band through 2018 and beyond, which will presumably involve a world tour, single releases and music video rollouts. The BMG deal is a sort of family reunion for Prodigy founder and producer Liam Howlett, whose entire song catalogue is published by the company. "Very happy to be joining the BMG family for the next Prodigy album release under my 'Take Me To The Hospital' label, great guys who totally understand our band... Now let's make some noise," he said in a statement. The Prodigy, now a trio of Liam Howlett, Keith Flint and Maxim (dancer Leeroy Thornhill left in 2000) enjoyed commercial success in the U.K. right from the start. Their club classic "Charly" reached No. 3 on the national singles chart back in 1991, and its follow-up, "Everybody in the Place," also from the debut album The Prodigy Experience, went to No. 2 the next year. By the time their sophomore album Music for the Jilted Generation arrived in 1994, word had spread that the group's live show was the best in the business. The act arrived as a mainstream global force with 1997's Fat of the Land, which reached No. 1 in more than a dozen countries, including the U.S., and yielded a string of top ten hits, including the U.K. No. 1s "Firestarter" and "Breathe." The Day Is My Enemy opened at the summit of the U.K. albums chart in April 2015 and peaked at No. 127 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums survey. The trio took to social media last December to promise new music was coming in 2017. "The Prodigy are one of those bands who define an entire sound and can justifiably claim to be among the architects of contemporary music," comments BMG U.K. executive VP Music Korda Marshall. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to release what will undoubtedly be one of the most important records of 2018." (Billboard)

The family of the guy who wrote "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" says they've been getting nothing but lumps of coal, when they should've been cashing in big on the holiday classic. The tune was written by Haven Gillespie way back in the 1930s. Haven's been dead since 1975, but his family says it entrusted Memory Lane Music Group to continue collecting royalties on Gillespie's catalog. He also wrote, "You Go to My Head" and "That Lucky Old Sun" ... but they know the real money maker is 'Santa Claus.' In a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Gillespie's fam says Memory Lane is supposed to send them checks for 85 percent of all royalties, while the co. keeps 15 percent. The family says it met with Memory Lane's honcho in April, and he admitted he'd been very naughty for about the last 2 years. They claim he admitted stealing. Go ahead and check that twice, Santa. According to the docs, the thievery cost Gillespie's heirs more than $700k -- and they're suing to get back the cash. (TMZ)

Movies

Olivia Munn Had to Pay Up for Her Cameo in Ocean's Eight. To be in Ocean's Eight, Olivia Munn had to dip into her wallet. The actress is slated to be in the upcoming all-female spin-off sequel, but as she clarified to host Julia Cunningham on Entertainment Weekly Radio, don't expect her to be in every scene. "I'm not really in Ocean's Eight," she said. "I had a cameo in Ocean's Eight." While her screen time may be brief, the star still had to pay up for her performance in the film. As she noted during the interview, she's been asked a lot about the film in interviews recently and had to fess up. "It actually cost me money to be part of Ocean's Eight," she quipped. "I paid a lot of money to have to basically spread the word that I'm not in Ocean's Eight." According to Munn, she will appear in the movie's Met Gala scene. As is customary of the annual May event, celebrities from all corners of Hollywood attend in their most fashion-forward ensembles, so Munn followed suit. "They were like, 'Do your own glam,'" she recalled of the film team's instructions. "I got the dress...all that and then you submit the bills for it because 'I'm part of your movie.'" However, that was not the case this time around. "They're like, 'Oh, no. The bills come right back to you,'" she quoted. While she may have had to part with the some cash for a designer dress, Munn has found the silver lining. "I'm gonna go on the press junkets with them," she said of her fellow co-stars. "As long as I can be hanging out with... well, that cast -- I'm just as excited as everybody else." The film features megawatt stars like Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna and Mindy Kaling. While some critics have questioned the success of an all-female spin-off, Munn had a few words of her own for the naysayers. "It's really obnoxious that if there's a female lead or a female director, it's like, 'You got one more shot,'" she commented. "No, we don't!" (Eonline)

