Entertainment

Michelle Young’s journey as The Bachelorette concluded on Tuesday night with an engagement to Nayte Olukoya, a 27-year-old sales executive from Austin, Texas.

However, Nayte faced a rocky road on the way to asking for Michelle’s hand. His meeting with Michelle’s parents did not go well, with both warning their daughter that Nayte didn’t appear to be ready to get down on one knee. During a final date, though, Nayte finally opened up to Michelle and told her what was in his heart, giving her the clarity she needed.

Michelle had also confessed that she was in love with Brandon Jones, who wore his feelings about her on his sleeve. That led to one of the most heartbreaking eliminations in franchise history, as Michelle had to say goodbye to Brandon.

“I’m so broken,” the 27-year-old Portland, Oregon native said as he waited to be chauffeured off the premises, adding that he “saw a future with her.”

Later, on After the Final Rose, Michelle and Nayte made their fist public appearance as a couple. 
Michelle’s parents revealed that after spending a little more time with Nayte, their trepidations about him had disappeared and they welcomed him into their family with open arms.

The new couple also revealed that they were ready to tie the knot “in a matter of months.”

They also got a generous wedding gift from the show — a down payment on their first house.

The Bachelor season 26, featuring Clayton Echard, premieres Monday, January 3 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Michael B. Jordan admits he’s avoided love stories in the past. However, now he’s starring in a romantic film, A Journal for Jordan, which opens Christmas Day.

In Journal for Jordan, Michael B. stars as First Sergeant Charles King, serving in Irag, who’;s in a relationship with writer Dana Canedy, portrayed by Chanté Adams. She’s pregnant with their son, and King keeps a journal of advice for the baby.

“I journal a lot,” Jordan tells BLACKPRINT. “So understanding the thought process behind leaving words and lessons in a journal for somebody to read later, I just love the idea of that. I connect with that personally.”

In other news, Michelle Obama has joined with several celebrity mothers to promote COVID-19 vaccinations.

Alicia Keys’ mom Terria Joseph, Zendaya’s mother Claire Stoermer, John David Washington’s mom, Pauletta Washington, and more star in a new PSA with the former first lady, titled “Get Vaccinated — Mom Said So.”

“You don’t need to be a mom to be a superhero,” Obama says. “You can keep yourself and those around you safe by getting your COVID vaccine or booster today.”

Finally, Ludacris has been hiding his identity and donating in person to the homeless to disprove his father’s belief that they would use the money to buy liquor.

“I’ve been masked up/disguised experimenting in these streets, and giving the homeless food gift cards instead so that they have more of an incentive to buy food,” Luda commented on Instagram. In a video, the 44-year-old entertainer gave a man in a motorized chair a $50 gift card to go to the food store a few feet away. Ludacris wished him “Merry Christmas,” and told him, “Go on in.”

The man thankfully responded, “I’m going in!”

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The New York Film Critics Circle is postponing their annual awards ceremony due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

The ceremony was originally supposed to take place on Monday, January 10 at Tao Downtown in NYC. A new date for the event will be announced early next year.

As previously reported, the New York Film Critics Circle named Drive My Car as Best Film, Jane Campion as Best Director for The Power of The Dog, Lady Gaga as Best Actress for House of Gucci, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Best Actor for The Power of the Dog.

The 2022 Critics Choice Awards, however, still plans to move forward with its in-person ceremony under strict COVID-19 protocols, according to Variety. The ceremony, hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer, is scheduled to air live from Los Angeles on The CW and TBS on Sunday, January 9, at 7 p.m. ET.

Belfast and West Side Story lead those nominations, with 11 each.

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HBO Max’s Harry Potter reunion special is fast approaching, and Rupert Grint is teasing fans about what they can expect.

The actor, who played Ron Weasley in the series, tells Entertainment Tonight that the reunion was an emotional one. It’s the first time he, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have reunited on screen since the final Harry Potter movie in 2011.

