Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast What’s Popping 整点爆米花

【前记】

已经拖更半年多了，我终于肥来了！！！

开播之前给播客换了件新衣服，改了个新的中文名，调整了一下内容框架，不知道大家喜不喜欢～给个意见呗～

以后的单集会首先送上最近的美国娱乐圈新瓜，还是给大家朗读外刊文章（文稿可以在同名公众号找到）；然后给一点子锐评，最后延展到我个人生活。整体就是一个吃瓜+唠嗑的风格~

【这一期节目你将听到】

Ariana Grande最近发了新专Petal，伴随同名单曲的MV的释出，网友又开始了新一波的关于她身体的讨论。我估摸着A妹内心一整个OMG你真的吓到我啦！之后，她宣布退出公众视野。

大家怎么看这件事情呢？关于A妹的遭遇，你有什么想说的没？先听听本期节目，看看外刊咋报道的，有哪些细节需要注意。其次，也请你分享你自己的看法，欢迎在评论区留言～

【时间戳】

01:28 朗读第一篇外刊

03:34 朗读第二篇外刊

05:43 锐评：关心明星身体健康与身体羞辱的微妙边界

12:13 唠一唠：没更新在干嘛、新节目的食用手册

【文稿】

外刊原文、本期播客整体文稿，请在同名公众号查看，或点击链接直接跳转：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/K9cku92rHFFJfdzIT2Tehg

【Title/标题】
The 7 Most Anticipated Shows on Netflix in January

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：IndieWire
Written by/作者：Ben Travers

【Background Music/背景音乐】
Is It New Years Yet- Sabrina Carpenter

【Transcript/文稿】
New year, same ol’ Netflix — kind of. Things are always changing at the world’s most dominant streaming service, and aside from the obvious shifts in strategy — like, say, acquiring Warner Bros. — it can be hard to say exactly when an experiment becomes standard practice. So let’s take a look at Netflix’s January slate and see what it tells us about where the company stands heading into 2026 (outside of the whole WB thing).
The biggest new release will be “Bridgerton” Season 4, which is once again being split into two parts that will premiere in separate months. Part 1 drops January 29, while Part 2 won’t be released until February 26. While less than a month apart, Netflix is still betting the space between each half-season will result in maintaining subscribers for an extra month while reducing subscriber churn overall. By now, the practice is old hat, but that doesn’t mean it’s a best practice.
Another curious premiere arrives with “Star Search,” the new iteration of the old ’80s series, and one of Netflix’s first attempts at episodic appointment TV. Sure, the streamer has dabbled in event releases for a while now, but those are usually one-off stand-up specials or sporting events. With “Star Search,” new episodes will be released every Tuesday and Wednesday at 9 p.m., and subscribers will be encouraged to tune in at that specific time (rather than waiting to binge) so they can participate in the live voting that helps choose each winner. “For the first time ever, viewers can participate in real time,” states Tudum. If it works, it certainly won’t be the last time, and we may see more appointment viewing on Netflix (home of the binge!) throughout the year.
Then there’s Netflix’s acquired shows, which in January include two former TNT dramas: “Falling Skies” and “Southland.” Netflix has licensed plenty of series that first aired (or streamed) on other networks. It’s been standard practice since the beginning. But what’s interesting about these two titles in particular is that they share a few commonalities with one of streaming’s bigger surprise hits in 2025: Among the Top 10 most-watched series, per Nielsen, there were expected titles like “Bluey” (No. 1), “Grey’s Anatomy” (No. 2), “Squid Game” (No. 3), “Wednesday” (No. 6), and “Bob’s Burgers” (No. 8). But slipping into the Top 10 is the formerly forgotten network drama, “Animal Kingdom” (No. 9).
Netflix has been turning more and more of these minor network hits into huge streaming wins, thanks to their accessibility and high episode counts. While “Bridgerton” seasons may only be eight episodes long, “Animal Kingdom” made 75 episodes in just six seasons. “Falling Skies” made 52 over five seasons, and “Southland” totaled 43 in the same span — not staggering totals, by today’s standards, but that’s still quite a bit of TV to watch for new fans, and it likely cost a fraction of what “Bridgerton” does. Expect to “rediscover” more old shows in the months to come.

【Title/标题】

Bowen Yang leaves 'SNL' midway through his 8th season

【Source/来源】

Media Outlet/媒体：NPR

Written by/作者：Chloe Veltman

【Background Music/背景音乐】

Bye- Ariana Grande

【Transcript/文稿】

Comedian Bowen Yang has left Saturday Night Live midway through the season, his eighth with the long-running NBC late-night sketch comedy series. The performer participated in his final show Saturday, which was hosted by Wicked star Ariana Grande. Cher was the musical guest.

Yang has not publicly shared the reason for his abrupt departure from SNL. In a social media post on Saturday, the comedian thanked the team and expressed gratitude for "every minute" of his time with the show.

"I loved working at SNL, and most of all I loved the people," Yang wrote. "I was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 Rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile."

In his final show on Saturday night, Yang said goodbye to the sketch comedy series with a skit in which he played a Delta airlines employee working their final day in the job. While helping customers at an eggnog station, he said, "Oh, sorry, my machine's kind of breaking down, so I'm closing my station. This is my last shift."

"Yeah, it's sad. I'm gonna miss everything about this place. The smells, celebrities would come through," Yang said. "I just feel so lucky that I ever got to work here," he later added, tearfully.

Yang, 35, was one of SNL's most prominent recent cast members.

His most famous work on the show includes "The Iceberg That Sank the Titanic," a "Weekend Update" segment where Yang personifies the infamous iceberg; a commercial spoof co-starring Travis Kelce — "Straight Male Friend" — advertising the benefits of low-stakes friendships; and his recurring impression of expelled congressman George Santos. At one point, Yang also performed a sketch in which he played an intern on NPR's Tiny Desk concert series.

Yang has been nominated for five Emmy Awards for his work on the series. Beyond SNL, the performer's credits include the 2022 romantic comedy Fire Island, the musical Wicked (2024) as well as its sequel, Wicked: For Good (2025), and the remake of The Wedding Banquet (2025). He also co-hosts the Las Culturistas podcast with actor and comedian Matt Rogers.

Yang, the show's first Chinese American cast member, rose through SNL's ranks after joining the show as a staff writer in 2018. A year later, he was promoted to on-air talent and eventually became a series regular.

Yang talked about the natural turnover at SNL and hinted at life beyond the show in an interview with People earlier this year. "It's this growing, living thing where new people come in and you do have to sort of make way for them and to grow and to keep elevating themselves," he said. "And that inevitably requires me to sort of hang it up at some point — but I don't know what the vision is yet."

He joins other cast members who have recently left the show. Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim and Devon Walker are among those who departed ahead of the 51st season, which launched in October.

Yang's reps did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment. The series' network, NBCUniversal, referenced Yang's social media post, but provided no further comment.

Though uncommon, there have been a few other mid-season SNL departures in the past, including Cecily Strong, Dana Carvey and Eddie Murphy.

Fellow entertainers have commented on Yang's departure on social media. "Iconic. (Understatement)" wrote actor Evan Ross Katz on Instagram in response to Yang's post. "Congrats!" wrote comedian Amber Ruffin. "Please make more The Wedding Banquets."

NPR critic-at-large Eric Deggans called Yang's departure, even if inevitable, a setback for the show.

"SNL thrives when it has a large crop of utility players who can pull comedic gold from the dodgiest sketch ideas," Deggans said, counting Yang among the most talented in recent seasons of the show's cast to fill that role.

"No matter what he was asked to do, from playing the iceberg that sunk the Titanic to playing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he was able to wring maximum laughs and patch up SNL's historic lack of representation regarding Asian performers," he added.

But Yang, Deggans noted, may have reached an apex of what he could achieve on the show, "and it might be time for him to leave, while his star is still ascending and there are opportunities beyond the program available to him which might not be around for long."

【Title/标题】
Box Office: ‘Wicked: For Good’ Earns Huge $30.8
Million in Previews, Highest of the Year

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Variety
Written by/作者：Jordan Moreau

【Background Music/背景音乐】
For Good - Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande

【Transcript/文稿】

“Wicked” is casting a spell over the box office once again.

Universal’s musical sequel “Wicked: For Good” has made $30.8 million in
previews at the box office, marking the biggest pre-opening haul of the year.
However, the record comes with a caveat. Usually, previews grosses come just
from Thursday screenings, but Universal rolled out the film a few days early.
Monday fan screenings sponsored by Amazon Prime brought in $6.1 million,
while additional Wednesday showings made $6.5 million. Thursday previews,
including double screenings of “Wicked” and “For Good,” made $18.2 million.

The year’s previous record holder was Warner Bros.’ “Superman,” which earned
$22.5 million in Thursday previews before making $125 million in its opening
weekend.

“Wicked: For Good,” the highly anticipated conclusion to last year’s pink-and-
green sensation, is on track to make between $150 million and $180 million this
weekend. It could nab the biggest box office debut of the year. Currently, the
record belongs to Warner Bros.’ video game adaptation “A Minecraft Movie,”
which made $10.6 million in Thursday previews on the way to a $162 million
launch. Universal is playing it safe and predicting a $125 million opening this
weekend, but fan excitement is high after Ariana Grande’s Glinda and Cynthia
Erivo’s Elphaba became pop culture mainstays last fall.

Last year, director Jon M. Chu’s original “Wicked” hauled in $19.2 million in
previews and grew to a $112.5 million opening weekend in the same pre-Thanksgiving weekend. A year later, the cast, including Jonathan Bailey, Ethan
Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang and more, finish off the story
of the “Wizard of Oz” prequel. The first “Wicked” helped power last year’s
Thanksgiving box office to a record $420 million alongside “Gladiator II” and
“Moana 2.” Disney’s family-friendly “Zootopia 2” opens next week, and the
animated sequel and “Wicked: For Good” will try to reach similar box office
heights through the holiday.

Also opening this weekend is Sony’s action sequel “Sisu: Road to Revenge,”which is projected for a $3 million debut and made $575,000 in Thursday previews. There’s also Searchlight’s “Rental Family,” starring Brendan Fraser — also expected to launch in the low single digits.

【Title/标题】

Halloween 2025: All the celebrity costumes at Heidi Klum's party

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：BBC
Written by/作者：Rishma Dosani, Annabel Rackham

【Background Music/背景音乐】
Zombieboy- Lady Gaga

【Transcript/文稿】

It is officially the scariest night of the year and, while everyone in Hollywood and beyond has been showing off their elaborate costumes, there is one party we're all watching.

Heidi Klum has cemented her place as the official Queen of spooky season thanks to her wild, weird and wonderful costumes and her annual bash that attracts celebrities across the globe.

She had kept fans on their toes all day, dropping snippets of her costume on Instagram in the lead up to her party - despite being one of the last arrivals of the night - and she did not disappoint.

Following her notorious worm and peacock costumes in recent years, the Project Runway star took her animal theme to new levels as a bright green, and pretty hideous, Medusa.

She slithered up the carpet with several moving snakes protruding from her intricate headpiece, sticking her vile tongue out at the waiting photographers.

Although she warned fans that her costume would be "very ugly", this probably isn't what anyone expected.

Heidi collaborated with Oscar-nominated make-up artist Mike Marino once again to pull off her costume, with a team of more than 35 people working hard to ensure she had all eyes on her.

As the festivities continue, here is a look at some of the most impressive outfits at Heidiween 2025 and beyond.

But it's not all about Hollywood (or Heidiwood). Even politicians are getting in on the action, including President Trump, who is hosting a party at his Florida home.

Like Heidi, her husband Tom Kaulitz, is never one to shy away from playing dress up.

He was by her side arriving to the party as a man who was unfortunately turned to stone after looking directly at Medusa.

The Tokio Hotel musician committed to the bit by posing with his weapon and shield raised, suggesting Medusa's appearance caught him by surprise moments before his demise.

Ice-T and Coco Austin have never shied away from going all out for Halloween, and are regulars at Heidi's annual bash. This year was no different as the rapper looked menacing in a red hooded jumpsuit, hiding his face with a blood-splattered white mask. He had a selection of weapons on hand to make his costume truly terrifying.

Model Coco also got the horror memo in a bright red wig and denim bodysuit, with Chucky's tagline: "Wanna play?" scrawled across the front, layered on top of a striped, long-sleeved turtleneck top.

YouTuber James Charles carried his own head as he made his way into the party, reminiscent of Jared Leto's red carpet arrival at the 2019 Met Gala.
The beauty vlogger put his own spin on things as a "headless horseman" and even filmed a make-up tutorial on Instagram for his unique accessory.

Darren Criss may have taken some inspiration from his host as he donned a Shrek costume, including bright green face paint, a prosthetic nose and huge stomach, which he patted in front of the cameras.

Not quite as epic as when Heidi did the same in 2018, the Glee star switched his efforts up with tartan red trousers alongside wife Mia Swier - who chose not to be his Princess Fiona, but instead Puss in Boots, complete with a black cape and a hair thong.

Olympian Ilona Maher was a real-life vintage Barbie at Klum's Halloween party, modelling a strapless sparkly custom black Undone by Kate gown. She accessorized simply with black opera gloves and a chunky gold necklace.

Unveiling her outfit on Instagram, the rugby player proudly posed with her very own Barbie doll, as well as a handkerchief emblazoned with the phrase: "Beast. Beauty. Brains. Barbie."

Not every costume has gone down well, with some saying that US model Julia Fox's costume as a blood-soaked Jackie Kennedy was in poor taste.
Others have been more popular.

Singer Demi Lovato recreated her "Poot Lovato" meme which went viral on Tumblr in 2015 - a reference to her alter-ego who has been locked in a basement.

Other highlights on social media include Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's daughter North West and her friends dressing up as Japanese kawaii-metal band BABYMETAL.

Maria Carey also went for Japanese theme, with hot pink hair and a frilly pastel blue dress, and posting "Happy Halloween from Japan" in a photo with her two twin children.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion opted for portraying Choso from the Manga series Jujutsu Kaisen.

Singer Jade, formerly of girl group Little Mix, dressed up as Greta from the Gremlins, while the Cat in the Hat's famous aesthetic was recreated by singer Janelle Monae.

Elsewhere, Paris Hilton recreated the famous look from Britney Spears's music video for Oops!... I Did It Again.

Actress Keke Palmer channelled her inner rapper by dressing up as Snoop Dogg (and lip-synching to his music).

Actress and BLACKPINK member Lisa looked dazzling as The Golden Woman from the animated series Love, Death + Robots.

Kourtney Kardashian Barker is famously a big Halloween fan, with this year's costume serving as a nod to the Bride of Frankenstein.

Lizzo, who dressed up as a weight loss drug last year, called Halloween "so cheesy" as she dressed this year as a mozzarella stick, complete with an oozing cheese dress and boots.

【Title/标题】

Carly Rae Jepsen Marries Music Producer Cole M.G.N. in an Intimate Ceremony at the Chelsea Hotel in N.Y.C.

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：People Magazine
Written by/作者：Kimberlee Speakman

【Background Music/背景音乐】
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

【Transcript/文稿】

The “Call Me Maybe” singer, 39, tied the knot with music producer Cole M.G.N. (whose real name is Cole Marsden Greif-Neill) at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City on Oct. 4. The intimate ceremony took place in the famed building's Bard Room among 100 guests, according to Vogue.

“We knew we wanted a location that meant something to us, and the Chelsea Hotel had become a home away from home every time we were in New York," Jepsen told the outlet of the location choice. "As artists, its iconic history and lore made it that much more appealing. For planning, we had weekly dates to talk out all the details of the wedding. This way it was only ever fun and not too much at once.”

For the occasion, she wore a strapless corseted dress with a draped skirt from Australian designer Toni Maticevski, for the ceremony, and and an ethereal tiered reception dress from Danielle Frankel in New York City. She paired both with pearl earrings made by her mom, Alexandra Lanzarott. “We knew we were trying to get pregnant, so I also wanted an alternative dress that was much more flowy that I could sub in for the ceremony or just change into for dancing," Jepsen added.

The celebration featured a surprise performance from Rufus Wainwright, who treated the crowd to a a capella version of Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel #2.” “This felt like a once-in-a-lifetime New York moment,” Jepsen shared.

Jepsen revealed her engagement to the music producer on Instagram on Sept. 23, 2024, sharing several photos showing off her sparkling ring, which features a dark gemstone and gold band.