Alicia Vikander Gets Adventurous in First Tomb Raider Trailer. Ready to go on adventure? Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures have just released the first trailer for Tomb Raider, the third film adaptation in the 25-year-old video game series' history. Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander stars as Lara Croft, whom the studio describes as "the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen." Gamers are well aware of Lara's back story, but for those who are unfamiliar, here's the 411: "Without any real focus or purpose," the 21-year-old orphan "navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent, and takes college courses, rarely making it to class. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father's global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he's truly gone," according to a press release. "Advised to face the facts and move forward after seven years without him, even Lara can't understand what drives her to finally solve the puzzle of his mysterious death." But solve it she must. So, Lara travels to her father's last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island, which may be located somewhere off the coast of Japan. It's a "treacherous" journey, to be sure, and Lara "must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown." Directed by Roar Uthaug, the movie also stars Walton Goggins, Dominic West and Daniel Wu. The original Tomb Raider movies, released in 2001 and 2003, starred Angelina Jolie and earned a combined $431.3 at the global box office. "What we're doing is something quite different since they rebooted the game in 2013," Vikander told E! News in 2016. "It's a whole new take." In other words, think of the new Tomb Raider movie as a revamp, not a remake. "We asked, 'What are the famous traits of this person?'" Vikander asks in Empire's new issue. "How can we demonstrate them in the story, but make her feel like a young woman in 2018?" Produced by Gary Barber and Graham King and written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Tomb Raider was shot on location in South Africa and the U.K. and is set for a March 16, 2018 release. (Eonline)

How Emma Stone Gained 15 Pounds for Battle of the Sexes. How did Emma Stone transform into tennis legend Billie Jean King? It took a lot of sled pushes, protein shakes and a man named Jason Walsh. Jason is a celebrity trainer and founder of Rise Nation fitness center. He worked with the La La Land lead to put on major muscles for her latest role in the new film Battle of the Sexes. "Emma took it very seriously," he said. "This is somebody's story that she's taken on. She wanted to make sure she could do everything possible to portray Billie Jean King in the right way." The first step: nutrition. Jason said they needed to dial in Emma's diet by increasing calorie and fat intake, which helped for her to put on weight. Emma isn't built like a tennis player or a pro athlete, so in order to look like one, putting on those pounds and muscle was essential for the aesthetic element of becoming Billie Jean. According to the celeb trainer, the easiest way to accumulate those calories is to drink them. Jason used a protein called Metabolic Drive as a base (apparently, this is actually kind of delicious) with a handful of spinach for fiber and micronutrients plus some Ashwagandha, a powder used to ease stress on the body. He would also add a few tablespoons of Udos oil as a pure source of high-octane, clean fat. "The last thing you want to do is force someone to eat a lot more food. Your hunger is going to go up naturally because your metabolism is going to go up from the training," Jason explained, adding that Emma became almost insatiable because of the intense workouts he was putting her through. "Protein shakes were an easy way for us to get a lot of nutrients and a few hundred calories in a single drink that tasted really good. She actually looked forward to it." As for training, Emma would meet Jason five days a week, twice daily for four of those five days. Eventually, Jason transitioned the actress into fewer sessions as filming approached. In the mornings, they would work on what James calls "complex movements": sled pushes, squats and lunges -- the heavy stuff. The afternoons were for "secondary movements," or what Jason describes as "less taxing, but good for aesthetics." Think exercises that target the abs and arms. For conditioning, Emma would go to Rise Nation once or twice a week, which consists of 30-minute, high-intensity climbing classes for cardio. Is anyone else getting tired just reading this fitness itinerary? "She's very lean as is so we didn't have to focus on getting her body fat down," Jason said. "She put on 15 pounds, and that was really the goal from the beginning: to put on that kind of weight, to give her the confidence and to keep her healthy. And she nailed it." According to Jason, Emma was doing 300-pound hip thrusts, a few hundred pounds on sled pushes and her dead lift was up to around 185 pounds (wow!). But Jason is most impressed with is the star's resilience. "What I'm really proud of for Emma and for actresses like her that we end up training is that we keep them from getting injured," he said. "When an actor has to play tennis all day long and do all these things for a movie, the chances of them getting injured if their body isn't strong and resilient is pretty high. Then that's going to stop production, and you've got other issues there." He also said that with Emma's training came with powerful psychological benefits. "It gave her a level of confidence and it helped her believe that she was [Billie Jean King]. It really does give women confidence to be strong like that." (Eonline)

