Netflix kicked off a busy month for Sundance acquisitions by beating other companies to the punch for TallulahSian Heder's dramatic comedy starring Ellen Page and Allison Janney, according to TheWrap. Page plays a rootless young woman who takes a toddler from a wealthy, negligent mother and passes the baby off as her own in an effort to protect her. Her decision connects and transforms the lives of three very different women, including Janney's character, who mistakenly believes she's the child's grandmother. Co-stars include Uzo Aduba, Zachary Quinto, Tammy Blanchard, Evan Jonigkeit and John Benjamin Hickey.
The Sundance Institute has selected Jon Hamm, Lena Dunham, Keegan-Michael Key and Kerry Bishe for its competition juries at the upcoming festival, Variety noted. The festival opens Jan. 21 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The winners will be announced Jan. 30 from the six juries, along with five audience awards.
Ellen Page had a scary moment while filming an episode of her Viceland series Gaycation, TheWrap noted. Page and her best friend Ian Daniel, who travel the world exploring gay life, come face to face with people like Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, an opponent of gay equalityand a Brazilian police officer who boasts of killing gay people. At the 2016 Television Critics' Association's winter press tour, Page said of meeting the officer, "It was probably one of the more scary, nerve-wracking moments I've had. …. I feel like when we're in that mode, we probably feel, maybe in a naive way that it' all going to be okay."
Bette Midler will star will return to Broadway as Dolly Gallagher Levi in a revival of Hello, Dolly!, directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, also a Tony winner, according to Deadline. Midler, who teased the announcement with a tweet, said, "I am looking forward to portraying one of the most beloved characters in all of American musical comedy, Dolly Levi, born Gallagher, in Hello, Dolly!.
Out singer Sam Smith had many things to celebrate when he hit the 2016 Golden Globes red carpet Sunday nightbut his relationship with his ex wasn't one of them, People noted. Smith previously said it was a "mistake" to post Instagram photos of himself with his brief boyfriend Jonathan Zeizel, telling ES magazine, "I made a mistake by posting pictures of us on Instagram and making it seem more serious than it was," adding, It was my fault. I fell in love with him. I shouldn't have done that."
New CBS President Glenn Geller introduced himself to the Television Critics Association ( TCA ) by saying, "I'm just a gay guy from Indiana who doesn't play basketball," according to Variety.com . Among other things, he told the TCA crowd at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California, that he was a big fan of reality TV and hoped to bring more unscripted fare to the network. When pressed about the relative lack of diversity in CBS' shows compared to its Big Four rivals, Geller cited his status in representing the LGBTQ community as evidence that he is aware of the importance of viewers seeing themselves represented more.
Actress/LGBT-rights activist Chloe Grace Moretz ( who has two gay brothers ) has said she hopes that, eventually, people won't have to come out of the closet, The Huffington Post reported. "We put so many labels on so many things in our society, and my big issue is not just the fact that people are against LGBTit's the fact that we have to come out and say who we're interested in," she told HuffPost Live. "There should never even be a question," she continued. "It doesn't matter. It's not an issue. Why are we even living in a society where we have to answer those questions?"
Songwriter Linda Perry apologized after fuming over Lady Gaga's Oscar nomination for her song with Diane Warren, "Til It Happens to You," according to Page Six. Perry tweeted of Gaga's contribution to the song for campus rape documentary The Hunting Ground. Perry posted, "If she gave Gaga writing credit, it would ensure the support this song needed and deserved. And Gaga knows her power ... I credit Diane for writing this song, it is her experience her pain her words." But Warren responded, "The song is the result of a special collaboration between myself and Lady Gaga."
NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt announced that Hairspray will be the channel's next live musical, Deadline reported. Based on the film by John Waters, Hairspray tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, an overweight Baltimore teen with dreams of landing a spot on a TV dance show and bringing racial integration with her. This will be NBC's fourth consecutive live musical, following The Sound of Music, Peter Pan and The Wiz.
