On Tuesday’s installment of Today, the show’s hosts revealed Al Roker will be returning on Friday, January 6.
“We have some great news to share,” Savannah Guthrie said, commenting, “Our sunshine is coming back Friday morning.”
As reported, the beloved weatherman had been sidelined since the end of 2021, hospitalized twice for blood clots. The health scare forced him to miss coverage of both the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree for the first time in decades.
He has since made video appearances on the chat show; in a December 12 appearance from home, Roker called his situation “a tough slog,” adding, “It’s been the hardest one yet, and you know I’ve had my share of surgeries. It gives you a profound sense of gratitude for this outpouring of prayers and thanks. I’m a very fortunate person.”
Weeks later, Guthrie, co-host Hoda Kotb, and dozens of Today staff members donned Santa hats and went caroling outside Roker’s New York City home, surprising him and leaving him in tears.
Yellowstone will return with new episodes in summer 2023, the Paramount Network announced during the show’s midseason finale on Sunday. Until then, the network shared a brief teaser trailer featuring Kevin Costner in his starring role as the Dutton family patriarch John Dutton. The modern-day Western follows Dutton, a fifth-generation rancher, defending his sprawling Montana property from land developers while dealing with dysfunctional relationships with his four adult children. Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley and Cole Hauser also star…
The View returns from its holiday hiatus on Tuesday with a tribute to the show’s creator, Barbara Walters, who died Friday, December 30 at the age of 93. “#TheView was her idea, her passion, her show. Join us Tuesday morning as we celebrate the one and only Barbara Walters,” the show wrote on its Instagram Monday evening. Walters created The View in 1997 and was one of the original co-hosts of the ABC daytime talk show along with Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Debbie Matenopoulos and Joy Behar. The pioneering journalist retired from the show in 2014. The current panel of The View features Whoopi Goldberg, Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro. The View airs on ABC at 11 a.m. ET…
Could a DiNozzo-Ziva reunion be in the works on NCIS? Michael Weatherly, who played Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo on the CBS drama for 13 seasons, seemed to tease that he could return to the show alongside Cote de Pablo, who played Special Agent Ziva David. After Michael tweeted a video captioned “Happy New Year! It’s time to look at time and enjoy the moment!” a fan commented that they, and many other fans would “rather look at you and Ziva reuniting.” Weatherly replied, “Stay tuned… for this might be an interesting year for such ‘moments’!” Michael left the show after 13 seasons to star in his own CBS series, Bull, which wrapped a six-season run last May. De Pablo, who starred on the show from seasons 3-11, previously returned for a special storyline in 2020. NCIS airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS…
Actor Jeremy Renner was out of surgery on Monday after being injured while plowing snow on Sunday, according to his publicist.
“We can confirm that Jeremy has suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries and has undergone surgery today,” his publicist said in a statement Monday evening. “He has returned from surgery and remains in the intensive care unit in critical but stable condition.”
Renner was airlifted to a local hospital from the site of the incident in Reno, Nevada, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office said.
“As of now, we can confirm Jeremy is in critical but stable condition with injuries suffered after experiencing a weather-related accident while plowing snow earlier today,” the publicist, Samantha Mast, told Los Angeles ABC station KABC shortly after the incident. “His family is with him and he is receiving excellent care.”
“At approximately 9:00am on January 1, 2023, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office responded to a traumatic injury in the area of Mt. Rose Highway in Reno, Nevada,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, also noting “Mr. Renner was the only involved party in the incident.”
Officials said they were investigating the accident.
The Reno area received heavy snowfall over the weekend with Reno-Tahoe International Airport setting a daily record on Dec. 31, with nine inches. In Tahoe, more than a foot of snow fell in the foothills and multiple feet fell in higher elevations.
Renner, 51, has played a starring role as Hawkeye in Marvel’s Avengers movies and the series Hawkeye on Disney+. He also earned Academy Award nominations for The Town and The Hurt Locker. He currently starts in the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown.
James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water continued its domination at the North American box office, grabbing an estimated $86 million over the four-day weekend and $66.8 million between Friday and Sunday. That brings the Avatar sequel’s domestic gross to $444.4 million and around $1.4 billion worldwide.
The Way of Water now stands as the 14th-highest global release in history, just ahead of Marvel’s Black Panther, and it’s poised to become the highest-grossing movie released in 2022, which is currently Top Gun: Maverick with $1.488 billion.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish grabbed second place with an estimated $22.5 million over the long weekend and $16.3 million for the traditional weekend. The CGI-animated adventure set in the Shrek universe has collected $66.9 million at the North American box office and $135 million globally.