Toronto Market Wrap: Studios Disappear From Dealmaking. A paradigm shift in the indie film world sees new buyers snapping up titles like 'I,Tonya' and 'Super-Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!' For those needing proof of a paradigm shift in the indie film world, look no further than this year's Toronto market, which is winding down following the festival's wrap on Sept. 17. After all, not a single veteran distributor -- including Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics and Focus Features -- made a move. In fact, every significant acquisition deal was struck by a buyer who didn't exist five years ago -- from A24 to The Orchard to Netflix. Among the most active newbies was 30WEST, a hard-to-define company (because they both buy and sell films) launched in April by auto scion Dan Friedkin and former co-head of CAA's Finance and Sales Group Micah Green. At Toronto, 30WEST sold one film (Super-Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! to YouTube Red for $3.5 million) and bought two (I, Tonya with Neon for $5 million and Beast for just under $1 million). In the case of Beast, one of the best-reviewed films of the festival, the company doesn't even have a theatrical partner in place, which underscores 30WEST's enthusiasm for the project. "It's true that there are a greater number of distribution companies and platforms available, but assembling a significant theatrical distribution partnership remains as challenging as ever," Green says. Though many assumed Netflix would put the brakes on acquiring films considering its ambitious plans for up to 50 homegrown films a year, the streaming giant made a handful of splashy buys including nabbing the horror film The Ritual for $4.75 million. That deal nearly rivaled the price tag of I, Tonya and Louis C.K.'s I Love You, Daddy ($5 million to The Orchard). Other notable deals involving new players included Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios snapping up the Ted Kennedy drama Chappaquiddick and the Keanu Reeves sci-fi pic Replicas (both for $4 million). But with the old-school distributors and even studios absent from deal-making, there were no all-night bidding wars to be found, signaling a cool market albeit with an infusion of new blood like A24, which nabbed Hot Summer Nights, the Australian crime thriller 1%, the Emma Thompson starrer The Children Act and Paul Schrader's thriller First Reformed. As of press time, the films most suited for an established player given their awards-season potential -- like the $50 million Christian Bale Western Hostiles or the Rachel Weisz-Rachel McAdams lesbian drama Disobedience -- remain available. As for why the market felt muted, there were several explanations: A dismal summer box office left buyers feeling cautious, and most of the films debuting at the festival came in with distribution in place, including Amazon/Annapurna's Brad's Status, which had the highest per-screen average for the weekend ending Sept. 17. Another possible explanation for the slow movement is that publicists and agents say they were hampered by the festival's repeated delays producing attendance reports from press-and-industry screenings (such reports, which are typically available 20 minutes after a screening starts, help sellers gauge what buyers were on hand and give them leverage in any negotiations). Further exacerbating the problem, festival staff prevented publicists from flipping over ID badges to scan the barcode, citing security reasons. Five days after his film Don't Talk to Irene screened, Jazo PR's Laurent Boye still had no report from the festival, a scenario echoed by a number of festival veterans. When he complained to TIFF, he received a terse response that made no mention of the issue. "At the end of the day, I would like them to sit down with us and see how we can improve things as there is a lot of room to improve," Boye says. Another awards-season publicist complained that he had received no reports from the festival, and "films started so late that we would have high-level [audience members] leaving." Given that it was an already chilly market being dominated by the upstarts, those issues were likely one too many. (Hollywood Reporter) Rob Reiner, Morgan Freeman Help Launch Committee to Investigate Russia The non-profit aims "to help Americans recognize and understand the gravity of Russia's continuing attacks on our democracy." Big Hollywood names have helped found the Committee to Investigate Russia, a non-profit aiming to spread information about Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and create debate about possible threats to the country's institutions. The committee launched Tuesday in the U.S., with director Rob Reiner on the advisory board and actor Morgan Freeman featured in an introductory video. "The Russian Active Measures campaign aimed at the United States has been exposed," reads a statement on the organization's website. "Using hacking, Twitter armies, and fake news, the Kremlin engaged in an aggressive effort to subvert the American democratic process." The Committee to Investigate Russia said it wants to be a non-profit, non-partisan resource to "help Americans recognize and understand the gravity of Russia's continuing attacks on our democracy," it continues. "We need our president to speak directly to us and tell us the truth," Freeman says in a video published on the organization's web site and on its YouTube channel. "We need him to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office and say 'My fellow Americans, during this past election, we came under attack by the Russian government.'" The organization's Facebook page had nearly 62,903 likes and 64,090 followers as of Wednesday morning. Among other members of the organization's advisory are former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, conservative commentator Charlie Sykes and scholars Max Boot and Norman Ornstein. (Hollywood Reporter)

