October 06, 2019
Here's the Scoop...
Julia and Dynasty actress Diahann Carroll has died at age 84.
Variety reported Carroll died Friday at her home in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer.
Carroll's daughter, Suzanne Kay, also confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.
Carroll was known for playing widowed nurse and single mother Julia Baker on the NBC sitcom Julia, which debuted in 1968. Carroll was the first African-American woman to star in a non-stereotypical role on her own primetime network series.
"We were saying to the country, 'We're going to present a very upper middle-class black woman raising her child, and her major concentration is not going to be about suffering in the ghetto,'" Carroll said in a 1998 interview with the Television Academy Foundation.
In addition, Carroll portrayed Dominique Deveraux on the ABC soap opera Dynasty in the 1980s. Dominique was the first prominently featured African-American character on a primetime soap opera.
Carroll was born in New York in July 1935, and started modeling as a teenager. She came to fame after appearing on the reality competition Chance of a Lifetime, and made her film debut in Carmen Jones (1954), starring Dorothy Dandridge.
Carroll also appeared in musicals, including House of Flowers (1954) on Broadway, and the film version of Porgy and Bess (1959). She became the first black woman to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in 1962 for her role in No Strings.
In later years, Carroll played Jane Burke on Grey's Anatomy and June Ellington on White Collar.
Carroll was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. She told Spectrum Health in 2016 that she hoped to leave a positive legacy behind.
"She came, and with the gifts and surprised that she was given, she did the best that she could," Carroll said. "That I cared, not just for my family but for others ... And that I did the best work that I could possibly do. I like to think of myself as one of the early role models."
Carroll was married four times, to Monte Kay, Fredde Glusman, Robert DeLeon and Vic Damone. Suzanne Kay, 59, is her daughter with Monte Kay.
RIP Diahann Carroll.
Be Well,
Steve
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'Hunger Games' prequel titled 'Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'
The Hunger Games prequel will officially be titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Good Morning America unveiled a title and cover for the new book, written by Suzanne Collins, on Friday.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is scheduled for release May 19, 2020. The novel takes place in Panem 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games, published in 2008.
Scholastic confirmed the news in a tweet Friday.
"Return to the Hunger Games! The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes from Suzanne Collins is coming out on May 19, 2020," the publisher wrote.
Scholastic also unveiled a banner for the book Friday at New York Comic Con.
Collins had shared plans for a Hunger Games prequel in June.
"With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceived is required for our survival," the author said.
"The reconstruction period ten years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days -- as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet -- provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity,"? she added.
The Hunger Games series consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Lionsgate Films adapted the books as a four-movie series starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.
Lionsgate is in talks with Collins to adapt the prequel for film.
'Star Wars' actor Oscar Isaac is dad to baby boy
Star Wars actor Oscar Isaac is a dad of two.
The 40-year-old actor's rep confirmed Thursday to People that Isaac and his wife, filmmaker Elvira Lind, welcomed their second child, a baby boy.
Lind, who directed the documentaries Songs for Alexis and Bobbi Jene, shared a first photo of her newborn son Thursday on Instagram.
"Baby boy in basket and beautiful botanics. Table of absolute abundance. @emilythompsonflowers thank you @nicolehernandezhammer & daddy Oscar!" she captioned the post.
Isaac and Lind are also parents to 2-year-old son Eugene. The couple announced in August they were expecting again by posting a photo from a doctor's office.
"#CheckupThursday #partytime," Lind wrote.
Isaac plays Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: the Last Jedi, and will reprise the role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The new movie co-stars Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, and opens in theaters Dec. 20.
Isaac said in an interview with Extra in April that The Rise of Skywalker will bring the characters together.
"You get to really see them together, interacting with each other, going after what they need to go after together, mourning together, fighting together, laughing," he said. "I think it's a thing that everyone's been hungry for."
Isaac also said the film will explore Poe's past.
"You get to see where he's from. We get to kind of dirty up his nice fly boy leadership thing, and you get to see that he also has a past," he said.