Alongside other shots of the pair embracing and spending time in nature together, she wrote, "Very engaged over here �️."

Jepsen opened up to PEOPLE about the beginnings of their relationship while collaborating on her 2023 album, The Loveliest Time. She revealed that the two met after her management paired them together, and their working relationship soon turned romantic.

The two-time Grammy nominee described one of the album's songs, "So Right," as their "meet-cute." The track even opens with a skit about whether or not it's a "good idea" for them to hang out together after-hours — something Jepsen said she suggested only after they got “close.”

"You have to get to a certain level of comfort with somebody before you can get to those really playful, joyful, experimental places," she explained at the time.

"We'll go traveling somewhere, and we'll bring a little acoustic guitar," she added of their dynamic. "I think you'll see a lot more of our collaboration together for future projects, but ['So Right'] is our first little baby out in the world. We're both so excited."

Since striking a relationship, the pair have shown support for each other over the years, with Jepsen including Cole in a "visualizer" on Instagram for her song "Shy Boy," which included scenes of the pair dancing in the street and holding hands.

She also gave him a shoutout in a birthday post in November 2022, alongside a clip on Instagram of Cole bringing her a cake decorated with lit candles during a celebration at home. In her message, she wrote that she “wished for lots of secret things but also and most importantly just more bdays with you."

In July, Jepsen shared a sneak peek of the couple preparing for their nuptials.

"Oh you know wedding things. Mostly fighting about cake. ;)" she captioned a series of photos on Instagram showing a variety of mini cakes, plus a shot of her ring.

The following month in August, Jepsen celebrated her bachelorette party, and shared photos celebrating with friends in colorful wigs and custom shirts.

【Title/标题】

Diane Keaton, Famed for Roles in Father of the Bride, First Wives Club and More, Dies at 79 (Exclusive)

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：People Magazine
Written by/作者：Victoria Edel, Nicholas Rice, and Julie Jordan

【Background Music/背景音乐】
The Life of a Showgirl - Taylor Swift featuring Sabrina Carpenter

【Transcript/文稿】

PEOPLE can confirm the legendary actress Diane Keaton died in California on Saturday, Oct. 11. "There are no further details available at this time, and her family has asked for privacy in this moment of great sadness," a spokesperson tells PEOPLE.

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) confirms to PEOPLE that they responded to Keaton's home at 8:08 a.m. local time and transported a 79-year-old woman to a local hospital.

Keaton rose to fame in the 1970s thanks to her role in The Godfather films and her collaborations with director Woody Allen. She won an Oscar for Best Actress for 1977’s Annie Hall. Her long career included movies like The First Wives Club, multiple collaborations with director Nancy Meyers and the Book Club franchise.

The actress was born in Los Angeles in 1946 as Diane Hall, and was the oldest of four children. Her father was a civil engineer, while her mom stayed at home.

Still, Keaton thought her mother dreamed of something bigger. "Secretly in her heart of hearts she probably wanted to be an entertainer of some kind," the actress told PEOPLE in 2004. "She sang. She played the piano. She was beautiful. She was my advocate.”

Keaton performed in plays in high school, and after graduating in 1964, she pursued drama in college. But she soon dropped out and moved to New York to try to make her way in theater. She took her mother’s maiden name, Keaton, for her professional name, because there was already a Diane Hall registered with Actors' Equity.

In 1968, Keaton was cast in Broadway’s Hair as the understudy for Sheila. In 2017, Keaton told PEOPLE that she struggled with bulimia during this time after the director of the show told her she needed to lose weight, though she didn’t blame him for her illness. “Believe me, it had to do with an overabundant need for more. Too much. It was a mental illness,” she said.

“I became a master at hiding. Hiding any evidence — how do you make sure no one knows? You live a lifestyle that is very strange. You’re living a lie,” she explained about her illness. She eventually recovered thanks to therapy, but said bulimia also robbed her of the ability to enjoy her time on Broadway.

Next, Keaton starred in Allen’s Broadway show Play It Again, Sam, which premiered in 1969. She received a Tony nomination for the role.

"I think the kindest thing that someone's ever done for me ... is that I got cast to be in The Godfather and I didn't even read it. I didn't know a single thing," she told PEOPLE in 2022. "I just was going around auditioning. I think that was amazing for me. And then I had to kind of read the book."

The film was a massive success and won Best Picture at the Oscars. Keaton reprised her role in 1974’s The Godfather Part II, which was also a triumph and won Best Picture. She returned for 1990’s The Godfather Part III, the last film.

Keaton also continued to collaborate with Allen, appearing in the film version of Play It Again, Sam, released in 1972, 1973’s Sleeper and 1975’s Love and Death. Despite her early success, Keaton’s insecurities still plagued her, and she would never watch her own films. "I just don't like the way I look and sound," she told PEOPLE in 1975.

In 1977, Keaton starred in Allen’s Annie Hall as the title character. She won the Oscar for Best Actress for the role. Annie’s wardrobe mimicked Keaton’s own, full of menswear, vests, and structured trousers, and the film cemented the actress’s place as a style icon.

Many speculated that the movie was based on Keaton and Allen’s relationship. She told The New York Times in 1977, “It's not true, but there are elements of truth in it.”

Keaton would collaborate with Allen again in 1978’s Interiors, 1979’s Manhattan and 1993’s Manhattan Murder Mystery. She also defended Allen in the wake of sexual abuse allegations from his stepdaughter Dylan Farrow. “I love him,” she told The Guardian in 2014.

Keaton’s other film roles included 1977’s Looking for Mr. Goodbar, 1981’s Reds, 1982’s Shoot the Moon and 1984’s The Little Drummer Girl. She worked with Meyers for the first time on 1987’s Baby Boom. They would reunite three more times: in 1991’s Father of the Bride, 1995’s Father of the Bride Part II and 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give, which garnered another Oscar nom for Keaton. Asked which of these projects she loved the most, Keaton told Vulture in 2020, “Honestly, you can think it’s sappy, but I love the Father of the Bride movies. They were so touching."

Keaton starred with Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler in 1996’s The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women. The comedy famously ended with all three singing Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.” Keaton told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 that she was “always kind of anxious and a little worried” while filming it because Hawn and Midler were “really amazing actresses.”

Later roles for Keaton included The Family Stone, Because I Said So, Finding Dory, Book Club (and its sequel) and Poms. She made a rare TV appearance with a starring role in HBO’s 2016 miniseries The Young Pope. Keaton also worked as a director, helming the 1987 documentary Heaven, 2000’s Hanging Up and an episode of Twin Peaks.

In 2021 Keaton starred in Justin Bieber’s music video “Ghost.” She also was a prolific Instagram user, posting updates on her life, reflections on her career and friendships and praising those she loved.

Looking back on her career, Keaton told PEOPLE in 2019, "I don't know anything, and I haven't learned. Getting older hasn't made me wiser. Without acting I would have been a misfit."

Keaton never married. “Today I was thinking, I'm the only one in my generation of actresses who has been a single woman all her life,” she explained to PEOPLE in 2019. “I'm really glad I didn't get married. I'm an oddball. I remember in high school, this guy came up to me and said, ‘One day you're going to make a good wife.’ And I thought, ‘I don't want to be a wife. No.’”

She was romantically linked to Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty over the years. "Talent is so damn attractive," she noted to PEOPLE.

Keaton had two children, daughter Dexter and son Duke, whom she adopted in 1996 and 2001, respectively. "Motherhood was not an urge I couldn't resist, it was more like a thought I'd been thinking for a very long time. So I plunged in,” she told Ladies' Home Journal in 2008.

Keaton is survived by her children.

【Title/标题】

Nicole Kidman files for divorce from Keith Urban citing ‘marital difficulties and irreconcilable differences’

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：E!News
Written by/作者：Will Reid

【Transcript/文稿】

Nicole Kidman has filed for divorce from Keith Urban after 19 years of marriage, bringing a surprising end to a long and seemingly successful union that brought together two superstars from the worlds of movies and music.

The 58-year-old Oscar-winning actor petitioned on Tuesday to end her marriage to the 57-year-old Grammy winning country singer in a Nashville court. The documents state the couple has undergone “marital difficulties and irreconcilable differences”.

Kidman and Urban, two of the biggest stars to come out of Australia in recent decades, have been red carpet fixtures throughout their two-decade relationship, with Urban joining his wife at the Oscars and Kidman attending music events such as the Academy of Country Music Awards.

The filings include a marriage dissolution and childcare plan agreed on by the couple and submitted for a judge’s approval.

“The mother and father will behave with each other and each child so as to provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child even though they are divorced,” says the permanent parenting plan, using language common in the state’s divorces.

“They will not speak badly of each other or the members of the family of the other parent. They will encourage each child to continue to love the other parent and be comfortable in both families.”

The plan asks that Kidman be the primary residential parent to the couple’s two daughters, ages 17 and 14, having them for 306 days per year with Urban taking them for the other 59.

The girls have lived in Nashville all their lives and the documents give no indication that will change.

The filing states that each parent earns more than $100,000 per month and neither will need childcare or spousal support.

The marriage dissolution plan lays out a roughly equal division of joint assets, with each keeping all the assets that are in their own name, including the copyrights and royalties for their artistic work.

The detailed agreements suggests that the divorce had been in the works for well over a month at the least. Urban signed the parenting plan on 29 August, Kidman on 6 September.

It will take at least 90 days for the divorce to become final under Tennessee law.

Representatives for Kidman and Urban did not respond to emailed requests for comment on Tuesday.

Both raised in Australia, Kidman and Urban met in 2005 at a Los Angeles event honoring Australians and were married in Sydney the following year.

The marriage was the first for Urban and the second for Kidman, who was married to Tom Cruise from 1990 to 2001. Kidman also has two older children with Cruise.

The couple had publicly but lovingly described some marital difficulties, but there were still few if any signs they were headed for divorce. Media reports of their separation came just a day before the divorce filing.

Last year at the premiere of the Netflix series The Perfect Couple, Kidman told the Associated Press the term didn’t apply to her and Urban.

“You’re heading for trouble if you consider yourselves the perfect couple,” she said. “I’m not a believer in perfect.”

A few months earlier, Urban paid tribute to Kidman, and brought her to tears, when she received the AFI Life Achievement Award.

Urban said she showed him “what love in action really looks like” when his substance abuse problems emerged almost immediately after they wed in 2006.

“Four months into our marriage, I’m in rehab for three months,” Urban said. “Nic pushed through every negative voice, I’m sure even some of her own, and she chose love. And here we are 18 years later.”

Kidman’s film roles have included Days of Thunder, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge and The Hours, for which she won an Academy Award for her portrayal of author Virginia Woolf. She has more recently worked in television, including the series Nine Perfect Strangers and Big Little Lies, for which she won Emmys as both actor and producer.

Urban has been a major country star since the 1990s, with hits including Somebody Like You and Blue Ain’t Your Color. He has won four Grammy awards and more than a dozen ACM awards.

Their split was first reported by TMZ.

【Title/标题】

Trump signs executive order to transfer TikTok to US owners

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：The Guardian
Written by/作者：Dara Kerr and Nick Robins-Early

【Transcript/文稿】

Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday outlining the terms of a deal to transfer TikTok to a US owner.

Trump said the US and China had come to an agreement to allow TikTok to continue operating in the US, separating the social media platform from its Chinese owner ByteDance. Trump said the deal complies with a law that would have forced the shutdown of the app for American users had it not been divested and sold to a US owner.

“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Donald Trump said. Under the plan, US investors will take over the majority of TikTok’s operations and take charge of a licensed copy of the app’s powerful recommendation algorithm. American companies are expected to own about 65% of the US version of the spun-off company, while ByteDance and Chinese investors will own less than 20%. The new version of TikTok will be controlled by a seven-member board of directors made up of cybersecurity and national security experts, six of them Americans, according to the White House.

The new US company will be valued at $14bn, according to JD Vance, who also spoke at the press conference, a number far lower than the valuation for ByteDance overall, which is estimated to be around $330bn. By comparison, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is valued at $1.8tn.

The group of American TikTok investors is led by the US software giant Oracle, which will oversee TikTok’s US operations, provide cloud service for user data storage and get a license to take control of the app’s algorithm. White House officials have said ByteDance and Chinese officials will not have access to US user data.

Along with Oracle and its co-founder Larry Ellison, Trump said at the press conference that other investors include media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the CEO of Dell computers Michael Dell. “Great investors. The biggest. They don’t get bigger,” Trump said. Vance added that more details about who is involved in the deal will be announced over the next few days.

When asked if TikTok would start prioritizing Maga-related content, Trump said, “I always like Maga-related. If I could, I’d make it 100% Maga-related” but indicated that the app would continue recommending a wide variety of content as before, saying: “Every group will be treated fairly”.

The deal ends months of legal limbo for one of the US’s most widely used apps, while also giving several US companies a powerful newfound influence within the social media industry. TikTok is used by about 180 million people nationwide, and Trump has credited it with helping him win the 2024 presidential election. The deal is also another foray for the Trump administration to exert influence over the tech industry, after it took a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel earlier this month and has urged companies like Apple and Nvidia to invest hundreds of billions domestically.

Trump had earlier indicated that the US government would receive a lucrative fee from the US investors for negotiating the deal with China, saying last week: “The United States is getting a tremendous fee-plus – I call it a fee-plus – for just making the deal.”

But on Thursday, when asked about this, the president simply said the US would take ordinary taxes from the new company, adding: “We’re gonna make money and we’re going to get a lot of money in taxes.”

TikTok once faced bipartisan pushback from lawmakers over concerns about data privacy, but TikTok repeatedly denied those claims, but Congress overwhelmingly voted last year to compel ByteDance to find a US buyer or face a ban in the country.

The supreme court unanimously upheld the ban in January. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order postponing the ban and has since repeatedly delayed its enforcement. The “Saving TikTok” executive order Trump issued on Thursday says the deal complies with the law passed by Congress, is a “qualified divestiture” and “resolves” national security concerns. The divestiture from ByteDance isn’t expected to be completed for another 120 days.

【Title/标题】
Jimmy Kimmel advocates for free speech, slams FCC chair in late-night return

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：The Washington Post
Written by/作者：Emily Yahr

【Transcript/文稿】
After one of the more eventful weeks of his career, Jimmy Kimmel returned to late-night TV on Tuesday to a huge standing ovation from his studio audience, as he talked about the controversy that saw his show temporarily removed from ABC’s airwaves after comments he made about the killing of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.




During a 20-minute monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Kimmel thanked many people for their support over the past six days — and delivered a passionate call for free speech. He said he was moved to see people on both sides of the aisle criticize what appeared to be the head of a government agency suggesting that he would attempt to shut down or censor the show of a comedian he didn’t like.

“This show is not important: What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” Kimmel said to much applause from the crowd. He added that free speech was something he was “embarrassed” to say he took for granted, “until they pulled my friend Stephen off the air, and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That’s not legal, that’s not American. That is un-American, and it is so dangerous.”

Last Wednesday, Disney-owned ABC pulled Kimmel’s show after conservative backlash to comments he made in his Sept. 15 monologue: “We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel had said.

Afterward, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr went on a podcast and called the remarks “some of the sickest conduct possible,” and suggested that Disney’s broadcast licenses could be in jeopardy. TV station owners Nexstar and Sinclair — which own a combined total of about 70 ABC affiliate stations — said they were dropping Kimmel’s show. Both companies said this week they will continue not to broadcast the show, keeping it off channels in cities including Washington.


On Tuesday, Kimmel grew emotional as he emphasized that he never intended to make light of Kirk’s death, and noted that on the day Kirk was killed, he posted a message on Instagram sending love to Kirk’s family and asking for compassion. While some interpreted Kimmel’s initial comments as saying the suspect in Kirk’s shooting was part of MAGA, Kimmel said he never intended to blame “any specific group” for the actions of “a deeply disturbed individual.

“That was really the opposite of the point I was trying to make, but I understand that to some, that felt ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset. If the situation was reversed, there’s a good chance I would have felt the same way,” Kimmel said, getting choked up again. “I have many friends and family members on the other side who I love and remain close to, even though we don’t agree on politics at all.”“I don’t think the murderer who shot Charlie Kirk represents anyone,” he added. “This was a sick person who believed violence was a solution. And it isn’t. Ever.”