Linda Hamilton Set to Return to 'Terminator' Franchise. She'll be back. After waving hasta la vista, baby, more than 25 years ago, Linda Hamilton is returning to the world of Terminator, reuniting with James Cameron, the creator of the sci-fi franchise, for the new installment being made by Skydance and Paramount. Cameron made the announcement at a private event celebrating the storied franchise, saying, "As meaningful as she was to gender and action stars everywhere back then, it's going to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that she's become return." With Hamilton's return, Cameron hopes to once again make a statement on gender roles in action movies. "There are 50-year-old, 60-year-old guys out there killing bad guys," he said, referring to aging male actors still anchoring movies, "but there isn't an example of that for women." Tim Miller, the filmmaker who made his breakout feature debut with Deadpool, is directing the sequel, which is returning to its roots by having the involvement of Cameron for the first time since 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Cameron is producing along with Skydance. And the new film, which will be distributed by Paramount with Fox handling it internationally, is based on a story crafted by Cameron. Cameron and Miller created a writers room to hammer out what is planned to be a trilogy that can stand as single movies or form an overarching story. David Goyer, whose credits include the Blade and Christopher Nolan's Batman movies; Charles Eglee, who created Dark Angel with Cameron; Josh Friedman, who created the Terminator TV spinoff, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Justin Rhodes, a frequent Goyer collaborator, were part of that room. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has starred as both a bad guy and good guy portraying the cool killer robot sent from the future, is already set to return and with Cameron and now Hamilton on board, the new Terminator film will once again have its original creative team. Hamilton starred in the first film, The Terminator, released in 1984 as a low-budget genre play, playing one of the silver screen's strongest female heroines, Sarah Connor. Connor was a waitress who is being hunted down by an unstoppable killing machine, played by Schwarzenegger, sent from the future. Connor learned that in the future, machines have taken over and that she is the mother of the human resistance leader. The actress returned to the character in Cameron's 1991 sequel, which was a summer blockbuster that pushed the visual effects envelope and set box office records for that time. This time Connor, buffed and in prime fighting form, was a hard-edged, take-no-prisoners warrior who fought like a bear to protect her son. Both Hamilton and Cameron, who were married to each other in the later 1990s, sat out the installments that followed in 2003, 2009 and 2015. Story details are, of course, being kept on a secure hard drive at Cyberdyne Systems, but Cameron and Miller are treating the new movie as a direct sequel to Cameron's Judgment Day. And the themes of the potential evils of technology will once again be at the fore. But the new movie will also be seen as a passing of the baton to a new generation of characters. "We're starting a search for an 18-something woman to be the new centerpiece of the new story," Cameron said. "We still fold time. We will have characters from the future and the present. There will be mostly new characters, but we'll have Arnold and Linda's characters to anchor it." Hamilton is represented by Innovative Artists. (Hollywood Reporter)

