Entertainment

The producers of Jeopardy! have honored beloved late host Alex Trebek by naming the game show’s very stage after him. 

The show’s producers posted a video to Instagram of Trebek’s wife, Jean, son Matt, and daughters Emily and Nicky showcasing the bronze plaque at Sony Pictures Studios, in Culver City, California, that reads “The Alex Trebek Stage.”

Trebek died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020 at age 80.

After a series of guest hosts filled in at the podium in Trebek’s stead, Jeopardy!‘s executive producer Mike Richards was named host on August 11. However, after filming just a week’s worth of shows, Richards stepped down after controversial remarks he made on his former podcast re-surfaced.

A report from The Ringer exposed various disparaging comments he made about women, the recordings of which have since been deleted. Richards later left the show altogether at the end of August, and a search for a replacement was said to be underway.

Because the game show is shot in advance, Richards will still appear as the host of Jeopardy! until this Friday, September 17.

 

 

 

 

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The Queen’s Gambit was the big winner at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Saturday night, picking up nine trophies — just part of Netflix’s network-leading haul of 34.

Disney’s The Mandalorian and NBC’s Saturday Night Live finished second with seven each; Marvel Studios’ WandaVision picked up two, leaving Disney+ with 13 wins overall.

RuPaul took home his sixth straight Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program, for the trophy magnet RuPaul’s Drag Race series. 

This year’s Creative Arts ceremonies were held in a tent on the LA Live events deck in downtown Los Angeles and split into three events over two days, on Saturday and Sunday.  Find the complete winners list at Emmys.com.

The 73rd Emmy Awards will air live on Sunday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.

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Orange Is the New Black star Uzo Aduba is a married woman.  The actress revealed Sunday that she secretly tied the knot with filmmaker Robert Sweeting last year.

The three-time Emmy winner shocked fans with the surprise announcement, sharing a radiant photo from her nuptials and beginning her caption with a fitting quote from the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally.

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible,” Aduba, 40, wrote before diving into the happy news that she had kept secret for the past year.

“For some of us, it can feel like we spend our whole lives waiting for our special someone. My heart, my love — I’m so happy my life started last year with you,” the Mrs. America star announced. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Aduba’s famous friends were quick to offer their heartfelt congratulations, including Kerry Washington, who spammed the actress with numerous red heart emojis.  Similarly, Mindy Kaling bombarded the Golden Globe-nominee with hearts. Yvette Nicole Brown, Billy Porter, Octavia Spencer, Michelle Williams and many others also extended their warm regards.

Aduba did not disclose when she and Sweeting will celebrate their first anniversary.

 

 

 

 

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After its first-ever Emmy wins — WandaVision picked up two at the Creative Arts ceremony on Saturday — Marvel Studios has unveiled its first peek at its next Disney+ adventure, Hawkeye. 

Soundtracked to Andy Williams‘ holiday classic “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” the Christmas-set trailer blends action, humor, and intrigue.

Jeremy Renner‘s Clint Barton is still dealing with his exploits as seen in Avengers: Endgame: once his family was “snapped” away by Thanos, he went on a revenge bender as the cloaked vigilante, Ronin. But as Barton readjusts to the normal life he saved, Ronin returns — only it’s not Barton. Hawkeye tracks down the sword-wielding archer wearing his disguise to find Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop, and he soon takes her under his wing. 

“You’re Hawkeye!” she enthuses.

“Who the hell are you?” Barton replies.

“Some people have actually called me the world’s greatest archer,” she boasts.

As Barton tries to balance family life — Endgame co-director Joe Russo‘s daughter Ava Russo returns as his daughter, Lila, and they have tickets to the Captain America musical ROGERS, after all — Barton and Bishop find themselves on the run in New York City. 

“When I wore that suit I made a lot of enemies,” Barton warns. And as the teaser shows, those enemies are coming in spades. 

As you’d expect, the pair show off some amazing archery skills, at one point back-to-back on the Rockefeller Center skating rink. The trailer closes with both archers imitating Hawkeye’s backwards mid-air shooting as seen in the pages of Marvel Comics, and The Avengers. 

Hawkeye also stars Vera Farmiga and Florence Pugh, the latter reprising her Black Widow character, Yelena. It hits Disney+ on November 24. 

Marvel is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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Ashton Kutcher continues to reap the consequences of igniting the great celebrity bathing debate of 2021, with things coming to a head at college football game that he recently attended.

Kutcher was serving as ESPN’s College GameDay guest picker on Saturday when the crowd at the Iowa State vs The University of Iowa football match began to loudly clap and chant “take a shower.” The That 70s Show alum was speaking about his new charity initiative when the stadium erupted, which partially drowned out his response.

The 43-year-old ignored the jeering and has yet to reference the incident on social media. However, the heckling happened live on television, with clips of the awkward interaction now going viral on Twitter.

Kutcher, along with wife Mila Kunis, first surprised the internet about their bathing habits in July when candidly revealing on the Armchair Expert podcast that they do not bathe their children every day. While the two attested that they wash their armpits, face and private parts on the daily, their remarks ignited a firestorm over proper hygiene.

While celebs such as Kristen Bell and Jake Gyllenhaal defended Kunis and Kutcher by revealing that they, too, don’t wash themselves daily, others like Dwayne Johnson and Cardi B made sure the public knew that they were firmly on the “bathe every day” train.

Kunis and Kutcher couple laughed off their now-viral interaction last month and even shared a hilarious clip of themselves bathing their young kids.

 

 

 

 

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Following its record-breaking opening last week, Disney-Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings continued its box office domination by grabbing an estimated $35.7 million in its sophomore weekend.

The latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the fastest film to reach the $100 million mark in North America during the pandemic, while crossing the $250 million mark worldwide.

Disney/20th Century’s Free Guy nabbed second place, delivering an estimated $5.8 million in its fifth week of release. Its domestic total now stands at $101.8 million, with a global tally of $276.5 million.

This week’s only major new release, Malignant, fizzled in its opening weekend.  The horror flick from James Wan, who created the Saw and Conjuring franchises, finished in third place with an estimated $5.57 million.

Another horror film, Candyman scared up an estimated $4.8 million in it third week at the box office, for a fourth-place finish.

Rounding out the top five is Disney’s Jungle Cruise, pulling in an estimated $2.5 million in its seventh week of release. The movie, based on the popular Disney theme park attraction, has racked up a total of $109.9 million stateside and $86.9 million overseas, bringing its total worldwide tally to $196.8 million.

Marvel and 20th Century Studios are owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Tituss Burgess admits that there was a time in his life when he didn’t understand the fuss over the Bachelor franchise.  Now, he’s singing a different tune.

Speaking to ABC Audio, Burgess revealed that the reality dating show got in its hooks when he guest-hosted Bachelor In Paradise the first time around — and now he’s set to help unleash the drama once again when BiP returns tonight.

“Watching some of the more awkward moments is like watching a car wreck, like, you know, what’s about to happen. You know someone’s heart’s about to break, but I can’t stop watching,” said Burgess.  

The guest host is not all about the drama, however, and says he also enjoys the romance because he finds it “exciting” when “someone’s about to fall in love.”

Burgess also understands what happens behind-the-scenes thanks to his BiP guest-hosting stints, and adds he also appreciates how the contestants withstand the “pressure that they are under at all times.”

“From the temperature being hot as Hades, to debauchery all day, to watching or hearing within earshot someone that you think you’ve made a match with be talking about another person that is not you,” the Central Park actor said, “All of those make for the perfect storm.”

Burgess, who was down in Mexico to film BiP‘s seventh season, noted he was amazed by how well the contestants juggled everything that was thrown at them — including the incredible heat — adding, “I was most surprised about how they pushed through all of that, all in the name of love.”

Bachelor in Paradise airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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No doubt buoyed by the success of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which debuted exclusively in theaters to a better-than-expected Labor Day opening weekend, Disney has decided to release five upcoming films exclusively in theaters. 

One of these is Marvel Studios’ Eternals, which won’t be released first on Disney+ like Black Widow was. Black Widow‘s release on the streaming network led to a lawsuit from star Scarlett Johansson.

Eternals will debut exclusively in theaters, as will the animated film Encanto, the remake of the classic musical West Side Story, the animated comedy Ron’s Gone Wrong, Ridley Scott‘s medieval movie The Last Duel, and the pandemic-delayed Kingsman prequel The King’s Man. The films are from either Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures or 20th Century Studios.

After playing for 45 days in theaters, some of the films could then move to streaming, likely as part of Disney+’s Premiere Access — with the exception of Ron’s Gone Wrong, which will be available after 30 days. 

Here are the release dates: 

The Last Duel (20th Century Studios): October 15

Ron’s Gone Wrong (Walt Disney Pictures): October 22

Eternals (Marvel Studios): November 5

Encanto (Walt Disney Pictures): November 22

West Side Story (20th Century Studios): December 10

The King’s Man (20th Century Studios): December 22

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It’s already well-known that Bennifer 2.0 is in full swing, but Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez finally made it red carpet official on Friday, at the Venice Film Festival. 

The couple, walking hand-in-hand, looked stunning: Ben looked fit in a classic black tuxedo, while Lopez wore a low-cut, mermaid-style white gown that showcased her famous curves — and sent the photographers into overdrive.

The pair were on hand at the screening of director Ridley Scott‘s The Last Duel, Affleck’s new film with childhood pal and fellow Good Will Hunting Oscar-winning writer Matt Damon. 

The drama, which is based on real events, sees Damon playing a respected warrior called Jean de Carrouges, who faces off against Adam Driver‘s Jacques Le Gris, who is accused of assaulting de Carrouges’ wife, played by Emmy-winner Jodie Comer. Affleck plays the playboy Count Pierre of Alençon, who plays a role the case.

The Last Duel debuted at the festival, but hits theaters on these shores on October 15.

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Cedric the Entertainer is hosting the Emmy Awards for the first time, and he says he has something special for the viewers and live audience.

“We wanted to do something that reminded viewers of the big shows,” The Neighborhood star tells People.”We didn’t want to go Broadway with it, but we do want to do something similar to that. So we got a big, fun number to open up and show that’s got some sketches.”

The veteran comedian, whose credits also include The Steve Harvey Show, Barbershop and The Last O.G., says TV has been vital to our world as we cope with the pandemic.

“Throughout the roller-coaster of a year that we have all lived through, television has helped us stay connected as a society like never before,” Cedric comments. “It not only entertained us, but as it always has, it helped to open our eyes, educate us, and hopefully brought about a better understanding of who we are as a people.”

There will be a limited live audience for the Emmys, and Cedric admits that it’s a challenge appearing in front of an in-person crowd again after show business has been dominated for over a year by virtual performances.

“I think that had me a little, say, nervous if you will, to think about like, ‘Oh, I’m the guy that’s bringing it back out.’ This is how we set the mark,” he notes. “So I think that that’s the only place where I feel like there’s pressure, but I plan on having a good time.”

The 73rd Emmy Awards will air live on Sunday, September 19, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS.

 

 

 

 

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