Kimmel went on to say that he was grateful that he has worked for Walt Disney Co. for the past 23 years, but that he was not happy when it took his show off the air. But he said he talked it out with the executives, and he appreciated them giving him freedom to say what he wants — though he joked that they insisted he read instructions on-air about how to resubscribe to Disney+, given how many people recently canceled their subscriptions in protest.


Kimmel turned serious as he said he knows that restoring his show puts Disney at risk.“Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke,” Kimmel said. “ … And I hope that if that happens, or if there’s even any hint of that happening, you will be 10 times as loud as you were this week.”

The host wrapped up his monologue by saying that he hoped the silver lining of this controversy was that it brought people from the left, right and center together to speak up for the First Amendment. “We found one thing we can agree on, and maybe we’ll find another one,” he said. Kimmel became emotional again as he said he was touched by the speech that Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, delivered at his memorial on Sunday, in which she said she forgave the man who shot her husband. “That is an example we should follow. A selfless act of grace, forgiveness from a grieving widow,” Kimmel said. “And if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that and not this.”

【Title/标题】

MTV VMAs 2025 winners: Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande
and Sabrina Carpenter triumph at muted award
ceremony

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：The Guardian
Written by/作者：Adrian Horton

【Transcript/文稿】

Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter triumphed at the MTV Video Music awards, taking home two moonman trophies each in a relatively muted show that once again largely celebrated female pop artists and legacy acts.

Gaga, the most nominated artist of the evening with 12 nods, took home the first award at Long Island’s UBS arena, for artist of the year, winning over fellow superstars Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Beyoncé, all of whom were not in attendance.

The Disease singer dedicated the award to the audience and her partner, Michael Polansky, then dashed off to the final show on her Mayhem tour at Madison Square Garden.

“I cannot begin tell you what this means to me,” the singer said, dressed in a baroque black gown. “I hope as you navigate through the mayhem of daily life, you are reminded of the importance of the art of your life, that you can count on yourself and your simple skills to keep you whole.”

Gaga’s absence was one of many in a three-hour show that was relatively light on star power and awards. The ceremony was emceed by a largely off-screen LL Cool J and handed out only seven awards during the telecast, all of them to female artists and Bruno Mars for his collaborations with two female artists: his duet with Lady Gaga, Die With A Smile, won best collaboration, while Apt, his track with Blackpink member Rosé, was crowned song of the year.

“This is a really big moment for 16-year-old me and anyone else who has dreamed about being accepted equally for their hard work,” Rosé said in a lengthy and emotional speech.

Sabrina Carpenter won album of the year for Short n’ Sweet and best pop artist, while Grande won best pop video and the evening’s top award, video of year, for Brighter Days Ahead, which she accepted alongside director Christian Breslauer.

“This project is about the hard work that is healing all different kinds of trauma and coming home to our young selves and creating safety in our own lives, which is a lifelong process and a daily exercise,” Grande said, accepting the award. “If you’re on that journey, please continue onward, because I promise there are brighter days ahead.”

As is now typical, the VMAs nodded toward the globalization and genre blends in popular music – Colombian superstar J Balvin and French producer DJ Snake teamed up for their track Noventa; multinational girl group Katseye, with members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and the US, won for Push performance of the year; and Post Malone and Jelly Roll, beaming in from their tour stop in Munich, represented the ongoing country-ification of pop with their booze-soaked anthem Losers.

But the show skewed heavily toward the women in pop, with performances from Doja Cat, Canadian singer Tate McRae and Carpenter, who delivered a retro-themed performance of Tears accompanied by a who’s who of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars and ballroom icons as a statement on protecting trans rights.

In recent years, the show once known for delivering culture-defining moments has been more attuned to legacy than its potential to produce new ones, introducing two new lifetime achievement awards.

Mariah Carey was presented with the Video Vanguard Award by Ariana Grande, becoming the eighth consecutive woman to win the evening’s top lifetime achievement honor.

“I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight. I just have one question: what in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” Carey joked, after performing a medley of her hits.

“Music videos are my way of life, of bringing music to my own life,” she continued. “Let’s be honest, sometimes they’re just an excuse to bring the drama and do things I wouldn’t do in real life … Music evolves, but fun? That is eternal.”

【Title/标题】
Earth, Wind & Fire Got 24 Hours’ Notice From Sabrina Carpenter

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Vulture
Written by/作者：Devon Ivie

【Transcript/文稿】

Prior to this weekend, the best-known duet of
Philip Bailey’s career was the stone-cold Phil
Collins classic “Easy Lover.” Now, it might be a
little shorter and sweeter. Earth, Wind & Fire were
the surprise guests at Sabrina Carpenter’s
Lollapalooza set on August 3, with the band
joining Carpenter for a rump-shaking two-song set
of “Let’s Groove” and “September.” Bailey, who’s
served as lead singer since 1972, credits Carpenter’s
agent for conjuring up the idea. However, there
was a major time crunch leading up to the
performance, so much so that Bailey was initially
skeptical the correct decision was made. “It was
one of those kinds of things that happened in 24
hours,” he recalls. “We had to really turn this thing
around.”

Earth, Wind & Fire were up in Detroit for a
concert on August 2 and had two days off before
their next gig in the northern Michigan town of
Interlochen. Lollapalooza, held in Chicago — the
group’s hometown — was an easy enough
commute for the friendly and luxurious skies.
“They sent a private plane for us and our
entourage,” Bailey says. “We hopped a plane at
seven in the morning, went in, and had the
rehearsal. It was very quick and kind of sketchy. I
was almost concerned about it. But by that
evening, they had dialed everything in, and she did
her homework on what verses she was going to
take. We went out there and floated on all that
energy.” The song choices of “Let’s Groove” and
“September” were an easy decision because they
“always keep the party rocking,” although Bailey
says Carpenter was well versed in the band’s
deeper discography during their brief time
together. She later wrote on social media that
Earth, Wind & Fire “raised me on the greatest
songs of all time; true soul moving timeless music.”

Bailey wasn’t familiar with Carpenter’s work
besides the caffeinated earworm “Espresso,” and
time constraints for the rehearsal prevented them
from getting to know each other a little bit better,
as there were several other members of Earth,
Wind & Fire to contend and choreograph with on
stage, including longtime percussionist and singer
Ralph Johnson. “She’s very cordial, very kind, and
very approachable,” Bailey says of the pop star. “We
both greeted each other warmly, but we didn’t have
time to talk about anything. Everybody was on a
tight schedule. We didn’t even have time to run
over the performance thoroughly. There were
things that weren’t right during the run-through,
so my people stayed there and we trusted that they
would get all that stuff ready in due time.”

The results, of course, speak for themselves:
Carpenter, strutting around in a sequined pink
bodysuit, looks over the moon to be in the presence
of such legendary elements. Bailey looks dashing
himself in a patterned suit, dancing the night away
to some of the most joyous hits in the American
canon. “Sometimes things work, and oftentimes
they don’t,” Bailey explains. “Her energy and our
energy were very compatible and complementary
to one another. How she puts her show together, in
terms of how it accelerates and builds, was
fantastic. Where she chose to put our segment was perfect.”

Consider it a successful weekend for respecting the
classics. The night prior, Carpenter’s fellow
Lollapalooza headliner Olivia Rodrigo brought out
Weezer for a one-two punch of “Say It Ain’t So” and
“Buddy Holly,” continuing her own impressive
festival streak of highlighting rock elders for
younger audiences. (Carpenter has stated in the
past her admiration for Queen, the Beatles, and
Rush, in case we’re scoping out ideas for the future.
You think she has the range for “Fly by Night”?)
But, for now, Bailey is thrilled. “I had to ask
everybody once we were done, ‘How was it?’
Because you can’t really feel with that short
performance if you’re actually meeting the mark or
not and I think we all had nerves,” he says, as if the
tens of thousands of gyrating fans in the audience
weren’t enough confirmation. “We were honored to
be asked and very appreciative to her and to her
fans for embracing these moments we were able to create together.

【Title/标题】

Box Office: ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Clobbers $57 Million Opening Day — Second-Biggest of the Year

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Variety
Written by/作者：By J. Kim Murphy

【Transcript/文稿】

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” stretched its arms around $57 million from 4,125 theaters across Friday and preview screenings. Per Disney‘s numbers, that’s the second-biggest opening day of the calendar year, ranking just behind “A Minecraft Movie” ($57.11 million). The film is playing Imax and other premium large format auditoriums.

It also just edges out Marvel Studios‘ comic book banner rival, DC Studios’ “Superman,” which began with a $56.1 million opening day just two weeks ago. It’ll be a close call on whether “Fantastic Four” can keep pacing ahead to beat the $125 million three-day opening of “Superman.”

It’s the best first day kick-off for a Marvel Cinematic Universe entry since “Deadpool & Wolverine” dominated the box office 12 months ago. And like that R-rated smash, “Fantastic Four” is based on Marvel characters that were acquired by Disney after the studio’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, demonstrating some value to that $71 billion merger. Three previous big-budget “Fantastic Four” entries were produced at Fox, from 2005 to 2015. (There was also an unreleased 1994 feature, spearheaded by Roger Corman as a means to retain film rights for German producers. It circulates among diehards.)

With a story that has little connection to other Marvel Cinematic Universe entries, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” has presented itself as a relatively fresh entry point to audiences. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who lead the film as Marvel’s first family, are all MCU newcomers. “First Steps” also has the benefit of strong reviews and good audience sentiment (pollster Cinema Score turned in an “A-” grade among ticketbuyers).

At a production cost of $200 million, plus much more to market and distribute, the film will need to hold as one of the biggest grossers of the year to turn a profit in theaters. Marvel’s two previous 2025 releases, “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thunderbolts*,” launched to $88.5 million and $76 million respectively. Both ended up losing money theatrically.

Disney hopes to gain some momentum with the Matt Shakman-directed “Fantastic Four,” ahead of the studio’s extensive hiatus from superhero films. Marvel is producing “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the fourth Tom Holland-led entry set to release July 2026. But Sony is distributing that film. Disney will have nearly a year and a half to plan for its next MCU installment, the mega-team-up “Avengers: Doomsday,” set for December 2026.

Second place goes to Warner Bros.’ “Superman,” which added $7.1 million on Friday. It’s down 57% from its daily total a week ago, now competing with a newer superhero spectacle. The cinematic universe-rebooter should fly to a $289 million domestic total after its third weekend, which will put it ahead of “Sinners” ($278 million) to have it rank as the fourth-highest grossing North American release of the year.

Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth” is sliding to third in its fourth weekend, adding another $3.6 million on Friday. The seventh entry in the dinosaur series is projecting $13 million for its fourth weekend, which would be another good hold at a 45% drop. Total domestic gross is expected to pass $301 million through Sunday — only the third release of 2025 to get into the triple hundreds.

Fourth looks to go to “F1.” Warner Bros.’ release of Apple Studios’ racing thriller added $1.8 million Friday, down just 37% from its daily total a week ago. At a production cost of $250 million, theatrical profitability is a questionable prospect at best for the Brad Pitt-led feature. But it has put up strong holds since debuting a month ago. The film looks to hit a $165 million domestic total through Sunday.

Paramount’s IP revival “Smurfs” rounds out the top five, adding $1.72 million on Friday and projecting $5.6 million for its second weekend. After a low opening, that’s a 49% second-weekend drop, showing some relative staying power as the only new animated offering to families. Domestic total will hit $22.9 million through the first 10 days — a disappointing result against a $58 million production budget.

【Title/标题】
Mattel’s newest Barbie has diabetes

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：LA TIMES
Written by/作者：Piper Heath

【Transcript/文稿】

Dressed in a matching polka dot tank top and ruffled skirt with blue chunky heeled boots and a mini purse, Mattel’s newest Barbie may look like previous dolls at first glance.

But this particular doll stands out with a wearable insulin pump on her waist, a glucose monitor on her arm and a phone showing her blood sugar readings, making her the El Segundo-based toy company’s first Barbie with Type 1 diabetes.

The doll continues Mattel’s expansion of representation across its flagship brand. The Barbie Fashionistas line features more than 175 looks across various skin tones, body types and disabilities, including previous additions like a blind Barbie, a Barbie with Down syndrome and a Barbie with hearing aids.

The company’s commitment to representation has proved commercially successful. In 2024, the top 10 most popular Barbie Fashionista dolls globally included the blind Barbie and the Barbie with Down syndrome.

The Fashionistas series also includes dolls with vitiligo, prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs. The wheelchair-using doll has consistently been a top performer since its introduction in 2019.

Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls at Mattel, said Barbie helps shape children’s early perceptions of the world. Reflecting medical conditions like T1D ensures “more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love.”

The doll was developed with Breakthrough T1D, the leading global Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization. The partnership ensured medical accuracy while incorporating diabetes awareness symbols through the clothes’ blue coloring and polka dot pattern.

Aaron J. Kowalski, chief executive of Breakthrough T1D, said the partnership is about “bringing greater visibility to a condition that affects so many families.”

The doll launched Tuesday during Breakthrough T1D’s 2025 Children’s Congress in Washington, D.C. The event brings together more than 170 children living with Type 1 diabetes, giving them face time with members of Congress to advocate for ongoing funding for Type 1 diabetes research. This year they asked members of Congress to renew funding for the Special Diabetes Program.

The Special Diabetes Program’s current funding expires after September. The program, first allocated by Congress in 1997, faces uncertainty amid recent cuts to federally-funded projects.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition affecting nearly 9 million people globally, with about 352,000 children living with diabetes in the United States. The CDC reports that 1.7 million individuals 20 or older live with Type 1 diabetes and use insulin.

The new Barbie is available through Mattel Shop and retailers nationwide.

【Title/标题】
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom Split, End Their Engagement After 7 Years Together

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：US WEEKELY
Written by/作者：Erin Crabtree, Kaitlin Simpson and Amanda Williams

【Transcript/文稿】
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have called it quits after nearly a decade of dating.

“Katy and Orlando have split but are amicable,” a source close to the pair exclusively tells Us Weekly. “It’s not contentious at the moment. Katy is of course upset but is relieved to not have to go through another divorce, as that was the worst time in her life.”

According to the insider, Perry, 40, and Bloom’s split has been “a long time coming” as things between them “have been tense for months.” (The pair, who share 4-year-old daughter Daisy, have been apart since Perry kicked off her Lifetimes tour earlier this year.)

For now, Perry is “keeping busy” on tour “and is distracted,” the insider shares, revealing that while on the road, the pop star is “renting out” her Westcott Estate in Montecito, California.

“But she and Orlando have always lived in their other Montecito home as their primary residence,” the source continues, adding that the duo were “planning on making the Westcott home their family home but plans have changed” and “have been living apart since Katy has been on tour.”

Perry and Bloom were first romantically linked in January 2016, after they were spotted at multiple Golden Globes afterparties together. The couple briefly split in March 2017, but were back together by February 2018. Perry and Bloom got engaged on Valentine’s Day in February 2019 — and one year later, she announced in March 2020 that she was pregnant with the pair’s first baby. Their daughter, Daisy Dove, arrived that August. (Bloom is also the father of son Flynn, 14, with ex-wife Miranda Kerr.)

News of Perry and Bloom’s breakup comes after reports of tension in their relationship.

“They have been spending more and more time apart,” a source exclusively told Us in June. “They’ve grown apart and aren’t living the same lives anymore.”

According to a second insider, the former couple’s inner circle was well aware of the couple’s relationship rough patch.

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Us Weekly Shorts
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have called it quits after nearly a decade of dating.

“Katy and Orlando have split but are amicable,” a source close to the pair exclusively tells Us Weekly. “It’s not contentious at the moment. Katy is of course upset but is relieved to not have to go through another divorce, as that was the worst time in her life.”

According to the insider, Perry, 40, and Bloom’s split has been “a long time coming” as things between them “have been tense for months.” (The pair, who share 4-year-old daughter Daisy, have been apart since Perry kicked off her Lifetimes tour earlier this year.)

For now, Perry is “keeping busy” on tour “and is distracted,” the insider shares, revealing that while on the road, the pop star is “renting out” her Westcott Estate in Montecito, California.

Celebrity Splits of 2025 Stars Who Have Called It Quits This Year
Related: Celebrity Splits of 2025: Stars Who Have Called It Quits This Year
“But her and Orlando have always lived in their other Montecito home as their primary residence,” the source continues, adding that the duo were “planning on making the Westcott home their family home but plans have changed” and “have been living apart since Katy has been on tour.”