TV

The CW Is Bringing Back Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a Horror Show and We're So In. Something wicked this way comes on the CW. Rejoice, Riverdale fans, your demands for the appearance of Sabrina the Teenage Witch have been heard and answered, as E! News has learned that The CW and Warner Bros. TV are officially developing The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Yes, that's right, we're getting a companion series to Riverdale that will be based on the Archie Comics characters, which is being eyes for the 2018-19 TV season. The same creative team behind Riverdale -- Greg Berlanti, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Sarah Schechter and Jon Goldwater -- are set to bring this new version of Sabrina (infamously played by Melissa Joan Hart on The WB from 1996-2003) back to the small screen, giving it a horror twist, with the network citing Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist as tonal references. (Sooo...no sassy talking cat then?) Per The CW's logline for the series, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a reimagining of the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch "as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature -- half-witch, half-mortal -- while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit." Basically, it's the teen witch show of our dreams! Since Riverdale's debut, fans have wondered if and when we would see Sabrina on the show, with producers playing coy about the character's potential arrival...until now, obviously. But Riverdale actually teased The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's development in the May finale, with FP (Skeet Ulrich) reading the comic in his jail cell, and when E! News asked Aguirre-Sacasa about it, he said, "It is absolutely true that we chose that comic book for a very particular reason." Earlier this month, Descendants 2 star Dove Cameron got fans buzzing after she posted a photo of an old Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic on Instagram. Her caption? The telephone emoji. We wonder if The CW will take the hint? But will we see Sabrina introduced on Riverdale, stirring up trouble with Archie (KJ Apa), Betty (Lili Reinhart), Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) before the launch of her own series? So far, Riverdale has yet to tap into the supernatural, with Aguirre-Sacasa hinting it was something the writers were interested in exploring in season two. "We obviously have talked about the supernatural in the room, and at a greater level with the network and the studio and things like that," he told us. "It's no secret that one of my favorite characters is Sabrina the Teenage Witch. There will absolutely always be a genre element to the show, and in season one, there are hints of the supernatural, and there are visions and dreams. Cheryl sees Jason as a zombie, and she sees his ghost, and Archie sees werewolves...I can tell you that in season we are going to continue pushing the envelope on that. It's almost like a little bit more like Twin Peaks, as it went on, it got a little bit more metaphysical and supernatural. That's kind of what we're thinking of for season two, which isn't to say that Sabrina is off the table completely, but I think it's a big thing to introduce the supernatural into a naturalistic world. We want to be really, really careful about how we do it. Ready to dreamcast Sabrina? Tweet your pick @tbrick2 & @eonlineTV! Riverdale returns Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. on The CW. (Eonline)

Landon Clements Is Leaving Southern Charm. So long, Charleston. Hello, Los Angeles! Landon Clements is leaving Southern Charm, y'all, and she broke the news herself on Instagram in a response to a commenter calling her out for breaking "girl code" and "throwing" herself at Shep Rose and Austen Kroll. "Girl code? Thats so silly I've never been anything but friends with all of those boys and actually that really hurt my feelings that Chelsea said that as for Shep we fight like brother and sister," Landon wrote. "I won't be returning this season and heading back to California to pursue my career in real estate." Bravo does not comment on casting rumors. Landon, 35, joined the Bravo series in season two as a college friend of Shep's who was returning to Charleston after going through a divorce. She later found herself in a feud with Kathryn Dennis after rumors that she hooked up with Thomas Ravenel spread through Charleston. In season four, the drama continued as Landon and Thomas attempted to date, a decision co-star Cameran Eubanks thought was "a terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad idea. I don't get it. I don't understand it. No. Bad, bad, bad." (Yep, it kind of turned out to be!) Fun fact: Before Landon was on Southern Charm, she appeared briefly on another reality show: The Hills! Landon was credited as "Brent's other assistant" during Heidi Montag's time at Bolthouse PR in season one. Oh, how time flies. Though it's heading into its fifth season, Southern Charm hasn't experience a lot of cast turnover, with the only star to exit the series prior to Landon was Jenna King, who only appeared in season one. (Eonline)