Adam Lambert has joined Fox's revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, TheWrap reported. Lambert will play the role of Eddie, who was originally played by rocker Meat Loaf in the 1975 cult movie. Previously announced cast members include Laverne Cox ( Dr. Frank-N-Furter ), Victoria Justice ( Janet ), Ryan McCartan ( Brad ), Reeve Carney ( Riff Raff ) and Staz Nair ( Rocky ). In addition, US Weekly has noted that Tim Curry, the original Dr. Frank-N-Furter, will play the Criminologist Narrator in the newer version.
Singer and former Glee co-star Alex Newell will release his debut EP, Power, on Friday, Feb. 19, according to a press release. ( The single/dance track "This Ain't Over" was released Jan. 14. ) Newell will also be the special guest on Adam Lambert's tour Feb. 23-April 2.
Lesbian comedian Cameron Esposito's first-ever stand-up special, "Marriage Material," will debut March 24 on Seeso, according to a press release. The exclusive specialwhich Cameron called her own bachelorette partywas filmed just two days before her wedding to Rhea Butcher in her hometown of Chicago. Seeso, the ad-free streaming comedy channel from NBCUniversal Digital Enterprise, is available on Seeso.com, iOS and Android platforms, with additional platforms coming soon.
The late superstar singer David Bowie broke Adele's record for the most video views for a single artist in one day on Jan. 12the day after his death, TheWrap noted. Bowie's catalog of videos, across Vevo's own sites and apps and on YouTube, were seen 51 million timesa 5,198-percent jump from his average number of views over the previous seven days.
In other Adele-related news, Adele's "Hello" was dethroned from its number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, where it sat for the past 10 weeks, EW.com noted. The monstrous single was replaced by Justin Bieber's "Sorry," which has been sitting in the number-two spot for seven consecutive weeks. "Hello" had the biggest sales week in more than 15 years when it debuted in the top spot last October, and joined Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" as the only other song to move at least 1 million copies in a week.
Jeffrey Tambor won Best Actor in a Comedy Series at the Critics' Choice Awards ( a combination of the fifth annual television awards and the 20th annual movie honors ), held Jan. 18, according to its website. Spotlight edged big-budget movies such as The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road to win Best Picture. Mad Max did take home several awards, winning action film, actor in an action film ( Tom Hardy ) and actress in an action film ( Charlize Theron ). Alicia Vikander took home the Best Support Actress award for The Danish Girl.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ), which dispenses the Oscars, acknowledged ( on Martin Luther King Jr. Day ) that the group is "heartbroken" over the lack of diversity among this year's acting nominees, and pledged to make "big changes," TheWrap noted. "I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes," said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of AMPAS. Hollywood has come under fire for the second year in a row for failing to nominate a single actor of color in any of the Academy Awards acting categories. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars, is 94 percent Caucasian and more than 70 percent male.
When asked if the Grease: Live! producers approached him about taking part, actor John Travolta exclusively told E! News, "They did but, you knowthat's my history." Travolta also said he isn't considering the next just-announced live TV musical Hairspray ( another movie in which he starred ). However, he added that he is excited about Grease: Live! and will be watching it when it airs on Fox Jan. 31.
Cher announced that, with the help of Icelandic Glacial, she is donating 181,440 bottles of water to the people of Flint, Michigan, according to a press release. After reading about the situation in Flinta city of 100,000 people who have not had clean water in more than a yearCher contacted Brad Horwitz, an investor in Icelandic Glacial, who reached out to the company's chairman and co-founder, Jon Olafsson. The water was slated to reach The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan beginning Jan. 20.
E! announced that the second season of I Am Cait will debut Sunday, March 6, according to Deadline. In this season, Jenner and her "tribe" take a road trip, starting in Los Angeles and traveling to the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, Tulsa, Chicago, Kansas City, New Orleans and other stops. However, recently, Jenner also talked about, among other things, Ricky Gervais' barbs about her at the Golden Globes, saying, "I think what I'm gonna do call is call the Golden Globes and see if they need a new host for next year."
