Entertainment

Alicia Witt is dealing with some tragic news right before the holidays.

The actress’ parents – Robert Witt, 87, and Diane Witt, 75 – were found dead in their Massachusetts home on December 20.

According to Worcester’s Telegram & Gazette, Witt had not heard from her parents in several days and asked a relative to do a well-being check.

“I reached out to a cousin who lives close to my parents to check on them. Sadly, the outcome was unimaginable,” she said in a statement. “I ask for some privacy at this time to grieve and to wrap my head around this turn of events, and this surreal loss.”

Police told the Telegram & Gazette that the cause of death remains a mystery. There were no obvious signs of trauma and authorities ruled out carbon monoxide in the home. They do not believe the deaths to be suspicious.

A neighbor told the publication they believed the couple had been ill for some time.

Witt is perhaps best known for her roles in 1984’s Dune and The Walking Dead.  She also appeared in the movies Mr. Holland’s Opus, Two Weeks Notice and Vanilla Sky, and on the TV shows Twin Peaks, The Sopranos, Two and a Half Men, Orange Is the New Black and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

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In his first in-depth interview in nearly four years, James Franco is addressing the sexual misconduct allegations brought against him in 2018.

The actor sat down with Sirius XM’s Jess Cagle and opened up about why he hasn’t spoken out sooner.

“At that moment I just thought I’m gonna be quiet,” he says. “I’m gonna pause. Did not seem like the right time to say anything. There were people that were upset with me and I needed to listen.”

Franco says over the past four years he went to work on himself. He says that after getting sober from alcohol at age 17, he realized his addiction had turned to sex.

The actor admits to cheating on everyone he had been with until his current girlfriend, Isabel Pakzad, and says he slept with students at his former acting school, Playhouse West Studio 4, though stresses he didn’t start the school for that purpose.

“I didn’t want to hurt people,” he says. “…And the behavior spun out to a point where it was like I was hurting everybody.”

Over the summer, Franco reached a settlement with two of his former acting students who filed a sexual misconduct lawsuit against him in 2019.

Franco’s full interview with Jess Cagle airs Thursday.

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Hot off the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the first teaser trailer has been released for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe installment finds Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange grappling with the magnitude of the multiverse, and going to Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff for help.

“I knew sooner or later you’d show up,” Wanda says. “I made mistakes and people were hurt.”

“I’m not here to talk about Westview,” he says, referencing the events of WandaVision. “…I need your help…what do you know about the multiverse?”

We then hear a voiceover of Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, telling Doctor Strange, “The greatest threat to our universe — is you.”

The trailer concludes with a shot of Doctor Strange coming face to face with another, seemingly evil, version of himself.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters May 6.

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

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The International Animated Film Society revealed the nominees for its 49th Annie Awards on Tuesday, and Netflix leads leads the pack with 52 nominations, followed by Disney with 29 between its film and TV projects. Netflix picked up nine nominations for Arcane, its series based on Riot Games’ online multiplayer game League of Legends. The Mitchells vs. The Machines earned eight nods, with the streaming service’s limited series Maya and the Three, has seven. Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon led all content with 10 nominations, followed by Encanto, which picked up nine. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a double nominee for feature music. He’s nominated Germaine Franco for Encanto as well as for his work on Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix’s Vivo, alongside Alex Lacamoire. The complete list of nominees can be found here...

FX has set February 23 for the season five premiere of its hit drama series Snowfall, according to Deadline. The series, co-created by the late John Singleton takes place in 1980s South Central, Los Angeles, where the crack epidemic has taken over, as Franklin Saint, played by Damson Idris, expands his California drug empire. Snowfall‘s fourth season was the cable net’s most-watched series of 2021…

Fox has scratched its New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022 production in New York due to the ongoing surge of COVID-19 and its Omicron variant. “While we are confident in the health and safety protocols for Fox’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022, the recent velocity of the spread of Omicron cases has made it impossible to produce a live special in Times Square that meets our standards,” Fox Entertainment said in a statement obtained by Variety. Joel McHale and Ken Jeong were set to co-host the program, alongside special correspondent Kelly Osbourne. Musical performances by Billy Idol, Imagine Dragons, Pink, Maroon 5 and others were also set to appear…

Actress Sally Anne Howes has died at age 91, Variety reports, citing a tweet from Howes’ nephew.  A Tony-nominated stage and musical theater star for most of her career, which spanned more than 50 years, the British actress and singer is best know to most for playing Truly Scrumptious opposite Dick Van Dyke in the 1968 children’s musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, about a magical flying car, based on the novel by James Bond creator Ian Fleming.  Howes died December 19…

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The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills just got two new additions to its cast — Will Smith‘s ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, and Diana Jenkins. 

The two newbies will appear on the show’s forthcoming season 12 alongside existing cast members Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke, Crystal Kung Minkoff and Kathy Hilton, E! News revealed. 

Zampino, 54, will appear on RHOBH in the “friend of” role. She was previously married to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air for three years before divorcing in 1995. She and Will share 29-year-old son, Trey Smith. 

Jenkins, 48, will join the cast as a full-time housewife. She is a mother of three and also is the founder, chair and CEO of Neuro Brands, a lifestyle drink company. Jenkins is also a philanthropist and activist.

A premiere date for RHOBH season 12 has not yet been announced.

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Today, Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series Hawkeye comes to an end as the sixth and final episode drops.

The series follows Jeremy Renner‘s archer Avenger Clint Barton/Hawkeye trying to get back to his family for Christmas, as his violent past comes back to haunt him.  An over-eager protégé, Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop, dons the suit of Barton’s other alter-ego, the criminal-killing Ronin, unwittingly causing New York City’s criminal underworld to pursue the pair.

In episode five, we learned that the biggest threat was coming from none other than Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, the crime capo played by Vincent D’Onofrio in the Netflix Marvel shows including Daredevil and The Punisher. D’Onofrio told ABC Audio some months ago that he always wanted to revisit the character.

“In the volumes of comics that have been over the years, [fans] know…that he becomes this extraordinary villain, you know…And so…I always felt that there’s a lot more to explore,” D’Onofrio declares.

For the directing team of Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood — known professionally as Bert and Bertie, Hawkeye and its holiday setting took on new meaning during the pandemic. 

“Hawkeye became strangely relevant because just last year and now it looks like this is going to happen again, people can’t get home to their families. I think that’s really, really connects with all of us at the moment,” Bert says. “It strikes a whole other chord that no one could have predicted.”

Bertie teases of the finale, “I think it is going to sate for what they’ve all been craving and some of the emotional wrap-ups that we’re all looking for, but also leave enough expanse for the future travel with these characters, so it’s going to be exciting!”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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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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