American Horror Story: Cult Episode 3: Killer Clowns? Chemical Trucks? What Is Going On?? We can officially add "being trapped in a coffin" to the list of irrational fears we now have thanks to American Horror Story. Why does this show insist on doing this to us? What have we ever done to it? How do we watch it but like, without actually watching it? We are psychologically traumatized! Tuesday night, those bloody smiley faces got out of control as the fall-out from Ally's shooting of poor Butchery employee Pedro also got completely out of control as our questions about what the hell is going on also got out of control. The actual cult part of Cult has to be on its way (or is it already here? Who knows), and we are not excited. But we're also kind of excited! This is the most conflicting season of this show so far, to the point where we're missing the ghosts and the aliens, simply because they're easier to disconnect from. Anyway, the fall out. Protesters called Ally (Sarah Paulson) "the lesbian George Zimmerman" and demanded her arrest, leaving her unable to even get out of her car at work. Lucky for her, Kai (Evan Peters) was there to tell her how brave he thinks she is. Unlucky for her, Harrison (Billy Eichner) and Meadow (Leslie Grossman) were there to don sombreros and throw Taco Bell coupons at her, so it's easy to see why she's most likely going to be trusting one over the other two. Meanwhile, one of Dr. Vincent's (Cheyenne Jackson) other patients just got over her fear of being trapped in a coffin, only for those clowns to then show up at her house to seal both her and her husband into a pair of coffins. And thus we are officially putting Dr. Vincent at the top of our list of suspects, though we're not sure exactly which thing we suspect him of. Is he the leader of the clowns? Is he in the cult? Are the clowns part of the cult, or is the cult a separate thing from the clowns? And what about the chemical truck?! What we know for now is that Harrison and Meadow appear to have joined Kai's cult, and have also befriended hot cop Detective Samuels (Colton Haynes), who's probably also in the cult. And one of them very possibly microwaved the guinea pig that Harrison gifted Ozzy with...and then Ozzy found a bloody smiley face on the side of their house just before Harrison woke up with Meadow gone and his bed full of blood (RIP Meadow, probably). That same bloody smiley face could be found on the Mayfair-Richards front door, and in the Mayfair-Richards living room (accompanied by bloody handprints on the wall of the Mayfair-Richards stairs), and under the mask of one of the men from the chemical truck, who was spraying something on the Mayfair-Richards lawn. And then, of course, there's a creepy web cam in the Mayfair-Richards bathroom that just so happened to catch Winter (Billie Lourd) seducing Ally in the bathtub, which Ozzy was then watching on his laptop (why does this 10 year old have a laptop), so there are a lot of things going on right now and all of them are distressing. Which one is distressing you the most? Our answer is "all of them" but if we have to be specific, it's the clowns. It's always the clowns. American Horror Story: Cult airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX. (Eonline)

Sony Pictures Television Takes Stake in Simon Pegg, Nick Frost's Production Banner. Stolen Picture, launched by Pegg and Frost earlier this year, has also poached Bad Wolf exec Miles Ketley as CEO. Stolen Picture, the U.K.-based production banner launched by Simon Pegg and his long-term collaborator Nick Frost in May this year, has found itself a major backer. Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Television (SPT) said Wednesday that it has taken a minority stake in the company, while also signing an exclusive TV distribution deal. Financial details weren't disclosed. Alongside signing with Sony, Stolen Picture has also named Miles Ketley as CEO. Ketley, a former Fox Searchlight executive, was previously COO at indie production company Bad Wolf. "Nick and Simon are good friends of the Sony group already, and this deal will help us take things to the next level," said SPT's chief creative officer for international production, Wayne Garvie. "I'm sure that their boundless zest and creativity, coupled with Miles' insight and energy, will help build Stolen Picture into an exceptional production company." Said Pegg and Frost, who first worked together on the cult U.K. TV series Spaced in 1999: "We're inordinately excited to be partnering with Sony and hope to create a diverse range of television and film in line with our own sensibilities. More than that we hope to receive free Walkmans and a lifetime's supply of cassettes." Stolen Picture is currently in post-production on its first project, the comedy horror Slaughterhouse Rulez, starring Finn Cole, Asa Butterfield, Hermione Corfield and Michael Sheen, alongside Pegg and Frost. Sony Pictures Releasing International has worldwide rights to distribute. The deal was negotiated by Michael Brader and Medwyn Jones of Wiggin LLP on behalf of Stolen Picture, with Richard Parsons leading an in-house team at SPT. (Hollywood Reporter)

