Entertainment

Seven years after his death, Robin Williams‘ son is commemorating what would be a milestone for the late actor — his 70th birthday. 

On Wednesday, the comedian’s 38-year-old son, Zachary or “Zak,” shared a heartfelt Instagram post remembering his father. 

Alongside a black-and-white still of Robin, Zak wrote, “Dad, on what would be your 70th birthday, I would want you to know that your incredible spirit lives within us.”

“Our family will be celebrating you and your memory today,” he added. “We miss you and love you always!”

Zak wasn’t the only one missing the Academy Award winning actor, as his comments were flooded with users sharing they missed the Mrs. Doubtfire star as well. Robin died by suicide at the age of 63.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.

 

 

 

 

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Longtime Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, stage and screen legend Bette Midler, and Motown founder Berry Gordy are among the 2021 class for the 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors. 

Among those names who will be honored “for lifetime artistic achievements” will be singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, and opera baritone Justino Diaz, when the awards show gets underway on December 5 in Washington D.C.

“This year’s Honorees represent the unifying power of the Arts and surely remind us of that which binds us together as human beings,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. “These artists are equal parts genius, inspiration, and entertainment.”

Chairman David M. Rubenstein said Gordy, “brought the quintessential soulfulness of Detroit into every home in America, elevating the Motown sound to become a national treasure.”

He said Michaels, “created the most enduring ‘must-see television’ with Saturday Night Live,” which is “a show that is both mirror and muse for life in America.”

Rubenstein called Midler, “an artistic tour de force and America’s Divine Miss M…entertaining millions with her wondrous voice and trademark comedic wit,” and described Mitchell as, “one of the most influential singer-songwriters and cultural figures in 20th-century popular music.”

The 44th annual honors in December will likely be broadcast by CBS in 2022.

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Anthony Mackie and Jahi Di’Allo Winston have been tapped to star in Netflix’s upcoming family adventure We Have a Ghost, Variety has learned.

They join Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge and Black Widow star David Harbour who have also been cast. Written and directed by Christopher Landon, the film will be an adaption of Geoff Managuh’s short story Ernest, which follows a young man whose family finds a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home. The film will also star Erica Ash, Isabella Russo, Niles Fitch, Faith Ford and Steve Coulter. A release date for We Have a Ghost has yet to be announced. 

In other news, HBO has announced a three-part documentary on former president Barack Obama. Titled Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, the new doc will tell of Obama’s early beginnings including “his political rise to become a historic figure as the U.S. continues to grapple with its racially divisive history.” Released as a three part event, Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, will debut on HBO on August 3, with subsequent installments airing the following two nights.

Finally, a teaser for Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s new animated Netflix film Vivo has been released. The film follows Miranda as Vivo, a musically gifted kinkajou, aka a rainforest honey bear, who goes on a journey to deliver a song to his cherished owner’s long-lost love. The film also stars Zoe Saldana, Juan de Marcos, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Rooker, Nicole Byer and Gloria Estefan among others. Vivohits Netflix on August 6.

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(NOTE CONTENT)  Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on five counts of sexually assaulting five women in California over the course of a decade, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

“Anyone who abuses their power and influence to prey upon others will be brought to justice,” Gascón said.

Weinstein, 69, appeared in court Wednesday after being extradited from New York. He pleaded not guilty to four counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force, the district attorney’s office said.

A grand jury returned the indictment on March 15 for the charges for the sexual assaults, which allegedly occurred at hotels between 2004 to 2013. The indictment was unsealed Wednesday.

Weinstein is scheduled to return to court for a hearing on July 29.

The former producer is already serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault stemming from charges in Manhattan; he has been serving his time at New York’s Wende Correctional Facility.

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(NOTE CONTENT) Andy Cohen has already proven skilled at getting people to spill the tea on his Bravo show Watch What Happens Live!, but now he’s doing the same when it comes to former flames, on his upcoming dating show Ex-Rated.

The occasionally NSFW trailer for the upcoming Peacock series just dropped, and it reveals the show’s premise: people are put on the hot seat by their exes, who judge their former partners on everything from their kissing and cuddling techniques to more intimate activities.

Joining Andy to try to smooth things over is sexpert and author Shan Boodram, who gives tips on how people — and the viewers at home — could potentially boost their numbers.

The dating show also lets guests give a potential ex another shot.

Peacock says Ex-Rated, “challenges adult singles of all ages and backgrounds to face raw, candid feedback on everything from their personality to sexual prowess and relationship skills in order to find out where they went wrong and how they can improve.”