Celebrity Splits of 2025 Stars Who Have Called It Quits This Year Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom GettyImages 2170441693:
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom. Robin Marchant/Getty Images
Perry and Bloom were first romantically linked in January 2016, after they were spotted at multiple Golden Globes afterparties together. The couple briefly split in March 2017, but were back together by February 2018. Perry and Bloom got engaged on Valentine’s Day in February 2019 — and one year later, she announced in March 2020 that she was pregnant with the pair’s first baby. Their daughter, Daisy Dove, arrived that August. (Bloom is also the father of son Flynn, 14, with ex-wife Miranda Kerr.)

News of Perry and Bloom’s breakup comes after reports of tension in their relationship.

GettyImages-2203094056-Katy-Perry-and-Orlando-Bloom-Split-End-Their-Engagement.jpg:
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom attend the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 2, 2025, in Beverly Hills, California. Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
“They have been spending more and more time apart,” a source exclusively told Us in June. “They’ve grown apart and aren’t living the same lives anymore.”

According to a second insider, the former couple’s inner circle was well aware of the couple’s relationship rough patch.

“It’s an unspoken thing that they are having issues and have for a while now,” the second source said. “Everyone around them knows.”

The second insider added that Bloom was keeping his struggles with Perry “close to the vest,” but had been “out and about more often” without her while she was on her Lifetimes Tour, which kicked off in April.

“Katy has been very busy working, and they are apart often,” the second source told Us. “That has caused tension.”

Throughout their years of dating in the spotlight, the couple have been forthcoming about their ups and downs, with Perry sharing via Instagram in April 2023 that they “continuously put in the work” to maintain their relationship.

As for Bloom, he explained in April 2024 how the pair’s fame affected their romance.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything, even when sometimes it feels like, ‘How do we do this?’” Bloom said on Trevor Noah’s “What Now?” podcast at the time. “Because we’ve got these two giant careers and lives — and hers is even … it’s like a universe sometimes.”

【Title/标题】
Box Office: Danny Boyle’s ‘28 Years Later’ Bites Off $5.8M in Previews, Pixar’s ‘Elio’ Takes in $3M

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：The Hollywood Reporter
Written by/作者：PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

【Transcript/文稿】
Universal’ How to Train Your Dragon won the Juneteenth holiday box office race on Thursday with $9.7 million in ticket sales as it heads into its second weekend with an early domestic haul of nearly $125 million.

The live-action remake of DreamWorks Animation’s celebrated 2010 animated film is confident it will stay atop the chart in its sophomore outing despite the entry of two new summer event pics, Danny Boyle‘s 28 Years Later and Pixar’s Elio, both of which took advantage of the holiday by starting previews early in the day. (How to Train Your Dragon has a huge advantage in playing in Imax cinemas, and is eying bringing in another $35 million domestically this weekend.)

Boyle’s zombie sequel, from Sony, is reporting a preview gross of $5.8 million, enough to place second on Thursday — at least unofficially (previews grosses are ultimately folded into the opening-day gross, or in this instance, Friday’s haul). Sony is suggesting a weekend opening the $28 million to $30 million range, while tracking shows Boyle’s film coming in at $30 million or more.

So far, however, 28 Years Later, isn’t going over so well with audiences despite glowing reviews. Presently, the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score is 92 percent, while the audience score is only 69 percent.

28 Years Later — the first in a planned trilogy — reunites Boyle with writer Alex Garland 25 years after 28 Days hit big screen and became a cult classic. Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes star in the pic, which is set nearly three decades after the events of the first film.

Elio — an original film about a young boy whose wish to travel to outer space and interact with aliens comes true — earned $3 million from Thursday previews and select special access Wednesday screenings.

Tracking showed the animated film opening to $30 million in North America, although it is now eying an opening in the $20 million to $23 million. That means Pixar is braced for the movie suffering the worst three-day opening ever for the storied animation studio behind Elemental ($29.6 million) in June 2023 and its very first film, 1995’s Toy Story ($29.1 million), not adjusted for inflation. (Toy Story opened over Thanksgiving and amassed $39 million over the long five-day holiday weekend.)

At the time, Elemental‘s opening was called nothing short of a debacle, yet it turned into sleeper hit on its way to earning nearly $500 million globally. Pixar and parent company Disney are confident that Elio will have the same sort of staying power throughout the summer when kids are sprung from school. So far, Elio is graced with a better critics score on Rotten Tomatoes than Elemental. There’s not yet an audience score on RT.

Pixar has been struggling to find its footing in a world where original animated stories don’t open to the heights they once did — think north of $70 million — in the post-pandemic world. And during the pandemic years, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek decided to send three Pixar titles straight to Disney+ domestically, including Turning Red, Luca and the Oscar-winning Soul, a decision rivals said taught families to wait to watch a film at home. (All three were considered streaming hits.)

But Pixar and Disney reversed course and are once again committed to telling original theatrical stories, mixed in with known IP, such as last year’s blockbuster and record-shattering Inside Out 2, the top-grossing pic of 2024, the top ever title for Pixar and the top animated of all time with more than $1.69 billion in worldwide ticket sales, not adjusted for inflation.

【Title/标题】

Inside ‘Anora’s’ Oscar Victory: How Scrappy Indie Neon Pulled Off Its Second Best Picture Win in 5 Years

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Variety
Written by/作者：Brent Lang, Tatiana Siegel

【Transcript/文稿】

In the run-up to the Academy Awards, Neon took a unique approach to scoring the season’s top prize for “Anora.” While other studios spent their money on tried-and-true strategies, from tastemaker screenings to glossy ads, Neon pulled up a tow truck in front of a Los Angeles auto body shop for a pop-up “Anora” merchandise sale in November — complete with branded T-shirts and thongs. Some 300 fans queued up before the vehicle even arrived. And for its first screening of the film about a Brooklyn escort who marries a Russian oligarch’s kid, the boutique distributor filled the audience with sex workers rather than Oscar voters.

“We follow the beat of our own drum,” says Tom Quinn, Neon’s CEO. “The idea of pandering to the campaign as opposed to being who you are as a film is a big, stark difference. We never play to the campaign. We always play to the film, filmmaker and audience — in that order.”

The strategy may be unconventional, but it’s hard to beat the results. For the second time since it launched in 2017, Neon captured the best picture statuette. For context, neither the legacy studio Disney nor the deep-pocketed Netflix has ever landed a single best picture Oscar, never mind two. Neon, with a staff of 60 people, has pulled off the achievement twice in five years, making the indie film company the hottest label in town.

“They have climbed to the top of the mountain,” says Marc Simon, a veteran film finance attorney. “And they’ve reached the pinnacle by being disciplined and smart. They know when to take swings and how to manage risks.”

This year, Neon’s rivals spent lavishly, with one entertainment company said to have plunked down $60 million on a single film’s awards-season campaign. By his standards, Quinn spent a lot — $18 million on the marketing, distribution and awards campaign of “Anora.” In other words, three times the budget of Sean Baker’s movie itself. Still, it was slightly less than the $20 million that the company spent on “Parasite,” its first best picture winner.

Some of the coverage of “Anora’s” victory has focused on it being one of the lowest-grossing best picture winners in history, having earned $16.1 million domestically and $41.4 million globally to date. Neon controls domestic rights to the film, while Universal Pictures International handles most overseas territories. Quinn thinks the skeptical coverage of “Anora’s” box office results misses the point. The film will be profitable after digital rentals and licensing deals are considered.

“[Box office] is not the only revenue stream,” he says. “‘Anora’ is No. 1 across every entertainment platform — Amazon, Apple. That is massive.”

David Thion, the producer of “Anatomy of a Fall,” which Neon guided to a best picture nomination and an original screenplay Oscar in 2024, praised Quinn for being scrappy. Thion noted it was Quinn’s idea to make the film’s scene-stealing dog a central part of its campaign. He also appreciated Quinn’s candor.

“Tom told us from the very start, ‘We’re going to demand a lot from you’” Thion says. “‘It’s going to be very intense, you will have to set your own limits, and we will listen to the signs you will send us.’ That was an important message.”

In late 2023, Neon nearly sold itself to Steven Rales, a billionaire industrialist, for a reported $100 million, only to see the deal collapse at the eleventh hour. When the pact failed, there were rumors that the studio, like many other indies in the post-Covid era, was in trouble.

The narrative has clearly changed. In the past few months, Neon nabbed its fifth Palme d’Or in a row for “Anora” at Cannes while its low-budget horror movies “Longlegs” and the still-playing “The Monkey” became box office breakouts, earning $127 million and $31 million worldwide, respectively. The company says that 2024 was its most financially successful year to date.

“Neon has established themselves as one of the preeminent art-house distributors in a very short time and recently embraced one of the most consistent and profitable box office genres in the history of Hollywood — horror,” says analyst Jeff Bock at Exhibitor Relations. “This pivot could legitimately see the indie darling copy A24’s blueprint and expand their reach, boosting their bottom line exponentially.”

There’s been chatter that Neon and A24 are locked in an art-house death match to be the hippest player in cinema. But Quinn insists that’s not the case, saying the A24 team could not have been more gracious when “Anora” triumphed on Oscar night over its film, “The Brutalist.”

“The industry thinks there’s a rivalry, and there’s not,” he says. “It’s good headlines. I thought they might be our biggest competitor. But as it turns out, our biggest competitor has been Netflix. They desperately tried to beat us to buy ‘I, Tonya’ and ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire,’ and we ended up losing out to them on ‘Hit Man,’ ‘May December’ and ‘Fair Play.’ There’s a slew of movies where I’m the second-highest bidder [to Netflix].”

【Title/标题】

‘SNL’ 50th anniversary: Everything you need to know about the special

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：New York Post
Written by/作者：Alexandra Bellusci

【Transcript/文稿】

Live from New York, it’s almost Sunday Night!

And “Saturday Night Live” viewers are gearing up for the sketch comedy show’s 50th anniversary special airing on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

The “SNL 50: The Anniversary Special” is a three-hour live telecast from Studio 8H, which will celebrate the long-running series’ half-centennial on air. Iconic cast members from past and present are set to make an appearance, including Jane Curtin, Amy Poehler, Chevy Chase, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, and more.

Production designer Keith Raywood, who has been with “SNL” for 40 seasons since 1985, revealed just how big the special episode will be.

“We [will] have about 450 people in the studio, which is essentially about 200 people more than we would normally have,” he told The Post.

Raywood noted that the audience will be full of the special guests’ friends and family.

“Imagine all the people who have been on the show – those cast members and hosts. It’s a lot of people [there to see them]. And, those seats don’t normally exist,” he continued.

It’s sure to be a star-studded evening to commemorate everything that made the NBC variety show the pop culture phenomenon that it is.

The special will air live at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC and Peacock.

Red carpet coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on NBC with “SNL” alum Leslie Jones, “Sunday Today” host Willie Geist and comedian Matt Rogers interviewing the stars.

Creator and host of the viral chat show “Chicken Shop Date,” Amelia Dimoldenberg, will be the correspondent for the red carpet livestream.

Viewers can watch on all “SNL” social and digital platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok.

The milestone moment in comedy will bring together some of the greats.

Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman, four of the surviving original cast members, are set to return.

Other alums set to return include Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Will Ferrell and Will Forte.

“It’s so exciting,” Shannon said of the special on “Today” Thursday. “But I also forget I get nervous. There’s nothing like live performance. … I forget the adrenaline. So it’s so exciting. But it feels like coming home.”

Current cast members will also join in on the special. The roster will be: Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Marcello Hernández, James Austin Johnson, Colin Jost, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, Devon Walker and Bowen Yang.

【Title/标题】

Kendrick Lamar puts the final nail in his Drake feud with subtle (and not-so-subtle) digs at the Super Bowl halftime show

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Yahoo
Written by/作者：Kelsey Weekman

【Transcript/文稿】

A week after winning five Grammys for his Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar took a victory lap at the Super Bowl halftime show.

During the under-15-minute set, Lamar played several new songs from his latest album GNX, as well as a few older hits, backed by a fleet of dancers.

His performance was introduced by Samuel L. Jackson wearing an Uncle Sam costume.

He played the opening notes of “Not Like Us,” pausing it to say that he’d like to play the fan-favorite song, but “you know they love to sue.” Drake filed a lawsuit on Jan. 15 against Universal Music Group, the record company he and Lamar are both signed to, alleging defamation and harassment over the song.

“Not Like Us” was released toward the end of an exchange of diss tracks between the two rappers last summer. Lamar emerged victorious with the most streams and the most Grammys.

X users seemed to support Lamar’s end of the feud as well. Though Drake is an enormously popular artist, many have turned on him in support of Lamar.

After playing a few songs, Lamar returned to “Not Like Us,” looking directly into the camera as he sang, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young.”

He censored the lyrics that call Drake a pedophile, but still sang the part where he says, “tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor.” The crowd gleefully sang along.

SZA joined him onstage to perform “Luther” and “All the Stars.” She frequently collaborates with Lamar, but she’s also one of Drake’s exes. The two dated in 2009.

Another one of Drake’s past flames present onstage was Serena Williams, who danced as Lamar performed.

Lamar performed “TV Off,” one of his newest songs, which wasn’t part of his back-and-forth feud with Drake but does diss him lyrically.

At the end, the lights behind Lamar stated, "GAME OVER."

His victory lap isn’t over, though — it’s continuing online. Between 9 p.m. on Sunday and midnight ET on Monday, streams of Lamar’s music spiked by nearly 175% on Spotify compared to last week at the same time, according to data the streaming service sent Yahoo Entertainment.

Several songs from his setlist saw substantial streaming spikes, with “Not Like Us” taking the crown at a 430% increase. “Humble” followed with a 300% increase, and “All the Stars (with SZA)” went up 290%. SZA also saw an 80% increase in Spotify streams herself after her halftime show appearance.

Lamar and SZA will be taking the show on the road. After their performance, they announced new dates for their “Grand National” tour, which kicks off in April. Chances are they’ll break the internet again when tickets go on sale this week.

【Title/标题】

‘Ne Zha 2’ Crosses $1B At China Box Office; First Movie Ever To Milestone In A Single Market

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Deadline
Written by/作者： Nancy Tartaglione

【Transcript/文稿】

With today’s running business included, Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 has topped RMB 7B ($960.5M) in China, far and away setting a new record for the biggest gross ever by a film in a single market worldwide. In reaching the milestone, this animated sequel overtakes 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens which was long the title holder for highest gross in a single market, that being $936.7M from North America.

Ne Zha 2 has been on a tear since it released during the Lunar New Year corridor in China (January 28-February 4). It set the single-film box office record for the holiday in the market’s history, and this past Thursday surpassed The Battle at Lake Changjin to become China’s biggest film ever.

The next record to fall will be when Ne Zha 2 soon hits $1B in China, thereby becoming the only film ever to reach that mark in a single market. Maoyan has been upping its predictions throughout the week, now forecasting a staggering RMB 10.8B ($1.48B) China finish. As of 5pm local time today, which is a working day in the market, it’s at RMB 7.06B/$968.8M.

Directed by Yang Yu (aka Jiaozi), Ne Zha 2, which is due for release in North America via CMC on Feb 14, is loosely based on a classic Chinese myth and is set after the events of the previous 2019 film. It centers on the titular boy with magical powers and his friend Aobing as their souls are saved but their physical forms face dissolution. Aided by the immortal Taiyi Zhenren to reconstruct their bodies, the heroes face numerous challenges (including a bevy of sea monsters) as they attempt to overcome a crisis that threatens the existence of humankind.

While China saw a downturn in 2024 as box office slipped 25% from the previous year, the start to 2025 is an encouraging sign with the Spring Festival logging a new overall record for box office during the annual holiday period. Total Mainland grosses reached RMB 9.51B ($1.3B) from January 28-February 4, outstripping the previous record of RMB 8.02B.

A promotional scheme launched this past December by the China Film Administration to offer subsidies to the moviegoing public through February, alongside other campaigns at regional levels, helped spur traffic, but momentum hasn’t flagged.

The jury is still out on what this means for Hollywood going forward as Chinese tastes have turned more towards local fare. There is some cautious optimism that the return of audiences to cinemas could spill over to studio movies as well. As we’ve previously noted, the situation will become clearer when we see the performance of key titles in the latter half of 2025, particularly Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire & Ash.