Howie Mandel on How Political Correctness is Killing Comedy: "We Can't Just Be Free". The veteran host and comic says the business isn't what it used to be: "There used to be a safety net as far as saying, 'Just joking!' There's no such thing as 'Just joking!' anymore." On Sept. 20, Howie Mandel will wrap up season 12 of America's Got Talent with a two-part finale. He's just hoping he doesn't say anything off the cuff on live TV that will spark an outrage campaign like the season 10 bulimia joke that drew Twitter scorn. "Even with the number one show on television right now, I have a fear that I'll say something that will get me in trouble," the comic tells The Hollywood Reporter while promoting his new documentary short On My Way Out: The Secret Life of Nani and Popi at the Toronto Film Festival. (Mandel financed and is an executive producer.) In fact, the Toronto native thinks social media-fueled political correctness and the subsequent self-censorship is ruining comedy, a theme echoed at the festival by Louis C.K. after his risque film generated some backlash. "I have friends who are losing sponsorships. Jobs are being taken away," Mandel adds. "You're a comedian. There used to be a safety net as far as saying, 'Just joking!' There's no such thing as 'Just joking!' anymore." But Mandel says Nani and Popi -- about a 95-year-old man who finally comes out of the closet to his wife of 65 years and family -- offers a vivid reminder of why everyone needs to stay true to themselves and not be a slave to perception. A still from the documentary short On My Way Out: The Secret Life of Nani and Popi, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Mandel financed and is an executive producer of the film, which was directed by first-time filmmakers Brandon Gross and Skyler Gross. "The movie is all about stigma," he says. "We can't just be free. None of us can. We don't live in a society where we can say what we're thinking, where we can be who we are without feeling that we will not be accepted or we will be punished." Ellen DeGeneres sparked to the film's themes so much that she offered to support the doc on her show (and received a thank-you in the end credits). "I told her the story when I was writing a check for it. And she said, 'If you need help promoting it ... ," Mandel says. "She supported everybody in the making of it." (Hollywood Reporter)

Megyn Kelly Plans (Mostly) Trump-Free 'Today' Hour. An "awkward" Kardashian sit-down signals a shift away from politics after a summer ratings slide. Last April, Megyn Kelly flew to Los Angeles for a sit-down with the Kardashian family, including matriarch Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian. The hook was the upcoming 10th anniversary of E!'s Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Kelly was only days on the job as NBC's newest anchor, having passed up a $25 million offer from Fox News, where she built a reputation as a tenacious and fearless interviewer. The family would already be assembled for a sit-down the same day with pal Ryan Seacrest, whose production company produces the Kardashian franchise. But if the Kardashians expected an anodyne conversation rehashing 10 years of life in a reality TV fishbowl of their own making, what they got was a probing of their polarizing role in the culture. A source close to the Kardashians describes it as "awkward." Now, with Seacrest's E! special scheduled to bow Sept. 24, Kelly's Karsdashian interview may air before the Sept. 25 premiere of her Today show hour, Megyn Kelly Today, says an NBC News source, though parts of it may still air on Kelly's show. But the episode illustrates the challenge Kelly is navigating as she sets about broadening her image from the prosecutorial interlocutor that made her a star in the combative cable news arena to a self-deprecating working mom dealing with some of the same real-world issues as her morning TV audience. Jackie Levin, executive producer of Megyn Kelly Today, positions Kelly's 9 a.m. show as an antidote of sorts to the ideological skirmishes of cable TV. "This is going to be where people can connect, where they can have a conversation," says Levin, a 23-year veteran of NBC News who has spent 11 years at Today. "Will the T-word be mentioned? Yes, from time to time," she adds, referring to President Trump, with whom Kelly tangled during the campaign. "But is it going to be on a regular basis? No." Kelly already has done plenty of feature interviews on her Sunday night NBC program that bowed in June. But the segments that stand out are the cross-examinations (of Russian President Vladimir Putin and alt-right conspiracy monger Alex Jones). The 9 a.m. hour of Today has long been a celebrity-driven hour. And Kelly's first week is heavy on stars. In keeping with the Symphony synergy mandate at NBCUniversal, many hail from NBC, including the Will & Grace and This Is Us casts as well as the women of Saturday Night Live (including Emmy-winner Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong and Leslie Jones). Robert Redford and Jane Fonda -- who are promoting their Netflix movie Our Souls at Night -- also will appear during the first week. The show will include a live audience -- a departure for the Today franchise but a staple of daytime chat shows. "There will be a ton of interaction, if we do it right, between Megyn and the audience," says Levin. "It will definitely be a large part of the show." Megyn Kelly Today has been in rehearsals for about two weeks, including in front of an audience. The media attention on Kelly has been intense. "I've had my own scrutiny in the press," Kelley told THR last May, "but this is a weird new kind." But executives at NBC News have stressed that they are prioritizing Kelly's journalism over a race for eyeballs. But NBC News has much at stake, not least of which is Kelly's reported $17 million salary and an effort to remake an hour of their lucrative morning TV franchise around one anchor. And in today's media environment, viewers are unlikely to give shows more than one look. Levin is aware of this. "People's attention spans are shorter," she says, "so you want to grab them right away." (Hollywood Reporter)

