Category: Entertainment Daypop

Actress Alicia Witt announced that her parents were found dead in their home, after a relative performed a welfare check on them after Witt hadn’t heard from them ‘for several days.’

Witt, 46, said in a statement: “I reached out to a cousin who lives close to my parents to check on them. Sadly, the outcome was unimaginable. I ask for some privacy at this time to grieve and to wrap my head around this turn of events, and this surreal loss.”  Witt asked the family member to check on her mother, Diane Witt, and her father, Robert Witt, at their Worcester, Massachusetts, home on Monday, December 2oth.  Alicia’s relative called the police to ask for assistance in checking on the Witts. Once officers entered the house, they found the couple deceased but discovered no obvious causes of death. The police listed Robert’s age as 87 and Diane’s as 75.  The fire department also visited the residence to check on the home’s air quality, but firefighters found no evidence of carbon monoxide or other dangerous gases. The Massachusetts medical examiner will perform autopsies to determine the Witts’ cause of death.

Witt made her acting debut at age 7 in 1984’s “Dune”and has also appeared in “Orange Is the New Black,” “Twin Peaks” and “The Walking Dead.”

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46-year-old television and radio personality Ryan Seacrest has signed a multi-year deal extension with MRC Live & Alternative to host and executive produce ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve for years to come. 2021 will mark Seacrest’s 17th year as host and the special’s 50th anniversary. This year’s show will air Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Seacrest said: “It’s been a privilege to spend the last 17 years ringing in the new year on Times Square with friends in person and at home. I’m looking forward to continuing the traditions and making new memories as we go into this next chapter. I’m grateful I get to do what I love every year and collaborate with the best-in-class teams at MRC and ABC on this annual event.”

Seacrest first joined the special in 2005 after creator and original host Dick Clark had a stroke. Clark served as co-host until his death in 2012. This year, Seacrest will host the New York special in Times Square; and Billy Porter and Ciara will host the New Orleans and Los Angeles celebrations, respectively.

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Jagged Little Pill, the Broadway play based on Alanis Morissette’s Grammy-winning album of the same name, is officially closing. The show halted performances due to the sudden surge of Omicron-specific cases on Saturday, December 18, and the following week the producers announced that the show will not reopen.

A statement posted on Jagged Little Pill’s Instagram page read: “We are dismayed by what appears to be another substantial public health crisis, and— due to the detection of multiple positive COVID-19 cases within the company—need to prioritize the health and safety of the cast, crew, and entire team working on ‘Jagged Little Pill.’ In light of the extreme uncertainty ahead of us this winter, and forced to choose between continuing performances and protecting our company, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors.”

Jagged Little Pill first opened in 2019 and features music and lyrics by Morissette, and a book by Diablo Cody.  Morissette also wrote new songs for the Broadway musical. These songs help tell the story of the Healy family as they encounter topics like addiction and sexual assault. The show won two Tony Awards with 15 nominations, and it also won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

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Trevor Noah has sued a hospital and doctor in New York City after they allegedly botched a surgery he underwent in 2020. The 37-year-old ‘The Daily Show’ sued Dr. Riley J. Williams III and the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, according to court documents.

According the the documents, Trevor was a patient between August 25, 2020 and December 17, 2020, and underwent the surgery with the doctor at the hospital on November 23, 2020. In the court documents,  The lawsuit claims that the defendants “were negligent and careless in failing to treat and care for [him] in a careful and skillful manner, and failing to use approved methods in general use in the care and treatment.”  The lawsuit also alleges that the hospital and doctor failed “to prescribe proper medications, failed to discontinue certain prescription medications, and failed to use proper tests and examinations in order to diagnose the conditions” that Trevor was suffering from, adding that he suffered “serious personal injury” after the surgery, some of which are “permanent, severe, and grievous.”

The Hospital for Special Surgery has denied Trevor‘s claims with a representative saying that the comedian’s claims are “meritless.” The representative shared in a statement: “HSS received a complaint filed on behalf of Mr. Trevor Noah. We have shared with Mr. Noah’s attorney a detailed rebuttal to the claims, which are meritless. Due to HIPAA we are restricted by law from addressing publicly specific aspects of the treatment of any patient. The hospital is “committed to excellence in the care we provide to each of the more than 150,000 patients we treat each year.”

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Universal Pictures has pushed back action sequel Fast & Furious 10 to May 19, 2023. Series stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson. Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel and Sung Kang are all expected to return for the latest installment in the F&F franchise.

“F&F 10,” from frequent series director Justin Lin, was originally set to hit theaters on April 7, 2023. The most recent film in the Fast & Furious series, titled ‘F9: The Fast Saga,’ debuted in theaters this past June and earned $726.6 million worldwide. The end credits scene for F9: The Fast Saga featured Jason Statham returning to his role as Deckard Shaw.  It has also been announced that director Justin Lin will also be helming “Fast & Furious 11,” which is expected to be the last film of the franchise’s main series of movies.

In place of  Fast & Furious 10’s original release date, Universal has instead moved an as-yet-untitled DreamWorks Animation film into the April 7, 2023 opening spot.

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Apple TV+’s upcoming thriller series ‘Suspicion,’ starring Uma Thurman, is coming to the streaming service on Feb. 4. The eight-episode drama will premiere with two episodes, followed by new installments coming every Friday. Suspicion is based on the award-winning Israeli series False Flag.