Third place belonged to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which reentered the top five with an estimated $6.5 million over the four-day weekend and $4.8 million from Friday through Saturday. Worldwide, Disney-Marvel’s Black Panther sequel has earned $820 million.
The Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody took fourth place with an estimated $4.8 million between Friday and Monday, raising its North American total to a disappointing $15.4 million.
Damien Chazelle‘s showbiz epic Babylon rounded out the top five, delivering and estimated $3.3 million over the New Year’s holiday weekend for a dismal $10.7 million total. The Brad Pitt-led film earned $2.7 million for the three-day.
The Avengers star Jeremy Renner is said to be in critical but stable conditon following a snow-plowing accident Sunday.
“As of now, we can confirm Jeremy is in critical but stable condition with injuries suffered after experiencing a weather related accident while plowing snow earlier today,” reads a statement from the actor’s publicist, provided to ABC News Sunday. “His family is with him and he is receiving excellent care.”
As of early Monday morning there was no public word on the nature or extent of Renner’s injuries, nor any specifics about the accident itself.
According to the Washoe County, Nevada, Sheriff’s Office, they “responded to a traumatic injury in the area of Mt. Rose Highway in Reno, Nevada” at around 9:00 a.m. on January 1. “Upon arrival, Deputies coordinated with Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and REMSA Health to arrange for medical transport of Mr. Jeremy Renner via care flight to a local area hospital.”
“Mr. Renner was the only involved party in the incident,” the statement continues, noting that officials are “currently looking into the circumstances of the incident.”
Renner owns property near Lake Tahoe, just south of Reno. On December 12, he tweeted an image of a vehicle buried in snow, with the comment, “Lake Tahoe snowfall is no joke #WinterWonderland.”
Renner, a two-time Oscar nominee, is best known for playing the role of Clint ‘Hawkeye’ Barton in the Avengers film franchise and the Disney+ series Hawkeye. He currently stars in the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown, which debuts its second season January 15.
Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Barbara Walters, the trailblazing television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent who shattered the glass ceiling and became a dominant force in an industry once dominated by men, has died. She was 93.
Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female anchor on an evening news program. Three years later, she became a co-host of 20/20, and in 1997, she launched The View.
In a career that spanned five decades, Walters won 12 Emmy awards, 11 of those while at ABC News.
She made her final appearance as a co-host of The View in 2014, but remained an executive producer of the show and continued to do some interviews and specials for ABC News.
Barbara Jill Walters was born in Boston on Sept. 25, 1929, to Dena and Louis “Lou” Walters. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York in the 1950s, Walters found work as a publicist and television writer before landing a spot as a writer on NBC’s Today show in 1961. She would become the program’s first female co-host in 1974, and won her first Emmy award the following year for Outstanding Talk Show Host.
In 1976, Walters found a new home on ABC’s Evening News, making history as the first female co-anchor of an evening news program.
At ABC, her interviews were wide-ranging and her access to public figures unparalleled. She crossed the Bay of Pigs with Fidel Castro and conducted the first joint interview with Egypt’s AnwarSadat and Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin. She also developed a reputation for asking tough questions.
There were lighter interviews, too. For years, she hosted an annual Oscars special, in which she interviewed Academy Award nominees and was known for making a number of them reveal deeply personal information and even cry. In 1994, she launched the “Most Fascinating People” special, which aired every December and afforded her the opportunity to chat with the year’s top newsmakers.
With The View, she created a forum for women of different backgrounds and views to come together and discuss the latest hot topics in the news — a format that has since been widely imitated by other networks.
Walters was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1989 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2000.
Part of ABC News’ headquarters in New York was renamed “The Barbara Walters Building” in May 2014. During the ceremony, Walters accepted the honor by saying, “People ask me very often, ‘What is your legacy?’ And it’s not the interviews with presidents, or heads of state, nor celebrities.”
She continued, “If I have a legacy, and I’ve said this before and I mean it so sincerely, I hope that I played a small role in paving the way for so many of you fabulous women.”
(NOTE LANGUAGE) Taylor Sheridan‘s career is on fire right now, thanks to his massive hit Yellowstone, its successful spin-off, 1883, and now its new prequel show, 1923.
He also executive produces the acclaimed Mayor of Kingstown with Jeremy Renner and Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone, to boot.