“Those movies were our childhoods. We grew up on those sets so it has incredible meaning to all of us,” Grint tells ET. “It’s been 10 years since we wrapped the last movie and we’ve seen each other quite a bit in-between that but not a great deal. So it was great to see them again and talk about it. I don’t really talk or think about it a lot, so it was fun to remember.”

Grint wouldn’t reveal much more in the way of secrets or surprises, though he did promise that stars from all eight movies would be present. He also addressed talk of a possible reboot or sequel to the original films, and said he wouldn’t be opposed to playing Ron again.

“There’s been a lot talk of [playing Ron again] with everything going on and I feel like I am that character,” Grint  says. “I think I had a very strange relationship with him at first but I feel like there’s a lot of me in there so I’m quite protective of him. I don’t really have a good reason to say no, I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts premieres January 1 on HBO Max.

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If you don’t have a fireplace for you and the kids to gather ’round this holiday season, Disney+ has you covered with another Frozen-inspired Yule log.

Inspired by her work on Frozen 2 — particularly the charades scene — as well as her work on Myth: A Frozen Tale, Disney artist Brittney Lee used the ancient art of paper cutting to bring this year’s pyrotechnic production to life. So Disney fans can cozy up by the fire with Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven — and some snow courtesy of Elsa — to help set the mood.

Lee says of the annual project, “I sort of knew that it was out there, that it had been worked on, but I had no idea that it was pretty popular with people, you know, I had no clue.”

“So it was exciting to hear that and to then have the pressure of like, ‘Well, I shouldn’t screw this up!” she says with a laugh. “We better do this right! Better do it justice for its third year!”

Lee says of the unique medium, “When most of our time is spent in front of screens now, I like to have the time to be touching something and be working with something that I can feel and sort of mold and not be looking at a screen. So that’s part of why I just enjoy it so much.”

She adds, “I think there is also an element of fantasy and sort of drawing you in, especially with the pieces that have depth, the feeling of looking into something. There’s something magical about that!”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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The trailer for the star-studded murder mystery film Death on the Nile has been released.

The film, based on the 1937 novel by Agatha Christie, is directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also reprises his role as detective Hercule Poirot from 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express.

While on an Egyptian vacation aboard a luxury river steamer, Poirot finds himself at the center of a murder mystery where all the passengers could be suspects.

The ensemble cast includes Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Gal Gadot, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders and Letitia Wright. It also features embattled actor Armie Hammer, who shot the film before sexual assault allegations surfaced against him earlier this year. While Hammer denied the allegations, he was dropped by his agents and exited numerous TV and movie projects.

Death on the Nile was previously made into a 1978 film also featuring what was then an all-star cast.

Death on the Nile is from 20th Century Studios, which is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News. The film hits theaters February 11.

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Tom Daley grabbed headlines for two reasons at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He won his first gold medal for diving, and he also would knit between events.

The British Olympian told ABC Audio he “never” anticipated to be recognized for his knitting over his diving — especially since he’s been doing one much longer than the other.

“I’ve only been doing [knitting] for 18 months now, but it was something that I found that was my mindfulness… It was my way of just being able to have a healthy distraction where I could just be completely present and in the moment,” Daley explained.

The 27-year-old is thrilled his passion has inspired others to pick up his hobby, and has launched Made With Love by Tom Daley, where he sends knit kits — complete with yarn, needles and instructions — to those who want to learn how to make their own handmade crafts.

Tom understands learning a new skill takes time and practice, so he urges those who are struggling with not to give up, because “the satisfaction of being able to make something for someone else” is worth the wait. 

That said, the athlete firmly believes that there is one “old-fashioned” skill everyone should know — no excuses.  “Everybody should know how to cook,” he remarked, and noted that everyone should have at least one hobby because “everybody should be able to have that little moment of escape.”  