Fox has renewed Scream Queens for a second season as well as Empire for a third, according to Deadline. For Scream Queens' second season, the series will move from a college campus setting to a hospital "where some of the most fascinating and bizarre medical cases are under observation." Empire's third season is again expected to have fewer than the standard full-season load of 22 episodes. ( It expanded from 12 its first season to 18 this one. )
Fourteen-year-old actress Rowan Blanchard has come out as queer, according to Autostraddle. She is best known for her role as Riley Matthews on the Disney Channel's Girl Meets Worldbut she's also making a name for herself by penning remarkable essays on feminism. The Disney Channel didn't feature a queer character until two years ago, when Good Luck Charlie introduced a pair of lesbian moms as guest stars for a single episodea decision that caused huge backlash among conservative viewers.
Richard Hatchthe openly gay man who won the first edition of the reality show Survivorwas eliminated Jan. 18 from another reality show, The Biggest Loser, Providence Journal noted. A disappointing weight loss of five pounds in a week left him below the competition's "red line"the lowest loss in percentage terms on the losing team. However, Hatch is still eligible for a $100,000 prize on the season finale for losing the biggest percentage of original body weight among those sent home. In a postscript at the end of the show, Hatch said he had dropped from his original 314 pounds to 271.
Former Who's the Boss? actor Danny Pintauro has said in a new Out.com op-ed that he disclosed his HIV status to his husband on their first date, according to On Top Magazine. In part, he writes, "For me, the most excruciating part of being HIV-positive has been telling a boy about it. I was always convinced he wouldn't want to see me anymore if I told him my status, yet I was incapable of moving forwardespecially sexuallywithout telling him." Pintauro publicly announced in September that he's been living with HIV for 12 years; he came out gay in 1997.
Charlie Sheen admitted on The Dr. Oz Show that he has been off his HIV medication "for about a week now" and is seeking alternative treatment in Mexico, according to TheWrap. Sheen said, "Am I risking my life? Sure. So what? I was born dead. That part of it doesn't faze me at all." The actor also said he is seeking treatment from a physician named Dr. Sam Chachoua, whom Dr. Mehmet Oz says is not licensed to practice medicine in the United States.
Gay Jeopardy! Louis Virtel has snapped at the Republican party for using his image, Gay Star News noted. The GOP used a gif of his now famous finger snap from the quiz show to promote their counter-coverage of President Obama's final State of the Union address on Snapchat. The problem? Openly gay Virtel thinks the "Republican candidates are horrifying garbage who've done nothing for LGBT rights," and fired a series of tweets expressing his anger.
Actor Jack Falahee ( TV's How To Get Away with Murder ) was involved in a car crash recently and found himself unexpectedly bonding with the other driver in the collision, Gay Star News noted. They bonded over the death of superstar singer David Bowie. Apparently, the Bowie/Queen song "Under Pressure" was blasting from Falahee's car after the collision; the actor posted that the other driver said, "It's a shame about Bowie."
The former stars of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo are creating more drama. According to Page Six, Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson has revealed that he cheated on June "Mama June" Shannon with both men and women. The admission was made in an episode of Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, telling Shannon, "Don't bring this up with nobody else 'cause I don't want this out there: I have experimented with guys."
More details are being revealed about the final season of American Idolincluding the possibility that it may not be the last season, according to Deadline. Alumna Kelly Clarkson will be a guest judge on the first live episode and former judge Simon Cowell will be part of the finale. Also, although the network has announced this as the show's "farewell season," some have said they're open to continuing the show.
Herbie Hancock, Jefferson Airplane, Linda Ronstadt, Ruth Brown, Celia Cruz, Run DMC and Earth, Wind & Fire were named the latest recipients of The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Awards, according to MyNewsLA.com . The award honors performers "who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording." The awards will be presented at a ceremony being planned for this spring.
British actor Alan Rickman has died at age 69, according to ABC News. Rickman was best known for playing villain Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise. Other notable films in which he appeared were Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Sense and Sensibility and Love Actually. In 2007, he starred alongside Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has said he thinks there should be chanting at athletic eventsalthough he draws the line at attacks on sexual and racial minorities, according to a NewNowNext item that cites ESPN. "I don't agree with any type of racist or homophobic languageany of that type of stuff from the crowd to the people on the field," Rodgers, who is the frequent subject of gay rumors, told ESPN's Jason Wilde. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association recently banned any chanting at high school sporting events.