LOOSE LIPS:
"It's on my toilet. Yeah, I live New York and there's not a whole lot of shelf space."
--Rachel Brosnahan, on the special place she keeps her 2018 Emmy statuette for outstanding lead actress in a comedy for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, on the 2019 Emmys red carpet
??? Guess Who ???
Which rapper plans to keep acting after 'Hustlers'?
M. Night Shyamalan's 'Servant' to debut on Apple TV+ Nov. 28
M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller Servant is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on Nov. 28.
Starring Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint, the 30-minute show follows "a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home," a synopsis said.
A 40-second teaser released Thursday shows someone playing with what appears to be a baby. The words, "What do you believe?" show up on the screen.
Exclusive footage shown at New York Comic Con earlier in the day, but not yet released online, shows the grieving couple hiring a nanny.
Starz picks up Idris Elba series, documentary with Geena Davis
Starz is adding a new TV series from Idris Elba and a documentary featuring Geena Davis to its fall/winter programming slate.
The network announced in a press release Thursday that it has acquired six new titles, including In the Long Run, created by and starring Elba, and This Changes Everything, executive produced by Davis.
In the Long Run is inspired by Elba's experience growing up in East London in the 1980s, and will premiere Nov. 1.
"This series is a semi-autobiographical comedy that tackles stereotypes and racial divisions while having a laugh about it," Elba said. "There's a genuineness to this story with which I hope audiences engage and connect."
This Changes Everything is a documentary that explores gender inequality in Hollywood. The film features interviews with Davis, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Reese Witherspoon and other women, and debuts Dec. 16.
"This documentary eloquently makes the cast for the need to improve gender balance, diversity and inclusion onscreen and behind the scenes," Davis said. "it's important that industry leaders and the public are aware of the impact the media has as we rally together toward the goal of gender equality."
Starz also picked up The River and the Wall, a documentary that follows five friends on their journey down the Rio Grande, where they document the U.S.-Mexico border and explore how a wall would impact immigration, wildlife, culture and landowners. The film premieres Oct. 21.
In addition, Starz acquired three movies, The Professor and the Madman, Stockholm and My Days of Mercy.
The Professor and the Madman stars Sean Penn, Mel Gibson, Natalie Dormer and Steve Coogan, and premieres Oct. 5. The film tells the true story of a murderer and his bond with an Oxford professor.
Stockholm stars Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace and Mark Strong, and debuts. Dec. 14. The movie explores the 1973 bank heist and hostage crisis that gave rise to the term "Stockholm Syndrome."
My Days of Mercy stars Ellen Page and Kate Mara, and premieres Dec. 27. The film follows an activist who befriends and begins a passionate relationship with a woman with opposing views.
??? Guess Who ???
Which rapper plans to keep acting after 'Hustlers'?
Cardi B plans to keep acting following the release of her movie Hustlers.
The 26-year-old rapper discussed her experience on the film's set and her future in acting during Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Cardi B made her feature film debut in Hustlers, which opened in theaters in September. She said filming the movie was a new and intense experience.
"I couldn't believe that I was on set for like 16 hours," the star said. "[Musical] artists, we have long days but it's just full of excitement, like we move around, we're doing something. [With acting], you have to wait in the trailer 'til it's your turn. You got to do the same scene like 20 times."
Cardi B said she will begin shooting a new film this month, despite disliking the long days on set.
"I enjoy the checks," she jokingly explained.
Cardi B appeared on Ellen with Chance the Rapper and T.I., her fellow judges on the new Netflix reality competition Rhythm + Flow. She said filming the show ended up being an emotional experience.
"I grew a connection to the contestants and to everybody," the star said. "I was really emotional the last day -- I just couldn't believe it. It was so sad."
Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, T.I. and host Ellen DeGeneres later played a game of Never Have I Ever, where they copped to hooking up with fans and getting tattoos they regret.
Netflix released a poster and first trailer last week for Rhythm + Flow, which premieres Oct. 9. The series will have a three-week run, with new episodes to debut Oct. 16 and Oct. 23.
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