Month: January 2024

Legendary Broadway actress Chita Rivera has died at age 91. Rivera’s rep Merle Frimark said in a statement on Tuesday: “It is with immense personal sorrow that I announce the death of the beloved Broadway icon Chita Rivera. My dear friend of over 40 years was 91.”

A statement released by Rivera’s daughter Lisa Mordente said that she died in New York after a brief illness. The statement continued: “She [Rivera] is also survived by her siblings Julio, Armando and Lola del Rivero, (her older sister Carmen predeceased her), along with her many nieces, nephews and friends. Her funeral will be private. A memorial service will be announced in due course,” asking for any donations in her memory to be made to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Rivera’s Broadway credits date back to 1950 and include roles for shows such as West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Merlin and Kiss of the Spider Woman. Rivera starred as the original Velma Kelly in the 1975 production of Chicago on Broadway, and played leading lady Roxie Hart in Toronto, Las Vegas and London for the 25th anniversary of the show.  Rivera won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical over the course of her career, for “The Rink” in 1984, and “Kiss of the Spider Woman” in 1993; she was nominated for the award seven other times. She was also the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in 2002 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented to her by President Obama in 2009.

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Kim Kardashian will executive produce an upcoming docuseries about Elizabeth Taylor. The three-part series, titled Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar, was commissioned by BBC, and Kardashian will also make an appearance in the docuseries. Kardashian says: “Elizabeth Taylor was unapologetically herself, a fighter. she is proof that you can keep evolving and changing and have different chapters in your life – and she paved the way for all of us who came after her with that blueprint.”

Billed as revealing “how Taylor created the blueprint for modern celebrity’, Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar will feature interviews with her family, friends and fellow celebrities.  A synopsis reads: “While the star was known for her ascent from child stardom to her major roles in soap operas, making her the highest-paid actress of her time, documentarians will turn the lens onto her charity and humanitarian work, as well as her status as a business mogul.”

Kardashian, who conducted the last interview with Taylor before her passing, will speak about her relationship with the late actress. Others appearing in the docuseries will be Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dame Joan Collins and Margaret O’Brien. The show is currently in production and has yet to receive a release date.

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Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans will star in the new dark comedy from Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, titled Honey Don’t! – the latest project from the the married collaborators. Coen (formerly one-half of the Coen Brothers), and Cooke last directed Drive-Away Dolls, which will debut on Feb. 23.

Coen and Cooke also wrote the script for Honey Don’t! with insiders sharing that the story is set in Bakersfield, Calif. Qualley will play a private eye, Plaza will star as a mysterious woman, and Evans will portray the leader of a cult. Production is due to begin late March in New Mexico.

Qualley can currently be seen in Poor Things, which is nominated for 11 Oscars, including best picture. Plaza starred in season two of HBO’s The White Lotus, and Evans starred in Apple’s Ghosted last year as well as the medical drama Pain Hustlers.

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The trailer for the upcoming psychological horror film “Immaculate,” starring Sydney Sweeney, has been released. Directed by Michael Mohan, Sweeney stars as Cecilia, a devoutly religious woman who moves into a haunted Italian convent in the countryside, which seems picturesque on the outside.

The trailer reveals that Cecilia will experience suffering while dealing with a mysterious pregnancy. Sweeney’s Cecilia is told during a sonogram: “It’s a miracle. You are with child”, and Cecilia replies: “Out of all the women in the world, why did he choose me?” Following her pregnancy, the convent becomes an unsafe place for Cecilia as violent forces come after her.

Along with Sweeney (who also serves as producer of the film,) ‘Immaculate’ stars Àlvaro Morte, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli, Simona Tabasco, Benedetta Porcaroli and Giampiero Judica.

‘Immaculate’ is set for release in theaters March 22; take a look at the trailer – here.

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Comedian Jay Leno has filed for conservatorship of his wife Mavis, who reportedly is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. TMZ reports that 77-year-old Mavis is unable to fully take care of herself amid her diagnosis, which is the basis for Leno’s conservatorship request of his wife’s estate in a Los Angeles court.

According to legal records, Leno, 73, submitted paperwork on Jan. 26 which revealed Mavis’ medical condition. Thepetition seeks a substituted judgment to approve estate planning and implement a testamentary plan that he believes his wife would execute if she were capable. The documents state: “Unfortunately, Mavis has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years. As Mavis’s current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan, Jay has petitioned the Court to be appointed conservator of Mavis’s estate for the sole purpose of filing a petition for substituted judgment on her behalf in order to ensure her desires concerning the disposition of her assets upon her.” A hearing regarding the conservatorship is scheduled for April 9.

Jay and Mavis met in 1970, and have been married for 43 years; they do not have any children. Leno hosted The Tonight Show from 1992 to 2014, with a brief break from 2009 to 2010 when Conan O’Brien took over. Leno headlined Jay Leno’s Garage from 2014 to 2022.

Jay has also battled health issues in recent years; in late 2022, he suffered serious burns to his face, arms and hands in a gasoline fire that erupted in his garage while he was working to repair a clogged fuel line in his 1907 White Steam Car, one of his collectible vintage vehicles. The comedian was released from the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles after undergoing 10 days of burn treatment, and underwent reconstructive surgeries. Two months later, in January 2023, Jay got into a motorcycle accident, breaking his collarbone, two ribs and his kneecaps.

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The second trailer for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live was just released, with the new clip featuring Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) slaying zombies, while hoping they can find each other once again.

The series brings Lincoln and Gurira back into the The Walking Dead franchise after they both left the original series.  According to a series synopsis, ‘The Ones Who Live’ puts Rick and Michonne in “another world, built on a war against the dead … and ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?”

The Walking Dead creative chief Scott M. Gimple will serve as showrunner for the spinoff series, and he executive produces with Lincoln, Gurira, Denise Huth and Brian Bockrath.  Along with Lincoln and Gurira, the series’ cast includes Terry O’Quinn as Beale, as well as Lesley-Ann Brandt, Pollyanna McIntosh (who reprises the role Jadis, who saved Rick in season nine of The Walking Dead) and Matthew Jeffers.

‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ premieres Feb. 25 on AMC and its streaming service AMC+. Watch the new trailer for the show  – here.

‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ Trailer: Rick & Michonne Are On A Mission To Reunite In A Zombie-Infested World — Update

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