In Los Angeles, fans went wild as the National Hockey League's first gay kiss cam took place in The Staples Center recently during a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the L.A. Kings, The Huffington Post noted. Fans' excitement was reportedly palpable as partners Andy Evans and Brad Parr leaned in for a kiss. Last year, Major League Baseball played host to another same-sex, on-camera smooch at an L.A. Dodgers game.
Byron Lane has written and stars in Last Will & Testicle, a comedy Web series about his journey with testicular cancer, according to Lane. The series also stars Beth Grant ( The Mindy Project ), Peter Porte ( Baby Daddy ), Drew Droege ( "Chloe" videos ), Sam Pancake ( Arrested Development ), Tara Karsian ( Comedy Central's Review ), Jonathan Van Ness ( Funny or Die's Gay of Thrones ), Michael Chieffo ( Argo ) and others. The first episode is at www.lastwillandtesticle.com/#!episode-1/b989v.
Amber Heard is in talks to star in Warner Bros.' upcoming Aquaman opposite Jason Momoa, TheWrap noted. Heard would play the female lead of Mera, Aquaman's love interest and eventual queen of Atlantis. If the deal closes, Heard would first star in Justice League as Momoa's love interest and then reprise her role in Aquaman.
Debra Messing ( The Mysteries of Laura; Will & Grace ) is set to co-star as Marjorie opposite Abigail Breslin's Baby in ABC's three-hour remake of Dirty Dancing, the hit Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey movie, according to Deadline. Like the 1987 movie, the new Dirty Dancing, from Lionsgate TV, centers on Baby ( Breslin ), an innocent young woman in the early 1960s who vacations with her affluent parents and siblings in the Catskill Mountains and falls for the resort's working-class dance instructor.
Celine Dion's husband, Rene Angelil, has died following a battle with cancerand so has her brother. TheWrap noted that in addition to Dion, Angelil, 73, is survived by the couple's three children as well as three children from a previous relationship. Angelil had multiple bouts with cancer; in 2014, he underwent a successful procedure to remove a tumor from his throat, and he was also diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999. The L.A. Times reported that Dion's brother, Daniel, 59, died two days after Angelil; he also battled cancer.
Rock acts Disturbed and Rob Zombie have announced a co-headline tour for May, according to a press release. Ahead of that, Disturbed is gearing up to kick off its first tour following their four-year hiatus, starting in the United States in Fargo, North Dakota, on Feb. 10 and going throughout North America to headlining slots at major festivals across the States, the United Kingdom and Europe. Tickets go on sale Jan. 22; see Disturbed1.com .
Showtime has renewed Shameless for a seventh season, TheWrap noted. Season six premiered on Jan. 10, and delivered the Chicago-set series' biggest premiere performance ever across all platforms. The show, which is the network's highest-rated comedy series, received a 12-episode order, with production on season seven starting later this year.
Two weeks after she was indicted on 20 counts of fraud with a possible five years behind bars and $5 million in fines, Dance Moms' Abby Lee Miller pled not guilty in a court appearance, according to Deadline. In a short arraignment in the federal courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh, Miller paid a bond of $10,000 and entered a plea of not guilty; she also asked for a jury trial. No start date was announced for said trial, which was estimated by lawyers on both sides to need about 11 days to run.
Ricardo Medina Jr.a former star of the kids TV shows Power Rangers Wild Force and Power Rangers Samuraiwas charged with murder, according to TheWrap. Medina, 36, is charged with one count of murder for the Jan. 31, 2015, fatal stabbing of Josh Sutter at a house the two shared in Green Valley. The men allegedly got into an argument over Medina's girlfriend; at one point, the argument turned physical and Medina allegedly stabbed Sutter multiple times with a sword.
The maker of a lip balm touted by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus is facing a lawsuit from a woman who claims she had a negative reaction to the lip balm, ABC News reported. Rachel Cronin's lawsuit alleges the egg-shaped lip balm "has caused consumers' lips to crack, bleed, itch, burn, flake and generate severe boiling and blistering…." "The next step will be to collate all the people who have similar complaints, similarly situated," attorney Mark Geragos told ABC News of a potential class-action lawsuit. "We're assembling that as we speak."