The series debuts August 12. (VIDEO CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE) 

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Just when the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences thought — or maybe, hoped — this year’s Emmys would be back to normal, comes a new pandemic cancellation. 

In a statement, the organization behind the awards show noted that for the second year in a row, the Governors Balls that have traditionally followed both the Emmys and Creative Arts Emmys have been scrapped.

The reason cited was “ongoing concerns and public health mandates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Infection rates have been rising in nearly every state, ABC News has reported. The highly contagious Delta variant’s rise has led to mask mandates being reinstated in many cities, including the Emmys’ home in Los Angeles County, even for the vaccinated.

In place of the balls, “The Academy will host a series of enhanced Emmy nominee celebrations in advance of the Emmys,” which the organization calls “intimate-themed gatherings” to honor its nominees “across the numerous peer groups.”

As recently reported, the 73rd Emmy Awards will return with a limited live audience on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The telecast will be hosted by Cedric the Entertainer and broadcast on CBS, and also streamed live and on demand on Paramount+.

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Lionsgate, the studio behind the hit John Wick and Hunger Games movie franchises, has just inked a deal with legendary quarterback Tom Brady‘s Autograph platform to create non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, of those and other entertainment properties.

Autograph announced a “new era of collecting” by also revealing NFT arrangements with the Super Bowl champ’s fellow sports icons, including Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Derek Jeter, Naomi Osaka and Tony Hawk, who sit on the company’s advisory board.

Autograph’s just-announced partnering with digital sports entertainment company DraftKings Inc. will let fans “seamlessly buy, sell and trade digital collectibles across sports, entertainment and culture using their existing DraftKings account.”

The first wave of content developed by Autograph and Lionsgate will focus on franchises including John Wick, The Hunger Games and The Twilight Saga, as well as Mad Men and Dirty Dancing.

Just don’t put your NFT of Baby in a corner. Nobody does that.

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Tiger Woods is opening up about life and parenthood in his new series, A Round with Tiger: Celebrity Playing Lessons.

The first episode, which was filmed just one day before he was seriously injured in a California car crash on February 23, debuted Tuesday on Golf Digest and features Jada Pinkett Smith. The two engaged in a round of golf as they discussed an array of topics, including parenthood, where 45-year-old Woods shared what he’s learned from his daughter, 14-year-old Sam. 

“I don’t like boys,” he joked, before adding that she’s “daddy’s little girl.”

“She’s definitely taught me how to be more patient,” he added. “I don’t ever want her to leave home.”

The five-time Masters winner is also father to 12-year-old son, Charlie, and revealed that he didn’t coach his son on how to play golf because he didn’t want him to feel any pressure. However, it seems even without the coaching, Charlie inherited some of his father’s skill. 

“He just watches me do it, and then he kind of does it,” Woods said of Charlie, agreeing with Pinkett Smith that his son is “a natural.”

Woods also opened up about the discipline and resilience he practiced, stating, “I’m always fighting, you know, and I’m always trying to get better. That’s all I know. I feel like I’m never out of the fight, you know, in that regard. I’m always pushing.”

Woods is still recovering from his car crash injuries. Golf Digest begins the video with a title card the states it was released “with the blessing of Tiger and his guests.”

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Khloe Kardashian is opening up about how she plans to discuss race with her daughter, True. 

“I will be always learning and trying to do the best I can do as being her mom,” Khloe said in Monday’s episode of the Role Models podcast. “I’m obviously not a woman of color, but I do want her to be exposed to as much inclusion but variety as possible.”

Kardashian shares her three-year-old daughter with her ex-boyfriend, NBA player Tristan Thompson, who is of Jamaican descent. The 37-year-old reality star added that she didn’t want True “living in a bubble…because we do have this very privileged life, I want her to know all types of life and all types of living and be very aware of that.”

“I know some people get uncomfortable with talking to their kids about race, or they think, ‘Oh we live in a bubble, we never have to address that my child is Black.’ I mean, of course you do,” Kardashian went on. “You’re only setting them up, I think, for failure if you don’t talk about race and probably the things they’re going to endure once they’re in, quote, the real world.”

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star added that the “beauty” of having sisters in the same situation is that they get to have some of those conversations together. Kim Kardashian has four mixed race children with Kanye West, and Kylie Jenner has a mixed race child with Travis Scott.  

While Khloe admitted to not knowing exactly at what age she’ll have the conversation with True, she concluded by saying she wants True to grow up in “a world surrounded by love but still very aware that she is a woman of color.”

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