For 1923, Sheridan scored Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, marking the former’s first foray into television. So how did he snag the two massive leads?
He asked.
Sheridan tells Deadline, “Truth? I called him and said come down to my ranch and he flew down,” he says of the actor and pilot. “I did the same with Helen.”
“I said, ‘We’re going to do this thing together.’ He goes, ‘Can I read a script?’ I said, ‘You can when it’s written, but it ain’t written yet and you got to commit to it now.'”
Sheridan explained, “I’m done wondering who I’m writing for, and I have to go try to chase the person I had in my mind and I can’t get the person because they’re doing some f****ing Netflix show. I don’t do that s*** anymore.”
He adds of the Indiana Jones star, “I poured about two bottles of wine down him. He said yes. I got him on the plane as fast as I could, closed the deal … Then came Helen, and same thing. Have a glass of wine.”
With his stars on board, Sheridan wrote 1923 and sent it to them. He said of Ford, “[H]e called me and he goes, ‘It’s f***ing perfect. When do we start?'”
While last year’s ceremony was both star-free and un-televised, it looks like Hollywood has made up with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the Golden Globes.
Variety reports big names are already lining up for this year’s 80th annual ceremony.
The Golden Globes found itself embroiled in controversy in early 2021, after accusations of sexism and racism were leveled at the organization. It was revealed not a single minority journalist belonged to the HFPA, which was also accused of engaging in other “unethical conduct,” as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
In response, NBC severed its ties with the organization as stars like Scarlett Johansson, Shonda Rhimes and Mark Ruffalo publicly dragged it. Tom Cruise even went so far as to return his three acting trophies from the organization in protest.
The HFPA subsequently vowed it would be making “transformational changes” to boost minority membership and representation, and increase transparency into the organization and its inner workings.
That said, many in the industry wondered if nominees would show up this year, but according to Variety, a number of big names have already agreed to do so.
Variety reports Elvis nominee Austin Butler is a yes, as is Yellowstone‘s Kevin Costner, and Steven Spielberg and Michelle Williams backing the nominated The Fabelmans.
Others who have RSVP’d yes include Everything Everywhere All at Once nominee Jamie Lee Curtis,Avatar director James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro, who is nominated for Pinocchio.
The trade says other big names will include Dahmer – Monster‘s Niecy Nash, Kaley Cuoco and Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega.
Hosted by Emmy-winning comedian Jerrod Carmichael, the Golden Globes will take place January 10 beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, airing live on NBC and streaming live on Peacock.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office is blaming the June death of 18-year-old actor Tyler Sanders on an accidental overdose of the deadly drug fentanyl. That’s the word from TMZ, which obtained a copy of the coroner’s report. According to the outlet, the report says the 9-1-1 Lonestar and Fear The Walking Dead actor texted a friend he was using the drug the night he died.
The friend called him back and reportedly received no answer. Sanders was found dead on June 16.
According to the report, the actor, who started his career at 10 years old, had a history of drug use, and a plastic straw and white powder were found in his Los Angeles apartment.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fentanyl was the leading cause of the record number of drug poisonings and overdose deaths in the country last year. More than 71,000 overdose deaths were linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to the CDC.
In the new movie A Man Called Otto, opening Friday in limited release, Tom Hanks plays Otto, described as being the grumpiest man alive. So was he a grump on set?
“No! He was very sweet like he is,” his co-star Mariana Trevino tells ABC Audio. “We confirm his reputation as the nicest man in Hollywood. Totally true. Confirmed. He was really sweet.”
While it may be odd to some that a guy with that reputation would play such a hardened character, director Marc Forster explains, “It’s because you ultimately want to fall in love with him and you don’t want him just to be a dislikable grump.”
“And that’s the beauty about Tom Hanks,” Forster continues. “He is such an incredible actor that he can play grumpy, even though he’s so kind and nice and lovely. And then you fall in love with him.”
Overall, Forster hopes that A Man Called Otto audiences take home a message of kindness towards others.
“Hopefully that they see it’s a life affirming film and that if they have an Otto in their life, maybe it just doesn’t take that much then to knock on the door and bring them some food, and give them some company and open their heart,” he says.
Trevino, who plays one of Hanks’ neighbors, a bubbly woman trying to break through Otto’s concrete-coated exterior, adds, “We are all made of the same substance and we have the same essence. Our capacity to love is what leads us to connect to everyone. And I just think that is a beautiful, not only thought, but a reality. And we should tap into it.”
