Viola Davis attends the Academy Museum 5th annual gala in Partnership with Rolex at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Oct. 18, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Emma McIntyre/Oscars/Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures)
The NAACP announced Thursday that Viola Davis will be the recipient of the prestigious Chairman’s Award.
She’ll receive the honor at the upcoming 57th NAACP Image Awards, which air live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Feb. 28.
“The Chairman’s Award honors individuals who excel in public service and leverage their unique platforms to ignite and drive meaningful change,” according to the announcement.
“Viola Davis is a generational talent who has commanded audiences with her powerful and transcending performances,” Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, said. “Through a career defined by excellence and courage, she has used her platform to work towards opportunity and equity, crafting an undeniable legacy for generations to come. We look forward to celebrating her and the trailblazing path she has created for herself, and others to follow.”
Past award recipients include Kamala Harris, Amanda Gorman, Samuel L. Jackson, the late civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis, Ruby Dee, Danny Glover, Rev. James Lawson, Tyler Perry and then-Sen. Barack Obama.
Davis, who holds EGOT status, is also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her role in the action-thriller G20.
The public can vote to determine winners in select categories. Voting ends Friday.
Nicolas Cage as The Spider in a scene from ‘Spider-Noir’ season 1. (Prime Video)
Nicolas Cage returns to the Spider-Verse in the official teaser trailers for Spider-Noir.
Prime Video released two versions of the new trailer for its upcoming live-action series, which is produced by Sony Pictures Television, on Thursday. The streaming service also announced that the show will make its global premiere on May 27.
The series finds Cage starring in his first leading TV role, as he reprises the character he originally voiced in the 2018 Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
This live-action take on the character is based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, which tells the story of Ben Reilly (Cage), “a seasoned, down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero,” according to its official synopsis.
A unique feature of this brand-new show is that it will be available to watch in two different ways — what Prime Video is calling the Authentic Black & White option or the True-Hue Full Color option. Because of this, two different teaser trailers have released for the series; one entirely in black-and-white and one in color.
Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston and Brendan Gleeson also star in the new series.
Harry Bradbeer, the Emmy Award-winning director of Fleabag and Killing Eve, helmed and executive produced the show’s first two episodes. Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot are the co-showrunners of the project. They developed the series with the team behind Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal, who all also executive produce.
Harris Dickinson is John Lennon in Columbia Pictures ‘The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.’ (Chiabella James/Sony Pictures)
The cast for Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles films just got bigger.
Sony has announced the latest additions to The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, including The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actress Morfydd [MOR-vith] Clark as John Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia Lennon, and Bohemian Rhapsody’s Lucy Boynton as Paul McCartney’s former girlfriend Jane Asher.
Also joining the cast is actor Farhan Akhtar, star of the Hindi-language film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, as musician Ravi Shankar, and Industry’s Harry Lawtey as the band’s original bass player, Stuart Sutcliffe.
The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, opening in April 2028, will consist of four films, each told from the perspective of one of band members. It stars Paul Mescal as McCartney, Harris Dickinson as Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
The cast also includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Ringo’s wife Maureen Starkey, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono and Aimee Lou Wood as Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd.
The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of band members and their legendary catalog of music.
James Van Der Beek arrives at the 71st Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 22, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (Emma Mcintyre/Getty Images)
Stars of Dawson’s Creek are paying tribute to James Van Der Beek following his death.
The 48-year-old actor, who is known for playing the show’s titular character, Dawson Leery, died Wednesday morning following a battle with colorectal cancer.
His family shared the news on his official Instagram page. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
Upon the news of his death, actors who starred alongside Van Der Beek in the hit WB teen drama, including Katie Holmes, Mary-Margaret Humes and Busy Philipps, took to social media to remember the actor.
Holmes shared a photo of a handwritten letter to Van Der Beek on Instagram, captioning the photo, “I formed some words with a heavy heart. This is a lot to process. I am so grateful to have shared in a piece of James’ journey. He is beloved. Kimberly, we love you and will be here always for you and your beautiful children.”
