Entertainment

While Hollywood wonders who will get the tap to host the 94th Annual Academy Awards, Variety says at least one name that has been bandied about “likely won’t” be behind the podium: Pete Davidson.

The trade does confirm that reps for the Saturday Night Live cast member, and King of Staten Island star have been in touch with the Oscars’ producers, but it’s precisely his link to SNL that would likely leave him out of the running.

Davidson is “too closely linked to NBC,” posits the trade, whereas another interesting choice is already in the Disney/ABC family: Only Murders in the Building stars Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short. Disney is the majority owner of Hulu, on which the comedy streams.

“[T]hey are an iconic trio,” Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich previously told Variety. 

“They have mass appeal. Everybody loves them. They’d be a dream,” Erwich said, adding the caveat, “That said, there’s a lot of incredible talent we’re considering.”

For the record, at least Short and Martin — who along with Gomez were just nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for their show — are so far not interested.

ABC Audio recently asked Short if he’d be up for the job. “No, not particularly,” he explained, adding of Martin, “That night we are performing in Stamford, Connecticut, actually. We have a show. [Hosting is] not on the table.”

The 94th Annual Academy Awards will air March 27 on ABC.

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Tim Allen will reprise his role from The Santa Clause movies in a limited series for Disney+. 

1994’s The Santa Clause had Allen playing Scott Calvin, a divorced dad who has to contractually fulfill the role of Santa Claus after a mishap leads the death of the real McCoy in the line of duty. The movie was followed up with 2002’s The Santa Clause 2, and 2006’s The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.

This time around, the Toy Story and Home Improvement vet will portray Calvin as he’s nearing retirement age as the Man with the Bag, with a family seeking a normal life.

“With a lot of elves, children, and family to please, Scott sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in a life south of the pole,” the announcement teases.

The Disney+ series will re-team Allen with his Last Man Standing producer, executive producer and showrunner Kevin Hench. Jack Burditt, who backed Emmy winners like Frasier and 30 Rock, and the Emmy-nominated hit The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, is also producing. 

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The Betty White Challenge, created in memory of the late TV icon who passed away on December 31 at the age of 99, has been a smashing success, to say the least.

The challenge, an online event set for January 17 — on what would’ve been the star’s 100th birthday — encourages people to donate $5 to animal rescue organizations in her name.

Since its announcement last week, organizers report that 17,000 fundraisers have been created on Facebook and Instagram and more than $550K has already been raised — 100% of the money going directly to the challenge.

Uber has even joined the Betty White Challenge with a donation of $50,000 to the ASPCA to donate to local shelters.

You can participate nationally in the challenge by donating to Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization dedicated to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters. You can donate on Facebook or Instagram.

You can also click the menu bar on the Facebook mobile app or scroll the menu on the left on facebook.com to find the ‘Fundraisers’ icon, or click here to go straight to an explore page and search for “#BettyWhiteChallenge” fundraisers.

There are several local charities and shelters with active fundraisers that you can support, including SPCA of Wake County in Garner, North Carolina or Kitsap Humane Society in Silverdale, Washington.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) On stage on Thursday night, Dave Chappelle mourned the loss of his friend and fellow stand-up Bob Saget, who was found dead in his Orlando hotel room on Sunday. 

His comments during a performance, which TMZ said was at West Hollywood’s Peppermint Club, were posted by the gossip site.

“I didn’t see Bob coming,” admitted Chappelle of the death of the 65-year-old. Chappelle noted because he got started so young in comedy, he’s unfortunately seen many former colleagues pass. 

Dave mentioned Thursday night that he was “going to lay my comrade to rest tomorrow,” adding he regretted not returning a text Saget sent him before he passed. 

“I was busy, it happens,” Dave said, but used it to “remind” his audience that none of us know what’s going to happen. “These moments are precious,” Dave said, to applause. “When I’m going out at night, I’m making memories. S***, I’m making history,” he said. 