【Title/标题】
2025 Oscars: Universal’s Film Empire Nabs Historic 25 Noms, Netflix Leads Individual List With 16

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：The Hollywood Reporter
Written by/作者：PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

【Transcript/文稿】
When it comes to this year’s Oscar nominations, the love was spread across the distributor scoreboard, from legacy Hollywood studios and their specialty divisions, to streamers and maverick indie distributors.

Netflix walked away with the most of any individual distributor on Tuesday with a total of 16 nods after Emilia Pérez landed a spot in 13 categories, the most of any film this year and setting a new record for a non-English-language film. And it’s just one shy of the all-time record for any film (All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land each landed 14).

Next up on the Academy’s scorecard of top-nominated individual distributors was powerhouse A24 with 14, including 10 for The Brutalist. The movie, which swept the Golden Globes, will use its front-runner status as it continues to expand in theaters, where it has earned a promising $5.9 million despite only playing in several hundred cinemas to date.

Universal Pictures‘ Wicked likewise scored 10 noms in a major win for a film that is both an awards darling and a commercial studio hit. For years, many have attributed the declining interest in watching the Oscars telecast to the fact that many of the nominees are arthouse films that may only play in a smattering of top markets. Wicked has grossed north of $800 million to date at the global box office, making it the top-grossing film vying for best picture. Cynthia Erivo, who is up for best actress, and Ariana Grande, who is up for best supporting actress, have huge followings, which could help the telecast.

Universal’s larger film empire, which includes Focus Features and DreamWorks Animation (home of sleeper hit The Wild Robot), made history on Tuesday in nabbing a combined 25 nods, its best showing ever. It surpassed last year’s then-record 18 that was led by Christopher Nolan’s best picture winner Oppenheimer.

This year, Universal Pictures proper led with 13 noms, followed by Focus with 11. This is the third year-in-a row in which both labels have a title in the best picture race. Focus has Conclave, which walked away with eight noms to tie with Brokeback Mountain and Milk to rank as the most nominated film in Focus’ history. And Conclave was one of the top-grossing specialty titles of 2024 after successfully making the leap from the arthouse to the multiplex. To date, it has grossed north of $76 million globally.

Searchlight Pictures, landing 10 nominations, helped Disney’s vast film empire pick up a total of 15 nominations, including eight for A Complete Unknown and two for A Real Pain. Disney is also home of 20th Century Studios and National Geographic Films, which also earned nods.

A Complete Unknown is another best picture contender that is doing real box office business, earning nearly $60 million to date after opening on Christmas Day. And, of course, Pixar and Disney’s Inside Out 2, which is up for best animated feature, is the top-grossing animated film of all time with nearly $1.7 billion in worldwide ticket sales.

Rule-bending indie distributor Noen also made a strong showing in picking up seven noms — six went to Palme d’Or winner Anora. It bested Warner Bros.’ five noms and Paramount’s three. Warners’ noms were all for Legendary’s Dune: Part Two, another best picture contender and box-office heavyweight, which grossed $705 million globally.

【Title/标题】
Hoda Kotb thanks 'Today' viewers for 'the ride of a lifetime' as she signs off for the last time

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Yahoo! Entertainment
Written by/作者：Suzy Byrne

【Transcript/文稿】

It’s the end of an era as Hoda Kotb signed off as Today co-anchor and Hoda & Jenna co-host. There was no shortage of sweet moments over the four hours of TV, with one brief preemption announcing President-elect Donald Trump's "unconditional discharge" sentence.

While there was plenty of news to deliver on Kotb's last day — the Los Angeles County fires, Jimmy Carter’s funeral — it was also very much a “Hoda-bration,” which is what NBC dubbed her week-long send-off. There were montages, colleague tributes, celebrity tributes and lots of tears.

As the news show kicked off Friday morning, co-anchor Savannah Guthrie teased that the day would be about celebrating “everything everyone adores about Hoda filled with special surprises and a lot of joy.”

The female anchor team — the first ever on the show — held hands as Kotb, wearing a white pantsuit, said, “One last time. Let’s do this.”

Kotb revealed in a behind-the-scenes video that Guthrie — who wore black for the occasion — gifted her a bracelet that says “With you” in cursive as well as a ring that says, “Love.” She said, “I feel loved and held.”

Each member of the Today team paid tribute to Kotb in a video. Guthrie, who said Kotb was “like a sister to me,” said, “I love you deeply. I always tell you: Whether you are sitting next to me or not, whether we get up at 4 o’clock in the morning or not, you will always be by my side.”

Al Roker talked about his near-death health scare in 2022, when Kotb visited him nearly every day at the hospital — so often people could have mistaken her for a doctor.

Craig Melvin, Kotb’s replacement, said, “Hoda doesn’t do interviews. She has conversations [in which] she’s peering into your soul.” He talked about how encouraging she has been of him. (Kotb wished him luck on Monday, when he takes over, joking she won’t be watching because she’ll be sleeping in.)

Carson Daly spoke of Kotb’s good energy, how she’s always singing and dancing on the set, and he dedicated Coldplay’s “All My Love” to her.

Keith Morrison, who worked with Kotb on Dateline earlier in her 26-year career with NBC News, talked about mentoring her as she learned to narrate stories. He said, “We will miss our Hoda.”

NBC correspondent Maria Shriver was there to discuss Kotb's next act professionally: launching a business in the wellness space. Shriver told her, "You're made for this... You're going to help people come alive."

Kotb, a breast cancer survivor, is known for her good energy and sharing inspiring quotes on her Instagram. The team said she added the “morning boost” segment, an uplifting story that airs after a series of tough news stories. Kotb said Jenna Bush Hager will take over the “boost,” handing her Hoda & Jenna co-host a metallic baton to commemorate the transition.

The fans in the plaza were ready to say goodbye to Kotb. There was a big crowd of people with posters and glasses that spelled out “Hoda.” Kotb quipped that a security guard outside told her, “The next time you retire, do it in July,” as it’s an especially cold week in New York.

There were a ton of celebrity tributes, from Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who appeared in person, to pre-taped ones from Oprah Winfrey and Kristin Chenoweth. Jamie Lee Curtis also had an orb made for Kotb inscribed with, “Every today with you is a better day.”

Kotb said her decision to leave was made around her two young daughters, Haley and Hope, both of whom made an appearance. They said they were excited that their mother would be home on Monday morning to walk them to school.

Mother and daughters were serenaded by Kermit the Frog, who sang, “Rainbow Connection,” the song Kotb sings to her girls each night. Kotb became emotional listening to it, especially when her colleagues joined in.

Other family members supporting Kotb on her last day included her sister, brother, sister-in-law and nieces. She said her mother, Sameha, who has supported her as a working mom through the years by taking the kids to school, was "at home watching," having previously made several long trips to New York City from the suburbs where Kotb moved over the summer.

The 8 a.m. hour ended on the plaza, with everyone rocking purple hats and Kotb thanking "every person who came out here. I read your cards. I got your bracelets. I got the scarves you crocheted. I read the texts. I got everything. I want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you," she said. "I love you."

The celebration picked up on Hoda & Jenna at 10 a.m. Bush Hager started by saying their final show together would be "a love letter" to Kotb, and the woman of the hour replied, "I think I'm ready."

They talked about letting the emotions flow and not trying to stop them. Bush Hager joked that the show was "brought to you by Kleenex."

Kotb debuted on the fourth hour in 2007 and in 2008 began co-hosting with Kathie Lee Gifford. The current hosting team of the more light-hearted lifestyle show began in 2019 after Gifford departed.

【Title/标题】
2025 Golden Globes winners announced: See the full list, from Best Actress surprises to Emilia Pérez domination

Nikki Glaser hosted a ceremony that skyrocketed Demi Moore into the Oscars race, while "Shōgun" and "Hacks" won big among TV contenders.

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Entertainment Weekly
Written by/作者：Joey Nolfi

【Transcript/文稿】

With the holidays in the rearview mirror, the 2025 Golden Globes winners rang in the new year with a fresh class of awards season darlings at the top of a heated race — including several stunning surprises and shutouts along the way.

Across Sunday night's ceremony hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, the Golden Globes revealed its annual roster of winners in both film and TV categories, with many movies and performances in contention at the Globes — like Mikey Madison (Anora), Angelina Jolie (Maria), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Ariana Grande (Wicked) — also expected to cross over into Oscars territory when the Academy announces its nominations on Jan. 17.

Best Film winners in the Drama and Musical or Comedy categories, respectively, included The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez, with the latter emerging as an industry-favorite musical drama that followed up its steamrolling of the European Film Awards in December with four Golden Globe wins — the most for any film this year. Given the Jacques Audiard-directed movie's prominence with both the EFA — which shares significant crossover membership with the Academy — and the Globes, Emilia Pérez may now be the Best Picture contender to beat. That scenario feels even likelier after previously presumed frontrunner Anora lost all of its competitive categories at the Globes.

One of those losses came in the Best Actress category, where Demi Moore triumphed over Anora's Madison, whom many predicted would win the award. Moore's performance in The Substance generated career-best reviews for the Hollywood icon, who will now likely go head-to-head with the Globes' Musical or Comedy winner, I'm Still Here's surprise victor Fernanda Torres, on Oscar ballots. Torres overtook strong competition from Maria's Jolie and Babygirl's Nicole Kidman to become a new leader among a crowded category.

On the supporting side, Emilia Pérez star Zoe Saldaña was the first winner of the night, while Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) was honored with Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.

Among TV projects, Shōgun racked up the most significant haul of Golden Globes statuettes, with four overall wins, including three individual acting wins for stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, and Tadanobu Asano.

Baby Reindeer and Hacks tied for the second-higest tally of TV wins, with each project earning two awards each.

Ahead of the main ceremony at a special gala on Friday, Golden Globes honorees Viola Davis and Ted Danson received the Cecil B. DeMille Award and Carol Burnett Award, respectively, for career achievement in film and TV.

The rest of the film and TV winners were presented during the televised ceremony, featuring presenters like Davis, Moore, Anya Taylor-Joy, Catherine O'Hara, Colin Farrell, Colman Domingo, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Elton John, Glenn Close, Jennifer Coolidge, Melissa McCarthy, Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Nicolas Cage, Salma Hayek, Seth Rogen, and Zoë Kravitz, among others.

See the full list of 2025 Golden Globes winners below.

Best Motion Picture — Drama

WINNER: The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nickel Boys
September 5

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Anora
Challengers
WINNER: Emilia Pérez
A Real Pain
The Substance
Wicked

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language

All We Imagine as Light
WINNER: Emilia Pérez
The Girl With the Needle
I'm Still Here
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Vermiglio

Best Motion Picture — Animated

WINNER: Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Moana 2
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

Alien: Romulus
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Deadpool & Wolverine
Gladiator II
Inside Out 2
Twisters
WINNER: Wicked
The Wild Robot

【Title/标题】
The Haunted New Twist in the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni Scandal

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Slated
Written by/作者: JILL FILIPOVIC

【Transcript/文稿】
There’s a new twist in the dispute between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and it says a lot more about our society than it does about them.

Last month, Lively filed a legal complaint that claimed Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath not only sexually harassed her on the set of their blockbuster hit It Ends With Us, but that they, along with their production company Wayfarer, hired a crisis public relations firm to smear her reputation this past summer after the film’s release. The New York Times reported on the details of the allegations made in the complaint, which include messages from the crisis PR representatives asserting they could easily “bury” Lively. Baldoni and Heath deny any wrongdoing.

The response to the story was gigantic—in part because the smear campaign against Lively was successful even beyond the scope of what the crisis PR firm could have hoped to accomplish. As one of the crisis PR reps who orchestrated the campaign put it in a message, uncovered via subpoena, the amount of bashing Lively was subjected to online was “actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women.”

Baldoni, known previously for his role on the CW’s Jane the Virgin, was dropped by his talent agency. He had branded himself as a feminist—and after the Times’ report, an honor he received in December at a star-studded event for men who “elevate women” and “promote gender equality” was rescinded. His female co-host on a podcast called “Man Enough” quit the show.

The documentation seemed incontrovertible, with far-reaching implications. It showed, as the Times put it, “an additional playbook for waging a largely undetectable smear campaign in the digital era.”

The new twist is that Baldoni, Wayfarer, and crisis communications representatives have now sued the Times for libel for its reporting, claiming some $250 million in damages. Baldoni and Wayfarer don’t dispute that they hired a crisis PR firm, but say they did so out of “a legitimate need for public relations protection” from Lively herself, as they feared she was on the brink of taking some interactions out of context, or of blowing them out of proportion. What happened on set, they argue, wasn’t actually sexual harassment, and Lively’s claims that it was are simply false. In fact, the lawsuit implies, she was just a diva. (And supposedly, they’re going to sue Lively soon, too.)

Baldoni and Wayfarer’s version of events, as detailed in the new lawsuit, is a funhouse mirror of Lively’s. In her telling, sexual harassment is clear. In theirs, the interactions were professional, or simply personal, but not in any way inappropriate. And so this is where we are, in 2025, post-#MeToo, three decades after the Anita Hill hearings: still quibbling over what sexual harassment even is.

Lively says that Baldoni showed her a video of his nude wife giving birth, something she found shocking and wildly inappropriate. Baldoni says he did so in the context of discussing a birth scene in the film, and that the video is not pornographic but rather “deeply personal with no sexual overtone.” His wife, Baldoni’s suit says, condoned his showing it. In Lively’s telling, Baldoni conveyed his wife’s consent by saying, “She isn’t weird about this stuff,” which Lively understandably took to imply that it might be weird for her to not welcome it.

Lively also alleges that when filming a scene without sound, Baldoni went off-script and out of character and ran his lips over her neck, telling her she smelled good; she says he also barged into her dressing room when she was breastfeeding. Lively says Baldoni and Heath talked about their past addictions to pornography, which made her extremely uncomfortable. When she tried to shut it down by saying she had never seen porn, she alleges Baldoni announced that claim to a larger group, compounding her discomfort.

Baldoni’s lawsuit doesn’t respond in detail to every allegation, but says that Lively often nursed in meetings and other professional settings and in fact invited him into her trailer while she was pumping. But Lively is far from the only villain in Baldoni’s and his colleagues’ telling. The New York Times itself, they say, has squandered its reputation as “Times reporters have ever more frequently veered spectacularly from their own journalistic guidelines.” When partisans deride the Times as “fake news”—a rallying cry for Donald Trump and his followers—they do so, the Baldoni suit says, “with some justification.”

This is perhaps the most fascinating element: A self-styled male feminist (Baldoni) defending himself by saying that the woman is lying and his actions weren’t harassment, and then referencing the words of an incoming president who is notorious for being accused of sexual abuse many times over—and who was found liable for it by a jury.

It’s totally possible that Baldoni and his co-defendants (and co-plaintiffs) are correct that Lively is a diva who made unreasonable demands and ostracized him. But even if Baldoni’s version of events are true, it’s a bit rich that a male feminist—who claims he made this movie simply to help raise awareness about domestic violence and help survivors—would refuse to take a hard look at the acts that are not in dispute, including showing a video of his wife giving birth to a work colleague. Lively has given birth to four children; she doesn’t need to watch an unsolicited video of her co-star’s nude wife to know what it entails.

【Title/标题】
Nikki Glaser Says She’s Not Touching ‘It Ends With Us’ Controversy During Golden Globes

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：DEADLINE
Written by/作者：Glenn Garner

【Transcript/文稿】
As Nikki Glaser prepares to host the 82nd Golden Globes, she’s staying away from politics and the latest Hollywood drama.

The comedian, whose special Someday You’ll Die is nominated for Best Stand-Up Comedy Performance, recently explained that she’s “not gonna go so hard that anyone’s gonna be offended” during her hosting gig on Sunday’s awards show, airing live at 8pm ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.“I’ve made a point not to, and that’s not to disappoint anyone who’s hoping I’m going to pull a Ricky Gervais,” Glaser told Yahoo Entertainment. “I’m not Ricky Gervais. This isn’t my last Golden Globes, this is my first one. He really went hard on his last one. He was ready to burn some bridges [because] it didn’t matter anymore.”

After Blake Lively officially filed a lawsuit against It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation, Glaser explained that she’s staying away from the behind-the-scenes controversy in her jokes.

“I think the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni thing is such a hot-button thing right now that even a mere mention of it will seem like I could be on the wrong side of things, even though I would never be,” she said. “I also don’t want to give his name any — I’m mad I even know his name, to be honest with you, so I don’t need to say it anymore.”