Philipps, who portrayed Audrey Liddell, wrote in her social media tribute: “My heart is deeply hurting for all of us today…every person who knew James and loved him, anyone who loved his work or had the pleasure of meeting him, all of his dear friends and community that surrounded him as he battled this illness, especially his parents and brother and sister.”
She went on to say she is “heartbroken” for Van Der Beek’s wife and children, and urged others to help them out via their GoFundMe.
“James Van Der Beek was one in a billion and he will be forever missed and i don’t know what else to say,” she added. “i am just so so sad. He was my friend and i loved him and i’m so grateful for our friendship all these years.”
Humes, who played Van Der Beek’s TV mom in the show, shared photos of herself with Van Der Beek and wrote she is at a “loss for words.”
“James, my gracious warrior, you fought a hard battle against all odds with such quiet strength and dignity,” she captioned the post on Instagram. “I will always love and admire you for that. Our last conversations … merely a few days ago … are forever sitting softly in my heart for safe keeping. To our extended Dawson’s Creek family of friends … please be respectful of our silences at the moment as Beautiful Kimberly and family have asked for peaceful privacy for now.”
The official Instagram page for Dawson’s Creek via Sony Pictures also addressed Van Der Beek’s death and remembered the actor for his iconic role as Leery.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of James Van Der Beek,” the show said. “His iconic portrayal of Dawson Leery helped define a generation of television for fans and continues to resonate with audiences today. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”
Additionally, stars across Hollywood began paying tribute to Van Der Beek and took to the comments section of his Instagram post to remember him, including Sarah Michelle Gellar.
“I’m so sad for your beautiful family,” Gellar commented on Van Der Beek’s Instagram post. “While James legacy will always live on, this is a huge loss to not just your family but the world. F*** cancer.”
Nicole Kidman’s latest show has debuted its official trailer. Prime Video has released the new trailer for its crime thriller series Scarpetta. Kidman stars alongside an ensemble that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker and Ariana DeBose. The new show, which is based on Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling books, premieres on March 11 …
The Scrubs reboot is coming very soon. ABC has released the trailer for the first season of its revival of the beloved comedy series. The show premieres its first two episodes on Feb. 25. This revival picks back up in the modern day and reunites the original cast of Zach Braff as John “J.D.” Dorian, Donald Faison as Christopher Turk and Sarah Chalke as Elliot Reid …
The official trailer for Vladimir has arrived. Netflix has shared the new trailer for the upcoming limited series starring Rachel Weisz and Leo Woodall. It premieres all eight of its episodes on March 5. Vladimir follows what happens when a professor becomes fixated on her magnetic new colleague …
Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Paul Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. in ‘Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.’ (FX)
The celebrity romance that took the country by storm in the ’90s plays out in the new limited seriesLove Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette.
This first season, which arrives to FX and Hulu on Thursday, marks the debut of Ryan Murphy’s brand-new Love Story anthology series. It stars relative newcomers Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon as the titular couple.
On the red carpet at the show’s New York premiere, Pidgeon spoke about what it was like to bring this story to life.
“We understood the sensitivities … of trying to portray real people. But I think we always tried to lead with integrity and the truth of what might have happened behind closed doors,” Pidgeon said.
What was happening behind closed doors “was sort of the focus of this show,” Pidgeon continued. “We know the reality that they were dealing with and what might have been those discussions that the public wasn’t always privy to.”
Erich Bergen stars as Anthony Radziwill, the nephew of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and cousin of John F. Kennedy Jr.
He says that John F. Kennedy Jr. and Bessette were the perfect couple to start this new Love Story anthology series off with.
“I think when you look at a photo of John and Carolyn, especially in those years before they got married and on their wedding day, and even after their wedding day, these photos are filled with this tangible energy of excitement, and it was all still right in front of them,” Bergen said. “It was falling in love in New York City, which is the greatest city to fall in love in, and it’s very different than falling in love in other places. The energy here, the excitement. You fall in love with each other and fall in love with the city at the same time.”