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HBO Max is moving forward with Degrassi, the latest iteration of the beloved teen drama franchise, according to Variety. The 10-episode series will follow “the painful high school experience of self-discovery by following a group of Toronto students and faculty coping with events that both bring them together and tear them apart.” Degrassi is set to debut in 2023. In the meantime, HBO Max will stream all 14 seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation, beginning this spring…

NBC has given a pilot order to a reboot of Quantum Leap, the 1990s sci-fi series, which starred Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, the network announced on Thursday. The reboot is set 30 years after Dr. Sam Beckett, played by Bakula, vanished after stepping into the Quantum Leap accelerator. Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it. Bakula is not attached to reprise his role in the new Quantum Leap, but has discussed possibly getting involved, according to Deadline. Bakula’s co-lead on the original series, Dean Stockwell, died in November at age 85…

The Producers Guild of America has postponed the 33rd Producers Guild Awards due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, the guild announced on Thursday, according to Deadline. The awards ceremony was originally scheduled for Feb. 26 but will now take place on March 19 at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The Guild will work closely with government officials and health experts to protect all staff and attendees of the ceremony. At this time, attendees will be required to be fully vaccinated with a booster, if eligible, and they must also provide a negative COVID-19 test. The new PGA Awards date now places it the same weekend as the Writers Guild Awards, which are set for March 20. The Directors Guild Awards are currently set for March 12…

David Ramsey is returning to the Arrowverse. The actor will reprise his role as Arrow’s John Diggle/Spartan in the upcoming drama Justice U, currently in development at the CW, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Per the logline for Justice U, “After spending years fighting alongside masked heroes, John Diggle embarks on a new mission to recruit five young meta humans to live undercover as freshmen at a prestigious university. There he will oversee their education and train them to become the heroes of tomorrow.” Ramsey will direct the pilot should The CW opt to move forward with the script…

Epix has renewed its drama series Godfather of Harlem for a third season, the network announced on Thursday. The series follows the true story of Harlem crime boss Bumpy Johnson — played by Forest Whitaker — who, after serving 10 years in jail, returns to his hood to find it run by the Italian mob. Vincent D’Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Nigél Thatch, Lucy Fry and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy also star. The show’s third season will consist of 10 episodes, with production set to begin in New York this summer…

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As they say, “lemons to lemonade”: An ugly Christmas sweater that was park of a prank on Ryan Reynolds from his pals Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal back in 2018 has helped raise some $850,000 for a children’s charity. 

The hideous jumper — made to look like a wearable present, complete with an obnoxious gold bow at the center — was just one of the items that Reynolds auctioned off to benefit Canada’s Sick Kids Foundation before the holidays, and now the Deadpool series star just announced the results.

“Thank you for helping this butt-ugly sweater raise over $850,000 for Sick Kids Foundation,” the star posted on his social media while “proudly” modeling it. “Turning something ugly into something beautiful is what @sickkidsvs does every day.”

Other items up for grabs were player-signed sweaters from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and to boot, Samsung Canada apparently also kicked in a $100,000 check. 

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Even the biggest celebrities can get starstruck when meeting their idols for the first time, and Jake Gyllenhaal recently recalled a disastrous run-in with Brad Pitt.

It didn’t help that the meeting took place while Gyllenhaal was filming 2002’s The Good Girl, which featured “a lot of racy scenes” with Pitt’s ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston.

“I remember putting my hand out to shake his and accidentally hitting the door. He said, so confidently and kindly, ‘Well, you have another one. It’s all right,’” the Spider-Man: Far From Home star tells W magazine. “He was very, very, very sweet to me, and it was actually a really lovely exchange. But, yeah — I was starstruck.”

Pitt was married to Aniston from 2000-2005. She later moved on with Justin Theroux, with whom she tied the knot in August 2015. They announced their separation in February 2018. 

Gyllenhaal may also be tied to Aniston in another way. Fans have speculated that his ex, Taylor Swift referred to The Morning Show star in the 10-minute version of her song “All Too Well,” which is rumored to be about the Taylor’s breakup with Gyllenhaal, according to Us Weekly.

“Now I’m weeping in a party bathroom / Some actress asking me what happened, you / That’s what happened, you,” the pop star sings on the track — which fans connected to a January 2011 report claiming Jen offered Swift advice at the People’s Choice Awards shortly after her split from Gyllenhaal.