Glaser also plans to avoid the topic of politics after Donald Trump secured presidential re-election against Vice President Kamala Harris, explaining that “people are just tired of hearing about it, even though it’s looming and it’s in the air.”
“There will be a nod to it, but it will not be too heavy-handed,” said Glaser. “I’ve made a good point not to go too hard.”
Following her breakout performance on Netflix’s The Roast of Tom Brady, Glaser was announced as a first-time Golden Globes host in August. In November, she was also announced as a first-time nominee.

【Title/标题】
What We Know About Meghan Markle’s Netflix Lifestyle Show Ahead Of January Debut

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Forbes
Written by/作者：Mary Rouloffs

【Transcript/文稿】
Meghan Markle is set to make her return to the small screen later this month with a new lifestyle show called "With Love, Meghan," a Netflix original lifestyle series born out of her and Prince Harry’s Archewell Productions’ $100 million deal with the streamer.

A nearly two-minute-long trailer released by Netflix on Thursday shows Markle wandering the rows of a meticulously kept garden, choosing fresh flowers, harvesting honey, kneading homemade bread and working in the kitchen with a lineup of famous friends.

Netflix says the eight-episode show, which will release in full Jan. 15, "reimagines the genre of lifestyle programming, blending practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old."

Actress Mindy Kaling, chefs Alice Walters and Roy Choi, Godmothers Bookstore co-founder Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, “Suits” star Abigail Spencer, Prince Harry and other stars all make appearances in the trailer, with Kaling declaring her time in the duchess’ kitchen “one of the most glamorous moments of my life.”

The show is directed by Michael Steed, the man behind the "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" series, and showrunner Leah Hariton, who also made the Daytime Emmy-nominated "Selena + Chef" show with Selena Gomez.
An upcoming lifestyle series from Markle was first announced by Netflix last April, shortly after Markle launched a lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard in March of 2024 that has yet to produce any content or products.

"We're not in the pursuit of perfection, we're in the pursuit of joy," Markle says in the trailer for “With Love, Meghan.” "Love is in the details."

Before she became engaged to and later married Prince Harry, Markle ran a lifestyle blog called The Tig on which she interviewed celebrities, talked fashion and revealed personal details of her early life and career as an actress. She closed the site in 2017.

“With Love, Meghan" is the fifth project to come out of the reported $100 million deal with Netflix Harry and Meghan made after announcing their departure from the British royal family. "Polo," a five-part series on the sport of professional polo, debuted in December but didn't crack the streamers' top 10. Their first project, a tell-all 2022 documentary called "Harry & Meghan" was watchedfor 81.55 million hours in its first week and became the platform's most-watched documentary premiere. The couple's production company also created “Heart of Invictus,” a documentary following athletes participating in the Prince Harry-founded sporting event for wounded veterans, and “Live to Lead,” a docuseries on impactful world leaders.

In January 2020, 18 months after they were married and less than a year after welcoming their first child, Harry and Meghan announced they would be stepping down as senior royals, citing bullying from the British media, racism within the family and general mistreatment. The couple moved to California, where they had one more child, and have since launched several business ventures to varying degrees of success. The couple created a charity organization and an audio and video production company using the name Archewell and signed deals with Netflix and Spotify worth $100 million and $20 million, respectively. In 2023, the couple's Spotify partnership ended after they reportedly failed to meet “productivity benchmarks.” Last March, Markel announced American Riviera Orchard as a lifestyle brand that, in an LLC filing in Delaware, said it would create an online retail store selling tableware, cutlery, cookbooks, servingware, coffee and tea services, kitchen textiles, jams and jellies, oils and other foods. The brand has hit several road bumps, including the rejection of a trademark request and reports no CEO has been found to lead the business, and has gone nowhere since the announcement. No posts have been made on the brand’s Instagram since last March and the company’s website has been empty.

【Title/标题】

Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper New Year’s Eve Live

【Source/来源】

Media Outlet/媒体：Variety

Written by/作者：William Earl

【Transcript/文稿】

Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper quickly jumped into their old rapport during CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live” on Tuesday, with the two hosts and real-life BFFs teasing each other and breaking out the booze.

Cohen excitedly brought tequila to take a shot at the top of every hour with Cooper. While Cooper, a light drinker, took the first shot in stride, the second one left him gasping for air.

The hosts remained jovial during the show, talking about having giggle fits during commercial breaks and FaceTiming with Hoda Kotb, who was hosting NBC’s New Year’s Eve special, “A Toast to 2024.”

A silly second-hour costume contest, set in front of the duo’s Madame Tussauds wax figures, featured a series of 2024 pop culture get-ups — including pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng, viral French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati and a sad Glasgow Oompa Loompa — which left Cooper in a fit of giggles.

In other media moments, Roy Wood Jr., host of CNN’s weekend comedy panel show “Have I Got News For You,” appeared with the show’s “team captains” Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black, turned down a shot with the hosts, quipping that, “the last Black man to drink on this network got fired,” which seemed to be a nod to Don Lemon getting the axe from CNN in 2023.

The alcohol marched on alongside the guests, as even serious stars like “Conclave” lead Ralph Fiennes threw back a shot with the duo. Amazingly, Fiennes, a distinguished actor, also did a dramatic recitation of the “Very Demure, Very Mindful” meme.

This year is Cohen and Cooper’s eighth time hosting the chatty New Year’s Eve show, which also welcomed plenty of their celeb friends, including chats with Amy Sedaris, Jon Hamm, Ziwe and more. Country singer Mickey Guyton helped the pair usher in 2025 by performing John Lennon’s “Imagine” shortly before the famous ball drop began at the countdown to midnight.

【Title/标题】
BALL DROP IN TIMES SQUARE MARKS THE START OF 2025

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：ABC 7
Written by/作者：Raegan Medgie

【Transcript/文稿】

Nearly a million people braved the pouring rain at the Crossroads of the World to say goodbye to 2024 and usher in a new year

Eyewitness News caught up with revelers who stood in the downpours to ring in the new year in Times Square with a poncho as their only defense.

For every raindrop and rain-soaked performance, there was just as much optimism for 2025.

"I'm just here celebrating love, life, and happiness," one visitor said.

They said they just wanted to take in some of the sights and sounds.

"I've always wanted to do this it's been on my bucket list since I was a kid," said Shauntay who made the trip all the way from California.

"The feel is incredible," said a woman who was there with her family. "We were comparing it to London, where we go often. And New York has it way better than London does!"

The NYPD patrolled the area with bomb-sniffing dogs. And sanitation trucks were positioned to prevent a vehicle-ramming attack, which is just a microcosm of the elaborate safety plan.

"We want everyone to have a happy and safe 2025, no better place to bring it," Mayor Eric Adams said.

Streets surrounding Times Square began closing at 4 am on Tuesday.

The entire area of 57th Street to 42nd Street between Sixth and Eighth Avenues was fully restricted by 11 a.m.

Police and organizers started letting spectators into the ball drop viewing area at 3 p.m.

From Sydney to Vladivostok to Mumbai, communities around the world have begun welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.

Auckland became the first major city to celebrate. Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

【Title/标题】
‘Sonic 3' and ‘Mufasa’ battle for No. 1 at the holiday box office

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：AP News
Written by/作者：Lindsey Bahr

【Transcript/文稿】
Two family films dominated the holiday box office this week, with “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” winning the three-day weekend over “Mufasa” by a blue hair.

Paramount’s Sonic movie earned $38 million, while “Mufasa” brought in $37.1 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. On a normal weekend counting Friday, Saturday and Sunday ticket purchases, the winner would be somewhat clear. But when the Christmas holiday falls on a Wednesday as it did this year, the studios look at two sets of numbers: The five-day earnings and the three-day weekend earnings. With the five-day tally, The Walt Disney Co.'s “Mufasa” had the edge, bringing in $63.8 million.

It all adds up to a rather robust theatrical landscape, helped by the continued success of “Wicked” and “Moana 2,” which are on their sixth and fifth weekends, respectively.

The vampire horror “Nosferatu” also debuted fairly triumphantly. Robert Eggers’ modern reimagining of a 1922 silent film starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp rose to the top of a starry batch of Christmas Day newcomers, which included the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” with Timothée Chalamet; the erotic drama “Babygirl” with Nicole Kidman; and “The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa Shields.

【Title/标题】
‘Squid Game’ Stars Lee Jung-jae and Lee Byung-hun Break Down ‘Fun’ Season 2 Twist for Gi-hun and The Front Man, Plus That Game-Changer Finale

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Variety
Written by/作者：Matt Minton

【Transcript/文稿】
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers from “Squid Game” Season 2 finale, now streaming on Netflix.

Facing betrayal from an inside man infiltrating the Squid Games is nothing new for Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) within the twisted “Squid Game” universe.

When the first season of the Korean drama released on Netflix in 2021, watching Player 001, the old man Oh Il-nam (Oh Yeong-su), be revealed as the creator of the games came as a total surprise for both Gi-hun and the viewer. But in “Squid Game” Season 2, which dropped Thursday, the unexpected involvement of head game guard The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), whose real name is In-ho, is handled quite differently when he joins the games as Player 001 upon Gi-hun’s reentry into the competition.

In-ho uses the fake name Young-il when he introduces himself to Gi-hun, who has returned to the games in “Squid Game” Season 2 to try to take them down from the inside, and conceals his real identity and motives while slowly attempting to gain Gi-hun’s trust and build a group of likeminded players.

“I think it’s kind of fun because only the audience knows that it’s him so it’s more tense for them to watch him in the game, forming this alliance with Gi-hun,” Lee Jung-jae tells Variety. “I think all the viewers will be thinking about is when Gi-hun will finally realize that he is The Front Man, or what game he can go until without revealing his identity.”

When Lee Byung-hun first met with “Squid Game” creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk to discuss possible directions for Season 2, they casually speculated over drinks about In-ho’s backstory. While Season 2 ultimately doesn’t show his past — choosing instead to give details through dialogue about In-ho’s late wife who died of illness when they were destitute — Lee Byung-hun kept thinking about how his character entered the Squid Game the first time he played and, like Gi-hun after him, won the competition, and how his spirit has changed since.

“He’s really seen kind of the bottom pit of humanity and in the midst of the violence and desperation of Squid Game, his hope for humanity and the world has really dwindled,” Lee Byung-hun explains. “He has this very pessimistic view of the people in the world around him.”

Another one of the returning “Squid Game” characters is detective Jun-ho (Wi Ha-joon), who teams up with Gi-hun at the beginning of Season 2 to try and find the Squid Game island again. Jun-ho made his way there in Season 1 searching for his missing brother, In-ho, later finding out that his brother has gone from a former competitor in the games to becoming The Front Man himself. Jun-ho was shot by his brother upon this revelation in Season 1 and barely survived falling off the cliffs of the Squid Game island. When he teams up with Gi-hun to try to get back to the island again and end the games in Season 2, he decides not to tell Gi-hun that The Front Man is his brother.

Showing In-ho playing the games alongside Gi-hun, who still fights to believe in the best in people and humanity — despite the cruelty of the Squid Game — pits two opposing characters together. Lee Byung-hun was tasked to act out much of this subtly as In-ho (who watched Gi-hun from behind a mask in Season 1) studies Gi-hun through the various games while forming a bond with him and not letting his true thoughts out.

Lee Byung-hun describes how “when [In-ho] meets Gi-hun, who is still trying to break down the system, who returns to the games to be able to change something, because he still has hope for humanity — I think In-ho really wants to break Gi-hun’s spirit, and that’s why you see him observing him throughout the games and very meticulously making a plan to dismantle a lot of what he is doing.”

【Title/标题】
‘Dexter: Original Sin’ Is Guilty of Beating a Dead Horse: TV Review

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Variety
Written by/作者：Alison Herman

【Transcript/文稿】
It is seemingly not possible for “Dexter,” as a franchise, to move forward. In the final moments of the sequel series “New Blood,” which aired eight years after the original series finale in 2013, Michael C. Hall’s serial killer was fatally shot. (Or at least, he appeared to be — more on that in a second.) This development, on its surface, marked the end of the road for one of the defining leads of the antihero era, a role Hall had been playing for 15 years at the time. Sure, yet another follow-up, “Resurrection,” would pass the torch to Dexter’s son Harrison (Jack Alcott). But if network Showtime wanted to keep wringing drops from this blood-soaked towel, the only direction left to go in was back.

Incredibly, the prequel “Dexter: Original Sin” tries to have it both ways. Not only does the 10-episode season — advance screeners of which were not provided for critics — wind the clock back to 1991, when a 20-year-old Dexter (Patrick Gibson) graduates from the University of Miami and makes his way into the local police department as a paid intern. The show, created by original “Dexter” showrunner Clyde Phillips, also undoes the seeming finality of “New Blood.” As it turns out, Dexter survived, and the events of “Original Sin” are framed as memories he mulls over while on the operating table. Before introducing Gibson, the camera zooms in so the “Emergency Room” sign instead reads “Emerge.”

The immediate, insurmountable problem with “Original Sin” is that the same superfans who form its target audience are already familiar with its major events, because “Dexter” itself was chock-full of flashbacks. Christian Slater may be new to the part of Detective Harry Morgan, but it’s long-established “Dexter” lore that Harry helped his adoptive son channel his “Dark Passenger” to more (debatably) constructive ends by targeting other killers. Even the identity of his first victim, a nurse who preyed on her patients, is locked into the canon. There aren’t many gaps left in Dexter’s early life for “Original Sin” to fill in.

“Original Sin” opts to steer into the skid, embracing repetition rather than putting in much effort to avoid it. Dexter’s coworkers Batista (James Martinez) and Masuka (Alex Shimizu) are introduced exactly as they will be in the first series, right down to their costumes: Batista is a gregarious mensch in a fedora, Masuka is a skeezy lech, and both are already installed at Miami Metro. While Maria LaGuerta (Christina Milian) at least gets a backstory as a new detective who’s been publicly critical of the homicide department’s disproportionate focus on white, well-off victims, she’s not that far removed from the woman she’ll be in 15 years. Gibson spends most of the premiere in a ridiculous wig of surfer curls; by the end, he’s got Hall’s haircut, and his inner monologue sounds suspiciously like his predecessor. (Hall returns IRL for the opening scene, but retreats to the sound booth to provide narration throughout.)

Dexter may be a relative novice at 20 years old, yet he already has his M.O. of wrapping his victims and their environs in plastic — both to restrain them and allow for efficient cleanup — dialed in. His sister Deb (Molly Brown) is a bratty teenager, and there’s a faint whiff of novelty to “Original Sin” as a demented family sitcom about a grieving family with some deadly secrets. (In 1991, Deb and Dexter’s mother has recently passed away.) Dexter’s first kill, initiated by the nurse poisoning Harry when he’s hospitalized after a heart attack, is intercut with Deb’s high school volleyball game. But there’s not enough to unseat the impression that “Original Sin” is just playing back the hits, right down to a soundtrack of ‘90s touchstones like “Ice Ice Baby.” The show could’ve taken more time to get Dexter in the swing of things; instead, he satisfies his bloodlust and lands the job in 45 minutes of screentime.

“Original Sin” offers some new information via Harry, who gets his own garishly color-saturated timeline set in the 1970s. But the device just turns into an echo of the “Dexter” flashbacks, and calls attention to how much the slight ‘90s timeline is in need of padding out. The “fresh” faces in the “Original Sin” ensemble are themselves avatars of nostalgia: Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Dexter’s new boss, while Patrick Dempsey appears as the mustachioed, helmet-haired police chief. (At least the hair and makeup departments are having fun!) “Original Sin” doesn’t draw any new life from a piece of IP that’s now old enough to vote. It does, however, represent the profit-chasing retrospection that’s devouring culture from the inside out like a termite infestation. All that’s left is a hollow structure to be blown away by the next Miami storm.

The first episode of “Dexter: Original Sin” is now streaming on Paramount+ and will premiere on Showtime on Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. ET, with remaining episodes streaming on Fridays and airing on Sundays.

【Title/标题】
Billboard Music Awards 2024: See the Complete Winners List!

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：People
Written by/作者：Glenn Garner

【Transcript/文稿】
The metrics are in, and the 31st Billboard Music Awards has honored the year’s most listened-to artists, albums, songs, producers and songwriters.

Making history with most career wins at 49 total, Taylor Swift swept Thursday’s awards show with 10 wins, including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Streaming Songs Artist and Top Billboard 200 album for The Tortured Poets Department.