Disney is the parent company of ABC News, FX Networks and Hulu.
Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon in the Hal Ashby-directed 1971 film, ‘Harold and Maude.’ (FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)
Bud Cort, the actor known for his co-starring role in the 1971 film Harold and Maude, has died. He was 77.
Dorian Hannaway, a television producer and friend of Cort, confirmed Cort’s death to ABC News on Wednesday. Cort died of what was described as a long illness.
Cort was born Walter Edward Cox on March 29, 1948, in Rye, New York. Director Robert Altman discovered the actor and cast him in two 1970 films, M*A*S*H and Brewster McCloud, which both went on to be hits.
He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Harold Chasen, a young man who falls in love with a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor played by Ruth Gordon, in director Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude. The movie was selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 1997, as the Library of Congress deemed it to be “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
Other notable roles of his include parts in Michael Mann’s 1995 film Heat, the 1999 movie Dogma and Wes Anderson’s 2004 film The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. He also appeared in Coyote Ugly, Pollock, She Dances Alone and Electric Dreams.
Cort is survived by his brother, Joseph Cox, and his family; his sister Kerry Cox; his sister Tracy Cox Berkman and her family; and his sister Shelly Cox Dufour and her family.
Justin Baldoni and Emily Baldoni arrive at New York Federal Courthouse for his trial against Blake Lively on Feb. 11, 2026, in New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty Images)
Actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are facing off in a New York City federal court for a settlement conference in Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, with whom she co-starred in It Ends With Us.
The It Ends With Us co-stars, flanked by their attorneys, smiled at a small crowd of media gathered outside of the U.S. District Court as they entered Wednesday morning, but did not speak to reporters.
The court-ordered settlement conference is a last effort for a resolution ahead of the actors’ scheduled May 18 trial in a legal battle that has stretched on for more than a year.
According to court documents, each side will make a 10- to 15-minute presentation during the conference summarizing the issues attorneys believe are important for the opposing party to consider.
The judge will then meet separately with each side in private. The proceedings are not open to the public or press, and there is no word on how long Wednesday’s conference is expected to last.
Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends with Us, and accusing both Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, of engaging in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
The two later filed lawsuits against each other in New York, with Lively reiterating the claims made in her earlier complaint and accusing Baldoni and Wayfarer of allegedly engaging in “unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing” to ruin her reputation in a lawsuit seeking $500 million in damages.
Baldoni’s attorney denied the allegations.
Shortly after Lively filed her lawsuit, Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and the couple’s publicist for extortion and defamation, claiming Lively had “robbed” him of control over the film and had destroyed his reputation.
Lively’s lawyers denied the allegations and called Baldoni’s suit “another chapter in the abuser playbook.”
A federal judge in New York dismissed Baldoni’s suit last June, formally ending the counterclaim in October after Baldoni did not refile an amended complaint.
James Van Der Beek arrives at the premiere of Prime Video series ‘Overcompensating’ at Hollywood Palladium on May 14, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for starring in the teen TV drama Dawson’s Creek and films including Varsity Blues, has died. He was 48.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace,” reads a note posted on Van Der Beek’s Instagram page. “There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
Van Der Beek revealed in a November 2024 Instagram post that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, stating that despite the diagnosis he was “in a good place and feeling strong.”
Later that month, the actor further revealed to People that he was battling Stage 3 colorectal cancer. Van Der Beek shared that he received the diagnosis after a colonoscopy.
In December 2024, Van Der Beek joined Good Morning America to discuss his mindset and emotional state during his ongoing battle with the disease.
“And thus began the full-time job of having cancer, signing up for all the various medical portals and getting on the phone with insurance and creating appointments. … I was not prepared for just how much of a full-time job that it really is,” Van Der Beek said.
“I’m going to make changes that I never would have made otherwise, that I’m going to look back on in 30 years and say, ‘Thank gGod this happened.’ So, what can I do right now in order to make that the case? And that’s how it was, about 90 percent of the time,” he went on. “But 10 percent of the time, I was a sobbing, terrified mess, which I feel like is a pretty good percentage.”