Inspiring others to try new things also gave him the idea to broaden his scope and learn other “old-fashioned” activities via Daley’s new Pinterest series, Tom Tries, where individuals from the baby boomer generation teach him skills such as bonsai tree gardening, pottery and more.  It airs Wednesdays at 6 p.m. ET on Pinterest TV.

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Sunday’s premiere episode of the Yellowstone prequel 1883 wrangled some big ratings for Paramount+.

The series, starring Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, broke the record for the most-watched original series premiere ever on the streaming service. It also delivered 4.9 million total viewers during its special airing on Paramount Network following Yellowstone, making it the biggest new series premiere on cable since 2015.

Created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, 1883 centers on America’s often brutal westward expansion, following the Dutton clan “as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America…Montana.”

(Video includes uncensored profanity.)

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The Broadway lights are permanently going dark for the Alanis Morissette musical Jagged Little Pill, based on her landmark 1995 album of the same name.

Amid the new COVID-19 surge caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, producers confirmed the sad news on Tuesday.

“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,” the statement read. “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.”

The producers assured the two-time Tony Award-winning musical will live on by other means and referenced a production that recently opened in Australia.  “We also hope and intend to find a way to bring this vibrant and vitalizing musical back to the Broadway stage, once the current crisis is past, but at this time we are in the unfortunate position to determine Friday, December 17, 2021 as the final Broadway performance of Jagged Little Pill,” they added.

Jagged Little Pill is currently the only musical to permanently dim its lights on the Great White Way amid this new COVID-19 surge, but other musicals have announced temporary closures, including Hamilton, Aladdin, Hadestown and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

pic.twitter.com/E6sRyQ5aK9

— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) December 20, 2021

Important information regarding performances through December 24. Please visit https://t.co/RhcWqZ6LMo for more information pic.twitter.com/iZtbmPLmah

— Aladdin the Musical (@aladdin) December 20, 2021

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— Hadestown (@hadestown) December 21, 2021

 

 

 

 

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The Palm Springs International Film Festival awards gala, set to take place in-person at the Palm Springs Convention Center on January 6, has been canceled for the second straight year “out of an abundance of caution” over COVID-19 concerns and the Omicron variant of the virus, the Palm Springs International Film Society announced in a statement on Monday. “The Palm Springs Film Awards are one of the largest events in the film world with 2,500 guests and more than 1,000 staff in the room.” Instead, the statement continues, “The Film Awards will partner with Entertainment Tonight to celebrate this year’s honorees with details to follow…We hope to return to the Film Awards to an in-person event in 2023.” The screening portion of the Palm Springs International Film Festival will take place January 7 through January 17, 2022…

The official trailer for Euphoria‘s anxiously-awaited second season dropped on Monday, offering a peek at what’s on tap for the show’s main characters. In the aftermath of her relapse, Zendaya‘s Rue gets mixed up in a dangerous drug-dealing scheme, creating new concerns for Jules, played by Hunter Schafer. Meanwhile, Nate and Cassie — played respectively by Jacob Elordi and Sydney Sweeney — enter into a dangerous relationship, while Alexa Demie‘s Maddy wonders how sexy she’d look pregnant and Fez — portrayed by Angus Cloud — is also troubled by Rue’s “amazing plan.” Euphoria season 2 premieres January 9 on HBO… (Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)

Bravo on Monday released a teaser trailer for The Real Housewives of New Jersey‘s 12th season, the tone of which is perfectly set up by its soundtrack — Bananarama‘s 1983 hit, “Cruel Summer” — which plays under a montage of heated exchanges between between cast members Teresa Giudice, Margaret Josephs, Melissa Gorga, Dolores Catania, Jennifer Aydin and Jackie Goldschneider. Traci Johnson, wife of former NFL star Tiki Barber – long-rumored to be a new Housewife, according to Entertainment Tonight — joins the group as a “friend of.” The Real Housewives of New Jersey season 12 premieres February 1, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo…(Trailer contains censored profanity.)

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