Zach Bryan followed with five wins, and Morgan Wallen won four categories. Shaboozey, Bad Bunny, Drake and Elevation Worship each won three awards.

Meanwhile, Chappell Roan was crowned Top New Artist, and fans officially declared Beyoncé as Top Female Country Artist after her album debut in the genre with Cowboy Carter.

Thursday’s BBMAs were hosted by Michelle Buteau, featuring awards celebrations around the world and performances by Coldplay, Fuerza Regida, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, SEVENTEEN, Shaboozey, Stray Kids, Teddy Swims and Tyla.

Here are the winners of the 31st Billboard Music Awards, which is available to stream Friday on Hulu.

Top Artist
Taylor Swift

Top New Artist
Chappell Roan

Top Male Artist
Morgan Wallen

Top Female Artist
Taylor Swift

Top Duo/Group
Fuerza Regida

Top Billboard 200 Artist
Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Artist
Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Songwriter
Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Producer
Jack Antonoff

Top Streaming Songs Artist
Taylor Swift

Top Radio Songs Artist
Taylor Swift

Top Song Sales Artist
Shaboozey

Top Billboard Global 200 Artist
Taylor Swift

Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Artist
Taylor Swift

Top R&B Artist
SZA

Top R&B Male Artist
Tommy Richman

Top R&B Female Artist
SZA

Top R&B Touring Artist
Bruno Mars

Top Rap Artist
Drake

Top Rap Male Artist
Drake

Top Rap Female Artist
Doja Cat

Top Rap Touring Artist
Travis Scott

Top Country Artist
Morgan Wallen

Top Country Male Artist
Morgan Wallen

Top Country Female Artist
Beyoncé

Top Country Duo/Group
The Red Clay Strays

Top Country Touring Artist
Zach Bryan

Top Rock Artist
Zach Bryan

Top Hard Rock Artist
Linkin Park

Top Rock Duo/Group
Linkin Park

Top Rock Touring Artist
Coldplay

Top Latin Artist
Bad Bunny

Top Latin Male Artist
Bad Bunny

Top Latin Female Artist
KAROL G

Top Latin Duo/Group
Fuerza Regida

Top Latin Touring Artist
Luis Miguel

Top Global K-Pop Artist
Stray Kids

Top K-Pop Touring Artist
SEVENTEEN

Top Afrobeats Artist
Tyla

Top Dance/Electronic Artist
Charli XCX

Top Christian Artist
Elevation Worship

Top Gospel Artist
CeCe Winans

Top Billboard 200 Album
Taylor Swift — The Tortured Poets Department

【Title/标题】
As ‘Kraven’ Hunts for Audience, Sony’s Marvel Universe Takes Final Bow for Now | Analysis

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：The Wrap
Written by/作者：Umberto Gonzalez

【Transcript/文稿】
The lights were on, but nobody came. At Brazil’s prestigious Comic Con Experience (CCXP) on Sunday, Sony Pictures’ surprise panel for “Kraven the Hunter” — the studio’s latest non-Spider-Man Marvel movie — played to rows of empty seats, according to an individual in attendance. There were no stars, and not that many fans. Just silence where superhero hype should have been.

The half-empty panel presentation of a $110 million budgeted antihero movie at one of the world’s largest pop culture events reflected the Sony Marvel franchise’s diminishing profile outside the mainline “Spider-Man” movies starring Tom Holland. While “Venom: The Last Dance” launched on more than 4,000 movie screens in October, “Kraven the Hunter” will debut this Friday in just 3,000 — a stark 25% reduction that signals waning confidence in Sony’s failed Marvel experiment.

The latest setback follows a string of disappointments for Sony as it has sought to exploit its rights hold on most of the characters in Marvel’s “Spider-Man” comics, from the historic second-week collapse of “Morbius” in 2022 to the disastrous $52 million worldwide opening of “Madame Web” earlier this year.

The studio’s desire to capitalize on the superhero boom led to a series of tonal mismatches that left audiences confused rather than intrigued. “Venom” succeeded largely on Tom Hardy’s chaotic charm, but attempts to replicate that formula with “Morbius” and “Madame Web” resulted in films that seemed uncertain whether they were horror, action or comedy.

The identity crisis extended beyond individual films to the universe as a whole, which never established a consistent style or vision in the way Marvel Studios had with the MCU.

“Anytime you try to spin off a character, you’re hoping to grab some of that magic created by the halo effect that the branding of ‘Spider-Man’ can bring to the table, but it’s not always a slam dunk,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore told the Wrap. “It’s easier said than done.” Although Dergarabedian noted that “Kraven” could find a place in the December marketplace as R-rated counterprogramming to family friendly are.

Sony declined to comment for this story.

The apparent end of Sony’s Marvel spinoff franchise represents one of Hollywood’s most ambitious – and costly – attempts to build a shared cinematic universe without its central character. While Spider-Man himself swings successfully through Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to a landmark shared deal struck in 2015 with Marvel Studios, Sony’s solo efforts to mine Spidey’s rogues gallery have proved to be a costly catastrophe: The studio has burned through more than $465 million in production costs while audience interest plummeted with each release.

“The biggest issue with the Sony Spider-Man spinoffs seems to be the lack of quality control. The movies just aren’t good,” a Sony insider told The Wrap. “Sometimes that lack of quality meets a movie no one asked for, which was the case with ‘Madame Web,’ and that is a no-win scenario. It may be time for Sony to start cultivating different IP to launch new franchises.”

The financial trajectory of Sony’s Marvel universe tells its own stark story. While 2018’s “Venom” grossed $856 million worldwide and its sequel managed to cross $500 million despite pandemic constraints, each subsequent release showed diminishing returns.

The Jared Leto-fronted “Morbius” limped to $167 million globally, with a historic 74% second-weekend box office drop that became a social media punchline. While “Venom: The Last Dance” — the third and likely final film in the “Venom” franchise — demonstrated the enduring appeal of Hardy’s portrayal with a $472 million worldwide gross as of Monday, the Dakota Johnson-led “Madame Web” marked a new low for the franchise. Its $52 million worldwide opening earlier this year represented one of the weakest debuts for a major superhero film in recent memory, compounded by a wave of memes poking fun at the female-centric film’s quality.

【Title/标题】
Timothée Chalamet Pre-Recorded Bob Dylan Vocals for ‘A Complete Unknown,’ but James Mangold Ditched Them After Hearing Him Sing Live

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体：Variety
Written by/作者：Jazz Tangcay

【Transcript/文稿】
Yes, Timothée Chalamet pre-recorded his vocals to play Bob Dylan in James Mangold‘s “A Complete Unknown,” but he also sang live. Mangold decided he was going to go with the live performance after being blown away by the actor’s performance.

Mangold is no stranger to his actors singing live. Joaquin Phoenix did it for “Walk the Line” playing Johnny Cash. In “A Complete Unknown,” Chalamet portrays a young Dylan who arrives in New York in 1961 and rapidly ascends through the folk scene. The film takes place from 1961 to 1965 when Dylan goes electric.

It’s not a typical biopic, as Mangold puts it, because the story isn’t anchored in Dylan’s birth and life story. Rather the film focuses on Dylan and the folk scene in New York back then. Mangold told an audience at the WGA during a post-screening in Beverly Hills on Friday night, “The other benefit was that in between 1961 and 1965, he wrote all the songs heard in this movie — and the guy was not even 24 where this movie ends. That is only a tenth of the songs he wrote in that period.”

Every song was pre-recorded as a precaution and to have a logistical backup. Audiences can hear those tracks on the forthcoming soundtrack because “we didn’t use them during the movie,” Mangold revealed.

The film took five years to get going due to COVID and the labor union strikes, but that stoppage worked to Mangold’s advantage. He said the actors, particularly Chalamet, spent time honing their crafts, perfecting their singing and getting acquainted with their instruments.

Mangold was grateful for that, stating “There are all these downsides that come with playback.”

Filming finally began in early 2024, and Mangold wasn’t sure if he would use live recordings all the way through. One of the first scenes he filmed was the moment with Dylan and Woody Guthrie, played by Scoot McNairy. “We shot that in the first five or six days,” Mangold said. “And there was a whole backstage thing with Timmy saying, ‘I want to try it live.’”

Admittedly, Mangold said, “some of the sound and music direction people were like, ‘It’s not a good idea.’” But Mangold didn’t want to hold anyone back, particularly Chalamet. So they went for it. “And he was phenomenal. Not only that, he proved the brilliance of the method.” Mangold continued, “There’s this moment where he finishes that song and he holds a note and just keeps hitting the low string on the guitar over and over again, and he’s just his eyes are kind of boring into Woody, and he’s just holding this note, and it gave him chills.” How did Mangold feel hearing that? “I remember sitting there eight feet from him as he did it, and I remember thinking, ‘Holy shit.’ That could not have happened if there was an earwig in his ear.”

With Mangold wearing multiple hats as a director and producer, he wasn’t sure if they could continue doing the live performances throughout the entire shoot, so he didn’t make any promises. However, as they continued, he said, “We just kept doubling down until we made our way through the whole movie.”

And how did they pull it off? The sound team strategically placed a selection of mics to capture the performance. Sound mixer Tod Maitland had to find a way to mic Chalamet, particularly during the acoustic aspects of the movie. Dylan held his guitar high, and there was no way to wire him in the typical fashion. Speaking with Variety, Maitland said, “I talked to Timmy early on, and I said, ‘The only way that we’re going to be able to do this is if I can wire you and your hair,’ and the microphone would then come off of his forehead and go right down past his mouth, right to the guitar.”

Other times, the sound team used 40 different practical microphones that were period correct. Maitland explained, “The idea was to get a little bit different sound in each different venue by using practical microphones from the period. That helped create a nice tapestry of sounds. But Timmy went 100% live. It was pretty amazing.”

The most challenging aspect was Chalamet’s voice and capturing the different ways he delivered those performances. Maitland explained, “Bob’s a mutterer, and Timmy gave his best mutter, so it was pulling that out. He would go from there to that twangy, tough voice that could shrill your eardrums. But there were, like four different voices inside of Timmy capturing all those and giving them all character was a whole other dimension.”

Supervising music editor Ted Caplan noted that while the film doesn’t show full performances or full song moments, every single one was recorded “from top to tail” Even the film’s climatic Newport Folk Festival 1965, which saw Dylan take his electric guitar public, much to the audience’s chagrin, was recorded. “That was recorded as a full concert; from the Hammer song to ‘Baby Blue,’ it was one run,” said Caplan, explaining that rather than do take after take of each song, the concerts were done as single straight runs. “I think it gave it a special live real magic.” He added, “You can see Timmy is so into it and so in the mindset of it.”

【Title/标题】Golden Globes 2025 Nominations: ‘Emilia Perez’ Dominates Films With 10 Nods; ‘The Bear’ Leads TV With Five

【Source/来源】
Media Outlet/媒体: Variety
Written by/作者：Matt Donnelly, Jordan Moreau

【Transcript/文稿】
“Emilia Pérez” has a lot more to sing and dance about, raking in 10 nominations at Monday’s 2025 Golden Globe Awards nominations.

Jacques Audiard’s charming drug cartel musical, acquired by Netflix out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, scored the most nods out of any feature film contender. It’s up for best motion picture – musical or comedy, director for Audiard, supporting actress for Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez, actress for Karla Sofia Gascón, screenplay, original score and more.

Not far behind is Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” a sweeping A24 drama about the trials of a Hungarian architect under the thumb of an enigmatic art patron. In addition to nabbing a nod for best motion picture – drama, stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones both scored acting nominations and Guy Pearce took one for supporting. The project was also recognized in score and screenplay categories. That’s seven total, one more than the haul from another leading contender, Focus Features’ “Conclave.” Its star Ralph Fiennes earned a best actor in a drama nomination for his portrayal of a conflicted priest overseeing a papal election crawling with sabotage and subplots. His co-star Isabella Rossellini received supporting actress recognition, with the film fetching score, screenplay and best picture nods.

Other notable films of the year to notch four or more Globe nominations include “Anora,” “Challengers,” “A Real Pain,” the Universal juggernaut “Wicked” and — the surprise of Monday morning’s announcement — Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance,” including best musical or comedy, lead actress for Demi Moore, supporting actress for Margaret Qualley and best director.

The year was also strong in double (and triple!) nominees. Sebastian Stan is nominated for best actor in a motion picture in both comedy/musical (“A Different Man”) and drama (“The Apprentice”). Kate Winslet was recognized in lead actress drama for the biopic “Lee” and as a limited series actress for HBO’s “The Regime.” Selena Gomez took home acting noms for “Emilia Pérez” and in television series – musical or comedy for Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.” Audiard of “Emilia Pérez” received nominations for directing, screenwriting and his contributions to the original song “El Mal.”

On the TV side, FX/Hulu’s “The Bear” continues its trophy domination with the most nominations for any series; that’s five for the restaurant-set dramedy including best musical/comedy and acting noms for Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Liza Cólon-Zayas.

“Only Murders in the Building” and “Shogun” earned four nominations each, with Netflix’s buzzy new rom-com “Nobody Wants This” making a surprise entry with acting and series nods. Newcomers like “Baby Reindeer,” “Disclaimer” and “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” took home three noms apiece. Eyebrows were raised with the inclusion of the Netflix sensation “Squid Game,” the second season of which was nominated for best series drama despite the fact that it will not debut on the streamer until the end of December.

This is the second year for two newly minted Globes categories. The first is for achievement in stand-up comedy specials, which for 2025 has nominees including Jamie Foxx, Nikki Glaser, Seth Meyers, Adam Sandler, Ali Wong and Ramy Youssef. The second is a prize for achievement at the global box office, which this year will see “Wicked,” “The Wild Robot,” “Alien: Romulus,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Gladiator II,” “Twisters,” “Inside Out 2” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” battle it out.

【来源】CNN

【标题】Jay-Z denies allegations he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old in 2000 with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

【正文】
A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Sean “Diddy” Combs has amended her lawsuit to include allegations that she was also assaulted by Jay-Z at the same party.

The lawsuit was initially filed against Combs in October, but on Sunday the woman added Shawn Carter, the rapper and businessman known as Jay-Z, as a defendant in the civil lawsuit.

Carter is the first celebrity to be accused of sexual assault in connection to Combs.

In a statement addressed to CNN, Carter called the allegations “so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?”

Combs was indicted on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and prostitution related charges. Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied all wrongdoing in roughly 30 civil lawsuits that have been filed against him.

The woman, who is identified as a Jane Doe, says she was 13 years old at the time she was allegedly assaulted by Combs and Carter at an after party following the Video Music Awards in 2000. The woman alleges she began to feel woozy after consuming a drink at the party and wandered into a nearby bedroom. The woman alleges Carter raped her first, followed by Combs. The woman says she hit Combs and ran out of the party, according to the amended lawsuit.

Carter was identified in the initial lawsuit as Celebrity A.

News of the lawsuit was first reported by NBC.

According to the lawsuit, the Doe’s attorneys reached out to Carter to request “a mediation to resolve this matter.”

“Upon present information and belief, Jay-Z responded to said letter by not only filing an utterly frivolous lawsuit, but by also orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation against Plaintiff’s lawyers, their families, employees and former associates in an attempt to silence Plaintiff from naming Jay-Z herein. This effort was meant to scare Plaintiff and to discredit her counsel. That effort failed. Indeed, Plaintiff chose to file this amendment as a result of the egregious conduct perpetuated by Carter,” according to the lawsuit.

In his response sent to CNN on Sunday – which was addressed to Doe’s attorney – Carter called the mediation request a “blackmail attempt.” Carter also said this lawyer, “who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!”

In a statement from Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee on Saturday, he wrote, “The pleading speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court.”

CNN has also reached out to Jay-Z’s wife Beyoncé Knowles for comment.

Carter added in his statement that his “only heartbreak” is for his family: “My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age.”

CNN reported in November that an anonymous male celebrity filed a lawsuit against the Texas attorney representing the Doe alleging he was the victim of an extortion scheme.

The celebrity accused Buzbee and his firm of “shamelessly attempting to extort exorbitant sums from him or else publicly file wildly false horrific allegations against him.”

Attorneys for the unnamed celebrity claimed further the Buzbee had “threatened to unleash entirely fabricated and salacious allegations of sexual assault” that included “multiple instances of rape of a minor, both male and female” if their client “refuses to comply with their demands.”