Born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, Van Der Beek began acting while in middle school and made his professional debut at age 16 in a 1993 off-Broadway production in New York City. He continued to appear in various amateur and professional productions throughout high school and while attending New Jersey’s Drew University.
It was while he was a student at Drew in 1998 that Van Der Beek auditioned for and won the title role of Dawson Leery in The WB network’s new show Dawson’s Creek. Van Der Beek dropped out of Drew University to star in the show for the whole of its six-year run, opposite fellow cast members and future stars Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson.
“That was when life was at its craziest,” Van Der Beek said about his time on the hit show in a 2020 interview with Good Morning America. “At 20 years old I got stupidly lucky and found myself in a zeitgeist, cultural phenomenon TV show, and I was suddenly famous.”
Van Der Beek also admitted his sudden stardom was difficult to handle. “My reaction to fame was to run away from it,” he said, though looking back he said he would tell his younger self to “relax, be grateful, enjoy it.”
Despite having already begun a small film career with roles in films like the 1996 romantic drama I Love You, I Love You Not, which also starred Claire Danes, Julia Stiles and Jude Law, Van Der Beek’s Dawson’s Creek fame earned him the headlining role in the 1999 coming-of-age sports drama Varsity Blues. Van Der Beek’s character of Jonathan “Mox” Moxon, the backup quarterback on a small-town Texas high school football team, remains the film performance for which he’s best remembered. It also earned him the best breakout male performance award at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.
“It was a movie I really, really cared about, it was a role I really cared about,” Van Der Beek told Good Morning America. “It was a role I really had to fight for. I had to fight for that role, nobody wanted me for that role initially.”
The success of Varsity Blues led to roles in other films, including 2000’s horror film send-up Scary Movie, in which Van Der Beek made a cameo appearance as his Dawson’s Creek character, the 2001 Western Texas Rangers and the 2002 dark comedy Rules of Attraction. Later film roles included the 2009 thriller Formosa Betrayed, 2013’s Labor Day with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, and the 2019 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Yet Van Der Beek remained a larger small-screen presence, appearing on dozens of hit TV shows over the years in starring or guest roles, including How I Met Your Mother, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, One Tree Hill,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Cyber and Modern Family, as well as providing the voice of Boris Hauntley on the Disney animated children’s series Vampirina. Van Der Beek also placed fifth on season 28 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2019. In 2025, he was announced as a recurring character on the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle.
In September 2025, the cast of Dawson’s Creekreunited for a one-night-only live reading of the show’s pilot episode to raise money for the nonprofit F Cancer and for Van Der Beek. A stomach virus prevented him from attending in person — Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda stepped into the role of Dawson Leery in Van Der Beek’s place — but he shared a video message in which he thanked those who attended and shared his disappointment for not being unable to “stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most.”
Van Der Beek was married twice. He’s survived by his wife, film producer Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children.
Jason Momoa attends ‘The Wrecking Crew’ UK special screening at Cineworld Leicester Square on Jan. 22, 2026, in London, England. (Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images)
Jason Momoa is set to be the face of a popular video game’s film adaptation.
The actor will star in a movie adaptation of Helldivers for PlayStation Productions and Sony Pictures. This film will be based on the Arrowhead Game Studios video game of the same name. It has a release date of Nov. 10, 2027.
Justin Lin, who has directed many movies in the Fast and Furious franchise, including The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast Five and F9, will helm the film. Lin will also produce the film alongside Hutch Parker and Asad Qizilbash.
The Helldivers video game made its debut in 2015. Its sequel, Helldivers 2, sold over 12 million units on both the PlayStation 5 and PC in the first four months after its launch in 2024.
It is a shooter-style video game that has a story that focuses on an elite group of soldiers who battle alien creatures that threaten to destroy the fictional planet of Super Earth.
There is currently no word on who will star alongside Momoa in the upcoming film.