NFL TV Ratings Slide Worries Wall Street. CBS, ESPN, Fox and NBC will generate about $2.5 billion in NFL advertising revenue this season, but a 10 percent shortfall could translate to a $200 million cut in earnings, an analyst estimates. NFL's ratings woes continued in Week 2, and Wall Street is taking notice, given there are fewer excuses for falling viewership than there were a year ago when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were distracting TV-watching Americans. While NFL games remain some of the most-watched content on television, ratings slid 12 percent in the NFL's opening weekend, with many blaming Hurricane Irma. But without dramatic weather, the second weekend was off 15 percent year-over-year. This comes after an 8 percent ratings slump last season. Guggenheim Securities analyst Michael Morris said he had been optimistic heading into the new season because audiences would appreciate some changes, including fewer commercial breaks and allowing players to creatively celebrate touchdowns. Now, though, he says "early results do not support this optimism." Jefferies analyst John Janedis figures CBS, ESPN, Fox and NBC will generate about $2.5 billion in NFL advertising revenue this season, but a 10 percent shortfall could translate to a $200 million cut in earnings. Since the NFL season opened on Sept. 7, shares of NBC parent Comcast are off 9 percent, ESPN parent Disney has seen its stock drop 3 percent and shares of CBS are down 5 percent. Only shares of 21st Century Fox have risen in that time frame, up 2 percent. "Continued declines in NFL ratings again this season will likely place further downward pressure on media stocks," said Morris. He added, in fact, that "the NFL is an indicator of overall primetime programming ratings performance." Pundits, meanwhile, continue to opine on the reason for the fall, with some trying mightily to dismiss a J.D. Power survey in July that put most of the blame on players who protest the National Anthem, the most prominent of them being Colin Kaepernick, who does not currently play for an NFL team. That survey indicated 30 percent of the viewers who watched less football in 2016 than they did the season prior said they did so because they were offended by players protesting the anthem. Broadcasters know it's a storyline that has continued into the current season and the networks usually point their cameras at the players who kneel during the anthem. The second-most cited reason for tuning in less was "game delays, including penalty flags" (24 percent), followed by a three-way tie at 18 percent between "off-field image problems with domestic violence," "excessive commercials and advertising" and "presidential election coverage." The league and broadcasters have cut back on ads but domestic violence is front and center in 2017 again, this time courtesy of Dallas Cowboys superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott. The league alleges Elliott physically abused a former girlfriend and is trying to suspend him for six games while representatives for Elliott are duking it out with the NFL in courtrooms, generating headlines every step of the way. Way down on the list of survey results is the bugaboo that has been distressing all Hollywood lately: "cord cutting, i.e. canceling my subscriptions to cable or satellite TV." That answer was cited 6 percent of the time on the J.D. Power survey. Consumers without cable or satellite package can still view NFL games via streaming on online services like CBS All Access, Sling TV, Amazon Prime and the like, which, of course, siphons viewers away from traditional outlets. "When the dust settles, it looks like the (virtual pay-TV providers) may have gained more traction than consensus expectations, even with modest marketing spend," Janedis said. It's not all doom and gloom of course. Last year, 31 of the Top 100 programs on TV were NFL games, and Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson predicted last week that NBC's Sunday Night Football and ESPN's Monday Night Football would grow their audiences this year over last year based on better matchups. Fox, meanwhile, says viewership for its Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos game on Sunday, which was delayed due to lightning, was up 18 percent over a game it broadcast a week before. And 12.3 million viewers ages 18-49 watched the Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants on Monday, up from 11.4 million who watched Monday Night Football on ESPN a week prior. Plus, NFL Network says its Thursday Night Football broadcast of the Houston Texans beating the Cincinnati Bengals drew 8.1 million viewers, up 32 percent over the average of four Thursday night games on the network last year. The exclusive presentation of that contest was also the most-streamed regular season game ever across NFL Mobile by Verizon and the NFL's digital properties. Also working in the favor of the NFL and its broadcast partners is an explosion in the popularity of fantasy sports. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, 53.5 million people participate in the U.S., with 66 percent of them playing fantasy football, and they watch NFL games and visit websites like ESPN.com and CBSSports.com far more frequently than do those who do not play fantasy. (Hollywood Reporter)