Buzbee denied the extortion claims against him, in an Instagram post in which he wrote that his firm “won’t allow the powerful and their high-dollar lawyers to intimidate or silence sexual assault survivors,” and in a statement to CNN.

“If you are trying to hide your identity and you claim you did nothing wrong, doesn’t seem very smart to take this approach,” Buzbee told CNN in an email at the time. “We will address it in due course.”

“I have confidence that with full public disclosure all of this will sort itself out,” Buzbee wrote.

European Film Award Winners: Jacques Audiard’s ‘Emilia Pérez’ Takes Best Film — Full List

Jacques Audiard’s latest Emilia Pérez dominated the European Film Awards this evening in Lucerne, Switzerland, taking Best Film and Best Director. Check out the full winners list below.

The Netflix crime drama won all four of it’s nominations. Audiard’s pic came into this evening’s tied with Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door for the most noms. The film’s haul included Best Actress for Karla Sofia Gascón and Best Screenplay.

Other big winners this evening in Switzerland included filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis who won Best Animated feature for his buzzy pic Flow and the Palestinian-Israeli film No Other Land took the Best Documentary prize.

Tonight’s dominant display hands Audiard and his Emilia Pérez collaborators a significant vote of confidence as they head into the heat of awards seasons. The European Film Awards, which are voted on by the Berlin-based European Film Academy’s some 5,000 members based across Europe, are also seen as a bellwether for which European films are likely to pick up steam in the U.S. awards season.

Last year’s Best European Film winner Anatomy of a Fall garnered five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Sandra Hüller), with director Justine Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari winning the Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

This year’s ceremony in Lucerne marked the last time it takes place in December with the dates shifting to mid-January, starting with the 38th edition in 2026, as part of a strategy to position the prizes within the wider awards season conversation on both sides of the Atlantic.

‘Y2K’ Review: Dying Like It’s 1999
A computer glitch makes electronics go haywire in this zany and nostalgic horror-comedy from the comedian Kyle Mooney.

The first 20 minutes of the director Kyle Mooney’s “Y2K” are so densely packed with references to turn-of-the-millennium pop cultural ephemera — AND1 apparel, “That 70s Show,” devil sticks, Tae Bo and the Dancing Baby, to name a handful — that I was exhausted by nostalgia before the end of the first act.

Mooney’s ordinarily eccentric, heavily ironic sense of humor, honed over many years on his cult-favorite YouTube channel and later on “Saturday Night Live,” seemed to have been replaced by something more cloying and conventional, where simply reminiscing about 1999 was a substitute for actually writing jokes about it. (Mooney and Evan Winter penned the screenplay.) Where was the genius behind such classic sketches as “ball champions,” an early forerunner of “How To With John Wilson” and “I Think You Should Leave”?

But then the movie takes a sudden, jarring pivot, and Mooney’s unique sensibility aggressively (and thankfully) reasserts itself: A familiar story of teenage slackers at a New Year’s Eve party transforms into an anarchic, over-the-top Armageddon picture, as the “Y2K problem,” the computer coding crisis that incited much fear on the eve of the year 2000, turns all electronics evil and bloodthirsty at the stroke of midnight. A beard trimmer leaps into jugulars, a VCR shoots tapes like a cannon, and the carnage of consumer goods is nasty, gory and cruel, with a darkly comic mean streak that recalls Joe Dante’s “Gremlins.”
Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison and Rachel Zegler, as the teens tasked with thwarting the apocalypse, make charming heroes — but it’s Mooney himself, as the loquacious stoner Garret, who is the film’s dopey MVP.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival kicked off its fourth edition with a starry opening ceremony on Thursday evening as it returned to the historic Al-Balad neighborhood of its home port city of Jeddah.

Among the stars hitting the red carpet were Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones as well as Spike Lee, who is the jury president this year, Eva Longoria, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo, Will Smith, Michelle Rodriguez and career honorees Vin Diesel, Emily Blunt and Aamir Khan.

As he received his career award, Diesel commented on the star wattage in the room: “There might be more familiar faces than some of the awards shows back in America. Am I crazy to say that? There are just so many great people here.”

Singling out Lee, The Fast & Furious star revealed how he had worked as an extra on the director’s movies in the 1980s. “When I saw Spike, I would try to run because if anyone sees you as an extra, you’ll always be an extra. I was doing extra work on his movies and hiding,” he recalled.

“I never knew that,” Lee shouted up from the floor.

Lee noted in his speech that this was his third time in Saudi Arabia, having previously attended the festival in 2022 and also shot part of his 1992 Oscar-nominated film Malcolm X in Mecca.

He described being asked to be jury president as one of those blessings that come out of nowhere.

“This definitely goes in that category. When I got the call that [they] wanted me to be president of the jury, it didn’t take me too long to answer, I said, ‘Hell yeah’,” he recounted.

The return to Al-Balad marks a milestone for the festival with its parent body opening permanent headquarters in the neighbourhood.

The festival has taken place in Jeddah’s chateau like Ritz Carlton hotel over the past two years, but most guests were happy to be back in Al-Balad, which hosted the event in its inaugural year, and has been considerably spruced up since.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Women in Entertainment event, presented by Lifetime, returned on Wednesday for its yearly celebration of Hollywood’s most powerful ladies.

This year, the star-studded event — which coincided with the publication of THR’s annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 — honored Nicole Kidman with the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, highlighting a woman who is a pioneer in her field. Selena Gomez was also recognized with the Equity in Entertainment Award, honoring her work amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry.

Nikki Glaser kicked off the morning, joking, “What better time to honor women than at 8 a.m., before the industry is even awake, in that coveted post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas Hollywood dead zone? We are women in Hollywood, hear us roar!”

“Let’s just take a moment right now to really appreciate the firepower in this room. Look around — this is the Power 100. The most powerful women in Hollywood, assembled here together in the same room. We’re like the Avengers of people who haven’t seen The Avengers,” Glaser joked, while also admitting it can be hard to be encouraging when the industry pits women against each other.

THR deputy editorial director Jeanie Pyun and writer-at-large Lacey Rose then took the stage alongside THR president Joe Shields and senior vp entertainment, digital sales and strategy Lori O’Connor as they congratulated this year’s honorees and thanked the event sponsors. The group brought up Molly Shannon, who was on hand to present Gomez with the Equity in Entertainment Award.

Shannon, who worked with Gomez on season four of Only Murders in the Building, gushed, “From the moment we met, I knew I was in the presence of someone truly extraordinary. Yes, she’s an incredibly talented actress, a multiplatinum Grammy-nominated recording artist and a history-making producer. But more than that, someone who genuinely cares about people and the world around her. She uses her platform to make a real, lasting impact.”

Adam Somner, an award-winning assistant director, producer and longtime collaborator of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson, has died. He was 57.

Somner died Wednesday of anaplastic thyroid cancer, a family spokesperson announced.

Some of the movies Somner worked on with Spielberg throughout his career were West Side Story, Lincoln, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ready Player One, Bridge of Spies and Munich.

Somner earned an Oscar nomination for his work on 2021’s Licorice Pizza and received a DGA Award for outstanding directorial achievement in a feature for 2015’s The Revenant.

“The job title ‘assistant director’ is insufficient to describe what Adam Somner was to me and the contribution he made to my films — just as my left arm is more than just an assistant to my right,” Spielberg wrote in a tribute. “He worked as AD and producer, and he performed both of those tasks with equal measures of devotion. He loved making movies. He loved being on the set. It was his gridiron. He was a cheerleader and ball carrier, and at times I couldn’t tell if he was following my lead or I was following his.”

The filmmaker continued: “He made everyone who joined the crew feel like they were part of the family. He was a uniter, and when things weren’t going according to plan, his English working class wit and humor could smooth out the problem through his under-the-breath cursing, laughter and the backup plan he always seemed to have standing by. He was an icon in his field and an inspiration to anyone who wants a career in the mounting of productions — with the full recognition that it is as creative as it is organizational. Going back to work without Adam will never be the same.”

Scorsese shared in a statement: “Adam Somner had an extraordinary artistry when it came to organizing and orchestrating movement in the frame. He embodied and practiced all of it.”

K-pop sensation NewJeans said late on Thursday they are leaving label Ador, a subsidiary of Korean billionaire Bang Si-hyuk’s entertainment giant Hybe, citing alleged “mistreatment” and “manipulation.”

The announcement made by the five-member girl group comes after a months-long internal company dispute between Hybe and Ador, which only manages NewJeans. It sent shares of Hybe, best known for nurturing K-pop powerhouse BTS, down 4% on the Korean stock exchange on Friday while shares of rivals SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment gained over 1% and JYP Entertainment rose 3.5%.

In a press conference on Thursday, NewJeans said they would terminate their contract with Ador on Friday. “We have faced mistreatment not just towards us, but also including our staff, countless preventions and contradictions, deliberate miscommunications and manipulation regarding multiple areas,” said NewJeans member Pham Ngoc Han, who goes by Hanni.

“Ador has neither the will nor the ability to protect us. Therefore, staying here would be a waste of time would continue to cause us mental distress,” said
Pham. “More importantly, there is nothing to gain professionally, so we believe there is no reason for the five of us to remain with Ador.”

In an email response on Friday, Ador expressed regret about NewJeans’ decision to cease the contract “without sufficient review, prior to receiving a response to the legal notice,” adding that the contract“remains in full effect.” Meanwhile, Hybe said in a stock exchange filing it will disclose the decision regarding the contract termination “as soon as it is made.”

The management feud started earlier this year when Hybe sought to remove Min Hee-jin as CEO of Ador, accusing her of trying to take over Ador with outside investors. Min refuted the allegations and said Hybe’s move was a retaliation against her whistleblowing on alleged plagiarism by another label of Hybe in directing a new girl group called Illit.

“Moana,” Disney’s breezy foray into Polynesian myth and culture, was released almost exactly eight years ago. Anyone remember what was going on that month? Amid an election, a reckoning and political anxiety, Moana’s anthems about voyaging beyond the confines of her coral reef (the tropical version of a glass ceiling) to save her people from environmental disaster rang out with special feeling.

That resonance doesn’t really carry over into “Moana 2,” a sequel that seems to abide by the “if it ain’t broke” rule. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, the movie charts a parallel course to its predecessor, following Moana (voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho) as she leaves home on an odyssey with her island’s future at stake. Along the way, she meets up with Maui (Dwayne Johnson), the burly, smug demigod still prone to jaunty jibes — he often calls Moana “Curly” — and corny metatextual commentary written, presumably, for the benefit of the millennial and Gen-X adults in the room.

Coming off a successful restoration of the hydrosphere’s ecological balance, Moana, now a practiced voyager, begins the sequel by expressing an upgraded objective: establish contact with inhabitants of nearby islands. Soon enough, she receives a vision from her ancestors on the very topic, encouraging her to take an arduous journey across the ocean. Upon her dad’s urging, Moana assembles a small and somewhat haphazard way-finding crew, including a crotchety agriculturalist (David Fane), an excitable marine engineer (Rose Matafeo) and a muscled communications expert (Hualalai Chung). This jumble of new faces often feels like a waste of screen space, especially when the ocean, a wonderful animistic motif, is perfectly capable of buoying Moana on her travels.

New details have emerged about how Liam Payne spent his final hours at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina — and the investigation has raised some serious questions.

Argentine police released CCTV footage that appears to show Payne being carried by three men, believed to be hotel employees, back to his third-floor room minutes before his death. The former One Direction singer was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, according to his autopsy, and allegedly had caused multiple disturbances in the lobby in the days leading up to his death. However, Payne appears conscious in the video as he holds his head upright while carried. Shortly after he was taken back to his hotel room, the singer fell to his death.

TMZ obtained the police report that claims Payne may have been trying to escape his room via the balcony when he fell. Some witness accounts allegedly support the theory. Payne had a bag strapped around his shoulder when his body was recovered, which he did not have in the lobby video from just before the incident. A hotel employee also discovered a brown duffel bag on the second-floor balcony directly below his room. There was a note that purportedly said "for Liam" with pills and a bottle of Jack Daniel's. One theory is that he dropped the bag down before attempting to escape from his balcony.

According to the surveillance video obtained by TMZ, Payne did not want to return to his room and struggled with hotel security, who used a master key to let him inside. The staff also removed a mirror outside his bedroom. Sources claim to the outlet that Payne did not like being alone in hotel rooms like he often was during his One Direction period.

During his fall, he was in a state of "semi- or total unconsciousness." The prosecutor's office ruled out "self-harm of any kind" or that a third party was responsible for Payne's fall. He had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system.

The audience is "embodying what the children are feeling in their gut but can’t see," explains Christina Voros of flashing back to the night that explained the fate of Kevin Costner's character, John Dutton.

Time caught up to itself in the latest episode of Yellowstone and, just as director Christina Voros and the cast have been promising, the drama that ensued was propulsive.

“Knowing that’s where we were going, it’s all made sense to me,” Voros tells The Hollywood Reporter of season 5B’s two timelines — the past and the present — merging with episode three, “Three Fifty-Three,” which aired Sunday. “Not knowing where it’s leading I think has left some people feeling like they don’t know where it’s leading — which is the point. You don’t understand the point until you get there.”

The point of arrival was 3:53 a.m., the precise time that John Dutton was murdered. The season 5B premiere had revealed what happened to the main character played by Kevin Costner, who departed the series between seasons 5A and 5B. John died by an apparent suicide, but his death was revealed to the audience to be the result of a murder-for-hire plot launched by the partner of his estranged, adopted son Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), fixer Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri).

“Three Fifty-Three” flashed back to the night of the murder, showing in step-by-step detail how assassins broke into the Montana governor’s mansion and knocked him out in order to stage his death as a suicide.

“Wicked” debuted to $164.2 million at the global box office, a towering figure that includes $50.1 million in overseas ticket sales. Universal’s big-budget adaptation of the hit musical was far bigger in North America with $118 million, ranking as the third-biggest domestic debut of the year and the best ever for a Broadway adaptation.

Globally, “Wicked” notched the largest opening for a film that’s based on a Broadway show, supplanting 2012’s “Les Miserables,” which ignited to $103 million. Ticket sales for “Wicked” rank as the fifth-biggest worldwide debut in history for a musical, ahead of Disney’s 2023 “The Little Mermaid” reimagining ($163.6 million) and behind 2019’s “The Lion King” ($446 million), 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast” remake ($358 million), 2019’s “Frozen 2” ($358 million ) and 2019’s “Aladdin” ($213 million).

As Glinda sings in the fizzy musical, critical reviews and word of mouth have been euphoric. In terms of individual markets, “Wicked” enjoyed the strongest start in the United Kingdom and Ireland with $17.6 million, followed by Australia with $6.7 million, Korea with $4.7 million and Mexico with $4 million. It has yet to open in major territories including France, China and Japan.

Lizzo just dropped new selfie pictures on social media and fans can't stop talking about her new snatched look.

Hitting the angles in a series of four photos shared on Instagram Nov. 22, the “Good as Hell” singer posed from a car seat dressed in a sheer white crop top with an embroidered jean skirt that had a sheer white bottom to match. She complimented the look with two long braids.

In the comment section of the post, several Instagram users wrote that Lizzo looked “beautiful.”Another said, “whew girl !! you looking skinny!! still beautiful both ways . love it.”

Lizzo has been open with fans about her weight-loss experience, sharing recipes, workouts and healthy habits on her social media pages.

Earlier this year, the singer told The New York Times that she’s on a “natural weight-loss journey,” that has led her to be “methodical, losing weight very slowly.”

In September, Lizzo took to social media to call out rumors that she had taken a weight loss medication to achieve results.

“When you finally get ozempic allegations after 5 months of weight training and calorie deficit,” Lizzo wrote over a short selfie video.

The following month, Lizzo poked fun at the Ozempic allegations, as well as a joke made on an episode of “South Park,” by dressing as “LizzOzempic” for Halloween.

The singer donned a costume that bore the title of her namesake weight-loss drug from the cartoon, along with a measuring tape around the waist. She posted an ad for her made up drug on Instagram, adding a caption which read, “Need self love? Try Lizzo! Lose guilt. Gain confidence.”

While Lizzo has been a face for body positivity in the entertainment industry, the singer has also commented on the reality of the movement.

“I’m not going to lie and say I love my body every day,” she continued. “The bottom line is, the way you feel about your body changes every single day. There are some days I adore my body, and others when I don’t.”