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Lisa Bonet may have dropped a hint about her split with Jason Momoa in an interview published weeks ago.

Bonet interviewed her fellow A Different World alum Marisa Tomei for Interview and had a cryptic response when the Spider-Man: No Way Home star asked “What’s calling you?”

“Definitely learning how to be authentically me, learning to be new, and following this invitation from the universe to step into this river of uncertainty,” the 54-year-old Cosby Show star replied. “We’ve eliminated all this extra noise, and now it’s time to grow our roots deeper into our own values.”

Momoa, 42, released a joint statement announcing that the two have decided to uncouple on behalf of himself and Bonet — who’s not on social media — on Wednesday, via Instagram. 

“We have all felt the squeeze and changes of these transformational times… A revolution is unfolding ~and our family is of no exception… feeling and growing from the seismic shifts occurring And so~ We share our Family news~ That we are parting ways in marriage,” the Aquaman star wrote. “We share this not because we think it’s newsworthy ~ But so that~ as we go about our lives we may do so with dignity and honesty,”

Momoa and Bonet reportedly began dating in 2005 before tying the knot in 2017. They share two children Lola Iolani Momoa, who was born in 2007, and Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa, who they welcomed the following year.

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As the entertainment world continues to mourn the passing of Ronnie Spector, Zendaya, who will portray The Ronettes‘ lead singer an an upcoming biopic, paid tribute to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

“This news just breaks my heart. To speak about her as if she’s not with us feels strange as she is so incredibly full of life,” the Euphoria star writes on Instagram. “There’s not a time I saw her without her iconic red lips and full teased hair, a true rockstar through and through.”

The Emmy Award winner also says she’s grateful to have spent time with Spector preparing for the role.

“Ronnie, being able to know you has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Zendaya writes. “Thank you for sharing your life with me, I could listen to your stories for hours and hours. Thank you for your unmeasured talent, your unwavering love for performing, your strength, resilience and your grace.”

The 25-year-old actress adds, “There is absolutely nothing that could dim the light you cast. I admire you so much and am so grateful for the bond we share. You are a magical force of greatness and the world of music will never be the same.”

Zendaya concludes, “We celebrate your beautiful life and give you all the flowers you so rightfully deserve. Rest in great power Ronnie. I hope to make you proud.”

As previously reported, Spector died on Wednesday after battling cancer. She was 78.

A statement on her website reads, “Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humor and a smile on her face…Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her.”

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Days after Alec Baldwin called claims he wasn’t cooperating with authorities “a lie,” the Santa Fe County, New Mexico, Sheriff’s Office announced that the actor still hasn’t surrendered his cellphone in the Rust shooting investigation. 

Authorities had issued a search warrant for the device back in December, to aid in the analysis of Baldwin’s fatal shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins back on October 21.

Despite negotiations between the Santa Fe County District Attorney’s office and Alec’s legal reps, “To date, the cell phone has not be turned over to authorities,” the Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday. 

In his Instagram post, Baldwin was defensive about the situation, explaining, “They can’t just go through your phone and take your photos, or your love letters to your wife, or what have you,” the actor and producer of the Western said. 

He insisted, “Any suggestion that I am not complying with requests or orders or demands or search warrants about my phone, that’s bulls***, that’s a lie.”

Baldwin’s lawyer Aaron Dyer had previously issued a statement that claimed they wanted to “take steps to protect Mr. Baldwin’s family and personal information…unrelated to the investigation. A phone contains a person’s entire life, and personal information needs to be protected.”

Baldwin insisted to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he didn’t pull the trigger of the vintage-style Colt revolver that was pointed at Hutchins during a rehearsal. Nevertheless, a live round that went unnoticed in the pistol discharged and fatally struck Hutchins, and also injured director Joel Souza.

The statement from Baldwin’s lawyer continued, “While they evaluate the phone information, we hope that the authorities continue to focus on how the live rounds got on the set in the first place.”

Investigators say hundreds of rounds were recovered from the set, “a mix” of harmless dummy rounds, fireable blanks, and potentially deadly live ammunition. 

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