In the series, Thurman ‘portrays a prominent, American businesswoman whose son is kidnapped from a New York hotel. Suspicion falls on four British citizens who were at the hotel on the night of the kidnapping. The group then finds themselves in a race against the FBI and the National Crime Agency as they try to prove their innocence.’

Suspicion also stars Kunal Nayyar, Noah Emmerich, Georgina Campbell, Elyes Gabel, Elizabeth Henstridge, Tom Rhys-Harries and Angel Coulby. Rob Williams (Man in the High Castle) is serving as showrunner and executive producer, and Chris Long (The Americans) will direct and also executive produces.

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Despite rising concerns about the Omicron variant of COVID-19 across the globe, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” earned a staggering $587.2 million internationally over the weekend.

The film, starring Tom Holland as Spider-Man, ranks as the third-biggest worldwide debut in history behind “Avengers: Endgame” (with $1.2 billion) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($640 million).  Those two films opened in China (which is currently the world’s biggest moviegoing market), while “No Way Home” has not yet been released there. Internationally, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” earned $334.2 million from 60 overseas markets.

The third chapter in Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy (directed by Jon Watts) takes place after Peter Parker’s identity is revealed to the world. Peter asks for help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and accidentally unleashes a multiverse, featuring plenty of villains from past Peter Parker timelines. Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Jamie Foxx’s Electro and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Otto Octavius drop by to wreak havoc and torment Spider-Man in the crossover event.  “Spider-Man: No Way Home” also stars Zendaya as Spidey’s girlfriend MJ, Jacob Batalon as his best friend Ned, and Marisa Tomei as Aunt May.

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Two women have accused actor Chris Noth of sexually assaulting them, with the alleged incidents occurring in 2004 and 2015.

In a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, the first woman (using the pseudonym Zoe) told the publication that she met Noth shortly after moving to Los Angeles at age 22, while she was working at a “high-profile” firm that did business with celebrities in 2004. She claimed she was later invited to the pool at his West Hollywood apartment building, where she alleges she was sexually assaulted. The second woman, going by the pseudonym Lily, said she met Noth in 2015 at a New York City bar where she worked as a server. Lily, 25 at the time, said Noth invited her out to dinner and she accepted. After dinner they went to his apartment, when the alleged assault took place.

In a statement, Noth, 67, denied the allegations and claimed that “the encounters were consensual.”  Said Noth: “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”

The news comes just one week after the return of Noth’s Sex and the City character John James Preston, AKA Mr. Big, in ‘And Just Like That… ‘  The show made headlines when in the first episode, Mr. Big died after taking a spin class on his Peloton at-home exercise bike.

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Actor Jeff Garlin has left the ABC sitcom ‘The Goldbergs’ amid allegation of on-set misconduct and an ongoing HR investigation. According to reports, Garlin’s departure, effective immediately, was reportedly a mutual decision between the show and himself. ‘The Goldbergs’ are in the middle of filming their ninth season; it’s unclear how the show will handle the departure of the actor who played the patriarch of the show’s titular family.

No formal allegations against Garlin have been made public; however, rumors about his workplace conduct have been circulating for some time, and three former ‘The Goldbergs’ employees recently told Vanity Fair that the actor allegedly engaged in a verbal and physical conduct that made people uncomfortable.

Garlin also spoke with Vanity Fair and denied rumors at the time that he’d been fired, but confirmed he’d been under HR investigations for three years. Garlin said that the issue was a “difference of opinion” between himself and Sony: “My opinion is, I have my process about how I’m funny, in terms of the scene and what I have to do. They feel that it makes for a quote ‘unsafe’ workspace. Now, mind you, my silliness making an unsafe workspace — I don’t understand how that is. And I’m on a comedy show. I am always a kind and thoughtful person. I make mistakes, sure. But my comedy is about easing people’s pain. Why would I ever want to cause pain in anybody for a laugh? That’s bullying. That’s just uncalled for.” Garlin was also asked about the allegations that he made people uncomfortable by touching and hugging them. “If I hug someone, and they feel uncomfortable from it, they have every right to even go to HR,” Garlin said. “But HR has never said a word to me about hugs. Just so we’re clear on that.”

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Two weeks after Dr. Oz (real name: Mehmet Oz) announced his bid for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat, it’s been announced that his eponymous show will end in January 2022. The Dr. Oz Show is in its 13th season and had already been renewed for a 14th; its final airdate will be Jan. 14.  Oz announced he is running for the open Senate seat as a Republican.

Oz’s show will be replaced by a spin-off cooking show called The Good Dish, featuring his daughter Daphne Oz and co-hosts Gail Simmons (Top Chef) and Jamika Pessoa (Next Food Star). The new show started out as a weekly segment on The Dr. Oz Show.

Dr. Oz Show executive producer Amy Chiaro and co-executive producer Stacy Rader will be helming The Good Dish.  They said in a statement: “There is no better time for a show like The Good Dish. Daphne, Gail and Jamika know how to make food accessible with the ability to seamlessly deliver home, lifestyle and trending content. These incredible women will make you laugh, enjoy cooking again and make your life just a little easier. It’s the most fun you can have in the kitchen without having to do the dishes.”

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